Guitar Hero: Van Halen
Encyclopedia
Guitar Hero: Van Halen is the third and final band-specific rhythm video game in the Guitar Hero series
. As with the previous games Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
and Guitar Hero: Metallica
, the game features 25 songs from Van Halen
along with 19 additional songs from selected artists that have been inspired by the group. The game was released in retail for the PlayStation 2
, PlayStation 3
, Xbox 360
, and Wii
systems on December 22, 2009, in North America, and in February 2010 for PAL regions. However, as part of a promotion with Guitar Hero 5, the game was shipped to Guitar Hero 5 purchasers in North America prior to its retail release. The game content was developed by Underground Development, with the primary engine code developed by Neversoft
and Budcat Creations
. The game was published by Activision Blizzard
.
The game has received mostly negative reviews from critics, most of which consider the game's quality to be greatly inferior to its predecessor, Guitar Hero: Metallica
and other games of the series. The reviewers criticized the lack of former Van Halen members, Sammy Hagar
, Michael Anthony and Gary Cherone
, the limited tracks selected from Van Halen's discography, the selection of other tracks included in the game, and the general lack of features introduced in the previous band-centric games and Guitar Hero 5.
, featuring support for four players in a single band on lead
and bass guitar
, drums, and vocals. The game does not feature the additions that are present in Guitar Hero 5
, such as drop-in/drop-out play.
Only the current members of the band—Eddie Van Halen
, David Lee Roth
, Alex Van Halen
and Wolfgang Van Halen
—are playable avatars in the game for the Van Halen songs; former band members Sammy Hagar
and Michael Anthony are not included. The band appear as they did in 2009 but, by completing challenges in the game, players can unlock their older appearances from the "spandex era […] with the big hair and tight pants". Despite not being alive during this period of the band's history, Wolfgang Van Halen's avatar has a retro outfit copied from the dice-shirt-and-patchwork-jeans getup worn by his father in the video for "Panama".
A demo of the game was released to Xbox Live on December 9, 2009, featuring two Van Halen songs, "Eruption" and "Panama", along with Weezer's "Dope Nose" and Killswitch Engage's "The End of Heartache".
, the German software ratings board, posted a content rating for a Van Halen-based game in the series. GameStop
temporarily listed the game for pre-order during the month of April. A list of Xbox 360 Achievements was posted to the Internet in early May.
Throughout September 2009, people who purchased or preordered Guitar Hero 5
in the US were given a code which they could redeem to receive a free copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen prior to its retail release. These copies began arriving to customers in early October for PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii players, while the PlayStation 3 version was delayed due to a printing error. The game came in a cardboard sleeve with cover art indicating that it was for promotional use.
, including 3 guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen
, in addition to 19 guest acts. The Van Halen songs in the game are taken during the time when David Lee Roth
was in the band, and do not include any works during the period that Sammy Hagar
was a band member; Activision's head of music licensing, Tim Riley, notes that the lack of such material was not due to any demands or requests made by David Lee Roth. Riley also stated that most of the guest acts were selected by Wolfgang Van Halen, at the suggestion of Roth. The following songs are included in the game:
Song contains both a single and double bass drums chart.
Song is a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen.
's Erik Brudvig rated the game 4.9/10, citing problems with the lack of relevance of Van Halen relative to the culture of the 2000s, including having their avatars based on their current appearances rather than that of their 80s heyday, the lack of songs from Sammy Hagar's period in the band, and the lack of features since introduced with Guitar Hero 5. Brudvig ultimately stated that those who got the game free through the Guitar Hero 5 promotion "got what they paid for". Robert Workman of Game Daily was less critical of the title, but still noted that the game lacked features, including some mention of Hagar and Gary Cherone and songs from their period with the band, and felt that the title was below the quality of Guitar Hero: Metallica. Both Brudvig and Workman commented positively on the sound recordings and the note tracking of the Van Halen songs.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen reviews following its release were similarly negative. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica
considered the game's limited coverage of the band's history to be "a sadly revisionist and dishonest take", and felt that the non-Van Halen songs clashed with the band's own material. Kuchera further pointed to Activision's distribution strategy for the game, stating that he felt that giving the game away free with Guitar Hero 5 showed that Activision did not have confidence in the game. Philip Horton of The Telegraph
was critical of the game's song selection, the band's modern appearance, and lack any additional extras compared with either the previous band-centric games or Guitar Hero 5, and described it as "the weakest offering in the series to date". Kate Carter of The Guardian
commented that the game is "neither one thing or the other", as it neither succeeds at bringing anything new to the Guitar Hero series nor fully pays tribute to Van Halen. Computer and Video Games
review complained about the "shoddy character models" and described it as "the laziest Guitar Hero yet", and Nathan Meunier of GamePro
said that while the Van Halen songs were good and challenging, the remaining tracks did not fit the theme of the game, and that "the lackluster presentation makes the game feel more like a glorified track pack than a true homage".
