Band Hero is the latest in the long-running “Hero” music game series from Activision, unlike previous entries this version promises more family-friendly music rather than the hardcore rock of it’s predecessors, including pop acts such as Taylor Swift, Culture Club, Maroon 5 and the Disney favourites Aly & AJ.
Coming off the back of Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero shares many similarities with that game – you can immediately jump into any song that’s playing on the start screen, every track is available in Quickplay without any unlocking, you can play a song with any mix of instruments you want and people can jump in and out of songs via Party Play. Everything that Guitar Hero 5 did well, Band Hero does just as well. So why choose Band Hero over Guitar Hero 5?
Well, first of all I play all my music games with my girlfriend, I play guitar while she sings and the Guitar Hero route of more and more obscure rock songs was a huge turn-off for her. Even when playing with my other hardened rock lovers we found it increasingly difficult to include any sort of singing accompaniment – in fact Guitar Hero 5 remains ‘unsung’ for all but a handful of songs. So the inclusion of more pop-orientated, and better still, more vocal friendly acts means Band Hero already has the edge over the rest of the “Hero” family.
Having previously played Guitar Hero: World Tour, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, Rock Band and Rock Band 2 on both the Wii and PS3, and the previous-gen entries on the PS2, you’d think I’d be music-gamed out, but no… Whilst I still love the genre, it takes more to impress me these days when it comes to new entries in any of the franchises. So what about Band Hero? Does it have what it takes to impress. Yes, and then some.
For me the Wii version(s) of all the music game franchises have been second-tier to their more powerful counterparts, but in Band Hero Activision have managed to surpass all my expectations. Graphically the change in appearance has done wonders for Band Hero – the old Guitar Hero graphics haven’t changed much since the days of the PS2 and were really looking stale, but the more colourful ‘poppier’ graphics in Band Hero are refreshing and look a lot more crisper and cleaner, with (so far) the best graphics in any Wii music game. Playability-wise it’s the same improvement. I use my Guitar Hero: World Tour controller on the Wii and it has never felt as responsive with any game as it does with Band Hero.
Guitar Hero has always been seen as the more difficult of the music games – I know many people who play GH titles on medium who will then play Rock Band on Hard, this difficulty level still applies with Band Hero on guitar (I didn’t get a chance to try out the drums), however where the game has changed is in the singing. Band Hero has moved away from the ‘pitch-perfect’ style of singing to a more karaoke-based challenge. Which, whilst making the game easier, does take away some of the difficulty for the more experienced player. However as Band Hero is clearly marketed at a younger audience this can be forgiven somewhat.
One aspect of the Wii version of Band Hero I have yet to try is the Nintendo DS connectivity. Throughout my time spent on the game I unlocked a number of “fan requests” – there are 50 such requests in the game, each one opening up a task to complete on the DS. These tasks challenge players in a myriad of ways. Complete all the tasks and you’ll unlock new items for your rockers as well as adding more fans to your fan base. You can also participate in Roadie Battles on the DS. This is where a guitarist faces off against another guitarist on the TV and each has a “roadie” playing on a DS. The roadies have to tap their screens to run around backstage and sabotage the opposing guitarist while also fixing their own shredder’s equipment – much like an extension of the song battles in the DS versions of Guitar Hero.
The major addition to Band Hero, with regards to Wii/DS connectivity is DS Party Play. Here, whilst people are playing the game in party mode on the TV, you can use the DS to set the playlist and keep the party moving. If you’ve got the DS communicating with the Wii, you can look through your library of tracks, choose which ones you want on the setlist, and drag and drop the tunes into the order you desire!
With Band Hero, Activision have finally accomplished the impossible and made a Wii version that surpasses its PS3/Xbox360 counterparts. The game plays as solidly on the Wii as it does on the other consoles, which in my experience is a first, AND you get the bonus of the DS connectivity which adds a whole new aspect to the “Hero” franchise. Activision have set the bar high for Wii music games with Band Hero, it will take something special to top this.
****½ (4.5/5)
