Band Hero

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Band Hero
Band Hero.jpg
Cover art
Developer(s) Neversoft [a]
Publisher(s) Activision
Series Hero
Platform(s) Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: November 3, 2009
  • EU: November 6, 2009
  • AU: November 25, 2009
Genre(s) Rhythm
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Band Hero is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the second spin-off of the Guitar Hero series, following DJ Hero (2009). The game was released on November 3, 2009, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles. The game is structurally similar to Guitar Hero 5 (2009), and supports full band play (lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals) including the drop-in/drop-out and in-song instrument and difficulty change menus, and additional multiplayer modes as Guitar Hero 5. The console versions use instrument-shaped game controllers, while the DS version uses either the "Guitar Grip" introduced with the Guitar Hero: On Tour series or a new Drum Skin that comes with the game. Like previous games, who feature virtual avatars of musical artists, Taylor Swift, Adam Levine, and the band No Doubt are presented in the game.

Contents

Band Hero received mixed reviews from journalists. Some considered the game to be an appropriately flavored version of Guitar Hero 5 for the "Top 40" pop rock hits, while others felt the game was strictly aimed at teenagers or children. They also contested the cost of the full game, featuring only 65 songs compared with 85 songs in Guitar Hero 5, and considered if the content would have been better in downloadable form. A day after the game's release, the band No Doubt sued Activision, citing similar misuse of their avatars to the Kurt Cobain avatar in Guitar Hero 5.

Gameplay

Main version

The game is functionally similar to the features of Guitar Hero 5 , including bands composed of any combination of four instruments, drop-in/drop-out play, in-song menus to change difficulty and instrument, and additional multiplayer modes compared to Guitar Hero 5's "Rockfest". Band Hero also retains the Band Moment and the Band Revival feature from Guitar Hero 5. [1] The PlayStation 2 version retains the same game engine from Guitar Hero: World Tour , which features the same HUD style as Guitar Hero: Metallica . Taylor Swift, Adam Levine (of Maroon 5), and the band No Doubt are playable avatars in the game. [2] [3] [4] [5] Artists performed motion capture for their in-game avatars.

Band Hero also introduced an updated revision of the drum kit that shipped with Guitar Hero World Tour. Many changes were made to address weight and size concerns that made assembly difficult, and the stand's crossbar was moved to the bottom to improve leg room and allow the bass pedal to be supported by it. The cymbals were changed to a circular shape from the previous triangular design, and the sensitivity of the drums themselves were adjusted. An in-game sensitivity adjustment feature is also supported. In the United States, the new controller was, for a limited time, exclusive to the game and instrument bundles of Band Hero on Wii. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the controller were released at a later date; Band Hero bundles for these platforms in the U.S. included the World Tour drum controller. [6]

DS version

The "drum skin" for the Nintendo DS Lite is used to allow Band Hero players to simulate the console-based version of drumming. Band-hero-ds-drum-skin.jpg
The "drum skin" for the Nintendo DS Lite is used to allow Band Hero players to simulate the console-based version of drumming.

Band Hero for the Nintendo DS features the ability to play the same instruments as the console-based versions. Though the game is compatible with the DS, DS Lite, DSi (vocals only), and 3DS (vocals only), only players on the DS Lite will receive the "full band" experience due to the nature of the hardware extensions for the unit.

Guitar and bass parts are played with the same "Guitar Grip" previously created for the Guitar Hero: On Tour series, though this unit will not work on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS due to lack of a GBA slot. The gameplay for guitar and bass is considered to be the fourth iteration of the Guitar Hero On Tour design by developers Vicarious Visions, and have further improvements to meet with different strumming styles. [7]

A new "drum skin" that fits over the bottom half of the DS unit provides four "pads" for drumming that map to the unit's directional pad and face buttons; this design was selected over use of the touch screen due to the inability of the touch screen to recognize near-simultaneous taps, a factor that would have interfered with the drumming experience. [7] The drum skin is limited to the Nintendo DS Lite due to the skin's form factor. The decision to design towards the DS Lite rather than the newer DSi was due to the much larger volume of DS Lite units that have been sold relative to the DSi. [8]

