Band Hero

If you haven't played the latest Guitar Hero or are looking for something that all ages of players can get into, it's a respectable choice. However, its mostly flat song list and almost complete lack of anything significantly new may have you feeling a sense of deja vu that can't be shaken.

It's a game that comes across more as GH with a different musical focus, rather than as a new IP in its own right. Band Hero is far from being a bad game, but somewhere along the line it seems the new franchise's focus became a little confused.

Band Hero is a product that doesn't add any relevant feature to the usual ones available in the Guitar Hero series, whose main difference is the audience it targets, less alternative and more oriented to radio hits or MTV’s videos. We must stress, however, that the game is sold at full price and that is released only two months after Guitar Hero 5, which make this product definitely less glamorous than expected.

Guitar Hero franchise is known for this concept and band Hero is a spin-off no different. This is a game you can take to parties and everyone can join in no matter how much experience they have. Pop music is nice but rock is better and developers have now shown that they have run out of ideas.

By taking the Hero franchise to pop songs Activision have managed to get one step closer to the SingStar concept, and the old rock songs are a distant memory. It's about time.

Who already has the Guitar Hero 5, will not see here something of real value. The battery is certainly a great attraction, but don’t think it deserves to be bought just for that.

If you’re not exactly keen on the songs contained within then there’s no reason to own this. But if there are enough songs that you like on the disc then there’s no harm in picking it up.

Just as robust as we’ve come to expect, although the over-zealous censorship grates a lot. [Feb. 2010, p.74]

The whole package feels like a full-price reskin and track pack. [Issue#187, p.73]

Band Hero is a product that feels like a commodity, something assembled by a marketing team concerned only with the market demands currently not met by the existing Guitar Hero brand. But that cold, calculated feeling doesn't make it a bad game.

Where Guitar Hero 5 hauled the series up to a quality plateau, adding a load of features that fans of the series can really appreciate, Band Hero is nothing more or less than a reskin. And even though it's a reskin of a superb game, the lack of concern for the credibility of the music and presentation can't help but cheapen it.

It's just a pity that when compared to the franchise's most recent successes, Band Hero comes across as both a bit of a cash-in and more than a little soulless.

Guitar Hero for kids. [Christmas 2009, p.106]