Game Card
Guitar Hero Smash Hits (PS3)
- Publisher:
- Activision
- Developer:
- Beenox Studios
- US Release:
- 26.06.2009
- EU Release:
- n/a
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Music
- Reality Factor:
- Realistic
- Extra:
- Management
- Age:
- Modern Times
Review
We play Guitar Hero Smash Hits...
After Guitar Hero Metallica, one of our favorite music games released to date, it seemed like developer Neversoft was on top of the world. What happened may have something to do with Beenox, a different Activision development team taking charge here, but Smash Hits is anything but a good Guitar Hero title. This rehash of old songs from previous Guitar Hero games will leave you wondering why you spent $60 for songs you already have.
No, you aren't paying the full price for stuff you already have. Every single song on Smash Hits is a song from a Guitar Hero title before the introduction of drums and vocals to the series, meaning the 48 songs available all come with parts for four players. And there's of course online play, so friends don't need to physically be at your house to play those classics like before.
What you are paying for is 48 songs that have appeared on Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, 3, The 80's, and one song from Aerosmith. Anyone who's owned at least two of these titles, not including Aerosmith, will find the game an utter waste of time and money.
Don't get me wrong, there are some good things about Smash Hits. But it does more harm than good, in my opinion. Having played every Guitar Hero since 2, since its 'next-gen' debut, as well as both Rock Band titles, I can safely say that Smash Hits is only for people who are just getting into the music genre of games, or drummers and vocalists.
The first, and perhaps biggest problem, is that the guitar parts are very different from the original songs. While the upgrades to gameplay, such as holding a note while playing other notes, were expected and even encouraged changes, some of the more challenging songs were rendered easy because of note placement or design changes. Others were made much harder. For owners of the previous titles, not only is this annoying, to relearn all the same songs that some have spent minutes to hours perfecting, but many of the 'improvements' don't feel like improvements at all. The general scheme of notes is properly placed, but many songs don't fluctuate enough based on the music from highs to lows.
There is one major gameplay improvement, something that both Harmonix and Neversoft never quite did right: Hammer-ons and Pull-offs. In Smash Hits, notes that don't need to be strummed have a white glow on their top, so it's very easy to see which don't need to be strummed. Compared to the previous attempts to relay this information on-screen, this is an excellent addition.
Besides this glowing light, the track list is weak, plot of the game is weak, and there is no incentive to do anything besides play through the songs, even though money is given and there are guitars and clothes to purchase. There just is very little that Smash Hits has to offer except for playing songs; the same old songs we enjoyed a few years ago. Why do we have to buy this new game to enjoy them?
For the full price, Smash Hits just feels like Activision is turning into what EA used to be, a behemoth videogame publisher after nothing but money from Joe Videogamer. Anyone who missed out on the earlier Guitar Hero games will appreciate Smash Hits, but anyone who has owned or owns even one of those older games will feel cheated. Unless you want to play the drums, sing or play these older songs with friends online, buying Smash Hits will be just that: cheating yourself.
No, you aren't paying the full price for stuff you already have. Every single song on Smash Hits is a song from a Guitar Hero title before the introduction of drums and vocals to the series, meaning the 48 songs available all come with parts for four players. And there's of course online play, so friends don't need to physically be at your house to play those classics like before.
 |
 |
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| You'd better be playing with your friends or be new to Guitar Hero. Otherwise, what are you doing?! | We like being able to play those old songs with all instruments, but a lot are already available for download on Rock Band. |
What you are paying for is 48 songs that have appeared on Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, 3, The 80's, and one song from Aerosmith. Anyone who's owned at least two of these titles, not including Aerosmith, will find the game an utter waste of time and money.
Don't get me wrong, there are some good things about Smash Hits. But it does more harm than good, in my opinion. Having played every Guitar Hero since 2, since its 'next-gen' debut, as well as both Rock Band titles, I can safely say that Smash Hits is only for people who are just getting into the music genre of games, or drummers and vocalists.
The first, and perhaps biggest problem, is that the guitar parts are very different from the original songs. While the upgrades to gameplay, such as holding a note while playing other notes, were expected and even encouraged changes, some of the more challenging songs were rendered easy because of note placement or design changes. Others were made much harder. For owners of the previous titles, not only is this annoying, to relearn all the same songs that some have spent minutes to hours perfecting, but many of the 'improvements' don't feel like improvements at all. The general scheme of notes is properly placed, but many songs don't fluctuate enough based on the music from highs to lows.
There is one major gameplay improvement, something that both Harmonix and Neversoft never quite did right: Hammer-ons and Pull-offs. In Smash Hits, notes that don't need to be strummed have a white glow on their top, so it's very easy to see which don't need to be strummed. Compared to the previous attempts to relay this information on-screen, this is an excellent addition.
 |
 |
|
| Some of the music sounds a little tinny, and we're not sure why. The game overall is also quieter, annoyingly. | Graphically, there is no improvement. At least Metallica and Aerosmith moved realistically...this looks like a PS2 game again. |
Besides this glowing light, the track list is weak, plot of the game is weak, and there is no incentive to do anything besides play through the songs, even though money is given and there are guitars and clothes to purchase. There just is very little that Smash Hits has to offer except for playing songs; the same old songs we enjoyed a few years ago. Why do we have to buy this new game to enjoy them?
For the full price, Smash Hits just feels like Activision is turning into what EA used to be, a behemoth videogame publisher after nothing but money from Joe Videogamer. Anyone who missed out on the earlier Guitar Hero games will appreciate Smash Hits, but anyone who has owned or owns even one of those older games will feel cheated. Unless you want to play the drums, sing or play these older songs with friends online, buying Smash Hits will be just that: cheating yourself.