The DS microphone is used for vocal parts. The DS has 30 of the songs from console versions. The game also supports up to four player multiplayer in a similar manner as Guitar Hero 5 using the DS's local wireless connections, allowing any combination of instruments. [9]

Development

A television advertisement, featuring Taylor Swift, Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), Travis Barker (Blink-182), and Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), was created for the game by director Brett Ratner in the same manner as previous ads for other recent Guitar Hero games, initially paying tribute to the scene in Risky Business with Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear to the song "Old Time Rock and Roll". Though it appears as if all four performed together, Wentz stated that Swift performed her parts separately using a green screen to impose her into the footage of the other musicians. [10]

A three-song demo was made available on Xbox Live on October 15, 2009, and included "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven, "Picture to Burn" by Taylor Swift and "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. The demo was solely the Party Mode, with the three songs playable in random order. [11]

Soundtrack

Console soundtrack

Band Hero for consoles features 65 songs from "mainstream acts". [12] [13] The game also allowed Guitar Hero World Tour’s downloadable content to be used within Band Hero, as well as Guitar Hero 5. [1] In addition, some on-disc songs from Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Smash Hits were importable into Band Hero, with music licensing limiting those that can be transferred, prior to the 2014 shutdown of DLC and exports. [14] Furthermore, 69 of the 85 on-disc songs from Guitar Hero 5 can be imported into Band Hero; similarly, 61 of the 65 songs from Band Hero can be exported for use in Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock . [15] [16] All DLC works with Band Hero, along with all earlier on-disc songs marked as exportable, unlike Lego Rock Band which only allows DLC and exports marked as "family friendly".

