The popularity of music games has been growing rapidly over the past few years. So too has the clutter. games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero now fill up your home with plastic instrument controllers. If you’re a fan of the genre you already have a closet full of this stuff which can be a pain to deal with. Disney Interactive Studios have just published a new music game with a difference – they eliminate the need for all those plastic instrument controllers and let you play much more simply with your Wii’s standard controllers.

In addition the controller differences, this game by Fall Line Studio has a much softer edge to it than your typical music game, instead targeting more towards the young teen demographic who’s name we wont inflict upon you, poor reader. They’ve attempted to broaden the appeal of the game beyond the hardcore fan of edgier music to include the general taste of families so that if you’re not so in to one particular style of music there is still something here for you and it won’t scare anybody away.

Gameplay
Unlike Rock Band or Guitar Hero, this game is not about the simulacra of playing the instruments per se. Errors will not have an audible impact on the music you’re enjoying. Your goal here isn’t to pretend to be playing the instruments per se but rather to keep in time with the instruments. It about getting in to the groove of the music and feeling the rhythm and fluidity. You can do this along with four band roles each having their own game mechanics: percussion, lead guitar, bass guitar and front man. Additionally, if you have a Nintendo DS with Ultimate Band too you can have a fifth player participate as a stage director.

Music
Theres a pretty good amount of music to chose from here, including over thirty songs from such varied artists as Blondie, Radiohead and The White Stripes. The selection of tracks is actually quite good, compared to a lot of other Music Games. They have a lot of very popular artists and a nice variety spanning several decades and styles which should satisfy the whole family. One complaint common with some other music games is that it can be intimidating if you don’t know the songs or aren’t a fan of the genre. With ultimate band thats not so much of an issue.

Style
The game, of course lets you customize your characters to look however you like and overall the game has pretty good stylization looking very similar to Rock Band. It just has a nice level of polish yet just like with the music, the softer edge of Ultimate Band makes it more suitable for a broad appeal. One of the nice touches with stylization is that the games vocals are mastered with both male ad female voices such that what you hear is gender appropriate to the player filling your band’s front man position.

Conclusions
Ultimate Band is a simple game. Its all about feeling the music and having rhythm. Unlike many other similar games this one saves you both money and space by forgoing the simulacra of mock instruments while maintaining the fun of moving to the music. You don’t have to be a rock music devotee to enjoy this game either and pretty much anybody can pick this up and enjoy it. If you have a diverse group of people who only play games casually, this game can be a great time and is a wonderful alternative to the other, more involved music games. Really its all the fun without the high price tag and without the added clutter.

Contest
We have a set of six different Ultimate Band buttons for one lucky reader in Canada to win. Send in a photo of you being the ultimate band member and you could win. Bonus points for creativity.

[Fall Line Studio]
[Disney Interactive Studios]
[Ultimate Band]