Band Hero
SCORE: 72
When this huge box came in that contained Band Hero (along with microphone, drum set and guitar controllers) I wanted to scream. Family Friendly Gaming has been swimming in singing games lately. My four year old found out about the game and wanted to play the drums. In fact he obsessed about these drums. So we sat down as a family and started to play Band Hero. I realized very quickly how much fun Band Hero is. We swapped instruments, and were all having a blast with this game. A family can set up Band Hero, and have some quality time as a family thanks to this game.
The layout of the screen is perfect. Each player can concentrate on their portion of the screen without being distracted by what the other players have to do. I like the incorporation of the Miis in Band Hero as well. The animations for the musicians is different depending on the song. This little nuance went a long way with me. There are some questionable dance moves during certain songs. Clothes can also be tight fitting in certain body locations. You have to be looking for those things though.
Every single music game is judged by the songs on it. The box says there are 65 songs included, and one part of the game said 71. I expect downloadable songs to be a part of Band Hero in the near future. I am happy to report that Band Hero has some of the most mellow lyrics of any Activision music game I have ever played. There are still songs with lyrical issues here and there. The majority are actually very clean, and that came as a pleasant surprise.
Band Hero allows players to play as the drummer, singer, or two different kinds of guitar (editor: a second guitar hero guitar is needed). With all of the songs, and instrument choices I can see families playing Band Hero for months. The full box package is up there in price (two hundred dollars at time of writing the review). You get a lot for the money, and the instruments can be used with other music games. It is your call on that though.
Different songs have
different difficulty settings. The easier settings are more forgiving. I
did find if someone walked away from their instrument during a song, the
song would end. It would have been nice if the rest of us could have
finished the song, but that is a minor quibble. All of the instruments
are responsive. It took a bit to figure out the drums, as it felt like a
little bit of a lag at first.
{UPDATE}: Going into Party Mode is much
more forgiving. This means someone can easily walk away, and the song
will not end.
Band Hero teaches families
to work together for a common goal. There are various lessons in the
song lyrics, so it would be wise for families to scroll through the song
list. I like the direction Activision took with Band Hero, and hope for
some good Christian song lists to download.
- Paul
Graphics: 64%
Sound: 68%
Replay/Extras: 80%
Gameplay: 77%
Family Friendly Factor: 78%
System: Nintendo Wii/PS3/Xbox 360/PS2
Publisher: Activision
Rating: 'E10+' for
Everyone 10+
{Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes}
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