Avid Gamer writes: "Battle of the Bands is a rhythm action game trying to capitalise on the widespread success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band – that is plain to see. But the main difference – the niche if you will – is that, unlike the other two power houses of the genre, Battle of the Bands retails without any instruments. This isn't a strange mix-up at THQ. You can't even buy an instrument for the game, with the only control method possible being the Wiimote.
In Battle of the Bands you're more of a conductor, waving your stick around like a blind man on drugs to the beat of the music – which, now you mention it, is 100% covered. There are no master copies of songs in the game, which already whittles away at the precious score. With no background story whatsoever, you play as a band across a series of genres trying to gain band supremacy by attaching weapons onto your instruments and having face-offs to see which band is the more skilled. When weapons get strapped on anything but arms the result is terrible so what makes sticking them on instruments any different? We'll tell you what – nothing."
Green Pixels: Plunking down $50 for a brand-new game can be a gamble -- it's a lot of money to pay for something that you could end up hating. However, most games don't stay full-price for long, which is why we scoured the inventories of four major retailers (Amazon, GameStop, Target, Walmart) to find a slew of great titles that are now priced at just $20. For the cost of one freshly released game, you can buy two older titles and still have $10 left to spend on snacks. (And we all know the importance of snacks.)
Welcome to the fourth edition of The Twelve Games of Christmas; Electronic Theatre's feature series highlighting the greatest performers of 2008, one month at a time! Today, we take a look at April 2008, the games that you liked, loved or missed altogether – and can probably pick-up for a much more reasonable price in those January sales!
TotalGaming:
"While there are plenty of opponents to beat and thirty songs to unlock, there's little here to keep any but the most undemanding gamers amused for long. Apart from the grim aesthetics, the game's unengaging interface also detracts from the enjoyment; anyone who's played Donkey Konga with a joypad instead of the drums will know that it's just not the same without a peripheral to interact with. By the same token, waving a wiimote in time to some on-screen prompts isn't as much fun as playing, say, Rock Band with a plastic guitar.
It's certainly possible that, given a living room full of friends and a ready supply of beer, Battle of the Bands' versus mode could provide a few hours' entertainment, but the title remains a weak addition to a console already overcrowded with party games."