YearSong TitleArtistVenueGenreOrderExportable
2005"A Million Ways" OK Go 01. Mall Of Fame TourPop Rock4Yes
1970"ABC" The Jackson 5 02. Smoke & Water FestivalR & B14Yes
1971"American Pie" Don McLean 11. HyperspaceClassic Rock65Yes
1996"Angels of the Silences" Counting Crows 07. Everpop AwardsPop Rock43Yes
2009"Back Again" Parachute 09. ParisPop Rock58Yes
1981"Bad Reputation" Joan Jett 03. Club La NozaRock21Yes
2004"Beautiful Soul" Jesse McCartney 07. Everpop AwardsPop44No
2007"Believe" The Bravery 02. Smoke & Water FestivalRock9Yes
1990"Black Cat" Janet Jackson 05. HarajukuRock34Yes
2005"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" KT Tunstall 09. ParisRock56Yes
2003"Bring Me to Life" Evanescence 01. Mall Of Fame TourIndustrial5Yes
2005"Dirty Little Secret" The All-American Rejects 03. Club La NozaPop Punk15Yes
1982"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" Culture Club 01. Mall Of Fame TourNew Wave2Yes
1995"Don't Speak" No Doubt 07. Everpop AwardsPop Rock47Yes
1988"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison 05. HarajukuRock29Yes
2008"Fascination" Alphabeat 07. Everpop AwardsPop45Yes
2008"Gasoline" The Airborne Toxic Event 10. Amp OrbiterRock61Yes
2003"Hands Down" Dashboard Confessional 08. Red River CanyonPop Rock50Yes
2007"Hang Me Up to Dry" Cold War Kids 01. Mall Of Fame TourModern Rock1Yes
1967"Happy Together" The Turtles 01. Mall Of Fame TourRock3Yes
1969"Honky Tonk Women" The Rolling Stones 04. Summer Park FestivalSouthern Rock27Yes
1968"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" Marvin Gaye 02. Smoke & Water FestivalR & B13Yes
1979"I Want You to Want Me" (Live) Cheap Trick 06. La Luz De MadridRock40Yes
1996"If You Could Only See" Tonic 03. Club La NozaPop Rock18Yes
1983"In a Big Country" Big Country 06. La Luz De MadridRock38Yes
1995"Just a Girl" No Doubt 09. ParisPop Rock59Yes
2000"Kids" Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue 09. ParisDance57Yes
1974"Kung Fu Fighting" Carl Douglas 08. Red River CanyonDisco51Yes
2008"L.E.S. Artistes" Santigold 03. Club La NozaPop Rock16Yes
1983"Let's Dance" David Bowie 01. Mall Of Fame TourPop Rock6Yes
2009"Lifeline" Papa Roach 09. ParisPop Rock60Yes
2007"Like Whoa" Aly & AJ 08. Red River CanyonPop52No
2006"Lips of an Angel" Hinder 02. Smoke & Water FestivalPop Rock10Yes
1983"Love Is a Battlefield" Pat Benatar 05. HarajukuPop31Yes
2008"Love Story" (Pop Mix) Taylor Swift 04. Summer Park FestivalPop26Yes
1983"Mr. Roboto" Styx 04. Summer Park FestivalProg Rock28No
2006"Naïve" The Kooks 10. Amp OrbiterPop Rock62Yes
2003"Ocean Avenue" Yellowcard 05. HarajukuPop Punk30Yes
1964"Oh, Pretty Woman" Roy Orbison 01. Mall Of Fame TourRock7Yes
1981"Our Lips Are Sealed" The Go-Go's 02. Smoke & Water FestivalPop12Yes
2007"Paralyzer" Finger Eleven 06. La Luz De MadridHard Rock39Yes
2006"Picture to Burn" Taylor Swift 08. Red River CanyonCountry53Yes
2007"Pictures of You" The Last Goodnight 04. Summer Park FestivalPop Rock23Yes
2006"Put Your Records On" Corinne Bailey Rae 05. HarajukuR & B32Yes
1982"Rio" Duran Duran 08. Red River CanyonPop Rock55Yes
2002"Rock Star" N.E.R.D.02. Smoke & Water FestivalHip Hop11Yes
1995"Santa Monica" Everclear 03. Club La NozaPop Rock19Yes
2004"She Will Be Loved" Maroon 5 05. HarajukuPop Rock33Yes
2003"So Yesterday" Hilary Duff 02. Smoke & Water FestivalPop8No
1999"Steal My Kisses" Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals 04. Summer Park FestivalAlternative25Yes
2005"Sugar, We're Goin Down" Fall Out Boy 05. HarajukuPop Punk35Yes
1999"Take a Picture" Filter 07. Everpop AwardsRock46Yes
2008"Take Back the City" Snow Patrol 04. Summer Park FestivalRock24Yes
2006"Take What You Take" Lily Allen 03. Club La NozaPop Rock20Yes
2006"The Adventure" Angels & Airwaves 06. La Luz De MadridRock42Yes
1997"The Impression That I Get" The Mighty Mighty Bosstones 10. Amp OrbiterSka Punk64Yes
2001"Turn Off the Light" Nelly Furtado 07. Everpop AwardsPop48Yes
1985"Walking on Sunshine" Katrina and the Waves 06. La Luz De MadridPop Rock41Yes
1996"Wannabe" Spice Girls 03. Club La NozaPop17Yes
2008"Warwick Avenue" Duffy 06. La Luz De MadridPop37Yes
2002"When I'm Gone" 3 Doors Down 06. La Luz De MadridRock36Yes
1980"Whip It" Devo 04. Summer Park FestivalNew Wave22Yes
1978" Y.M.C.A. " Village People 07. Everpop AwardsDisco49Yes
2008"You Belong with Me" Taylor Swift 08. Red River CanyonCountry54Yes
2004"You Had Me" Joss Stone 10. Amp OrbiterFunk63Yes

Nintendo DS soundtrack

The Nintendo DS version of Band Hero features thirty songs (per regional version from a forty-five song combined setlist) of the same genre as the console-based soundtrack. Although they feature some of the same artists from the console version, the tracks themselves are different. [13] [17]

