Activision has received a bit of stick in some quarters for the release of Guitar Hero Greatest Hits, and with thinly-veiled accusations of ‘money-grabbing' and ‘exploitation' floating around on fan forums you'd be forgiven for thinking that the company is somehow forcing people to make a purchase. In truth a lot of this is unwarranted, and Greatest Hits brings more than enough unique benefits to the series as well as providing welcome respite in the build-up to Guitar Hero 5.

The collection features favourites from all of the games that preceded World Tour, namely Guitar Hero I, II, Legends of Rock and a token entry from the Aerosmith edition.

Scanning the full list would be a wise idea for anyone considering a purchase, and although in our humble opinion there are some glaring omissions, this is a rather subjective claim that the developer counters by arguing that songs were chosen based on how much fun they are to play. There's little argument here and, as opposed to World Tour, most of the tracks feature memorable, catchy riffs and chords that should certainly appease guitarists, even if this doesn't ring true through the entire instrument set.

Aside from the song selection itself, all of the tracks are now master recordings and thus sound far more authentic than previous covers, and each has full support for up to four players utilising drums and a microphone in addition to dual guitars.

Generally there are no changes to the actual gameplay, with the title retaining most of the new additions found in World Tour such as the music studio, online play, character customisation and video extras that can be unlocked as you progress.

Thankfully it also takes the more flexible approach of Heroes Of Rock/Guitar Hero Metallica when it comes to the career mode, which comprises a series of set-lists that can be used to accumulate stars to unlock the next gig. The ‘pick-up-and-play' party nature of the game is acknowledged by the fact that any of the songs can be selected right away from the ‘Quick Play' mode, and small but important additions such as song-centric high-score tables help bring an extra competitive edge.

Guitar Hero Greatest Hits is undoubtedly a title for those who are already fans of the genre, and Wii owners in particular will appreciate the opportunity to experience previously-unavailable tracks in all their full-band glory.

It's a little disappointing to only see 48 tunes, a lack of DLC support - which could well have included the rest of the catalogue to fill in a personal ‘favourites' collection - and a rather expensive price-tag (though significant discounts are available online) for what is essentially an add-on pack, though none of these are serious enough to dissuade budding rockers from rounding off their collection.

Verdict
Guitar Hero Greatest Hits will be the first opportunity many people have to experience tracks from the original games. Full-band play, together with the appeal of the set-list, will sell the game in itself. Despite the fact that in many ways there is a missed opportunity here in terms of additional content, it would be no surprise to see this high on rhythm gamers' wishlists, and for fans of the series it will not disappoint.

Company: Activision

Tags: guitar hero wii activision guitar hero world tour metallica guitar iphone music