Guitar Hero: Smash Hits for Xbox 360

GF Rating

8

Very Good

Nice to go back

posted by Energyvet (ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ) Dec 22, 2009

Member since Mar 2008

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

As someone who began playing Guitar Hero with Guitar Hero World Tour, I find it GREAT to be able to go back and play the best of I, II, and III, without having to rent/buy each individually! So, for all of you hammering it for being a rehash, remember, some of us have never seen these songs previously.

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

Here we go again...

posted by EvelEnivel (TAMPA, FL) Jun 17, 2009

Member since May 2009

28 out of 44 gamers (64%) found this review helpful

I only rented this to play the tracks that weren't available on 360 before.

I like the fact that they replaced all the covers with master tracks. Makes it feel more genuine, as far as fake plastic rock goes. The volume of the tracks could be turned up a tad.

In terms of playability, some tracks are more dumbed-down than previously recorded. Of course, some are more amped up in terms of difficulty.

Good rent. Finished in a day, though. Since I played the majority of these songs in II and above, The magic wears off real fast.

At least there wasn't an abundance of emo and pop junk like World Tour. For that alone I give it a thumbs-up.

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

A Step back in the Series

posted by snooguns (HOUSTON, TX) Jul 16, 2009

Member since Jul 2009

6 out of 9 gamers (67%) found this review helpful

Alas, after playing Guitar Hero: Metallica I was expecting this game to take a step up and be better. I knew that this game was just going to be a gimmick using songs that previous Guitar Hero games used but putting them into a full band scenario. As I mentioned, I enjoyed Metallica so I thought that this game deserves a shot. Just to make this short and sweet, I will give the goods and the bad and let you guys decide what the deal is.

Pros

1. Pretty good song list including Shout at the Devil, Bark at the Moon, Play with Me, More than A Feeling, Cherry Pie, and other Guitar Hero favorites
2. Decent graphics, not as good as Metallica or Rock band IMO but not too bad.
3. Lars in an Egyptian Pharoahish type of suit, that is pretty funny.

Cons

1. Of the time that I have had the game, I could not find anyone to play with online for quickplay. Would be more fun, but none of my buddies play Guitar Hero (they are Rock Band fans)
2. Even though the song list is good and are master tracks, I did not like Cowboys from Heck (gotta love the edit on Game Fly) live. Also, where was Iron Man ( I love Ozzy/Sabbath)
3. Unlike Metallica, achievement hunters HAVE to play all 48 songs regardless of stars earned, in order to complete the career mode. Also, the achievement for finishing all careers is 35 gamer points versus 150 for the other Guitar Hero games.
4. In order to play games from World Tour or Metallica, a disc change is required. I have to give Rock Band 2 props the fact that you can play all of your Rockband songs with the disc for rockband 2.

Overall, the game is above average. Just a little annoying for achievement hunters. The song list is strong as I mentioned, but there are a couple of songs missing. I would most likely have given this game a 7 or so if the online wasn't so sparce. I recommend this title for all music fans of Guitar Hero, just don't expect anything new here. Next entry needs to consolodate all of the music to one disc.

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

Improved classics

posted by SergeantPope (CHARLESTON, IL) Jun 17, 2009

Member since Apr 2007

17 out of 27 gamers (63%) found this review helpful

In the early stages of Guitar Hero, there was some good songs. But in the early stages of Guitar Hero, the technology was lower and you couldnt play as a band. In this redo, you can though. This game has some really really good songs on it. Including Through the Fire and Flames, Cherry Pie, Free Bird, Rock and Roll All Night Long, and lots more. All the new songs have all of the improvements that were in World Tour and Metallica and it has Expert + for drums. The campaign is worked out the way Metallica had it. But one thing i dont like about Guitar Hero is that when you play online you have to pick the difficulty before you pick the song, so the song might be too easy or too hard. And they still havnt fix that problem. It does have online though. So overall this game is really good, and has amazing songs. If you play Guitar Hero and Rock Band, you MUST try this game out.

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

Same old song and dance......

posted by KayotixTX (CANYON LAKE, TX) Jun 15, 2009

Member since Nov 2008

20 out of 39 gamers (51%) found this review helpful

Another new month and ANOTHER GH game.....this is the same thing we have all played before. Its the "more popular" songs from all the other GH games rolled into one. Song selection isnt bad and you can play as a band now but if you played one GH game you played them all. Graphics didnt change at all and the chars look like ugly robots still when playing on stage.