Song TitleArtistNorth American
version		European
version		Mainline game(s) featured
"All You Need" Sublime YesNo—
"A-Punk" Vampire Weekend YesNo Guitar Hero 5
"Believe" The All-American Rejects YesNo—
"Boots of Chinese Plastic" The Pretenders YesNo—
"Call Me When You're Sober" Evanescence YesYes—
"Club Foot" Kasabian NoYes Guitar Hero Live
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Queen YesNo Guitar Hero 5 (DLC)
"Everything About You" Ugly Kid Joe YesYes—
"Excuse Me Mr." No Doubt YesYes Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (DLC)
"Fascination" Alphabeat NoYes—
"Feel Good Inc." Gorillaz NoYes Guitar Hero 5
"First Date" Blink-182 YesYes Guitar Hero: Van Halen
Guitar Hero 5 (DLC)
"Fly Away" Lenny Kravitz NoYes Guitar Hero 5 (DLC)
"Get Free" The Vines YesNo Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
"Girlfriend" Avril Lavigne YesYes—
"Golden Touch" Razorlight NoYes—
"Grace Kelly" Mika NoYes—
"Hungry Like the Wolf" Duran Duran YesNo Guitar Hero 5
"I Predict a Riot" Kaiser Chiefs YesYes—
"In Too Deep" Sum 41 YesNo Guitar Hero 5 (DLC)
"Let's Get It Started" The Black Eyed Peas YesYes—
"Lump" The Presidents of the United States of America YesNo—
"Manhattan" Kings of Leon YesYes—
"Monkey Wrench" Foo Fighters YesYes Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
"Munich" Editors NoYes—
"My Favourite Game" The Cardigans NoYes—
"No One Knows" Queens of the Stone Age YesYes Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
"Our Truth" Lacuna Coil YesNo Guitar Hero World Tour
"She Will Be Loved" Maroon 5 NoYes Band Hero
"So What" Pink YesYes Guitar Hero World Tour (DLC)
"Song 2" Blur NoYes Guitar Hero 5
"Spaceman" The Killers YesYes—
"Suddenly I See" KT Tunstall YesYes—
"Take What You Take" Lily Allen NoYes—
"The Age of the Understatement" The Last Shadow Puppets NoYes—
"The Great Escape" Boys Like Girls YesNo—
"Thnks fr th Mmrs" Fall Out Boy YesYes Guitar Hero 5 (DLC)
"Tripping" Robbie Williams NoYes—
"Troublemaker" Weezer YesNo—
"Two Princes" Spin Doctors YesNo—
"Under My Thumb" (Live) The Rolling Stones YesYes—
"Wannabe in L.A." Eagles of Death Metal YesNo—
"Windows" N.E.R.D NoYes—
"Yellow" Coldplay NoYes Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (DLC)
"You Better Pray" The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus YesNo—

Importable content

On release of Band Hero, 35 of the songs from World Tour and 21 from Smash Hits are importable into Band Hero for a small fee (approximately $0.10 per song), and are treated as downloadable content for the game playable in all game modes. Furthermore, 69 of the 85 tracks from Guitar Hero 5 will be importable into Band Hero. All transferred songs will also be playable in Guitar Hero 5 and will be free if downloaded in either games. However, Guitar Hero 5 or Band Hero is not backwards-compatible with World Tour nor any other Guitar Hero game. The transfer process requires the player to enter a unique code from the World Tour or Smash Hits manual to be able to redownload available songs in a pack (on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3) or individual songs (on the Wii) that have been updated to include the new features. Players on the Xbox 360 can delete individual songs after downloading the pack. Some songs are not transferable because of licensing issues—not technical issues—according to Bright. Tim Riley, the head of music licensing at Activision, stated that the company will continue to seek licenses for more songs from previous games and downloadable content to be exported into Band Hero, but cannot guarantee that these songs will be licensed for future Guitar Hero games.

Downloadable content

While Band Hero does not have its own separate library of downloadable content, it supports downloadable content from the Guitar Hero 5 DLC library. However, as of March 31, 2014 the downloadable content has been removed by Activision with no evidence it will be made available again. [18]

In addition, 152 of the 158 available downloadable songs for Guitar Hero World Tour are forward-compatible with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero; the existing content is automatically upgraded to include all features new to these games and was immediately available to players upon release of Band Hero. [14] [19] [20] Downloaded songs can be used in all game modes, provided all participating players have the song, including in the game's Career mode when players are given the option to select any song to play. The entire Band Hero DLC library is also available in Guitar Hero 5, and vice versa, so both games embrace the same DLC library. Some DLC songs have specific focus on Band Hero, like the "Celebrity New Years Track Pack" which includes Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and No Doubt songs, and the "Band Hero Track Pack" with Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez & the Scene songs.

