Guitar Hero: Van Halen Hands-On

2009-10-06T21:14:00Z

As part of the Guitar Hero 5 buy-one-get-one-free promotion, I got Guitar Hero: Van Halen in the mail today and have played it for a few hours. So what’s it like?

I’ve got a full review coming soon so I’m not going to drill down super deep here, but there are some important points that music game fans should know.

-Van Halen songs are fun as hell to play.

-The game is built on the old World Tour/Metallica engine so don’t expect party mode, separate band member star power, or being able to save failed out friends. This is especially baffling since it comes out December 22, after GH 5 and Band Hero, which both use the new engine.

-Having Eddie Van Halen’s teenage son, Wolfgang, as the bass player is just plain weird.

-Many of the “guest acts” appearing in the game don’t fit at all with the Van Halen vibe. Specifically: Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom,” The Offspring – “Pretty Fly For A White Guy,” Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life.”

-For the first chunk of the game, you must play as 2009 Van Halen. Spandex: no. Hair: no. Man jewelry: yes. Frosty tips: yes.

FULL SETLIST = 47 tracks

Van Halen: 28
“Ain’t Talkin Bout Love”
“And The Cradle Will Rock”
“Atomic Punk”
“Beautiful Girls”
“Cathedral” (solo)
“Dance The Night Away”
“Eruption” (solo)
“Everybody Wants Some”
“Feel Your Love Tonight”
“Hang ‘Em High”
“Hear About It Later”
“Hot For Teacher”
“Ice Cream Man”
“I’m The One”
“Jamie’s Cryin”
“Jump”
“Little Guitars”
“Loss Of Control”
“Mean Street”
“Panama”
“Pretty Woman”
“Romeo Delight”
“Running With The Devil”
“So This Is Love”
“Somebody Get Me A Doctor”
“Spanish Fly” (solo)
“Unchained”
“You Really Got Me”

Other Bands: 19
Alter Bridge – “Come To Life”
Billy Idol – “White Wedding”
blink-182 – “First Date”
Deep Purple – “Space Truckin”
Foo Fighters – “Best Of You”
Foreigner – “Double Vision”
Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
Jimmy Eat World – “Pain”
Judas Priest – “Painkiller”
Killswitch Engage – “The End Of Heartache”
Lenny Kravitz – “Rock And Roll Is Dead”
Queen – “I Want It All”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Sick, Sick, Sick”
Tenacious D – “Master Exploder”
The Clash – “Safe European Home”
The Offspring – “Pretty Fly For A White Guy”
Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life”
Weezer – “Dope Nose”
Yellowcard – “The Takedown”

Guitar Hero: Van Halen - Xbox 360

Guitar Hero: Van Halen Hands-On