Band Mashups is an all new music game exclusively for the Wii with a release date of April 22nd (US) from developer Planet Moon Studios and publisher THQ, who has been working on the title for the past year and a half.
The twist of the game comes from the fact that it features 30 songs that are covered in multiple genres: Rock, Funk/Hip-Hop, Country, Latin and Marching Band, for a total of 150 unique playable recordings.
The classic and modern chart-topping hits from the last four decades are integrated into the gameplay with a concept called music switching, which puts the player winning the battle in control of the style of music both players hear, in a sort of battle-of-the-bands tug-of-war. When an opponent turns the tide of battle, the music changes as well, switching between different music styles listed above, depending on which band is winning. For a totally unique experience.
The gameplay has you hitting notes that scroll up from the bottom (reversed from Guitar Hero), each note being a motion with the Wiimote: left, right, down and “stab”. An impressive visually displayed needle at the top literally shows you how much you are moving the Wiimote, giving you a great sense of how far you’ve tilted and how much more you need to tilt to make the note, sense it’s displayed in real-time. Hitting notes strings together different attacks that mess with your opponent, screwing with their timing. Some projectiles can be blocked by pressing a button (timing it to the beat). Attacks electrify the edges of the scroll bar, forcing players to limit their waggling so they don’t hit the edge, shrink their notes, or flip their order.
Band Mashups features both an exciting two player versus mode and an extensive single-player campaign where players take on the role of one of eleven bands, each with their own unique storyline, who are trying to topple the nefarious big boss Mr. Hong and take control of the faraway city of New Cadenza.
So get ready to hear some of these classic songs in ways you’ve never heard them before! Here’s a video of Band Mashups in action.
Here’s a list of 15 out of the total 30 songs that will be featured in the game:
“Adios Mexico” – Texas Tornados
“Blitzkrieg Bop” – The Ramones
“Brick House” – The Commodores
“Dum Diddly” – Black Eyed Peas
“Master Exploder” – Tenacious D
“Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz
“Insane in the Brain” – Cypress Hill
“Jungle Boogie” – Kool & The Gang
“That’s The Way (I Like It)” – KC & The Sunshine Band
“Mama Said Knock You Out” – LL Cool J
“One Thing Leads to Another” – The Fixx
“Photograph” – Def Leppard
“Man of Constant Sorrow” – The Soggy Bottom Boys
“Spoonman” – Soundgarden
“Whoomp! (There It Is)” – Tag Team