Guitar Hero: Smash Hits

Make sure to remember you will be getting absolutely nothing new game-wise in Smash Hits; you will only be able to replay the classics from Guitar Hero 1, 2, 3, and Aerosmith with all your instruments.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is the definition of "milking". Sure, the setlist is great, and if you've somehow never played these tracks before, they're a ton of fun.

Despite some track issues due to the musical inexperience of Beenox the game offers a funny experience, especially for those who missed the first chapters of the series.

Guitar Hero gets a new member to his family. Smash Hits features old songs with new gameplay. Taking the classics to a full band experience, this game packs an interesting tracklist with the ability to play with your friends the original versions of songs like Free Bird or Slayer's Raining Blood. Despite its fun gameplay, the repetitive ideas and the lack of new content became a problem for those who seek new intentions on the franchise.

Of course, Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits isn't as innovative as previous games, but it's a great place for newcomers to get acquainted with the franchise. The tracklist is top notch and the game is still addictive as hell.

But ultimately, this expansion will live or die based upon its song selection.

Even if maintaining many of World Tour features, thus being surely an entertaining title per se, Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits seems a game we could do without, especially given the very short time - a month - from the GH: Metallica release. For the people who already owns GH: World Tour, it would have been surely better to get these songs as DLCs rather than paying 59 Euros for a compilation that will hardly 100% satisfy anyone; if you're instead approaching the series for the first time, we suggest to buy Guitar Hero: World Tour so that you'll be able to enjoy the vast downloadable songs library too.

If you're a diehard Guitar Hero, then you're probably going to buy this regardless (much like I did), but I fear you'll be disappointed with the easy, watered-down experience Greatest Hits is.

Quotation forthcoming.

Despite a few niggles with the note structure changes and the nagging feeling that this could have all been DLC, Greatest Hits is still a lot of fun.

For the hardcore fans, the recycled taste can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially paying out twice for the same songs, but for newcomers this is a good compilation of the previous Guitar Hero games.

While Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is a solid option for fans of music games, the short and inconsistent tracklist alone makes it not worth the price.

Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits is a brilliant full-band revival of some of our favourite songs from the series, which may not have made it to a straight sequel. With it being a lighter, stop-gap package, though, we'd recommend picking it up in a few months' time at a more agreeable price.

I didn't expect Guitar Hero Smash Hits to dramatically change what has become a tried-and-true formula, but I definitely anticipated a better value proposition than this.

The incredible set list and extensive online features make the title a great purchase for new and returning players alike.

A must-have for all late Guitar Hero adopters. A must-not for anybody with the earlier titles. [Sept 2009, p.70]

Guitar Hero Greatest Hits doesn’t add too much to the GH franchise. If you have never played at Guitar Hero before, this is your a good opportunity.

It's a good selection of songs from the previous games, and it's a great way to reacquainted with a few old favorites.

Rather than put forth any real creative effort, it is a mere repackaging of existing content in an effort to earn some quick cash.

This game really is the same old song and dance.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits brings all the components of the last five Guitar Hero-games, but doesn’t bring enough big to be called Smash Hits. It is a step back on visuals compared to the other Guitar Hero-games. However, the songs are good, so that is the only reason the game don’t get a bad grade.

There are definitely some quality songs on the list, but I think I would have rather been able to pick and choose a few of them as downloadable content for World Tour than be forced to buy them as a package.

This is a glorified DLC pack on a disc, but it didn't need glorification - it needed the simultaneous release of the track-list on the music store, and store compatibility, as a minimum, if it was ever to engender any goodwill.

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this game. It is a cash grab by Activision to see how much money they can still get out of the franchise.

Between the reworked note charts that often don't feel quite right, and the barebones structure of Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits, a full-price release seems optimistic. [Aug 2009, p.119]

Entertaining almost by default yet diluted like spit in the ocean, the joy of the Guitar Hero series is fast being sequeled away. We should have quality, not quantity. [Issue#48, p.82]

While not a bad game, Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits just feels like an easy cash-in among the other music games flooding the market.

Certainly there is some fun to be had here - mostly in brief stints as a party game - but the track list is not what it could have been. When combined with the lack of DLC or interoperability with World Tour, I find it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits.

An expansion pack in full price clothing, offering only new versions of admittedly classic songs.

The sad thing is that Guitar Hero has actually done more than enough over the last few years to deserve some kind of back slapping celebration of it's success, it's just a shame Activision have decided this quick and easy cash in is the best way forward.