Reception

Band Hero has received mixed to positive reviews from gaming critics. Most recognized the game as having the same feature sets as Guitar Hero 5, including any benefits or flaws that may come from that. Reviewers praised the reuse of the Guitar Hero 5 features such as the Party Play mode that allows for players to jump in and out, the improved Career mode, and the improved GHTunes. [23] [25] [28] Some identified that the target market of the game appears to be towards teenage girls, such as the featuring of Taylor Swift, the color schemes used in the game, and other parts of the song selection. [26] [27] Reviewers noted that setlist would be the strongest measure of whether players should purchase the game. [24] [26] [27] The reviewers also commented on the smaller setlist, which contains only 65 songs compared to Guitar Hero 5's 85. [25] [28]

Review did note that the "Top 40" songs do not always make for challenging songs, as many featured simple chord repetition throughout the song or simply following pre-programmed electronic keyboard or drum beats. [24] [26] [27] However, most songs were found to feature at least one difficult instrument portion that would be fun to play. [24] [26] Reviews also noted that the censoring of songs in order to affirm a family-friendly rating is awkward, such as censoring the word "whiskey" from Don McLean's "American Pie" (8 times), and can ruin the enjoyment of some songs. [25] Greg Miller of IGN further noted that these censoring are at odds with the straight-up inclusion of other songs such as "Gasoline" by The Airborne Toxic Event which, Miller claims, is about sex. [28]

Some reviews saw Band Hero as a good addition to the Guitar Hero franchise, and pointed out the strength of the game is improved in part due to the ability to import and export songs between Band Hero, Guitar Hero 5, and content. Justin Haywald of 1UP.com , in consideration of the equivalent nature of featured, considered that players now had a choice of "'Top 40' Band Hero or 'Hard Rock' [Guitar Hero 5]" skins to select for playing the music on, and positive direction for the series. [23] However, others saw the simple rebranding of the game, and that some may see the product as little more than a "full-price track pack". [25] [27]

The game has sold 596,000 units in North America through January 2010, according to data from NPD Group. [29] Prior to the end of 2009, Activision had expressed plans to publish a sequel to Band Hero in 2010. [30] However, as a result of overall decline in music game sales, in part due to the large number of SKUs released by Activision during 2009, such plans have been shelved and Activision only released sequels to Guitar Hero and DJ Hero in 2010. [31]

Lawsuit by No Doubt

A day following Band Hero's release, the band No Doubt filed a lawsuit against Activision. In a similar manner as Guitar Hero 5 , where the avatar of Kurt Cobain could be used to play any of the songs in the game and leading to questionable virtual performances, the same was found to be true for the No Doubt avatars in Band Hero. No Doubt's lawsuit claimed their contract limited their performance to the three songs within the game and that they were never told their avatars would be used in that manner. Activision argued that it believes that the manner of use of the band's avatars in the game is within the bounds of the contract. [32] [33] Activision subsequently filed a counter-suit against the band, alleging contract breaches; Activision claimed that it was "publicly known" that in-game characters in the Guitar Hero series, once unlocked, could be used for all game modes, and that No Doubt's request came well after the game's code was finalized. [34] Courtney Love, who has expressed an intention to file legal action for Cobain's appearance in Guitar Hero 5, said to NME that she will join No Doubt in their lawsuit against Activision. [35]

In April 2010, the Los Angeles County Superior Court denied Activision's motion to dismiss No Doubt's rights of publicity claims under California's anti-SLAPP law. [36] In February 2011, the 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the Superior Court's ruling, allowing No Doubt's case to proceed against Activision. [37] In May 2012, the Superior Court denied Activision's motion for summary judgment, though it also denied a preliminary injunction sought by the band. [38] In October 2012, on the eve of trial, the case was settled for undisclosed terms. [39]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to PlayStation 2 by Budcat Creations and to Nintendo DS and Wii by Vicarious Visions

