Band Hero featuring Taylor Swift - Stand Alone Software - Nintendo Wii

Fun game, with lots more pop songs than previous Guitar Hero games. The trade off for that is that the guitar parts for a lot of songs are more repetitive, but the trade off is you get lots of fun songs to sing. I also like that this game uses the GH5 engine, so the challenges and features from that game got carried over. Only complaint was it was released too close to GH5, so I haven't had time to finish either one.

We really like most of the GH's games and RB2's games - each for different reasons. I was looking forward to Band Hero for a game that focused less on guitar riffs but more on playing a wide range of music.Band Hero incorporates the ability to link up with your DS for various options. Since I don't have a DS, I feel that I'm not able to participate in the full spectrum of the game. For example, if you want to play roadie challenge (where DS users act like and compete as roadies while your band plays the game), you need a DS. Also, if you want to be able to accept and play "Fan requests", they can only be submitted through a DS.The graphics have improved on Band Hero, but they are still not quite up to par with RB 2 graphics. The characters, especially the drummer, don't quite sync with the music.The songs are geared more to a younger audience - Taylor Swift, Spice Girls, Jackson 5 (to name a few). You can download additional songs, but I haven't been able to check out the online catalog yet due to an error code ([...]). Also the tour destinations are geared more toward younger players - the mall, a pool party at Cabo, etc.One of the things I like about BH vs. RB is that in BH you not only have to try to get 5 stars on every song, but you also have bonus challenges on each song (just like GH5). Some of them require you to hit as many "yellow" notes as you can in the song, get the most points on star power, and some are geared to specific instruments. I find this adds a bit more challenge to the game.If you're looking for something like RB2, this isn't quite it. However, if you're looking for a game that is great for parties and larger groups, this is it. (Just make sure you have the DS to take full advantage of all the features available). Without a DS, it's probably not worth the price. (and I'm not about to go out and buy the DS just for the game)Finally, the game isn't very long. The Career mode is much shorter than RB. This is another disappointment for me. The first night of playing, we were able to get through most of the Career levels/gigs in 2.5 hours.

If you enjoy Guitar Hero, you'll like the new edition, Band Hero.The new song list is great, with a lot of fun songs to play. In addition to Rock songs, there are some great Pop songs to get the whole family involved.I really like the ability for multiple players to play the same instrument ... no more fighting on who gets to play the lead guitar!This is still the most popular series of games for our Wii, and Band Hero is now the most played!

Early review... will provide more in-depth review later.Band Hero is essentially Guitar Hero 5 for the Top 40 crowd. If you have played Guitar Hero 5 you will find the same engine here, but the difference is that Band Hero is aimed at people that either like more music variety than just rock and metal, or feel intimidated by the usual GH "rockstar" vibe. From a marketing standpoint Band Hero plays safe as it gives you a cleaner look that seems to be inspired by American Idol, and song picks with names like Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff and Spice Girls. Yes. Yes. I know.Activision was smart to make this brand to be honest. This way they don't completely ditch people that like musical variety on Guitar Hero, while not alienating those that wouldn't stand seeing Nelly Furtado next to Nirvana. Pop songs are usually too easy for Guitar Hero which is most likely what turned off long time GH fans from the previous versions. But those songs do work well for Karaoke-style games as they are well known and more sing-along-friendly, something rare to find on Guitar Hero nowadays... so I guess with this you do get the "best of both worlds". And since you are able to mix and match instruments to your liking, you could treat this game as you want: a Karaoke game, a Guitar game, a full band game, etc.A neat feature that Band Hero has that GH5 doesn't is DS Party Play. While regular Party Play lets people drop in/out of gameplay and changing their options without ever stopping gameplay, you had to deal with random songs. And if one you didn't want came up you'd then have to pause and choose what you want. With DS Party Play, someone can control the music being played on the fly through a Nintendo DS. This is a very clever and welcome feature for Wii players who also happen to own a DS.I actually enjoy the variety found here, and being able to import songs back and forth from Guitar Hero 5, as well as using all DLC, means that you can further expand your complete GH song library. Without this compatibility it would have been hard for me to recommend this game. But even with all this said, a regular GH game usually has double the amount of music on the disc. Band Hero feels more like an expansion pack, and as such I wouldn't recommend you pay for it unless you get it for a low price. Considering the release of GH6 is near, the time is probably now.

After playing this at a friend's house, my daughter couldn't stop talking about this game! I had to get it for her :) I was glad to see that it would work with the microphone we had from Sing It! and the guitar from Guitar Hero would also work. Now all we need are the drums!

This is great family fun!! Even if you can't sing and would never sing karaoke in public, you will enjoy this game in the surroundings of your own home! I bought this game for my daughter because there are several Taylor Swift songs on it, but we all enjoy it!! Just remeber this: because you rock out on the game, it does not mean you are the next American Idol!!