Review: 'Band Hero,' 'Lego Rock Band' _ Clean Rock

LOU KESTEN

Musical video games are already family-friendly. There's no violence, and their developers have already weeded out most of the sex and drugs in rock 'n roll. And just about anyone can pick up a fake guitar, microphone or a pair or drumsticks and figure out what to do with it.

But Activision and MTV Games, the publishers of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," respectively, want to make sure that even the youngest gamer is on board. So both companies have introduced more wholesome versions of their rock franchises, hoping to infect preteens with the musical bug.

Activision's entry is "Band Hero" (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, $59.99). MTV's would-be gateway drug, published by Warner Bros., is "Lego Rock Band" (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, $49.99). Both titles feature the same gameplay as their parent titles, but the gigs have moved out of dingy rock clubs and into more fanciful, all-ages spaces.

The success of a music game, though, depends a lot on what songs you get to play. So, let's conduct a battle of the bands.

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