Related Research Articles

Guitar Hero is a series of rhythm games first released in 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Players match notes that scroll on-screen to colored fret buttons on the controller, strumming the controller in time to the music in order to score points, and keep the virtual audience excited. The games attempt to mimic many features of playing a real guitar, including the use of fast-fingering hammer-ons and pull-offs and the use of the whammy bar to alter the pitch of notes. Most games support single player modes, typically a Career mode to play through all the songs in the game, as well as competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. With the introduction of Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008, the game includes support for a four-player band including vocals and drums. The series initially used mostly cover versions of songs created by WaveGroup Sound, but most recent titles feature soundtracks that are fully master recordings, and in some cases, special re-recordings, of the songs. Later titles in the series feature support for downloadable content in the form of new songs.

<i>Rock Band</i> (video game) 2007 music video game

Rock Band is a 2007 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the first installment in the Rock Band series. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were released in North America on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was released on December 18, 2007 and the Wii version on June 22, 2008. Harmonix previously developed the first two games in the Guitar Hero series, which popularized gameplay of rock music with guitar-shaped controllers. After development of the series was shifted to Neversoft, Harmonix conceived Rock Band as a new title that would offer multi-instrument gameplay.

<i>Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock</i> 2007 video game

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a 2007 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the third main installment and the fourth overall installment in the Guitar Hero series. It is the first game in the series to be developed by Neversoft after Activision's acquisition of RedOctane and MTV Games' purchase of Harmonix, the previous development studio for the series. The game was released worldwide for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii in October 2007. Aspyr published the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X versions of the game, releasing them later in 2007.

<i>Guitar Hero World Tour</i> 2008 video game

Guitar Hero World Tour is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment and the sixth overall installment in the Guitar Hero series. The game was launched in North America in October 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles, and a month later for Europe and Australia. A version of World Tour for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X was published by Aspyr in July 2009. A mobile version developed by Hands-On Mobile was released for BlackBerry, Android, Java, and the N-Gage platform.

Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.

<i>Guitar Hero: Aerosmith</i> 2008 video game

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth installment in the Guitar Hero series and the first to focus on the career and songs of one rock band, Aerosmith. The game was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii on June 29, 2008, in North America, on July 27, 2008, in Europe, on August 6, 2008, in Australia, and October 9, 2008, in Japan. Aspyr published the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X versions of the game, releasing them in October 21, 2008. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold as both a bundle with a specially designed guitar controller as well as a game-only package.

<i>Rock Revolution</i> 2008 video game

Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. The game was released on 15 October 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. As with similar titles, the game uses various controllers to simulate the performance of rock music, primarily using guitar and drum controllers on its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

<i>Rock Band 2</i> 2008 music video game

Rock Band 2 is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to Rock Band (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "notes" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals.

<i>Guitar Hero: Metallica</i> 2009 video game

Guitar Hero: Metallica is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh installment in the Guitar Hero series and the second to focus on the career and songs of one rock band, Metallica, following Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (2008). The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009, and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with an Australian and European release in May 2009.

<i>Rock Band</i> Series of rhythm video games

Rock Band is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero series, the main Rock Band games has players use game controllers modeled after musical instruments and microphones to perform the lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums and vocal parts of numerous licensed songs across a wide range of genres though mostly focusing on rock music by matching scrolling musical notes patterns shown on screen. Certain games support the use of "Pro" instruments that require special controllers that more closely mimic the playing of real instruments, providing a higher challenge to players. Players score points for hitting notes successfully, but may fail a song if they miss too many notes. The series has featured numerous game modes, and supports both local and online multiplayer modes where up to four players in most modes can perform together.

