We should all know what a Guitar Hero game is about by now, and this is the second game in the Guitar Hero franchise centred around a specific band, the first being Guitar Hero Metallica. The biggest problem I find with Guitar Hero focusing on one band in a game is they add random crap from other bands. If you’re a huge Van Halen fan, do you really want to play Dope Nose by Weezer or Stacy’s Mom by Fountains Of Wayne? Probably not.

The Guitar Hero franchise, in my honest opinion, took a nose dive the moment Harmonix were not involved. Overcharted songs on Expert and a ridiculously loose timing window, meaning you can miss a not on the chart by a clear whole second, yet it still registers as successful. While this is good for people new to a rhythm game, it can detract from the actual gameplay. It certainly aims for the ‘fun’ factor more than a Rock Band game, which aims for being as realistic as possible.

Waiter, there’s a Spanish Fly in my soup
Some of the Van Halen songs are, predictably, extremely hard on guitar. Eddie’s “finger tapping” solos are there in all their glory/annoyance. However, the career mode is typically linear for a Guitar Hero game. You get given a list of songs, and you work your way through. There are no special targets to hit during a song, it’s simply “Gain enough stars to unlock the next venue” making the entire career mode a mundane experience.

Should you venture online, whether it be in a band or in a one on one battle, the game is still rife with quitters. There is nothing more annoying than nailing a perfect solo, only to see your opponent quit out.

One thing that Guitar Hero has got right is the addition of a sixth ‘open note’ on bass. At first, I’d imagine for a lot of rhythm game enthusiasts who’ve never picked up a real instrument, this would be a very difficult addition. As a bassist, I love this addition as it just makes the normally tedious charts of Bass Guitar on a rhythm game seem more authentic and a little more challenging.

I like smashing drums
The drums are, for the most part, charted very well on Expert. The addition of Expert+ modes on drums is completely unforgiving however. You will need a second bass pedal unless you have a ridiculously quick kicking foot. One thing I think I prefer in Guitar Hero drums over Rock Band drums is the ability to set off Star Power whenever you want. With Rock Band, you have to wait for a specific time to make a drum fill and hit the cymbal at the end. With the Guitar Hero drums, you simply hit both cymbals (Or blue and yellow on a Rock Band kit) whenever you want to set off your accumulated Star Power.

Summary
Guitar Hero: Van Halen is obviously going to be aimed at hardcore fans of the band, yet I feel a big slip-up has been made with the addition of other bands. Who are they trying to appeal to? Fans of Van Halen or a casual gamer? It has to be one or the other, trying to tread a line between both doesn’t work.

Scoring
Gameplay 7-10 – A typical Guitar Hero game, I don’t know what more can be said about it
Presentation 9/10 – Again typical from Guitar Hero. During the songs, they’ve taken careful consideration into the band movements and lip-synching
Audio 8/10 – It’s a music game, however when playing single player bass, it’s difficult to hear what you’re actually playing
Accessibility 6/10 – The addition of “beginner” modes is good for new players, yet the jump to the harder levels is extreme
Replay Value 4/10 – Once you’ve gone through the linear career mode there’s not much to bring you back
Overall (Not An Average) – 7/10