If you like GH then you will like this, just another cash grab though from activision. This SHOULD of been DLC for GHWT. Glad i rented it, got my few days of fun with it and sent it back

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GF Rating

3

Bad

Done and done.

posted by diceshow7 (EL DORADO HILLS, CA) Jun 21, 2009

Member since Jun 2009

8 out of 24 gamers (33%) found this review helpful

Hey, while we're at it why not just release the rest of the "Un-Smash Hits"... just so all the bases have been covered two or three times.

I'm done with the Guitar Hero games. This was just a bunch of re-released songs that could have been offered without producing a new game. The franchise peaked at GH3 and has been in a sate of decay ever since.

All hail Rockband.

And death to Activision.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

A good replay

posted by Ninjalord (BIDWELL, OH) Jun 18, 2009

Member since Mar 2009

5 out of 15 gamers (33%) found this review helpful

For people who love GH i would suggest this game for playing all your favourite songs from the previous GH installments with the added addition of creat a rocker and band of course. I mean who doesnt wanna sing and play drums on Throught the fire and flames! This is probably one of my favourite GH's now brings back good memorys of when this game first hit shelves so this game gets a 10/10.

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

This Game is Great!

posted by Derka16 (STUARTS DRAFT, VA) Jun 16, 2009

Member since Jun 2009

5 out of 15 gamers (33%) found this review helpful

I hate to admit this but from my perspective i believe this game is better than metallica it has the large assortment which is favored by me and many other guitar hero fans and it has the best songs from each and even includes expert plus which is a great challenge hammer ons are wonderful and the whole system for this game is great i suggest this to any guitar hero fan! 9 out of 10

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

Same game, different songs.

posted by jsilves (LOWELL, MA) Jun 18, 2009

Member since Dec 2005

2 out of 6 gamers (33%) found this review helpful

I'm a drummer with a V-kit so I rent all these rhythm games to learn the songs and get some gamerscore in the process, but it's hard to advocate much for these titles outside of that. Once you've played the songs through there's not much reason to come back.

It should be noted that there are some serious problems that persist with the online modes from the other Guitar Hero games: if one player quits, the match is over; it takes forever to get started if there's no singers around; difficulty levels are reset every time you boot the game; and the worst of all, the audience for this game is divided now across many games.

This all adds up to minutes into hours of time spent simply trying to get into a game and stay in the game without someone quitting, and is a serious waste of time given how many people quit. I have found, from spending a lot of time online playing these games, that 50% of Guitar Hero players are generally very immature people who love to pick metal songs, quit when they fail, and refuse to play songs they don't like. This all adds up to a very shallow and frustrating experience.

The more games they make like this, the more they'll divide the Guitar Hero community, and the more impossible it will be to find a match online outside of the release window.

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GF Rating

3

Bad

Guitar Hero Smash Hits takes a swing and misses

posted by nohandle (CHICKASHA, OK) Jun 17, 2009

Member since Feb 2009

4 out of 19 gamers (21%) found this review helpful

Not Recommended 4/10
The title Guitar Hero Smash Hits is plenty self-explanatory. The track list is compiled entirely of songs from the previous Guitar Hero games. This time around, you can opt to play drums or vocals.

At first, this seems like a great idea. Actually, it is a great idea. It was something that needed to be done. Just because it sounds great on paper doesn't mean the development of the game played out well.

First of all, this game has a few major red flag issues. Let's start with the game itself. Yes, I mean the actual disc. Was it even necessary? The entire game could have been done via download through Xbox Live or PSN, released periodically or in song packs. Not very Eco-friendly or cost effective for their own company. Smooth. (I often hear the complaint of, "but I don't have the internet". This is 2009, at what point are you gonna get with the program? Sorry, but I can't take those complaints into consideration.)

Again, before I get into the gameplay, there are a few more issues to address. The calibration issues with HDTVs still exist. This is a major setback for the Guitar Hero series. While there is an in game calibration tool in the options menu, this feature is so broken that there is a good chance you will not be able to sync the game with your HDTV. I have 3 HDTVs, all different brands, had to pull out an old school TV from out of the closet to finish this one.(I know how to use the calibration tool. Rock Band syncs up perfectly with my TVs.)

Finally, moving on to the game. The first thing you'll probably notice(since the game is presented in the same way as the previous games), is the missing guitar solos. Yes, many of the guitar solos are edited out of the game. In case you didn't know, that is a rock 'n roll sin. Shameful.

