Ultimate Band lets young rock stars perform in, well, a band! Perform famous tunes while strumming on either rhythm, bass, lead guitar, or drums. Read on to find out if Ultimate Band truly ‘rocks.’

First, create your on-screen avatar rocker and his or her outfits. You’ll be able to unlock more as you play. Then venture off to Rockopolis to make a name for yourself. Each building you see on the Rockopolis map is a venue you can perform at. Perform enough songs well in each venue to gather fans and unlock new places to rock and songs to play. You can also record your own songs in the recording studio.

If you have 2 to 4 other nearby DS owners with their own copy of Ultimate Band, each player can perform a song with their own instrument. The DS version of Ultimate Band can also connect to the Wii version for extra modes of play. Since this is a Disney game, you can also go online with their DGamer Wi-Fi service, which I’ve heard is actually a pretty decent online community.

Play each instrument by tapping on the touch screen with the DS stylus. For rhythm guitar, make a strumming motion when the icons go past, and press the correct direction on the D-pad at the same time. Bass and lead guitar play the same, but instead of strumming, you’ll just pick a single string by tapping it when the icons go by. For drums, just tap the right one as the icons go over them.

The only problems with Ultimate Band is the cover songs are terrible and don’t sound anything like the original artists. And rockers who cut their teeth on Guitar Hero may find Ultimate Band too simplistic and limited. Just think of Ultimate Band as My First Guitar Hero for your young ones.

Kid Factor:
Again, kids who have trouble with Guitar Hero and find it too difficult may get enjoyment with Ultimate Band. It’s definitely easier and doesn’t penalize you for losing. Ultimate Band is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Lyrics, though it’s nothing worse than what you’d hear on the radio.

Tags: Game Reviews