Guitar Hero: Van Halen sold fewer than 75,000 units across all platforms in North America from December 22 to 31, 2009, according to NPD Group
. As of April 2010, the game has sold fewer than 250,000 copies worldwide, with only 95,000 units sold in North America. These numbers do not include distributed copies of the game in conjunction with Guitar Hero 5.
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
. As with the previous games Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. It was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a Wii version developed by Vicarious Visions, a PlayStation 2 version by Budcat Creations and with a PC and Mac version by Aspyr Media...
and Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
, the game features 25 songs from Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
along with 19 additional songs from selected artists that have been inspired by the group. The game was released in retail for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
systems on December 22, 2009, in North America, and in February 2010 for PAL regions. However, as part of a promotion with Guitar Hero 5, the game was shipped to Guitar Hero 5 purchasers in North America prior to its retail release. The game content was developed by Underground Development, with the primary engine code developed by Neversoft
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment is an American video game developer, founded in 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. Neversoft is best recognized for their line of Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk skateboarding games, known as the Tony Hawk's series...
and Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations was a video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, United States and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco. They were largely responsible for porting titles to non-target consoles...
. The game was published by Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
.
The game has received mostly negative reviews from critics, most of which consider the game's quality to be greatly inferior to its predecessor, Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
and other games of the series. The reviewers criticized the lack of former Van Halen members, Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
, Michael Anthony and Gary Cherone
Gary Cherone
Gary Francis Caine Cherone is an American rock singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with the rock group Extreme, as well as his short stint as the lead singer for Van Halen on their 11th album Van Halen III and subsequent tour. In recent years he has released solo recordings. In 2007,...
, the limited tracks selected from Van Halen's discography, the selection of other tracks included in the game, and the general lack of features introduced in the previous band-centric games and Guitar Hero 5.
Gameplay
Guitar Hero: Van Halen is similar to the preceding band-centric game, Guitar Hero: MetallicaGuitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
, featuring support for four players in a single band on lead
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drums, and vocals. The game does not feature the additions that are present in Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
, such as drop-in/drop-out play.
Only the current members of the band—Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, Alex Van Halen
Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
and Wolfgang Van Halen
Wolfgang Van Halen
Wolfgang William Van Halen , is an American musician. He is the current bassist for Van Halen, replacing Michael Anthony in 2006.-Personal life:...
—are playable avatars in the game for the Van Halen songs; former band members Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
and Michael Anthony are not included. The band appear as they did in 2009 but, by completing challenges in the game, players can unlock their older appearances from the "spandex era […] with the big hair and tight pants". Despite not being alive during this period of the band's history, Wolfgang Van Halen's avatar has a retro outfit copied from the dice-shirt-and-patchwork-jeans getup worn by his father in the video for "Panama".
A demo of the game was released to Xbox Live on December 9, 2009, featuring two Van Halen songs, "Eruption" and "Panama", along with Weezer's "Dope Nose" and Killswitch Engage's "The End of Heartache".
Development
While the game was formally announced by Activision on May 7, 2009, several sources reported a month earlier that Van Halen was in development. USKUnterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle
Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle is the organization responsible for computer game ratings in Germany.- Ratings :...
, the German software ratings board, posted a content rating for a Van Halen-based game in the series. GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
temporarily listed the game for pre-order during the month of April. A list of Xbox 360 Achievements was posted to the Internet in early May.
Throughout September 2009, people who purchased or preordered Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
in the US were given a code which they could redeem to receive a free copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen prior to its retail release. These copies began arriving to customers in early October for PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii players, while the PlayStation 3 version was delayed due to a printing error. The game came in a cardboard sleeve with cover art indicating that it was for promotional use.
