Battle of the Bands Review on the Nintendo Wii

THQ are hoping to tap in the success that both Rock Band and Guitar Hero has had, which is why they have cooked up their own take by bringing out Battle of the Bands for the Nintendo Wii. Players will swing their Wii Remotes to the beat with a choice of different music styles and as well as controlling machine guns, flamethrowers and other such items to take down the competition.

Ok so it does not sound like it is going to be the best concept in the world. The main part of the game follows the main structure as Guitar Hero, you get to choose a band from five different genres rock, pop, hop-hop, country and Latin. You then get to take your game on tour with the 30 songs on the Battle of the Bands track list. As you are competing with bullets and grenades and not just notes and chords your performance will actually burn the building to the ground.

Multiplayer mode allows you to face off against a friend or just take on a CPU component, you are able to change your choice of song from the outset and also choose your difficulty settings. Ok so 30 tracks is not a bad set list but there is not many options, and without a proper score board there is not much of an incentive to keep playing.

To make a good music game the player has to feel like a real performer, but the gameplay does not feel like it is related to the music at all. When playing the game a group of notes will rise from the bottom of the screen which you then have to move your Wiimote in a particular way, maybe stabbing forward or just to wiggle.

While competing with another band you both have to play to the same song however; they will be in different styles, the whole thing just seems like a train wreck. Your result while playing along to the song has no bearing on the game. When you do miss a beat in the game there is no way of knowing that you have got it wrong as there is no awkward silence. The only way that you know you are racking up any points is with the rumbling of the controller.

The trouble I have with this game is with the addition of weapons, as this takes away the main aim of this game and that is the music. You will be more concerned with blocking an opponents volleys rather than playing to the rhythm.

When you first purchase Battle of the Bands on the Nintendo Wii things seems good to you at first, however you will then learn that it is not about the music, it is about butchering the music

Battle of the Bands does not look good feel good or sound good. The music is a mockery of the originals; the most fun that you will get from the game is how bad it all is.