Band Hero Review - Xbox 360

6.5

Gameplay: 4
Graphics: 6
Audio: 8
Multiplayer: 8
Innovation: 6

The Guitar Hero series has come a long way since its initial release on the Playstation 2. The idea was to recreate the act of performing as a rockstar and having fans cheer as you pull off amazing lead breaks and solos, all in the comfort of your living room / parents basement. The idea brought about the mega-franchise that we know today, and to the average non-gamer, it would seem new Guitar Hero games are released almost monthly. Band Hero is the first game of the series to not include the GH name in its title, but it is still very much a GH game. Coming complete with a newly designed drum kit and better hardware overall, Band Hero is the ultimate parents-basement-musicians dream.

Gameplay

The game plays out just like previous Guitar Hero games, the idea is to play through each set, unlocking as many stars from each song as you can. As you unlock more stars, new features and songs (and achievements) are unlocked. The Guitar Hero games no longer just have five stars per song. Stars are given for note-streaks, using Star Power, and singing all the lyrics properly. The basic five star system is still in place, but gamers can gain bonus stars which help unlock the later parts of the game. This isn't new to the Guitar Hero franchise though, as we've seen this since 2008's World Tour. It's just been more refined and perfected so gamers will find the stars a little easier to obtain.

Easy is a word commonly brought up in the newer Guitar Hero games. Activision is continuing down the path of the casual gamer, and soon they may even take Expert mode out. It could be because we've all become adjusted to the instruments used in the games, but when we went back and tried the later songs of Guitar Hero 3 on expert (or even hard) we realised just how easy the games have gotten. Hopefully the next Guitar Hero game Van Halen will have something to say about that. The song list in Band Hero is more of a "Greatest Pop Hits of the 20th Century" with tunes like The Jackson Five - A.B.C., Janet Jackson - Black Cat, Nelly Furtato - Turn Off the Light, and Village People - Y.M.C.A. to name a few. These songs go down great at parties, but spit in the face of the hardcore Guitar Hero fan. Fortunately there are some decent songs, with Don McLean's American Pie finally making a mention (although not until the credits start rolling), Yellow Card - Ocean Avenue, and Ben Harper - Steal my Kisses, but these songs are in no way difficult to play.

New features in Band Hero include the ability to create your own band with whatever instruments you like. Want four drummers? Sure. Three singers and a guitarist? Go ahead. The possibilities are endless (actually they're not), and if you've got lots of guitars lying around you can finally put them all to good use ...