Band Hero – 360 – Preview

Although only a few years old, the
Guitar Hero franchise has been one of the most powerful forces in gaming,
sparking a rhythm-based revolution and cluttering many a living room with
plastic instruments. With the most recent entry to the franchise, Guitar Hero 5,
selling like gangbusters, it would seem that fans aren’t letting up on the
series. However, there are some people who haven’t been able to embrace the
franchise, due to unfamiliarity or just distaste with the songs on offer. And to
be sure, the franchises track list isn’t for everyone; some people just aren’t
that big into rock music, or simply don’t want to play a song that they are
unfamiliar with. For them, Activision seems to have their answer in Band Hero.

Band Hero is less of a spin-off than
an actual game entry to the GH franchise, offering players the gameplay
enhancements from Guitar Hero 5 with a soundtrack focused on pop music from
across a variety of genres like country, rap, power pop, and so on. Activision
sent over a preview build of the game so we could take a look at what the game
had to offer potential buyers.


Band Hero Xbox 360 screenshots

If you’re unfamiliar with the rhythm
game mechanics set forth by the GH series, here’s a brief rundown: you must use
your instrument-based controller to hit the proper notes as they appear at the
bottom of the note highway on the screen, corresponding with the music. You can
play solo, or you can get a group of friends together to play other instruments
or sing along with you.

Band Hero uses the same gameplay
engine as Guitar Hero 5, meaning that the band mechanic is exactly the same as
the one featured in the latter. You’ll be able to use any combination of four
instruments as in Guitar Hero 5, doing four-way sing-along, four drummers, two
guitarists and two drummers, etc. Additionally, the no-fail Play Now feature
from GH5 is present in Band Hero, meaning that players will be able to drop-in
or drop-out at any point of the song, and change instruments or difficulty on
the fly.

The area where Band Hero
distinguishes itself the most is the track list. Whereas the Guitar Hero
franchise has always focused more on Guitar-heavy rock tracks, Band Hero
features mostly pop music. You’ll find a majority of popular tunes from the past
several decades on the track list, including "ABC" by the Jackson 5, "She Will
Be Loved" by Maroon 5, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx, and "Picture to Burn" by Taylor
Swift. The soundtrack won’t really present much of a challenge to expert Guitar
Hero players, but that doesn’t seem to be the point of the game; this title is
meant to get players who perhaps haven’t felt much of a connection to the
series’ past offerings and want to sing, strum, or drum away to some pop songs
that they’d be familiar with.


Band Hero Xbox 360 screenshots

Graphically, Band Hero offers up a
different look from previous games in the series. The whole aesthetic features a
more pastel-ish look, featuring a neon pink and blue theme that seems to
contrast Guitar Hero 5’s more solid look. The aesthetic seems to be trying to
appeal to the girl gamer set, and doesn’t look bad at all. The other graphical
enhancements made to the engine in Guitar Hero 5 are still present here,
featuring nice looking character models and environments.

While most hardcore Guitar Hero fans
might balk at a soundtrack that features Hilary Duff and Janet Jackson, Band
Hero still has a lot to offer to fans of the franchise who enjoy pop music, or
newcomers looking for an accessible entry point to the franchise. Look for it
next month.