Gentlemen, choose your instruments. The two hottest music games of the year have hit the shops, and the question on the lips of every wannabe pop star is: which one has the X factor?

The two games — Nintendo’s Wii Music and Guitar Hero World Tour — both promise players the thrill of reproducing well-known songs and allow them to mime along to their favourites: strum a digital guitar or bang a digital drum and the movement and sound will be recreated on the screen by their digital character.

Each game takes a radically different approach. With Guitar Hero World Tour, which is available on most consoles, players use instrument-style props to play along as accurately as possible to various tunes shown on a television screen. Unlike previous editions of the series, in which players could only use a plastic guitar, gamers can now also bash drums or even yell into a microphone.

By contrast, Nintendo’s Wii Music is available solely for the Japanese giant’s home console and requires no fancy props. Instead players use the Wii’s motion-sensitive remotes to mimic the physical movements associated with each on-screen instrument.

The stakes for the winning game are high. Over the past five years, gaming has moved out of the bedroom and into the living room; it is no longer the preserve of spotty teenagers and has instead become a pastime that is fun for all the family. A recent report by Verdict Research, the retail analyst, found that British consumers were on course to spend £4.6 billion on video games and associated hardware in 2008, eclipsing the £4.4 billion predicted to be spent on music and film products.

So which game rocks and which sucks? First up is Wii Music. Here you and up to three friends can play along to various songs using a choice of around 60 virtual instruments. Each “musician” must first attach the two parts of the Wii’s remote motion-sensitive control together to enable two-handed playing. Each instrument works slightly differently: you typically perform actions that loosely replicate those associated with what’s being played. For instance, with hand bells you hold each arm out straight, then pivot your forearms at the elbow. The quicker each hand is moved, the faster the notes are played.

Unlike most other music games, Wii Music doesn’t require you to hit the correct note in sequence at a specific time. Simply pick up the controls and jam away. No matter what tempo you move at, and regardless of the notes that you play, you will always create a passable performance. The real beauty of Wii Music lies in its simple gameplay that encourages everyone to have a go.

The cartoon-style musicians that mimic your movements on screen reinforce the child-friendly atmosphere and the instant musical gratification. Nevertheless, the question remains: if you can’t get it wrong, where is the fun in getting it right?

Guitar Hero World Tour is more challenging. This is the fourth main instalment in the series — which was launched in 2005 — and can be played using a standard console controller. But the franchise was made famous by its use of a replica guitar prop that enabled each gamer to rock along with the supplied songs shown on screen by pressing colour-coded buttons on the fret board to form notes or chords, which are then played by strumming in time with the music on a bar that represents the strings of an electric guitar.

This latest incarnation of Guitar Hero adds the option of buying enough faux instruments to create a virtual band — for £110 extra. The star of the Guitar Hero show, though, remains the main guitar prop, which is larger than its predecessor and has been redesigned. Equally impressive, however, is its wireless drum controller. This consists of three pressure-sensitive drum pads, two rubberised cymbals, a foot pedal — and two wooden drumsticks.

The game can still be played with guitar alone, yet it really comes to life when you rope in enough friends to form a band. Singers must harmonise to scrolling on-screen lyrics while the other musicians try to hit the correct colour-coded notes in the right sequence as they appear on the TV screen. Timing and co-ordination are crucial, as is a keen sense of rhythm. Accomplished players and rank amateurs can perform in the same band, thanks to adjustable difficulty settings that can be fine-tuned to each individual musician.

Of course for many it is the choice of songs available that will determine which game they buy. And this is where Guitar Hero wins hands down. The title boasts 86 tracks on the disc by artists ranging from the Eagles to Metallica, Michael Jackson and Oasis. Players begin the game with access to a limited number of tracks and can only unlock the full range of tunes by putting in a series of good performances. This provides plenty of incentive to return for one more go. Extra tracks can be downloaded for about £1.40 per song.

By contrast, the Wii has only 50 songs supplied on the disc, and most of these are out-of-copyright nursery rhymes and classical tracks, plus themes from other Nintendo games. There’s also the occasional 1980s pop ditty. Nintendo says it intends to sell extra songs as downloads in future. Both games offer the opportunity to record your own versions of the supplied tracks from scratch and then share these online.

Overall, then, it is Guitar Hero that deserves an encore. The instrument controllers are pricy and bulky, and whether the game confers any real musical skills on the players is debatable. That said, it is unlike anything else on the market, except Rock Band, which also uses instrument props. A new version of this game is due out imminently.

Perhaps most crucially, however — and unlike the Wii — it allows players to believe they are on stage at Glastonbury, in front of a 100,000-strong crowd, belting out that classic rock song — if only for an instant.

How they compare

Wii Music

Price £40; Wii

Ages 3+

Props None, apart from additional Wii remotes, which typically cost from £40 each

Players 1-4

Verdict Fun for the whole family, but ultimately lacks excitement

Web www.wiimusic.com

Guitar Hero World Tour

Price £40 (game only); Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii

Ages 12+

Props £70 for Guitar Pack (game and guitar); £150 for Band Pack (game, drums, guitar, microphone)

Players 1-4 (or up to 8 online)

Verdict It really rocks

Web www.guitarhero.com