On a positive note, the game come with 8 new awesome venues, which are way cool. The vocal mode works well and the drum mode is the best in the genre. Raining Blood on drums is the the highlight of the game.

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GF Rating

7

Good

Same old, not a whole lot new.

posted by Broon43 (NAPLES, FL) Jun 18, 2009

Member since May 2009

1 out of 5 gamers (20%) found this review helpful

Well, it's Guitar Hero yet again. Songs that you've played before on other GH Games, now the hits just smashed together on one disc for you to play at different venues.

The selection of songs are pretty good, and I really like the different venues that are very interesting and fun. The characters look pretty good, too, especially when singing, and the camera focuses in on the guitarist playing riffs is quite good and well-synced to the music. Someone else said they look too robotic, but I have to disagree.

The setup of the game is just like World Tour, so it'll be quite familiar to you, except for the song selection screen in Career Mode, which is more like the earlier GH games. There's also the whole band setup, too, which can be fun if you're looking to play drums or sing on some of those songs from GH1 and GH2 that you couldn't before.

If you're a big fan of these games, you'll enjoy it, but if you're looking for something really new, you won't find it here.

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GF Rating

5

Fair

Same old song and dance

posted by sdrizzit (VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) Jun 19, 2009

Member since Nov 2007

1 out of 6 gamers (17%) found this review helpful

Nothing really changed to make this more exciting. I think the Genre is wearing out fast.

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

Abysmal

posted by mgscj26 (BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI) Jul 27, 2009

Member since Dec 2008

1 out of 7 gamers (14%) found this review helpful

It's a shame I can't give it a score lower than one.

Cons:

1. If you've played GH games before, you get literally nothing new with this, outside of the ability to play as the other instruments on songs you may have already purchased.
2. Online play is aggravating, and frustrating. GH seems to attract people who love metal above all else, and consider anything not metal as being pop, and as such, you don't get to play it since people quit.
3. The characters fall into the uncanny valley, and are creepy.
4. With each new Guitar Hero game, the fan base gets more and more split up, making finding people to play with, harder and harder. All of these expansions should have been downloadable content, but Activision dropped the ball on that so badly they can't even track down where it rolled off to.
5. The sync never seems quite right, which is, well, imperative for a rhythm game.
6. This applies to all of them, but if you're a drummer, hitting both cymbals doesn't make a lot of sense when you deploy your "magic lightning power". It forces you to drop the beat, and mash a hideous flam into the middle of whatever you're doing.
7. (Also applies to series) They still make the highway aggravating to look at, and difficult to read. I don't need a scrolling drawn background, I need to see the notes clearly.
8. The difficulty of the songs seems random. Some of these tracks seem to be made senselessly hard, while others far too easy.
9. It's nice to make a new instrument, but why must they always be too large for my hideous character?

If they don't realize that Rock Band 2 has solved almost all of the above issues (especially concerning keeping the fan base on one game by making all tracks available without switching discs) then Activision is actively digging their own grave.

Guitar Hero took an awesome concept that they started, and by one cash grab disc after another, turned it into a train full of excrement derailing into a failure pile.

Pros:
The disc was clean.

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

same stuff

posted by gamema5ter (WALNUT CREEK, CA) Jun 19, 2009

Member since Jul 2007

1 out of 7 gamers (14%) found this review helpful

its not fun if its the same exact songs from the other ones....... the only reason they probaly made this one is because they need to stall until guitar hero 5 comes out.....thats why the made guitar hero aerosmith which i liked but metallica really......and now soon van halen? i like van halen and all but really? why not jus put some other there songs on the guitar hero games instead of paying more to make a entire game dedicated to them

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GF Rating

5

Fair

Alright pros and cons

posted by miamiheatman (VERO BEACH, FL) Feb 17, 2012

Member since Feb 2012

Pro: The best music selection in any guitar hero (the hits if you will lol)
Con: Cant play downloaded songs :(
Pro: Good graphics
Con: if your not a guitar hero god your only gonna get like 300 gamerscore from this game.
Con: NO ONE PLAYS IT ONLINE so if thats what your looking for dont waste the Q space

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GF Rating

7

Good

Pretty good

posted by 6TN1kid5 (WOODBURY, TN) Jan 14, 2011

Member since Dec 2010

Most of the best songs from the previous Guitar Heros. The note charts are different from the rest, a little bit harder from the rest if you as me. (SPOILER) TTFAF is the final song you must complete. Alot easier to beat for some reason. Worth the rent but not purchasing.
-Matt

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

This game is awesome for those who love music

posted by Jeremy1 (GRIFFIN, GA) Aug 13, 2010

Member since Jan 2010

This game was great for how it had a mixture of music dating back to the 80s and the music that you hear every day on the radio. There are a few that are hard to play or should I say impossible, but other than that. It is awsome!