Soundtrack
Like the other band-centric Guitar Hero games, Guitar Hero: Van Halen includes 25 songs from the band Van HalenVan Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, including 3 guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, in addition to 19 guest acts. The Van Halen songs in the game are taken during the time when David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
was in the band, and do not include any works during the period that Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
was a band member; Activision's head of music licensing, Tim Riley, notes that the lack of such material was not due to any demands or requests made by David Lee Roth. Riley also stated that most of the guest acts were selected by Wolfgang Van Halen, at the suggestion of Roth. The following songs are included in the game:
| Year | Song title | Artist | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates.... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 1980 | "And the Cradle Will Rock... And the Cradle Will Rock... "And the Cradle Will Rock..." is a song written and performed by Van Halen. It appears on their 1980 album Women and Children First. It was the only single off the album. It is also the first song released by the band that featured the keyboard playing of Eddie Van Halen. The distortion added to... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 1978 | "Atomic Punk" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 1979 | "Beautiful Girls" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 2005 | "Best of You Best of You "Best of You" is a song by American alternative rock band Foo Fighters, and the first single released from the band's fifth studio album, In Your Honor... " |
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War... |
|
| 1982 | "Cathedral" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 2007 | "Come to Life" | Alter Bridge Alter Bridge Alter Bridge is an American rock band that was formed in 2004 in Orlando, Florida by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips, who are all also members of Creed. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four and the frontman... |
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| 1979 | "Dance the Night Away" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 2002 | "Dope Nose Dope Nose "Dope Nose" is a song by American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single off the band's fourth album, Maladroit. It was officially released in 2002, though it had been performed live and in the studio during the band's 2000 summer tour comeback after hiatus."Dope Nose" was said to... " |
Weezer Weezer Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992... |
|
| 1978 | "Double Vision Double Vision (song) This article is about the Foreigner song. For the 3OH!3 song, see Double Vision "Double Vision" is a single by Foreigner from their second album of the same name... " |
Foreigner Foreigner (band) Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm... |
|
| 2004 | Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer... |
||
| 1978 | "Eruption Eruption (song) "Eruption" is a guitar solo written and performed by Eddie Van Halen. Eruption often appears on many 'greatest guitar solos' lists. It is often played together with "You Really Got Me", which follows the song on the album Van Halen.... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 1980 | "Everybody Wants Some!! Everybody Wants Some!! "Everybody Wants Some!!" is one of Van Halen's most popular songs. It features David Lee Roth on vocals. It is the second song from the band's 1980 album Women and Children First. It was a concert highlight throughout the band's early career and was featured in the movie Better Off Dead starring... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 1978 | "Feel Your Love Tonight" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
|
| 2001 | "First Date" | Blink-182 Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992... |
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| 1982 | "Hang ‘Em High" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1981 | "Hear About It Later" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1984 | "Hot for Teacher Hot for Teacher "Hot for Teacher" is a song on Van Halen's album 1984.The sexually suggestive song was best known for its long opening drum solo, near motorcycle-like drum fills and its music video featuring the band as both adults and young students in a high school... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1978 | "Ice Cream Man" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1978 | "I'm the One" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1989 | "I Want It All I Want It All "I Want It All" is a song by English rock band Queen, featured on their 1989 twelfth studio album The Miracle. Written by guitarist and backing vocalist Brian May and produced by David Richards, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 2 May 1989... " |
Queen Queen (band) Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor... |
|
| 1982 | "Intruder/(Oh) Pretty Woman Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1978 | "Jamie's Cryin' Jamie's Cryin' "Jamie's Cryin" is a song by Van Halen from their 1978 debut album, Van Halen. The song was written and recorded live during the three week sessions for the album. The song discusses a woman who meets a man that only wants a one-night stand. She turns him down, but is sad for what might have been... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1984 | "Jump Jump (Van Halen song) "Jump" is a song by the American rock group Van Halen. It is the only single the group released in their career to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was released in 1984 as the second track on the album 1984... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1982 | "Little Guitars" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1980 | "Loss of Control" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 2006 | "Master Exploder" | Tenacious D Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny... |
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| 1981 | "Mean Street" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 2004 | "Pain Pain (Jimmy Eat World song) "Pain" is a song by the American band Jimmy Eat World. It was released as the first single from their 2004 album Futures and became their second #1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was featured on video games Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, Guitar... " |
Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind.... |
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| 1990 | "Painkiller" | Judas Priest Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,... |
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| 1984 | "Panama Panama (song) "Panama" is a song from Van Halen's album 1984. It was the third single released from that record and is one of their most recognized songs.-Background:... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1998 | "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) -Australia CD Maxi:-Europe CD Maxi:-Composition and lyrics:Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's song "Rock of Ages," chanted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" to start the recording, the song ridicules a... " |
