Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Band Hero is a spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise that has become a household name. For all intents and purposes, the game is a facsimile of the post-Guitar Hero: World Tour formula. The biggest difference is the younger skew of the songs and the overall appearance and style.

What's Hot
Guitar Hero 5 was a great version of the Guitar Hero franchise. Band Hero wisely copied the DNA of Guitar Hero 5 and replicated it. The gameplay is smooth, it is easy to get into the game and you can play any song you want right off the bat. The create-a-rocker mode has a lot of different styles or you can use your Xbox LIVE Avatar to jam with a cuter version of a pop star band. Band Hero sticks true to the adage of, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Band Hero has a cosmetic appearance all its own. It's very glitzy and washed in a neon glow. Whereas Guitar Hero is as "counter-culture" as a mainstream game can get, Band Hero isn't afraid to bask in the tween limelight and score points with the self-admitted American Idol fans. The rockers that have been with the Hero franchise from the beginning like Pandora, Axel Steel and Izzy Sparks all get makeovers to better suit this new target audience. The songs go along with the new style with selections from huge names like Taylor Swift (insert Kayne joke here, har har).



What's Not
Band Hero feels like a slight diversion from the status quo of the Guitar Hero series. Aside from the new coat of paint, the game is essentially the same under the hood. Sure, there are different songs, but there have been so many of these types of games it's becoming harder and harder to differentiate what is worth your time. There certainly could have been more done to Band Hero to make it feel like its own game. As it stands, this game could very well be called, "Guitar Hero 5: Pop Hits."

Final Word
It's getting harder and harder to find fresh words for games like these. By now, gamers have seen it and played it when it comes to Guitar Hero/Rock Band. The fact that Band Hero rests comfortably in the success of Guitar Hero 5 is a little disappointing. The distinctions are minor at this point between the two games, but there might come a point where they morph into different beasts all together. Band Hero can stand apart with being aimed squarely at the angsty tween crowd.