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Brought to you by the makers of Guitar Hero, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, Band Hero features the hottest chart-topping hits from everyone’s favorite bands including No Doubt, Nelly Furtado, Lily Allen, The All-American Rejects and Jackson 5. Headlined by some of the leading names in music as in-game artists and playable characters, including singer, songwriter and guitarist Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Band Hero is the ultimate party game where friends and family can choose to join the band or “take five” at any time without interrupting the performance, in Party Play mode. Band Hero allows fans to create the band of their dreams, using any combination of vocals and guitar or drum controllers, providing budding pop stars the chance to customize how they interact with and experience their favorite music.

This bundle of Band Hero comes packed with everything you need to create your own family band. Included in the box are a Guitar Hero drum and guitar controllers as well as a Guitar Hero microphone.

Genre: Music

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Vicarious Visions

Online Play: 8 Versus

Local Play: 4 Versus/ 4 Co-op

November 3, 2009 –
The unrelenting growth of music games has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. When the first Guitar Hero hit the PlayStation 2 in 2005, I remember thinking it was cute but then recalling the box of light guns in my father’s attic and thinking the industry might have moved beyond giant plastic peripherals.

It hasn’t, which isn’t a bad thing, and Band Hero is the latest example of its proliferation.

No one’s ever denied that Activision likes to make money, so I hope no one’s offended when I tell you that Band Hero is a clone of the Guitar Hero 5 you know and love/are sick of. You can play as lead guitar, rhythm/bass, drums, or lead singer. You can tackle the 65 songs by yourself or have friends join you for the ride. These buds can play whatever instrument they want (Four drummers? Why not?!) and drop in or out at any time if you’ll let them. You can face off against in-house or online buds, there are leaderboards, the ability to create your own tracks, rocker creation, and a career mode. The same gameplay everyone knows (notes descend down a highway and you press the colored buttons) is here, as well.

Party like a 17-year-old rockstar.

What sets this title apart is its focus. Whereas the Guitar Hero games of the past have focused on rocking with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Police, and other decidedly legit bands, Band Hero takes the Top 40, junkfood pop route. Here you’re going to find Jesse McCartney crooning about love and Aly and AJ singing about “Like Whoa.” You’re going to unlock playable characters such as Taylor Swift and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.

Guitar Hero: Metallica this is not.

I imagine most reviewers will tear Band Hero a new one for its track list, but you won’t find that on my complaints list. I’m the guy who just bought Taylor Swift’s second album AGAIN because they re-released it with a couple of tracks and music videos. I’m the guy who literally exclaimed “Yes!” when I unlocked Hilary Duff’s “So Yesterday” in this game. I’m the guy in love with this kind of music. If you’re not, you won’t enjoy this game. If you are, you’ll have fun here… at least for a little while.

See, just like Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero has a lot of cool stuff under the hood. Each song has a bonus challenge that’s either for a specific instrument or for the band and will give your extra stars as well as items and characters if you can string together 30 perfect phrases on the vocals for “Wannabe,” strum up 350 times on bass during “Dirty Little Secret,” or whatever the challenge might be. You can change the difficulty and instruments you’re using in your career at any time simply by hopping back the main menu, there are a bunch of different competitive multiplayer modes such as Momentum (play well to go up in difficulty) and Do or Die (miss three notes and get bounced), and so on.

The trouble is, you’ve seen all that stuff before. About two months ago. In Guitar Hero 5. This is supposed to be a different franchise, right?

Band Hero packs a career mode, but it’s the same stripped-down version you saw in GH5. You start with a venue, earn stars by playing the available songs, and then watch as more venues open up. When you click on each new venue, you get a short animated clip of some generic rockers getting the invite to play at Spring Break or in space or whatever.

For me, this career mode is one of the major failings of Band Hero. Personally, I want the experience of working crappy gigs, earning money, fans, and fame, and feeling like my squad is progressing. Here, you’re just playing through setlist after setlist and you can cream the experience in just a couple of hours. I started and completed the career mode on Sunday afternoon without breaking a sweat and with plenty of time to spare before Curb Your Enthusiasm started. I want a deeper experience and scenes that showcase my band