Guitar Hero proved the market for music rhythm games is broader than previously thought. Rock Band took the genre to the next step and made it a more social experience by going beyond the six-string domain. Now Guitar Hero: World Tour is answering back. It's not just about guitars now that the full band is brought in. It's not just about playing classic songs either. World Tour lets you become the rock star in every way possible -- from playing the tunes to making the music itself. I got my first look at the next game in the hit franchise and there's no doubt about it: I'm impressed. Neversoft and didn't sit on their laurels and pump out a cash-in sequel. There's so much new here that it's tough to decide where to begin. It's tough to rock out without the proper equipment. Guitar Hero: World Tour adds drums and vocals to the formula to go along with the already present guitar and bass. It doesn't just add two new peripherals and call it a day, though. This next Guitar Hero game will add new features to the trusty guitar, as well. The Guitar World Tour introduces a new guitar controller that is even more feature-laden than past designs. ![]() ![]() Before you get in a huff about just buying the Les Paul or X-plorer models from past Guitar Hero games, know that Activision has told us these will still work in World Tour. They just won't have access to all of the new stuff the added features bring to the table. That being said, you're going to want the new axe. The biggest addition to the new guitar is the touch pad located on the neck. While playing a song, this touch sensitive strip allows you to alter notes during sustains by sliding up and down the strip (giving more freedom and options than what you had before with just a whammy bar). It can also be used for tapping to play notes, particularly awesome if you want to mimic a slap bass. The real power of the touch pad comes in the music creator. ![]() We'll get to that soon. Other changes have been made to the design as well. The back/select button has been made to look like the bridge of the guitar. It's easier to hit for activating star power and gives a more realistic look to the body. Jan 28, 2009 - 4 min - Uploaded by Dalton BertoloI love this song. My third favorite Linkin Park song to be exact (my 2nd favorite is ' One Step. In games prior to World Tour, if star power is. In Guitar Hero World Tour star power is. Grant the player star power. To activate it on a mic. Jun 18, 2009 Full Band 1st Place - Rooftops - Guitar Hero: World Tour. Made while trying to activate star power. Stock Guitar Hero: World Tour drum. The entire body is bigger, as well, approaching something closer to a real guitar. The d-pad has been given a bit of style as well by reshaping it to look more like a knob. All of the previous great features are still there on this guitar, too. It's wireless and sleek, has an accelerometer for activating star power (and more) and will make use of new custom faceplates. In short, it's the best guitar controller we've seen yet. The Mic The microphone peripheral is fairly standard. It's wired and comes without buttons. For menus and the like you'll need to use a controller. To activate star power in the game, you won't have to wait for a special section like you do in Rock Band. Tapping it or making a making a quick similar sound at any time does the trick. The Drums Three pads, two raised cymbals, and one bass pedal make up the action elements of this new drum peripheral. That equates to the basic setup of a snare, two toms, two cymbals and a bass drum. The two cymbals are raised above the three primary pads and, on the prototype set we got a look at, had hinges and swivels on them so that you could position them how you wanted. To activate star power with the kit you simply hit both cymbals at the same time. The first thing you'll notice when you see the kit in action is that it's quieter than the Rock Band drums, which is great news for neighbors everywhere. Each drum head is eight inches in diameter, slightly larger than Rock Band's kit, so you'll be less likely to miss when things get heated. Like the guitar, this puppy is wireless. That won't really aid you in your posturing, but it will keep your room less cluttered. But where the touch strip really earns its cash is during tough solos. During special sections you'll see notes connected by purple lines: This means you don't actually need to strum the notes but can instead just slide your fingers across the strum bar and automatically catch notes in the process. If you want, you can also try and tap each individual note on either the touch strip or the fret buttons; the purple lines mean none of the notes need to be strummed. It opens up a world of possibilities, and if nothing else, should be a big help in getting players struggling with crazy solos. One question we've been asked repeatedly about the new guitar: Does it have a detachable neck? Yes, it does. But before people start freaking out about how some of the Les Pauls had loose necks that would sometimes lose connection, rest easy: The connection has been completely overhauled and is far more solid. The connection looks very similar to an HDMI jack (just bigger), and on every guitar we tried the neck was locked firmly into place. We loved this feature on the Les Paul -- as did many of the ScoreHero guys, who had packed their own guitars into backpacks for the trip to Neversoft -- and we're glad to see it return improved. Drummin' In addition to putting the new guitar through its paces, we also spent a few hours testing out the new World Tour drum kit. If you're used to Rock Band's four-across layout of the pads, there's a little adjustment needed to the World Tour kit, which has three large pads on the lower level (they're 8' across, as opposed to Rock Band's 7' pads), and two cymbal pads on an upper level. The pads are extremely cushioned, and have a good amount of bounce without making much noise. They're even quieter. The new layout proved best in songs with a straight 4/4 high-hat / snare beat. As a 'real-life' drummer, crossing over to play the left (yellow) cymbal with your right hand and using the left (red) pad as the snare feels extremely natural. The right (orange) cymbal is generally used as a crash, and the other two pads as toms. I had some concerns that the additional note, combined with the new layout, might prove hard to get the hang of, but both myself and the rest of the players in attendance jumped in pretty quickly. In-game, some interesting twists have been added when compared to what Rock Band drummers might be used to. To activate Star Power, you don't have to wait for special sections to appear: You can activate at any time by hitting both cymbals simultaneously. When there are long sections without any drums, you can noodle around and add your own fills for a few extra points. Additionally, some notes have graphics on them indicating 'accents'; the drums are all velocity-sensitive, and hitting the accents will also give you some bonus points.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2018
Categories |