Battlin’ Bands on the Wii More Twangy than Melodic

BBOver the past few years, the Rhythm genre has been effectively controlled by the likes of a few companies that are able to bring the goods, such as exclusive tracks and big name artists, creating excellent games and effectively, fun for all, but cornering the market.

Seriously, after playing “Rock Band,” or “Guitar Hero,” do you really have to look anywhere else?

However, in spite of this, THQ’s “Battle of the Bands” throws a different note into the genre, creating a “musical combat” game that has over 30 songs, including “Give it To Me Baby” by Rick James, “Spoonman” by Soundgarden, “Black Betty” by Ram Jam and “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J, with five different types of bands [11 in all consisting of Country, Marching Band, Hip Hop Rock and ]to “play” them. The end result is a fun one that is worth your time, but in the end, the experience pales in comparison to the offerings by other companies.

Feeling like the old PS2 cult-classic “Frequency,” [even the in-game level “tube” looks a bit similar] with a bigger pair of nads, “Battle of the Bands” forces gamers to wield the Wii-mote and swing it in the direction the game is asking. Sure, you’ll look like an idiot while playing, but you’ll have a decent time swinging your hands around.

Think of it as a less-cool version of the “Born to Hand-Jive” sequence in “Grease.”

No, there isn’t any singing or “playing” instruments here. However, the core gameplay experience is intriguing enough to keep your attention long enough to merit a bargain bin purchase or a rental.

Players are rewarded when their timing is just right and after a while they are able to attack their opponent, causing damage and gaining points, vital to winning. Going back and forth during the course of a song, “Battle of the Bands” has an almost “Deliverance” battling-banjo feel to it, which makes gameplay a heck of a lot of fun. Going through the few gameplay modes such a s

However, the controls aren’t as tight as you’d expect from a game that needs them to be perfect. Because of this, when the game is over, you’ll feel that unlike other rhythm games on other systems, that require a boatload of skill, anyone can beat anyone in “Battle of the Bands,” and there’s no real skill involved in mastering it.

Had their been tighter control and a few more options, this title could have indeed been the cult classic games like “Frequency” and “Amplitude: were on the PS2. In a market that demands a lot of content, “Battle of the Bands” 30 tracks wear too thin, too quickly as well. Combine these two elements and you have a rhythm series with potential, but not much else.

Overall, it’s a good diversion, but stick to the “Rock Band” or “Guitar Hero” for your music fix on the Wii.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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