Guitar Hero: World Tour is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the Guitar Hero series, which has sold over 24 million units and earned more than $1.6 billion in retail sales. The game was released in October 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles, and a month later for Europe and Australia. A version of World Tour for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X was later released by Aspyr.

Unlike previous games in the series, which focused on simulating the playing of a guitar using a guitar-shaped controller, Guitar Hero: World Tour introduces the ability to play drums and sing vocals, as well as create new songs through the “Music Studio” mode. The game supports up to four players to play together in a virtual band through these different instruments. The game features a setlist of 86 songs, including 38 master recordings and 48 covers of songs from various genres of rock music. The game also includes downloadable content (DLC) that adds more songs to the game.

Guitar Hero: World Tour received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the quality of the instrument controllers, the customization options, and the improvements in the game’s difficulty compared with the previous Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The game was also a commercial success, selling more than 3.4 million copies in its first month of release. Guitar Hero: World Tour is widely considered as one of the best games in the Guitar Hero series, and a must-play for fans of rock music and rhythm games.

One of the most innovative features of Guitar Hero: World Tour is the Music Studio mode, which allows players to create their own songs using various instruments and effects. Players can record, edit, and mix up to five tracks of audio, and use a keyboard or a MIDI device to input notes. The Music Studio also includes a drum machine and a guitar chord creator. Players can then upload and share their songs through a service called GHTunes, where they can also download and rate songs created by other players.

Guitar Hero: World Tour also offers a variety of gameplay modes for different levels of challenge and enjoyment. The Career mode allows players to progress through the game’s setlist, unlocking new venues, characters, outfits, and instruments along the way. The Career mode can be played solo or cooperatively with up to four players. The Quickplay mode allows players to play any song they have unlocked or downloaded, with customizable settings such as difficulty, instrument, and game modifiers. The Quickplay mode can also be played online with up to eight players in various modes such as Band vs. Band, Pro Face-Off, and Battle of the Bands.

Another mode that adds replay value to Guitar Hero: World Tour is the Party Play mode, which allows players to jump in and out of the game at any time without affecting the gameplay. The Party Play mode automatically selects songs from the game’s setlist or DLC library, and adjusts the difficulty and instrument for each player according to their preference. The Party Play mode is ideal for casual players who want to enjoy the game without worrying about scores or performance.