Ultimate Band Hands-On

If the rapidly escalating arms race between Guitar Hero and Rock Band is beginning to put a hurt on your wallet, Disney would very much like to take you back to the simple joy of playing air instruments. That's the style of play it's aiming for with its upcoming family-friendly take on the rhythm genre known as Ultimate Band. We recently got a chance to test out a few imaginary instruments in a hands-on session with the Wii version of the game.

The basic formula behind Ultimate Band should feel familiar to anyone even remotely versed in the scrolling notes set to the licensed music formula that's become standard in the genre. The difference here is that rather than playing with an instrument peripheral, you're using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Your options include drums, guitar, bass, and vocals. As the vocalist, you're not singing, but rather performing various hand gestures to pump up the crowd. You'll respond to a rhythmic stream of prompts telling you to clap, throw punches, and do various other jazz-hand-like movements.

Other instruments are a bit more traditional. While playing drums, you're using your two hands as drumsticks with simple downward strikes to mimic hitting the drumheads, punctuated by the occasional rapid shaking to simulate rolls and fills. With the guitar, you'll use the Nunchuk to mimic your fret hand, pressing its various buttons while using the remote as though you were strumming. When you're doing well, you can begin to "showboat" to pump up the crowd just like the singer. The whole thing may sound a bit off-putting to anyone in the instrument peripheral camp, but the motion controls are surprisingly solid thanks in large part to great note-mapping and reliable responsiveness.

The music in the game will be composed entirely of covers, but for a specific reason: Vocalists can play as either male or female avatars, and this decision will be reflected in the voice of every song's lead singer. So while the real-life frontman of Weezer may indeed be the thoroughly masculine Rivers Cuomo, you'll hear a female singer in the game's version of "Beverly Hills" if your character is a girl. You can choose from premade avatars or go into the game's character creation system to make this choice, choosing from the usual assortment of clothing, accessories, and facial features.

Other music in the game will include The White Stripes, The Who, and The Jonas Brothers. In total, there will be more than 30 songs available. You'll unlock these songs by progressing through the story mode of your choosing. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to try this mode. Until we gather more information on this feature, you can scribble a late-2008 release date in your calendar for Ultimate Band.