Let’s get this out of the way up-front: Band Hero essentially IS Guitar Hero 5, but for tweens. There are really no substantive changes made in terms of the core gameplay, features, and extras found between the two. As a result, it’s still very much an expertly-crafted game – it’s just that it’s an expertly-crafted game with a set list designed for pre-pubescent players. ...

If you’re hardcore enough to derive happiness instead of pain from the Roguelike convention of starting from scratch when you die, but not quite hardcore enough to have imported this dungeon crawler ten years ago for your Sega Saturn, we recommend this terrific remake of Baroque.

Baroque’s death mechanic dovetails neatly with the narrative - it’s by dying and revisiting that you start to piece together the intriguing ...

Any rhythm game that compiles the likes of Electric Six, Tenacious D, and Tag Team – yes, of "Whoomp! (There It Is)" fame – deserves some serious props, and we gladly send them in the direction of Battle of the Bands. Offering five distinct renditions (rock, country, Latin, hip-hop, and marching band) of each full song further sweetens the pot, but when the most interesting aspect of your game (by a wide margin) is the ...

Finally, a game based on the most popular band of all time! And not only the most popular but also the most critically revered, the most historically significant, and so on… It’s a 3D platformer, right? And, after all the hype, it must be so much more than a simple tie-in like the Aerosmith and Metallica versions of Guitar Hero, right? Ahh, about that hype… ...