Band Hero (Wii)

Ever since _Rock Band_ came out in 2007, there has been something vitally important missing from both that series and that of its rivals, _Guitar Hero_. For two and a half years, the children of our nation have been sitting on the sofa, head in hands, watching as their dads jump around in front of the television with a plastic guitar, maybe joined by a mum or big sister tipsily giggling down the microphone. For two and a half years, children have for the most part (excluding those two-year-old Japanese whiz kids you can probably find on Youtube) been totally left out of the ‘family fun’ that is these games.

Until now.

While both series seem to have reached the same conclusion at the same time (_Lego Rock Band_, clearly also aimed at attracting a younger audience, was released in the US on the same date as _Band Hero_), it is _Guitar Hero’s_ child-friendly version that I’ll be reviewing. Everything about it is built to appeal to those left behind by the expert-level 100%-pursuing game that is the adults’ realm. And the Wii is the perfect console to house it, whether for the addition of ‘DS Party Play’ (where people who aren’t currently playing can use their DS to select the next songs), or just for the simple fact that the Wii is generally the console of choice amongst those under the age of 12.

_Band Hero_ includes everything you would expect from a _Guitar Hero_ game – there are four possible instruments (guitar, bass, drums or microphone) with semi-realistic peripherals representing each, and the familiar gameplay of _Singstar_-style mechanics for your lead vocals and pressing coloured buttons for everyone else. However, other features have been added since the first _Guitar Hero_ game, which are certainly helpful in the cause of getting more young players to hop on the bandwagon (no pun intended).

First up, there’s the opportunity (missing from earlier versions of these games) to mix and match your instruments to keep all four players happy. In adult gatherings, it tends to be the microphone that is the least popular choice, and while this might not necessarily be true for kids who have not yet discovered their inhibitions, any fights that do occur are likely to be a lot more brutal. Now, avoiding the tears of the child who has been assigned to drums again is easy – buy four guitars, and _Band Hero_ will gladly let you have a band made up of four lead guitar players. From a financial point of view, of course, coupled with the whims of children, this can become problematic, but choice is – after all – important, and it is choice that has been given with this game.

Another feature is the Beginner mode, which comes just before the Easy mode that wasn’t quite easy enough for the average eight-year-old. Beginner mode doesn’t bother with having different colours – players are just expected to press any button at vaguely the right time to get the desired effect, opening the game even to kids who have really only just learned how to form sentences.

Of course, sometimes kids can’t be bothered with navigating various menus and setting up characters before they can play, along with all that malarkey of actually choosing songs, and that’s where ‘Party Play’ (selected by selecting ‘Play Now’ on the very first menu) comes in. Thrown instantly into playing whatever song happens to come up, it only takes a few clicks to choose a difficulty level and other players can join or leave whenever they want. Most importantly, there is no failing, so the precocious six-year-old who insists on playing on expert difficulty can do so if she wishes without consequence.

What gives this game real appeal to the younger gamers, however, is the set list. Instead of Aerosmith and Iron Maiden, Band Hero gives us Taylor Swift and Hilary Duff. For the first time, it isn’t dads telling their children that they’ve got no music taste, but the other way around.

Other games have had some of these features before, but the combination really comes together in _Band Hero_ to make a game that I can personally vouch for (with five siblings under the age of 13) as highly popular with younger gamers. _Band Hero_ makes a great gift, and the abilities both to buy peripherals separately (giving you safe birthday and Christmas ideas for a good few months at least) and to download extra songs from the vast _Guitar Hero 5_ library, mean that it is one of those rare finds – something children will stick with and return to again and again.
Of course – on a final note – this game isn’t just for kids. Everything is there that makes a good game for people of all ages. There’s a wide variety of songs, meaning that there will always be something that appeals to you (whether you admit to it or not), and the difficulty ranges enough to incorporate all abilities. Everybody loves music, and _Band Hero_ has cashed in on that perfectly to create a game that really does bring the whole family together.