Guitar Hero has always had its roots in down and dirty Rock and Roll. Motley Crue, Nirvana, Police, Metallica and The Doors have all graced us with their presence in the series. Sure it has dabbled with Michael Jackson, No Doubt and other artists who offer a lighter more pop style of music, but they were only thrown in for flavor. That is changing
Not only is Activision temporarily departing from the Guitar Hero brand with this title, the hard rock is also taking a leave of absence. In it’s place, chart toppers and bubble gum pop. Can a new name and change of pace breath new life into an aging franchise? It just might.
The Story
You know what I find interesting about Band Hero? It’s essentially Guitar Hero 5…in disguise. An unknown band gets a big break, and it’s your job to take them all the way to superstar status. I think we’ve seen this style of game once or twice before. The more star power you obtain, the more outfits and instruments you unlock, and the more venues you can travel to.
Those are the similarities. Now for the differences! While you started playing in dingy clubs in Guitar Hero, your first gig in Band Hero is the local mall. See the audience Activision is going for here? Yes the mall is where you launch your career. From there it’s a small music festival, then a tropical resort where fans gather in the giant pool to hear you belt out your tunes. Yes, the formula is the same, yet it is a slight departure from Guitar Hero.
The Game Play
When you have something that works sometimes it’s a good ideas not to monkey around with it. This game plays by that golden rule. The main body of the game remains the same as previous Guitar Hero titles.
As seen in Guitar hero 5, Band Hero lets you put the band together any way you see fit. Want two vocalists? No problem! Four guitars? Even better. Players will also be able to jump in and out of musical sets in Party Mode so getting up for a beer doesn’t spell disaster for the rest of the band.
RockFest is also back. Four players locally or 8 players online can take part in a variety of challenges like Elimination, where each song is divided into segments; after each segment, the player with the lowest score will be eliminated from the game. This mode really expands on the party element and is a nice for those tired of simply playing as a band all the time.
Speaking of parties, Sing-Along mode gives you access to classic Karaoke. You can sing any of the songs included with the game with up to four people. You can’t fail or lose points so even the lousy singers can have a crack at singing Taylor Swift hits.
The Music
Here is where we see a giant departure from other music games. The set list is surprisingly light and seems to be targeting women. That’s not to say guys won’t enjoy it, but it’s lighter than most men would probably like. Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Lily Allen, Spice Girls, Fall Out Boy, and Village People. Yes, there are a few rock songs thrown in for good measure but even those are of the lighter top 40 variety. Here’s a look at the music you’ll be playing:
- 3 Doors Down – “When I’m Gone”
- Airborne Toxic Event – “Gasoline”
- All American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret”
- Alphabeat – “Fascination”
- Aly and AJ – “Like Whoa”
- Angels & Airwaves – “The Adventure”
- Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals – “Steal My Kisses “
- Big Country – “In a Big Country”
- The Bravery – “Believe”
- Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting”
- Cheap Trick – “I Want You To Want Me (live)”
- Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up To Dry”
- Corinne Bailey Rae – “Put Your Records On”
- Counting Crows – “Angels of the Silences”
- Culture Club – “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”
- The Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down”
- David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
- Devo – “Whip It”
- Don Mclean – “American Pie”
- Duffy – “Warwick Avenue”
- Duran Duran – “Rio”
- Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life”
- Everclear – “Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)”
- Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down”
- Filter – “Take A Picture”
- Finger Eleven – “Paralyzer”
- Go Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed”
- Hilary Duff – “So Yesterday”
- Hinder – “Lips Of An Angel”
- Jackson 5 – “ABC”
- Janet Jackson – “Black Cat”
- Jesse McCartney – “Beautiful Soul”
- Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation”
- Joss Stone – “You Had Me”
- Katrina and The Waves – “Walking On Sunshine”
- The Kooks – “Naïve”
- KT Turnstall – “Black horse and the Cherry Tree”
- The Last Goodnight – “Pictures Of You”
- Lily Allen – “Take What You Take”
- Maroon 5 – “She Will Be Loved”
- Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
- Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Impression That I Get”
- Nelly Furtado – “Turn Off The Light”
- NERD – “Rockstar”
- No Doubt – “Just A Girl”
- No Doubt – “Don’t Speak”
- OK Go – “A Million Ways”
- Papa Roach – “Lifeline”
- Parachute – “Back Again”
- Pat Benatar – “Love Is A Battlefield”
- Poison – “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”
- Robbie Williams and Kylie – “Kids”
- The Rolling Stones – “Honky Tonk Woman”
- Roy Orbison – “Oh Pretty Woman”
- Santigold – “LES Artistes”
- Snow Patrol – “Take Back the City”
- Spice Girls – “Wannabe”
- Styx – “Mr Roboto”
- Taylor Swift – “Love Story”
- Taylor Swift – “Picture To Burn”
- Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”
- Tonic – “If You Could Only See”
- The Turtles – “Happy Together”
- Village People – “YMCA”
- Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue”
Once you complete some of these songs, you will have the option to play as the artists themselves. Gwen Stefani, Taylor Swift and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine all become playable characters. Once selected you can use them to play any song from the game’s collection. Apparently a controversial move by Activision.
The Graphics
Unlike previous Guitar Hero titles, Band hero is much more colorful. Filled with neon lights and flashy explosions, Band Hero looks more like a Britney Spears concert than a sold out Metallica show. The new look works, especially considering the choice of music in this game.
Character animations for Taylor Swift, Adam Levine and other chart toppers look fairly accurate. Even in digital form Taylor Swift looks pretty hot…for a bunch of pixels that is. Even the lip syncing is spot on.
The Downsides
For those expecting a brand new franchise…sorry. You will be disappointed. Band Hero really is Guitar Hero 5, just with a slightly different look and feel. The menu options are basically the same. If you thought this title was going to break the Guitar Hero mould, you thought wrong.
Oh, there’s one other issue that irked me. Band Hero may be targeting a younger audience, but censoring lyrics? Seriously? Don McLean’s American Pie has been altered to remove the word “Whiskey” from the song. “Those good old boy were drinking ….and Rye” Really?
The Bottom Line
I thoroughly enjoyed playing through Band Hero. In fact I will openly admit, I maybe played it a bit too long. When I was supposed to be playing other review copies of games, I found myself sneaking Band Hero back into my console to beat “just one more song”. Yes I know I will take heat for liking the bubblegum goodness that is Band hero, but I can accept that.
It may not be the brand new franchise some gamers may have hoped for but Band Hero still remains a strong title. Other than LIPS, we haven’t seen many music based games featuring this many top 40 hits. Sure it could have used some new features and innovative gameplay modes, but the die hard Guitar Hero fans won’t walk away disappointed. Unless of course you absolutely detest syrup laced pop hits. If you do run far far away.
The Good
Chart topping hits
Same solid play controls the series is known for
The Bad
Not very different from Guitar Hero 5
Fewer tracks tracks than GH 5 (65 vs 85)
Why is the word “Whiskey” removed from American Pie? Seriously
8.5 / 10