AVault:
"I was never a Van Halen fan, although I did like their music and Diamond Dave's on-stage histrionics (replacing him with Sammy Hagar might've made them a better band, but they were not nearly as much fun to watch). But after twice playing through Guitar Hero: Van Halen's career mode, I'm struck by how much alike almost all of their songs are. This same sameness carries through to the game itself, which makes no attempt to distinguish itself from what has come before it. I suppose giving the game away three months early as a rebate for the purchase of GH5 should've been the first clue that GHVH was not going to be a critical darling. Red Octane and Activision would probably have been better served by releasing these Van Halen songs as Guitar Hero DLC instead of giving it the stand-alone game treatment."
Game Vortex writes: "A big problem with Van Halen headlining a Guitar Hero title is you're always going to come out on the short end with music selection. Van Halen's internal problems, particularly the Hagar/ Roth feud, are legendary. As a result, big parts of the band's catalogue are absent. All of the songs featured in the game feature David Lee Roth, so you're missing out on some Hagar-era hits (and to a lesser extent, Gary Cherone). Whether Roth was responsible for Van Halen's bigger hits is debatable, but completely ignoring Hagar results in the inclusion of "B-side filler" rather than a bunch of great songs to play. A few non-Van Halen songs are included (including the requisite Foo Fighters song) and, oddly enough, are probably more fun than a majority of the Van Halen tracks."
BeefJack writes: "Guitar Hero: Van Halen may have been introduced as a freebie for customers who purchased Guitar Hero 5, but a demo has been announced to be coming via Major Nelson. No word as to what the demo will include, but no doubt it'll have a sizable chunk of the songs from the full version and maybe a couple of venues to whet your appetite."
Gamedaily writes: "There's no shortage of quality music games from Activision this holiday season. The wonderful Guitar Hero 5 is currently on store shelves, and in early November, you can snag Band Hero, complete with several contemporary tracks and an improved drum set to rock out with. Following both of these acts is Guitar Hero Van Halen, a game set for retail release on December 22nd."
