
	Platform Wii Genre Music / Rhythm Publisher THQ Developer Planet Moon ESRB T (Teen) Released April 22, 2008

- Amusing reworkings of a wide variety of songs - Good for a party game

- Repetitive gameplay and game modes could mean wrist strain - Sensitivity seems to be off

Review: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3) Review: Rockband (360) Review: Elite Beat Agents (DS)
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Battle of the Bands

Score: 6.0 / 10

Battle of the Bands, from developer Planet Moon, is a good attempt at a music/rhythm game, but due to the repetition your wrists may be screaming by the end of the third song.

The vertically scrolling "notes" – from bottom to top – indicate which way you should be waving the Wii Remote when they cross the "beat line," everything from big swiggles to left and right with the occasional jab toward the screen. Hitting the note squarely results in better point results. It's not just enough to score a lot of points though; you have to see to it that your opponent can't rack up points at the same time. This is done by hitting icons as they roll across the beat

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line that will have some kind of adverse affect on your opponent, like flipping the beats so they have to perform the opposite action that is called for. While this constant chipping at each other is done throughout the match, there are specific sections where the main goal is launching green skulls at your opponent then blocking (with a press of the B-button) any return fire.

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Like many music/rhythm games playing against the AI opponents Battle of the Bands pales in comparison to a human opponent. For starters, it's more fun because there's instant, and very real, feedback.

For my money, Planet Moon is what I'd call a quirky developer. Previous titles include Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Armed & Dangerous, and Infected and the quirkiness here is that each of the 30 songs (all covers) come in five different genres. This means that during the ebb and flow of a battle, the song will switch between whichever band is dominating. The novelty of it might wear thin for some but hearing the country version of Cypress Hills' Insane in the Membrane... that never seems to get old. And you don't have to unlock those songs to hear them. Players can flip to the Extras section and listen to each of the songs, in each of the genres and switch them on the fly.

The main problem with Battle of the Bands is lack of gameplay variety and that it takes about ten or fifteen minutes for my wrist to start feeling sore. The sore wrist part could be attributed to the seemingly spotty Wii Remote reception. I tried playing the game in various positions and at different distances from the TV but I have yet to find the sweet spot, especially if the game was set on Hard. (On Easy, it'll take you about 90 minutes or so to wrap things up.)

If the Wii is what you bring out for parties, Battle of the Bands gets a rental recommendation. Otherwise there's not enough variety in the gameplay department to hold a solo player's interest.

- D.D. Nunavut

(June 10, 2008)