- Publisher: Activision
- Developer: Neversoft
- ESRB Rating: “E 10” for Everyone 10 and Up
- Genre: Music
- Pros: 65 songs; same enhancements as GH5; fun gameplay; nice graphics
- Cons: Lyric edits; maybe you don’t like pop music?; shoehorning other instrument parts onto guitar
The first thing that needs to be said about Band Hero is that it is, literally, Guitar Hero 5 with a different song list. This is good, of course, because Guitar Hero 5 introduced a huge list of improvements and additions that make it one of the most fully featured music games ever. It is bad, however, because it makes Band Hero feel less like a full game (despite its full price) and more like an expansion/cash in that Activision has long been criticized for. The truth about Band Hero lies somewhere in between. While it isn’t that different from GH5 in terms of features, the huge difference in the focus of the track list means Band Hero definitely stands on its own as a unique experience.
The track list (see full list here) in Band Hero is focused on pop and mainstream rock and general radio-friendliness, which is a big change from the GH series. It isn’t all Taylor Swift, Duffy, and Hilary Duff, however, as there is a decent selection of classic tunes (“American Pie”, “I Want You To Want Me”, “Whip It”, “Rio”, Mr. Roboto”, etc.) that are catchy and recognizable and everyone is going to want to play them. The 65 songs on disc represent a wide variety of music from many different eras and there is going to be something for everyone here.
Features and Modes
Activision
Other modes are just what you would expect. Online play. Music creator. And quick play where all of the songs are unlocked from the start. When playing multiplayer (either locally or online) everyone can have their own difficulty level and you can even have multiples of the same instrument so you could have 4 drummers or 4 guitarists or any other variation of guitar, bass, vocals, and drums you can think of. We liked all of these features in GH5, and darn it, we like them here too.
I do have a couple of complaints. First, some songs have edited lyrics. Taking the word “whiskey” out of “American Pie” just seems completely stupid. Second, a lot of songs have you playing other instrument parts (keyboard, saxophone, etc.) on guitar. I hate, hate, hate that.
There isn’t much to say about the gameplay, really. It plays like Guitar Hero always has. Neversoft has learned a lot about how to make fun note charts over the last couple of years, so I don’t have any complaints. Vocals, guitar, and drumming are all really fun. The wide range of difficulty levels, ability to play any instrument you want, and varied song list make Band Hero a great game for players of all skill levels.
Graphics & Sound
Likewise, there isn’t much to say about the presentation. The note highways during gameplay are clean and easy to read, which is the most important thing. There are a lot of things going on in the background, and the environments do look pretty snazzy usually, but you don’t really notice them during gameplay. The characters still have that distinct, sort of ugly “Guitar Hero” look to them, but, eh, whatever.
Bottom Line
Activision
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy
