Guitar Hero Van Halen Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got the freebie copy of GH:VH from the GH5 promo.GH:VH uses the GH: Metallica engine - it has expert-plus drums and better star power indicators, but it doesn't have the easy group play drop-in/drop-out stuff of GH5 or the instrument challenges that make that game a little more interesting.

Positives: If you like classic David Lee Roth Van Halen (no Van Hagar here) you'll love it. You'll also dig it if you like playing hard guitar parts.It's difficult without being annoying - a lot of hard guitar songs are mostly endless strings of HOPOs and alt-strums. These are more interesting, and with a bunch of fun slide parts.

Negatives:
1) For most of the game you're "Van Halen in 2008." You too can be middle-aged guys reliving their youth! Not exactly my rock-n-roll fantasy. And yes, the game has Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. I don't want to pick on him, but even his videogame avatar looks a little embarrassed to be there. Eventually you unlock classic VH...with Wolfgang sort of foolishly wearing Michael Anthony's sleeveless dice tee from 1984. O the humanity. Still, that was Eddies's call and not Activision's fault.

2) The cut scenes, venues and characterization are pretty thin. Except for one classic Van Halen club, the venues are all generic.

3) The non-Van Halen set list. I know it's personal taste. Maybe you love it, that's cool. But apart from a handful of period-appropriate songs (Foreigner, Deep Purple, The Clash), the non-VH songs are a grab bag of generic modern rock (Blink-182, Yellowcard, the ubiquitous Foo Fighters) and stuff that's already been released on Rock Band (Painkiller; Sick, Sick, Sick; Master Exploder; the egregious Pretty Fly for a White Guy). It feels like a bunch of songs that Activision had lying around because they didn't make the cut for GH5.

One thing I liked about GH: Metallica was that the non-Metallica tracks were songs the band liked, and songs that influenced or were influenced by Metallica. There was some intelligence behind the setlist and the whole game hung together. It wouldn't have been too hard to do this with GH:VH - mix more cheezeball 70's guitar rock (Nugent, Foghat, Alice Cooper, Styx), some Guitar God tracks (Jimi, Clapton, Santana), and some GH Rocks the 80's songs (Ratt, Journey, Autograph). Stuff that VH listened to, stuff that was inspired by VH, stuff that was on the radio when VH was big. Not too hard. But instead we get a set list assembled by the marketing staff. Meh.

GH: VH feels like GH: Metallica done on the cheap. Like halfway through development Activision realized this should have been a track pack and not a standalone game, but by then it was too late so they just half-assed it to get it out the door. Though my complaints melt away when I fake-play the opening chords of "Unchained."Three stars if you like Van Halen and don't care about money ($50 for 45 songs is painful).One star otherwise - if Van Halen isn't your thing, just stay away.

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Product Description:
It's time to prove you've got the swagger and showmanship to stand alongside these rock-n-roll legends. In Guitar Hero: Van Halen, you can live out the experience of performing as one of the biggest rock bands of all time. See if you have what it takes to keep up with Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar playing or David Lee Roth's unique performance style as you savor all the hot licks and scissor kicks that have helped this band achieve legendary status.


Play those incredible Eddie Solos
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Live out the Excitement
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Synopsis
Guitar Hero: Van Halen lets you stand in the shoes of this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band as you perform 25 epic Van Halen tracks, three signature Eddie Van Halen solos and 19 guest act tracks. Get the crowd roaring with your arena rock stylings on Van Halen hits like Jump, Hot for Teacher, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love and Dance the Night Away, as well as songs like Billy Idol's White Wedding, Foo Fighters' Best of You and Blink-182's First Date. Experience the excitement of playing as this ultimate party band as you rock out to dozens of enduring hits and prove you have the talent and the style to live up to the Van Halen legend.


Key Game Features:

Live out the excitement of playing as the legendary band Van Halen
Perform an incredible arena rock set list that includes 25 Van Halensongs, three Eddie Van Halen signature solos and 19 songs from guestacts
Includes the Van Halen songs And the Cradle Will Rock, Atomic Punk, Beautiful Girls, Cathedral, Eruption, Everybody Wants Some!!, Feel Your Love Tonight and Hang 'Em High
Includes the Van Halen songs Hear About It Later, I'm the One, Ice Cream Man, Jamie's Cryin', Little Guitars, Loss of Control, Mean Street, Panama and Pretty Woman
Includes the Van Halen songs Runnin' with the Devil, So This Is Love?, Somebody Get Me a Doctor, Spanish Fly, Unchained and You Really Got Me
Features songs by guest acts Alter Bridge, the Clash, Deep Purple,Foreigner, Fountains of Wayne, Jimmy Eat World, Judas Priest,Killswitch Engage and Lenny Kravitz
Features songs by guest acts Queen, Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D, the Offspring, Third Eye Blind, Weezer and Yellowcard

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