Band Hero 

When I say “Guitar Hero”, it’s highly likely that you’ll think of wailing on plastic instruments to some metal classics, while your digital companion shreds perfectly along to the song. Or maybe you’ll think of the recent cash cow that plagues our consoles because of Activision’s need for mad stacks of cash to go with their other mad stacks of cash. Either way, what you won’t think of is Band Hero.

I mean, it’s not a BAD thing that they’re trying to do. Frankly it’s admirable that they’re trying to make a music game for kids. But they’ve failed so miserably at trying to aim it squarely at kids that it’s almost laughable. Allow me to explain.

The main thing that sells a Guitar Hero game is the set list. In a standard game it’ll have a nice mix of hard rock, metal, maybe a little indie, and a couple of straight up rock classics. But it’s only natural that you’d expect to see a straight list of pop rock for a music game for the kids. So, taking that into consideration, why is the set-list so all over the place? I mean, you’ve got the music for the young girls (Maroon 5, Hillary Duff, Taylor Swift), a bit of music for the average teenager (Evanescence, Fall Out Boy, OK Go), and a bit for the older generation (Katrina and the Waves, Jackson 5, David Bowie). But who the hell thought it was a good idea to put in “ABC” by the Jackson 5? “YMCA” by the Village People? “Impression That I Get” by Mighty Mighty Bosstones? And that’s not even taking into account the totally unheard of bands (if you know who The Airborne Toxic Event or Cold War Kids are, well done!). The songs are so varied and often downright weird that you can’t help but get the impression that Activision are really just throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks. I understand that you need to keep it varied, but this is just stupid.

I’ve not even got to the game itself yet. To be honest, if I have to explain the gameplay of a “Hero” game to you, then you really have been living under a rock for a long time. For the uninitiated, if you’re on guitar or bass then colored dots scroll down a screen and you have to hold down the right button and strum at the right time to score points. For drummers it’s essentially the same, but you hit the right pad at the right time. And if you’re the singer, it’s essentially karaoke.

Nothing new here 

So far, so standard. Now, you might be expecting the difficulty to be lowered for this once, since it’s for the kids. But fear not those of you who were worried! The full range of difficulties are still there, from Beginner to Expert, so it really is a game for anyone. Despite being a game for the kids.

Party Play is still here for those of you who enjoyed that feature in Guitar Hero 5, although I have to say I’m not impressed (on a demo with 3 songs, it managed to select the same song twice, with only one song between them). Also now available is Sing-A-Long mode, but no worries if you don’t have a microphone, since you don’t need one! This mode is actually just a karaoke mode, where the band plays on stage and the words come up on the screen, with no scores or need for instruments at all. Which, you know, is kind of pointless.

It has to be said though, the graphics are an improvement over previous Guitar Hero installments (probably on a par with Guitar Hero 5), and I’m particularly digging the new Dead Rising style frame rate, which makes everything look that bit more exciting and interesting. That said, my in game “highway” had stars on it. And when I activated Star Power, stars wiped across the highway. And at the end of the song, a pink box came up with stars on the border. In fact, there were a lot of girly colours being shown. So wait, is this a game for the kids, or a game for the girls?

No score. Just sing. 

You’d expect the sound to be good, so thank God that it is. Master recordings are all this game offers (aside from the occasional live recording), so you’ll be playing along to a real version of the song, the way it should be. I’m still not impressed by the lack of crowd singing though, which really made Rock Band stand out for me over the Guitar Hero series.

I think it has to be agreed that most people aren’t really expecting Guitar Hero games to be that interesting anymore, after about five releases in one year. But so far this looks to be the worst entry into the Hero brand name. Perhaps if your kids are bugging you for it, or you’re interested in Gamerscore, you might want to give it a look. Otherwise, it’s looking like a title I won’t be buying.

Band Hero comes out on the 3^rd of November.