From the original Guitar Hero, to Guiter Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits combines the best tracks into one solid collection of guitar based rock. Featuring 48 master recordings, Smash Hits is perfect for the Guitar Hero fan who can’t get enough satisfaction.

Until Activision’s fifth edition of the ultra-popular Guitar Hero arrives this fall, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits should have enough recycled rock n’ roll tune-age to keep your rock dreams alive. Following the recent trend of Guitar Hero band spin-offs, Smash Hits has all the tweaks from their last big hit release (Guitar Hero: Metallica) bundled into a classic reworking of the series older songs. Smash Hits is the biggest collection to hit one Guitar Hero game featuring the top songs from the five previous Guitar Hero games.

The Smash Hits collection should be most appealing to gamers who want to rock out with a full band arrangement on some of their old favorites. Since these tracks come from version before World Tour, Guitar Hero fans who have missed the earlier releases will be interested in a whole set list of new songs. Plus, you have to factor in that the original Guitar Hero wasn't even released on modern day consoles, and a few releases have missed the Playstation 3 and Wii. The songs list featured in Smash Hits includes the most popular selections from  the original Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: Encore: Rocks the 80s and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. *Scroll down to see the full set list.

Add this all together and you have a mighty batch of songs which might be the greatest collection on one disc. Not only do these songs take advantage of the full kit, they have also taken advantage of the “+EXPERT” mode from Guitar Hero: Metallica and the new “slide tapping” feature off World Tour’s Guitar. Smash Hits also takes more improvements made in Metallica’s version with all the songs immediately unlocked in quick play and a star based system in order to move on rather than the old style of completing pre-made set lists.

Canadian developer Beenox Studios was behind the reworking of the Guitar Hero songs for the Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. They did an excellent job establishing some the ported classics into new challenges with use of the new instrumentation. Don’t be surprised if a few parts of songs are switched up from the original. They also had full use of the master tracks to work their magic with. This is real important when separating the different parts between the instruments. More than a killer mix, you'll get to hear it in crystal clarity. For all those who remember some of the covers from the first two Guitar Hero games, you’ll be happy to hear the original artists on the bill.

Smash Hits pretty much looks the same as before with a varied system of animations, cut-scenes are rock arenas. In this edition of the game Beenox focused on the Wonders of the World as a backdrop so you can rock around the world. In all other respects Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is true to the World Tour’s advancements with included multiplayer, career mode.

One downside to Smash Hits is that you can import any other Guitar Hero DLC into the game meaning you’ll be switching disc up to rock out with your other songs. Until this is patched, or Guitar Hero V adds an import feature, you’ll have to deal with switching between all the different versions of Guitar Hero. At least, Smash Hits eliminates some of the hassle with replaying the older Guitar Hero games.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is the perfect compilation disc to pick up if you have missed some of the other editions along the way. This is perfect for the Guitar Hero late bloomer, or all the Guitar Hero drummers/ singers around the world. Besides drumming, or singing to some classic Guitar Hero tracks you’ll get to take advantage of all the new upgrades made in series up until now. This includes the new instruments, multiplayer, and other modes. Considering some of those Guitar Hero titles never made it to the Wii, or the Playstation 3, owners of those two consoles might have a bigger interest in Smash Hits release. Bottom line, if you’re a fan and don’t already own all FIVE versions of Guitar Hero that Smash Hits is based off of, then you should check out the set-list to see if Smash Hits is worth rocking out to.

Gameplay:8.5, Graphics:8.0, Sound:10, Innovation:7.0, Mojo:8.5 Final: 8.4 / 10

Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy | 07.07.09