<i>Guitar Hero 5</i> 2009 video game

Guitar Hero 5 is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment and the ninth overall installment in the Guitar Hero series. The game was released internationally in September 2009 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 consoles. Similar to the preceding title, Guitar Hero World Tour (2008), Guitar Hero 5 is geared towards playing in a four-person band experience, including lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game is available as a standalone title, allowing players to use existing compatible instrument controllers, and as a bundle that provides these controllers. Guitar Hero 5 adds several new features, such as drop-in/drop-out play, bands composed of any combination of available instruments, a Rockfest competitive mode consisting of several various scoring mechanisms, and both song-specific and general Challenges to unlock new avatars, clothing, and other extras in the game. Many of these changes were added to make the game a more social experience, allowing players across a range of skill levels to be able to play cooperatively and competitively against each other both locally and online. The PlayStation 2 version is based on Guitar Hero World Tour, using the same gameplay UI as Guitar Hero: Metallica (2009), Guitar Hero Smash Hits (2009), and Guitar Hero: Van Halen (2009), albeit with a different Rock Meter design.

<i>Lego Rock Band</i> 2009 video game

Lego Rock Band is a 2009 rhythm game developed by TT Fusion in partnership with Harmonix and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the fifth console installment in the Rock Band series, while it incorporates elements from Lego video games. The game was released on 3 November 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii home consoles in the United States. A Nintendo DS version was also developed by Backbone Entertainment.

<i>Guitar Hero Smash Hits</i> 2009 music rhythm game for PlayStation, Wii and Xbox

Guitar Hero Smash Hits is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Beenox and published by Activision. It is the eighth installment in the Guitar Hero series. The game features 48 songs originally featured in five previous games in the series—Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith—redesigning the songs to be based on master recordings and to include support for full band play first introduced to the series in Guitar Hero World Tour (2008). The game was released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 systems worldwide in June 2009.

<i>Guitar Hero: On Tour</i> 2008 video game series

Guitar Hero: On Tour is a series of music video games based on the Guitar Hero series for the Nintendo DS handheld game system. The series is developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. Three games in the series have been released since June 2008: Guitar Hero: On Tour, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, and Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits.

The Rock Band series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions through the consoles' respective online services. Users can download songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks also offered as part of a "song pack" or complete album at a discounted rate. These packs are available for the Wii only on Rock Band 3. Most downloadable songs are playable within every game mode, including the Band World Tour career mode. All downloadable songs released before October 26, 2010, are cross-compatible between Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3, while those after only work with Rock Band 3. Certain songs deemed "suitable for all ages" by Harmonix are also available for use in Lego Rock Band.

<i>Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock</i> 2010 video game

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the sixth main installment and the eleventh overall installment in the Guitar Hero series. The game was released in September 2010 for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. Similar to previous entries in the series it is geared towards playing in a four-person band experience, including lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game is available as a standalone title, allowing players to use existing compatible instrument controllers, and as a bundle that provides these controllers.

References

  1. 1 2 Gerstmann, Jeff (2009-07-21). "Band Hero To Bring Pop Music To Your Plastic This November". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  2. ↑ Snider, Mike (2009-08-04). "Taylor Swift: Band Heroine". USA Today . Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
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  13. 1 2 Reilly, Dan (2009-10-16). "'Band Hero' Tracklist Revealed – Exclusive". Spinner . Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
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  19. ↑ "Guitar Hero 5 Official Press Release!". Neversoft. 2009-05-18. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
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  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Gerstmann, Jeff (2009-11-04). "Band Hero". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Greg (2009-11-03). "Band Hero Review". IGN . Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
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  35. ↑ Good, Owen (2010-01-30). "Courtney Love Now Says Cobain Would've Been Cool With Guitar Hero 5". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  36. ↑ Lewis, Randy (2010-04-15). "No Doubt wins round in Activision lawsuit". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  37. ↑ "No Doubt Breach Of Contract Lawsuit Update". Beverly Hills Courier . 2011-02-15. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  38. ↑ McCartney, Anthony (2012-05-29). "Jury to hear No Doubt's claims against game maker". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  39. ↑ Gardner, Eriq (2012-10-03). "No Doubt, Activision Settle Lawsuit Over Avatars in 'Band Hero'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-08-28. Gwen Stefani and No Doubt have settled a lawsuit against Activision that contended the Band Hero game featured their unauthorized likenesses in digital avatar form. The lawsuit was filed three years ago and had the potential to be an important case concerning publicity rights and contract law in the digital age.


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