This summer, I went to a Journey concert. I didn’t really know what to expect, since I’d never seen the band live before, and I knew they were on something like their fourth singer since Steve Perry left the band some time ago. Still, I was optimistic, because I’d seen video of their new singer performing with the band, and he seemed to be, at the very least, giving it his all.

Let’s just say it was fortunate that Heart opened for them. Journey’s most recent singer, Arnel Pineda, was actually the strong point of the show, with an energy and willingness to give to the audience that every other member of the band on stage utterly lacked.

As much as I’ve always loved Journey, Van Halen blows them away. Despite the ridiculous and often infuriating turnover within the band, I always held on. David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, and even Gary Cherone are all gold to me. As a result, I was pretty enthusiastic when I heard about Guitar Hero: Van Halen, but if you’ll pardon my English, the game is shit. And now, at long last, I’m realizing that so is the band.

This year’s release by the newly formed band Chickenfoot surprised me in a good way. Former VH members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony teamed up with guitar legend Joe Satriani and Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith to produce an album that genuinely feels like a real Van Halen album to me. Or, at least, it’s an album. This is something the band that’s currently holding that name have failed to do now for about 12 years. Whether you like Chickenfoot or not, at least they’re making music.

Of the seven people who’ve been in Van Halen over the years, only four appear in the Guitar Hero game. That is David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son who’s now on bass. Not only is Sammy Hagar nowhere to be found, neither are any of his songs. 100% of the Van Halen music in this game comes from albums before Sammy joined the band. Obviously, there’s no Gary Cherone, either.

It’s hard to say just who’s to blame for all this, but I think we’ll go around the table. A band with a history like Van Halen owes it to their fans, nay to themselves, to honor that history by not pretending most of it didn’t even happen. They should have pulled the plug on this thing as soon as they decided not to include almost half the band and more than half their music. Maybe I should just hate Activision for not pulling the plug, but how out of character would that be? Making a decision based on the quality of a title, rather than the bottom line? Perish the thought. The only people involved I can’t hate is Neversoft. I picture those guys toiling away endlessly at Guitar Hero titles, praying for death at this point.

Now, all these impressions are based on the PSN demo that came out this week. These seem consistent, however, with the reviews we’re seeing, like IGN’s 4.9/10 rating, for example. What a complete train wreck. I’m astonished that even Activision managed to churn out a game like this, where a diehard fan of the band like me has no interest in the game. It makes me want to go back and bump Beatles Rock Band up a point in retrospect.

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