Graphically, things have changed somewhat. Instead of the classic characters like Casey Lynch and the Reaper that you're used to, you can now create your own character. If you want to customize any little piece of your character, you can. The controls are pretty easy to use. It's quite nice to be able to make your character look exactly like you want to.
Being that Guitar Hero: World Tour is a music game, then the song selection is going to be pretty important. Instead of just having to pick good guitar songs like they have in the past, now the songs needed to be more robust and have good parts for all the instruments. I really like the selection that they came up with. When you first play the game, there are over 20 songs available for Quick Play. After everything is unlocked, there are over 80 songs available and even more that you can download. A few of the downloadable songs are even free. The choices range from classics like Blondie or The Doors to more modern choices like Linkin Park or Korn and just about everything in between.