Band Hero is Guitar Hero 5 in sparkly, tween-friendly dressings.
You'll get every basic mode and option from the Wii version of Guitar Hero 5, including the pretty fun Roadie Battle mode, but for all intents and purposes, this is a re-skinned game with new song.
For the first time in my long and storied music/rhythm game genre career, I felt like I was playing a game with Band Hero. Other music/rhythm games, including the Guitar Hero franchise have made me feel like I've been rocking out or participating in a band, but with Band Hero I was acutely aware that I was playing plastic instruments and watching Coca-Cola ads flash on stage.
The music selection is smart, particularly in how it attempts to hit the kid and parent demos in tandem. You'll find some parent pleasing classics like Marvin Gaye's "Heard it Through the Grapevine" and some 80s jams like Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" while also getting tween-friendly hits of today like Jesse McCartney's "Beautiful Soul" and Taylor Swift's "Picture to Burn." The music selection is light, fun and more listenable than the B-side thrash metal you'll find in other music games.
If you liked Guitar Hero or Rock Band, you're going to be into Band Hero's gameplay, because it remains the exact same. You'll strum, tap and belt the appropriate notes when you see them scroll across the screen and aim for a high score to achieve the most stars possible for a song.
The hardware that Activision sent along is pretty mixed in quality. While I liked the circular cymbals better than the triangle versions of past Hero games, the process of putting the Wiimote into the guitar and especially the drums was cumbersome and frustrating. Mom and dad are going to really need to help junior out when he wants to play the game. Putting the controller into the designated slot on the drums is a multi-step process and involves pulling apart a plastic case and connecting and inserting the Wiimote and making sure it all snaps back into place. It's not very user friendly or easy and at 27 I wanted to yell for someone older to help me figure it out.
Band Hero is interesting in that it feels tailor made for younger players and their parents. It gives them fun songs that they can play along with and enjoy without the obscure local rock and heavy metal from Guitar Hero or Rock Band. If you're expecting something new from Band Hero, you're going to be disappointed, but if you want the same game you're familiar with, with some more radio-friendly musical acts, strum and sing away.
