nintendo wii

Guitar Hero World Tour

Activision has formally announced Guitar Hero World Tour (GH4) this past week (Press release quoted bellow) and pricing was also confirmed thanks to gamestop. The game will sell in several varieties for the xbox 360, nintendo wii, playstation 3 and playstation 2.These include just the game for $60 , the game and guitar controller for $100 and the entire package (drum kit, microphone, guitar and game) for $190. (The game will sell for the PS2 $10 cheaper than the other systems)
The release date is Oct. 27, 2008.

Getting past the rock band like controllers World Tour does offer one feature that, to me, stands out from the rest: studio. Giving you complete controller over the game, studio mode allows the user to create your own music which can be played in the game. (no lyrics can be added for obvious reasons) Not only can you create your own tracks but you can then upload your creation and allow other users from around the world to enjoy them.

Overall, this new version of Guitar Hero really bugs me. Activsion sees the success rock band had and selflessly copies their ideas of having an entire band with multiple instruments. It’s basically letting Harmonix (the makers of rock band) test the idea and when it succeeded decided to release there own product eliminating the problems Harmonix had. As an owner of rock band myself, I truly hate Activision for this product and will never endorsee it to friends, family, or my viewers. Studio mode is great but other than that, it’s a blatant copy of rock band.

Press Release:

ACTIVISION UNVEILS GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR – THE DEFINITIVE ROCK & ROLL MUSIC VIDEOGAMING EXPERIENCE

New State of the Art Wireless Instruments

Innovative Music Studio Lets Players Compose, Record, Edit and Share Music

Biggest Selection of On-Disc Music with All Master Tracks

Robust New Eight-Player “Battle of the Bands” Mode

First Game Ever in the Guitar Hero® Franchise to Allow In-Game Downloadable Content on Wii

Santa Monica, CA – May 22, 2008 – When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of axe shredders, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Activision, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour. The latest installment from the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour will transform music gaming by marrying Guitar Hero’s® exhilarating guitar gameplay, with a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with revolutionary new online and offline gameplay modes. The game will feature a slick newly redesigned guitar, a genuine electronic drum kit and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems, along with online Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands.”

Delivering the largest on-disc set list in a music-rhythm game to-date, Guitar Hero World Tour is comprised entirely of master recordings from some of the greatest classic and modern rock bands of all-time including Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles, Sublime and many more. Additionally, the game will offer significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles. Budding rock stars will also be given creative license to fully customize everything from their characters’ appearance and instruments to their band’s logo and album covers.

In addition to a newly designed more responsive guitar controller and microphone, Guitar Hero World Tour will deliver the most realistic drum experience ever in a video game with an authentic electronic drum kit. Featuring three drum pads, two raised cymbals and a bass kick pedal, the drum controller combines larger and quieter, velocity-sensitive drum heads with soft rubber construction to deliver authentic bounce back and is easy to set up, move, break down and store.

“Guitar Hero has set the standard for music-based gaming and with Guitar Hero World Tour and the game’s groundbreaking Music Studio, we are once again delivering unprecedented innovation that has the potential to revolutionize consumer generated music, much in the same way that video sharing hubs have driven user generated video,” said Dusty Welch, Head of Publishing for RedOctane. “With the introduction of our advanced high-quality new wireless instruments, in-depth customization options and advanced online functionality, the game enables music fans and gamers globally to share in the most social and expressive music experience ever.”

Guitar Hero World Tour delivers more ways to play than ever before. Virtual musicians can live out their rock and roll fantasies by playing either a single instrument, or any combination of instruments, in addition to the full band experience. In addition to all of the online gameplay modes from Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero World Tour introduces Battle of the Bands mode which allows eight players to join online and challenge each other band-to-band to determine who is the best of the best. In the Band modes, up to four players can jam together, online or off, as they progress through the game, and in single-player Career Mode, players can jam on any of the instruments in branching venue progression enabling them to rock out in the order of their choice.

The game’s innovative new Music Studio lets players express their musical creativity by giving them access to a full compliment of tools to create digital music from scratch, utilizing all of the instruments, and then play their compositions in the game. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes™ where other gamers can download their unique compositions and play them.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.

Top Games -Nintendo Wii-

I wrote a post a while back about the top games of 2007 for the Xbox 360. I planned to write a similar article for the Nintendo Wii but decided to hold off for a while and just write about the current top games. Sure Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, Rock Band, and WiiWare games are coming soon but as of April 17th, here are my top 5 games for the Nintendo Wii. When newer games are released, I’ll be sure to right about them.

  1. Super Smash Bros Brawl
    I really love this game and right now it has to be one of the best on all platforms. Coming from SSB 64 I have to say this game is great. It manages to keep the fun and simple gameplay the original game had but it also introduces great graphics (for the system), new characters, and really cool worlds to play on. If you own a Wii, you must play this game.
  2. Super Mario Galaxy
    This game looks fantastic and with a great level design Super Mario Galaxy has won several awards including game of the year. It’s clear that this is one of the best Mario games to date. The replay value is great because this game has lots of stages and tons of stars to find and collect. This is one you should play.
  3. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
    This is the first 3rd party game on my list and I have to say it’s a great value. You get an amazing shooter with intense story line for the good price of $29.99 which I’m sure you can find for less.
  4. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
    It’s clear the Guitar Hero Series is one what is great on all platforms and the Wii is no exception. The game plays just as well as any other system but is $10 cheaper and is wireless. This is the best game for parties.
  5. Trauma Center: New Blood
    Rounding out my list is Trauma Center: New Blood which is a surgery simulator. Using the Wii Controls you can operate similarly to the way actual doctors operate. This is the first game of it’s kind and offers a way to really use the Wii the way it was designed: using the new control scheme. The game can get very hard towards the end but I still recommend this title.

Mario Kart Wii Gameplay Footage

Above is an amazing 2 hours worth of gameplay footage of Mario Kart Wii. This is a Wii game so the visuals are nothing to run home about but overall it looks like a fun experience. As for controls, this make will ship with the ‘Wii Wheel’ but can also be plaid without the wheel, on a classic controller or using a gamecube controller similar to the multiple options that SSBB had. Take it for what it’s worth. Nothing extraordinary but it’s sure to be a great/fun game. Available April 27 for $49.99.