Years ago I remember sitting around with friends discussing which band, song or album would work perfectly in a rhythm game.  The legends of classic rock, were the source of much discussion, and Van Halen, along with Eric Clapton, ACDC, the Beatles, Queen and others seemed like a logical fit in Guitar Hero.

Though some great bands over the years have certainly been featured in rhythm games of some sort, few have been given a full game treatment. Unfortunately, the approach Activision has taken to these band-devoted games has been a little disappointing. Typically half of the songs in them are from the featured band, while the rest are a ragtag mix of artists who inspired or were inspired by the band. This half-and-half strategy just comes off as cheap on the developer’s part, as if loudly announcing that either they couldn’t get the rights to the rest of the songs, or the band they chose simply doesn’t have enough hits to begin with.

So you can imagine my skepticism going into Guitar Hero: Van Halen. I received an advance copy of the game with the Guitar Hero 5 promotion, months ahead of its official release this December. The Van Halen aspect of GH:VH is spot on: all the songs you’d expect are in the game, and all are generally a blast to play (Sorry Sammy Hagar fans, there is no love for you in GH:VH). Yet it’s the strength of GH:VH that make its weaknesses so much more pronounced. Read the full story