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| 1995 | "Rock and Roll Is Dead Rock and Roll Is Dead "Rock and Roll Is Dead" is the first single released from the 1995 Lenny Kravitz album Circus.-Song information:"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is an uptempo rock song.... " |
Lenny Kravitz Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads... |
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| 1980 | "Romeo Delight Romeo Delight "Romeo Delight" is a song by Van Halen from their 1980 album Women and Children First. The band played their song on the subsequent Invasion tour. Many of the melodies for the song were taken from a demo track the band did called "Get the Show on the Road". Singer David Lee Roth changed the... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1978 | "Runnin' with the Devil Runnin' With the Devil "Runnin' with the Devil" is a rock song and the first track from Van Halen's 1978 eponymous debut album. The song lyrics were inspired by the Ohio Players song "Runnin' from the Devil". In 2009 it was named the 9th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1978 | "Safe European Home" | ||
| 1997 | "Semi-Charmed Life Semi-Charmed Life "Semi-Charmed Life" is Third Eye Blind's first single off their self-titled debut album, released in 1997. It was a major hit of the 1990s, reaching number four in the U.S., number one on the Modern Rock Tracks and the Top 40 in the UK. Furthermore, it has had a pervasive cultural impact, being... " |
Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup... |
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| 2007 | "Sick, Sick, Sick Sick, Sick, Sick "Sick, Sick, Sick" is a Grammy nominated single released by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album Era Vulgaris. It was released on May 8, 2007 as a digital download only from the U.S. iTunes Store... " |
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| 1981 | "So This Is Love? So This Is Love? "So This Is Love?" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1981 album Fair Warning. It is one of four singles issued for the album. It peaked at #110 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the U.S... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1979 | "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1972 | "Space Truckin' Space Truckin' "Space Truckin" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple. It is the seventh and final track on the Machine Head album. Its lyrics talk of space travel and it showcases the vocal abilities of singer Ian Gillan and powerful drumming of Ian Paice... " |
Deep Purple Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre... |
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| 1979 | "Spanish Fly" | Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 2003 | "Stacy's Mom Stacy's Mom "Stacy's Mom" is a hit single by American band Fountains of Wayne, released in 2003 and taken from their album Welcome Interstate Managers.... " |
Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:... |
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| 2007 | Yellowcard Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre... |
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| 1981 | "Unchained Unchained (song) "Unchained" is a song from Van Halen's fourth album, Fair Warning. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen wrote the main riff at 4:00 in the morning with engineer Donn Landee while they were doing some overdubbing on the album. The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a popular... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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| 1982 | "White Wedding (Part 1) White Wedding (song) "White Wedding" is a song by Billy Idol that appeared on his album Billy Idol . Although "the Big 80's: Episode I" of VH1's Pop-up Video trivia show claims Idol wrote the song to voice his displeasure with his sister's fiance , on an episode of VH1 Storytellers, Idol claimed that there was never... " |
Billy Idol Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X... |
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| 1978 | "You Really Got Me You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks... " |
Van Halen Van Halen Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart... |
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Song contains both a single and double bass drums chart.
Song is a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen.
Reception
Early reviews of the promotional version of the game received by redeeming a code that came with Guitar Hero 5 were critical of the game. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Erik Brudvig rated the game 4.9/10, citing problems with the lack of relevance of Van Halen relative to the culture of the 2000s, including having their avatars based on their current appearances rather than that of their 80s heyday, the lack of songs from Sammy Hagar's period in the band, and the lack of features since introduced with Guitar Hero 5. Brudvig ultimately stated that those who got the game free through the Guitar Hero 5 promotion "got what they paid for". Robert Workman of Game Daily was less critical of the title, but still noted that the game lacked features, including some mention of Hagar and Gary Cherone and songs from their period with the band, and felt that the title was below the quality of Guitar Hero: Metallica. Both Brudvig and Workman commented positively on the sound recordings and the note tracking of the Van Halen songs.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen reviews following its release were similarly negative. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica
Ars Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
considered the game's limited coverage of the band's history to be "a sadly revisionist and dishonest take", and felt that the non-Van Halen songs clashed with the band's own material. Kuchera further pointed to Activision's distribution strategy for the game, stating that he felt that giving the game away free with Guitar Hero 5 showed that Activision did not have confidence in the game. Philip Horton of The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
was critical of the game's song selection, the band's modern appearance, and lack any additional extras compared with either the previous band-centric games or Guitar Hero 5, and described it as "the weakest offering in the series to date". Kate Carter of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented that the game is "neither one thing or the other", as it neither succeeds at bringing anything new to the Guitar Hero series nor fully pays tribute to Van Halen. Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
review complained about the "shoddy character models" and described it as "the laziest Guitar Hero yet", and Nathan Meunier of GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
said that while the Van Halen songs were good and challenging, the remaining tracks did not fit the theme of the game, and that "the lackluster presentation makes the game feel more like a glorified track pack than a true homage".
Guitar Hero: Van Halen sold fewer than 75,000 units across all platforms in North America from December 22 to 31, 2009, according to NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
. As of April 2010, the game has sold fewer than 250,000 copies worldwide, with only 95,000 units sold in North America. These numbers do not include distributed copies of the game in conjunction with Guitar Hero 5.