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GF Rating

4

Weak

Not what i expected

posted by gamrchick7 (ELIZABETHPORT, NJ) Jun 14, 2010

Member since Jun 2010

I'm a huge GH fan. When i saw this one come out i thought hey this game should be cool. I'm so glad that i rented this game & didn't buy it. I was disappointed. most of the songs where from the first three GH games and not all of them. I really didn't like any of the songs. I didn't even finish the game, just wanted excited to get home from work and rock out with this game. I hope the next one they come out with will have some more happening jams.

Disappoint out in Jersey~~~

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

I love it

posted by KILLDOGS19 (MIAMI, FL) Apr 6, 2010

Member since Apr 2010

I LOVE THIS GAME

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

The Challenge

posted by Simon7 (MIDLOTHIAN, VA) Mar 1, 2010

Member since Mar 2010

For what was probably a "throw it out there" release to make a few more bucks I must say the venues are stellar and fun. The music may be the same as the other releases, but the challenge has been bumped up significantly (i.e. Medium is really Hard). The songs play much better than on the previous releases as well. Definitely worth the rent and the gamer points and GH still continues to be as addicting as ever.

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

More of the same...good or bad?

posted by ZJrocks03 (LA MESA, CA) Feb 12, 2010

Member since Jan 2010

If you've been playing the guitar hero games from the start, then this will be nothing new for you (in fact you'll of played all of the songs on this disc before). That said though, the track list is stunning and quite fun with all the new instruments. This is the perfect, "I'll rent it" game.

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

Same Old Game

posted by GotGame36 (SAINT PETERS, MO) Jan 20, 2010

Member since Dec 2007

It's my fault for renting this.......

They didn't make any changes at all. Same characters, same guitars, same story line...etc.....etc. This is just another boring Guitar Hero game with the same songs we have already played.

The volume of the songs is way to low. I adjusted them in the options but still could not get it right.

Guitar Hero is starting to remind me of the Dynasty Warrior series games which they make part 6 but change nothing and still want you to buy it even though you played it in part 1-5.

Waste of a rent in my opinion.

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GF Rating

2

Really Bad

What again

posted by shadowfig (INDEPENDENCE, MO) Nov 21, 2009

Member since Nov 2009

same as the rest of the guitar heros except one thing your playing a collection of the old songs from the ones released before this over again kinda repeating its self we were very disapointed in this game one up side theres a couple songs that you could not have played unless you played it on playstation other than that the graphics and options are the same as the newer ones hope this helps

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GF Rating

8

Very Good

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits! Review

posted by Kamakazi (STEPHENS CITY, VA) Aug 24, 2009

Member since Aug 2009

The average Guitar Hero fan will be very skeptical about getting this game, as they feel it is just the same songs they have played before.

THIS IS NOT SO.

From the start you will get to play those old songs that you forgot you loved, now freshly re-charted to the new standards. One can really enjoy the GH1 remade songs.

For new Guitar Hero fans, its a chance to play the songs you may have missed out on.

As for Achievements, they are quite difficult and/or disappointing. You only get 30G for beating a career, and most of the achievements are focused on online play or instruments other than guitar.

Overall, i gave it a 8/10. I loved the songs and the new charts, the online was okay, the achievement possibilities were disappointing, and TTFAF is even more over-charted than before :)

Happy Gaming!

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GF Rating

6

Above Average

Good, but short lived

posted by sslagsvol (BOSTON, MA) Aug 21, 2009

Member since Nov 2008

As a huge fan of the entire GH/RB series, i was psyched about this game.

The fact of the matter is, the songs are not as fun as you remember them. Most have been made a little bit harder (raining blood is EXTRA impossible now) , but the majority are pretty easy, and boring. The additional instruments add a marginal extra bit of playtime. (where's the huge drum solo from frankenstein!)

Overall pretty good, but you've already heard these songs 300 times, and the fun of playing them now isn't as exciting. A great rental, a poor buy.

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Guitar Hero: Smash Hits for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

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