The next few months could prove to be a lot of fun for rhythm game enthusiasts, because a couple of the most highly anticipated music games are on their way. Let’s set Konami’s Rock Revolution and Nintendo’s Wii Music aside for just a moment, because the two giant titles that have everyone talking are Guitar Hero: World Tour from Activision/Neversoft and Rock Band 2 from EA/Harmonix. And I’ll you exactly why Guitar Hero: World Tour is the superior purchase.

A Firmly Established Franchise

Even though I had played some Bemani games in the past, I was reintroduced to the rhythm game franchise thanks to Guitar Hero. It’s also because of Guitar Hero that I was introduced to new music that I actually enjoy outside of the Guitar Hero environment. The Guitar Hero franchise is much more firmly established than Rock Band, so you know that Activision and Neversoft will want to live up to those already lofty expectations. Oh, and there’s Dragonforce. You can’t forget about Dragonforce.

Drum Set with Five Pads

Although it will certainly present a greater challenge, I’m actually quite intrigued by the new drum set that will accompany Guitar Hero World Tour. It has a more accurate set of five pads, as opposed to the four pads found on the Rock Band drums. This will create a slightly novel experience, so it won’t feel like you’re playing the same game all over again. Those two “cymbals” look pretty cool too.

Smashing Pumpkins and Other Exclusives

It has been announced that Smashing Pumpkins will be making an official debut with its new single, G.L.O.W., in the form of downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour. This is in addition to other Smashing Pumpkins songs that will be available as a track pack, like 1979 and The Everlasting Gaze. The song “Today” comes as an on-disc track.

Custom Music Creation

Not satisfied with the songs already available through Guitar Hero World Tour? Don’t want to wait for downloadable content before expanding your library? Well, this game will actually come with its own song creation mode where gamers can make new tracks from scratch, sharing them with other enthusiasts through Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. With this mode, and the ability to download songs created by other players, you’ll surely be playing Guitar Hero World Tour for years to come.

“Real” Playable Characters

It seems that Activision and Neversoft are really trying to play the star card with Guitar Hero World Tour, because they’ve enlisted the services of some real rock stars. Just as Guitar Hero III had guys like Tom Morello and Slash, World Tour will also have some notable names as well. You can look forward to playing as Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Corgan, Sting, Ted Nugent, and Zakk Wylde. All of these guys are playable characters and they made use of motion capture technology to mimic their real movements.

Clearly, Guitar Hero World Tour is superior to Rock Band 2 and that’s why it’s the rhythm game for you. Rock on!