Video-game reviews | "Guitar Hero: World Tour," "Bioshock" and "Secret of Mana"

Video-game roundup |

Live out your rock-star fantasies with "Guitar Hero: World Tour," or explore unusual worlds in the survivor game "Bioshock" and the role-playing game "Secret of Mana."

"Guitar Hero: World Tour"

"Guitar Hero" was left playing catch-up last year when "Rock Band" introduced drums and vocals into the music-game mix. Well, consider "Guitar Hero" caught up, and then some.

The full "World Tour" package includes an updated guitar (larger, with a touch-sensitive secondary fret pad), its own drum set (with three drum pads, a bass drum pedal and two "cymbals") and a microphone. The game is compatible with "Rock Band" instruments and vice versa.

"World Tour" has an excellent new feature: its song editing mode, in which players can create their own tunes with guitar, bass, drum and keyboard parts, and share them online.

Both "World Tour" and "Rock Band 2" have similar game play and an extensive selection of songs, both on the disc and for download. Each has online and offline modes; group play for bands; and a career mode that unlocks songs, venues and other goodies.

Systems: Xbox 360; $59.99 (game only). Also for PlayStation 3, PS2 and Wii; $49.99 to $59.99 (game only). Prices vary for the package.

Age rating: Teen

"Bioshock"

"BioShock" now is just as "BioShock" was a year ago: It's one of the best games around, though it has a slightly unsatisfying endgame. To sweeten the pot, exclusive downloadable levels are planned for release eventually, for a fee.

The graphics, sound, music, game play and most of the story are fantastic. Players control a nameless protagonist as he explores the ruined halls of the once-beautiful underwater city of Rapture, slowly uncovering the secrets behind its fall, the powerful genetic modifications that form much of one's arsenal and this art-deco dystopia's remaining — and mostly violently insane — inhabitants.

System: PlayStation 3; $59.99

Age rating: Mature

"Secret of Mana"

"Secret of Mana" is an excellent blend of exploration and action. Players start out as a boy who's banished from his village after pulling an enchanted sword from a stone; later he'll meet two companions. Players can control these characters at will, and a second or third player can join in.

System: Wii (Virtual Console download); $8 (800 Wii Points)

Age rating: Everyone