Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Wii Music was the big news at E3 in terms of Wii games about pretending you were playing a fake instrument (in contrast to games like Guitar Hero, in which you actually play a fake instrument). But it wasn't the only game in town: Disney's Ultimate Band also features the Wiimote and Nunchuk subbing in for guitar, bass, and drums. Except, instead of MIDI versions of your public domain favorites, Ultimate Band has you playing along to abhorrent covers of recent pop/rock hits. Also, unlike Wii Music's freeform nature, Ultimate Band is a game with, like, goals and points and stuff.

Okay, so Disney's Ultimate Band will eternally be overshadowed by the multi-instrumental extravaganza Guitar Hero: World Tour, and even by the irritating Wii version of Rock Band. And it's true that Ultimate Band suffers from a case of miserable cover songs. But Disney and Fall Line Studios have impressed us with smart design that plays to the Wii controllers' strengths.

Rather than merely simulating the experience of having a guitar or drum controller, producer Manferd Naber explains that Ultimate Band takes an impressionistic approach to simulating the act of playing music. You play notes in time to music as usual, but there's also an emphasis on rock-star gestures like the Pete Townshend windmill maneuver or "a belt buckle spin a la ZZ Top."

The lack of actual singing is also turned into an interestingly bizarre gameplay mechanic. As the "Frontman," players wave around with the controllers representing their hands, to "pump up the crowd." Ultimate Band may turn out less than great, but at least it's going for something original.

Any White Stripes fan -- nay, any music fan at all -- can only look at this trailer for Disney's Ultimate Band and weep, perhaps while pounding a sharp-edged rock into the side of their skull. It's not the idea of yet another music game that will probably do the same things as all the other music games (including using Rock Band's instruments). It's the absolutely abhorrent quality of the included covers that has us writhing on the floor in pain and shame. That's got us wondering if all the music will be covers, since we know of several other songs and artists on tap for the title (and more who are rumored).

Ultimate Band was initially announced as being the peripheral-free answer to Rock Band and Guitar Hero, but now that rumored versions for the Xbox 360 and PS3 have been announced, word is that there will also be a version with instruments that will retail for $170.

Drag yourself past the break to see the list known artists and songs.