Band Hero is, essentially, Guitar Hero 5 with a different track list and a very slightly different aesthetic. It’s clear that the track list is aimed at a different market to Guitar Hero – it’s a game for people that enjoy top 40 pop-rock music, but other than this the game hasn’t been changed much at all, and can’t be said to be even a minor evolution in the genre. Of course, playing plastic instruments with friends is still lots of fun, there’s no denying that, but you should really consider Band Hero to be an expansion disc of 65 new songs (most of which you can export into Guitar Hero) and not a new game in its own right.

Somewhat tired game aspects

I am not going to bore you, valued reader, with a description of the game mechanics – for that you would do well to read our Guitar Hero 5 review, as the mechanics are identical to that game. What is different is, well, not much. There’s a career mode in which you have a bunch of made up venues which have a more mainstream style – think malls and beach resorts instead of dingy hole-in-the-wall clubs. The same characters are in, but with a bit of a makeover to make them less punk or goth and a little more preppy. If Activision and NeverSoft really want to create a new younger, more mainstream-oriented brand with Band Hero, they really should have thought up some new characters that appeal to the new consumer they’re going for. For my part, I felt it was really strange to have old Lars belting out Taylor Swift or Culture Club. Would it have been that hard to make a few characters that look like pop stars? Yes, you do get to unlock Taylor Swift, Adam Levine (from Maroon 5) and the entire line-up of No Doubt, but that’s it. Where are all my pop-rock stereotypes?

The career mode is also a little tired – earn a number of stars to unlock the next venue, go to next venue, earn some stars to unlock the next venue, go to next venue, etc. There are some MTV-like animated snippets as you go to each new venue, but I miss the wonderful feel Rock Band had where you were once a small little band without even a bus and ended up a mega-group with your own jet. There’s a certain amount of soullessness going on in this series – at least in the gaming part of the titles.

But a good music experience nevertheless

The music meanwhile is far from soulless. It might not be as out there, loud, strange or classic as Guitar Hero’s, but most of the songs are good pop-rock fare. This means that if you’re a rock-snob who thinks pop music is evil, please stay away. As an added bonus, all the songs are singable (unlike certain songs in Guitar Hero – such as Korn), and many will be well known. This didn’t apply to me. Either we have different pop in South Africa or I am just a generation outside the target market of Band Hero because I only knew about half of the 65 songs. By the way, that means there are 20 less songs in Band Hero than in Guitar Hero 5, which is a little annoying considering they’re the same price, and the songs are really what you’re paying for (considering there’s so little else that’s new.)

Some of the songs are not suited to playing the lead guitar on because you end up playing the same boring riff over and over again. In an effort to combat this boredom the developers have the guitarist sometimes playing the keyboard part, or the horn section’s notes. This can be confusing, and a little disconcerting because the link between what you’re playing on the little plastic guitar and what’s coming out the speakers becomes even more tenuous when you “play” these other instruments. Flipping between a riff sequence and a keyboard chord just feels unnatural. The drummer has no such issues – although most of the songs are a little easier than your average Rush or The Who song, it’s still a very satisfying experience. The line that appears on the drummer’s highway to indicate a base-drum beat could be a little more obvious – in Rock Band it’s yellow, but here in Band Hero it’s a kind of nondescript grey colour and it’s quite easy to miss, but other than that the drumming is as good as before.

Participatory music – it’s not about the score

The difficulty factor is overall significantly lower in Band Hero than any of the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, which, along with less noisy music, might make it more pleasing to a new crowd, but it’s certainly no challenge for those who play the game for the mastery. Let’s face it – these games are now simply about enjoying a bunch of music with friends. Well, they always were about that, the trappings of a game have simply been removed slowly as the developers realized what the majority of us wanted – a way to enjoy music in a participatory way.

The other day I went to a real-life jam session at a friend’s place. We all took our instruments so we had a bass guitar, two acoustics, an electric, a djembe drum, some mics, a clarinet and some shakers. We printed out lyrics and chords of some Beatles, The Eagles, Bon Jovi and Johnny Clegg and had an awesome time playing and singing. It dawned on me then just what the Guitar Hero games afford – the ability to enjoy music in the same way without any of the copious effort that is required to get to a point with a musical instrument where it becomes enjoyable. That participatory enjoyment aspect of the series hasn’t gone away in Band Hero, and it never will – the initial rush of Rock Band has died down but as long as the music doesn’t die I’ll continue to enjoy myself jamming along with friends. I, for one, appreciate that Activision have branched the game series into other genres, even if it means some very odd note charts when you’re playing the lead guitar and piano sounds are coming out the speakers. I just wish they’d go the whole hog and put entire catalogs up for download (or for purchase on disc) instead of the trickle of songs we currently get.

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