Games
Sony
Microsoft
Nintendo
Other Platforms
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
xx
0-D Beat Drop!
xx
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Game Time
70
Ashes Cricket 2009
91
Assassin's Creed II
69
Axel & Pixel
xx
Backyard Football '10
60
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
78
Band Hero
63
Bass Pro Shops: The Strike
92
Batman: Arkham Asylum
89
Beatles: Rock Band, The
71
Ben 10: Alien Force - Vilgax Attacks
xx
Black College Football: The Xperience - The Doug Williams Edition
xx
Blood Bowl
83
Borderlands
44
Brave: A Warrior's Tale
82
Brutal Legend
70
Bubble Bobble Neo!
77
Bust-A-Move Live!
xx
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010
xx
Cabela's Outdoor Adventures 2009
94
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
58
Cars Race-O-Rama
xx
Chaotic: Shadow Warriors
68
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
74
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Commander's Challenge
xx
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Deadly Intent
45
Darkest of Days
83
Defense Grid: The Awakening
xx
Diner Dash
87
DiRT 2
84
DJ Hero
88
Dragon Age: Origins
66
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
xx
Dreamkiller
xx
Encleverment Experiment
57
F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn
51
Fairytale Fights
65
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta
90
FIFA Soccer 10
61
Football Genius: The Ultimate Quiz
92
Forza Motorsport 3
42
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
xx
Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection
79
Gears of War 2: Dark Corners
89
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
85
Guitar Hero 5
xx
Guitar Hero: Van Halen
81
Gyromancer
83
Halo 3: ODST
62
Heroes Over Europe
80
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
62
Inferno Pool
61
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao
74
Ion Assault
xx
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
xx
Jurassic: The Hunted
xx
Karaoke Revolution
90
Left 4 Dead 2
76
Left 4 Dead: Crash Course
69
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
74
LEGO Rock Band
69
Lips: Number One Hits
63
Lucidity
xx
Madagascar Kartz
85
Madden NFL 10
69
Magnacarta 2
82
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
73
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
48
Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station
64
Military Madness: Nectaris
73
Mini Ninjas
xx
MX vs. ATV Reflex
83
NBA 2K10
71
NBA 2K10: Draft Combine
80
NBA Live 10
31
NBA Unrivaled
75
NCAA Basketball 10
83
Need for Speed SHIFT
88
NHL 10
68
NHL 2K10
76
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
77
Panzer General: Allied Assault
83
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
xx
Planet 51
77
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
xx
Qubed
63
Raiden IV
63
Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!
38
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger
66
Red Faction: Guerrilla - Demons of the Badlands
58
Risen
xx
Rock Band Metal Track Pack
xx
Rogue Warrior
xx
Saboteur, The
75
Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space
60
Saw
69
Section 8
88
Shadow Complex
71
Sonic & Knuckles
71
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
xx
SpongeBob's Truth or Square
43
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
xx
Stoked: Big Air Edition
38
Summer Athletics 2009
60
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
80
Tekken 6
59
Tony Hawk: RIDE
69
Tornado Outbreak
62
Tower Bloxx Deluxe
86
Trials HD
72
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 2: The Last Resort
70
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 3: Muzzled!
xx
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 4: The Bogey Man
39
Warriors: Street Brawl, The
44
Watchmen: The End is Nigh - Part 2
66
Way of the Samurai 3
69
WET
54
Where the Wild Things Are
72
Wolfenstein
81
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010
55
Yo-Ho Kablammo
65
Zombie Apocalypse
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 56 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Beenox Studios
Genre(s): Music
Players: 8
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Summary
Guitar Hero Smash Hits takes the most exciting, recognizable and fun to play music from genre-defining titles Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which were previously available for guitar-only in-game play, and delivers them as a compelling and dynamic full band experience. Featuring 48 master recordings, Guitar Hero Smash Hits delivers exciting online and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player "Battle of the Bands,: which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. Players' rock n' roll fantasies turn to realities as they create their rocker, compose original music and share it with the world through the innovative Music Studio, GHTunesSM and robust Rock Star Creator gameplay modes first introduced in Guitar Hero World Tour. The tracklist includes: Killer Queen (Queen), I Love Rock N Roll (Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), Bark At The Moon (Ozzy), Them Bones (Alice in Chains), Killing in the Name (Rage Against The Machine), Message In A Bottle (The Police), Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas) Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd), I Wanna Rock (Twisted Sister), Nothin But A Good Time (Poison), Barracuda (Heart), Through the Fire and Flames (DragonForce). [Activision]
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Game Chronicles
Smash Hits was just the breath of fresh recycled air that we needed.
Read Full Review >PGNx Media
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is an incredibly fun game and one that will definitely keep you entertained until Guitar Hero V arrives.
Read Full Review >WonderwallWeb
While its drums and vocals lack passion, the rest of the game excels and with some more promotion and respect, this game could be the best GH game around!
Read Full Review >GamingTrend
I went into my review for Guitar Hero Smash Hits expecting a retread, but instead saw all of these great tracks get new life. The improvements from Metallica fused with a less niche soundtrack, is simply plastic-instrument-band heaven.
Read Full Review >XGN
Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits is actually a bit too expensive for the relatively small track list. You might wonder why it's a totally new game in stead of downloadable songs, furthermore it's all too similar to Guitar Hero: World Tour. However de game is still strong and once you start to play you don't want to stop singing or drumming, because these new features are now possible.
Read Full Review >Extreme Gamer
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is the perfect compilation disc to pick up if you have missed some of the other editions along the way.
Read Full Review >Armchair Empire
For the more casual player, Smash Hits is a good opportunity to breakout the instruments from On Tour and have some summer fun.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
Smash Hits does absolutely nothing to advance the GH brand in any way, but if you’ve long since packed up your PS2 it’s a great way to get your hands on some old-school favorites.
Read Full Review >Gameplayer Sweden
Even if Guitar Hero: Smash Hits only would have been a collection of songs lifted from the previous games, you'd still have to appreciate it. But with the added support for full band play, and it's certainly fun to drum to the old classics, Smash Hits evolves into must buy for any fan of the franchise.
Read Full Review >Pelit (Finland)
Updates some of the old songs from the series to band play, but the set list leaves lot to be desired. Sure, there are lots of hits in there, but also lots of misses that should’ve been left buried in time. Original versions of the songs instead of covers are nice addition, however. [June 2009]
Team Xbox
It plays well, but it feels like Activision is going overboard by not marketing it as DLC instead of a new retail-box release. Also, developer Beenox did a good job, but didn’t add anything of note to the gameplay components to spark interest.
Read Full Review >GameDaily
If this is your first Guitar Hero experience, then indulge. If you've played these songs before, wait for new songs in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5.
Read Full Review >ZTGameDomain
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is a great collection of tracks from previous games, re-constructed for the current evolution of the genre. If you are ok with that, and don't mind swapping discs to access this content, then do not hesitate purchasing it.
Read Full Review >GameFocus
With Guitar Hero 5 shipping in less than three months and being touted as “the ultimate Guitar Hero experience”, it’s a bit odd that Activision decided to offer this compilation on a retail disc instead of going with the downloadable content model. Still, any fan of Guitar Hero won’t overlook the fact that you can now play the most popular tracks of the franchise with more than one instrument and won’t hesitate to add the game to their game collection.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Guitar Hero Smash Hits isn’t much of a progression for the series, so seasoned vets looking for something new will be disappointed. However, newcomers who didn’t pick up the series until last year will get the most out of it.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine
That full price is steep for what feels like an add-on disc. Gather your bandmates for a money-saving weekend rental, and you’ll have more fun with the oldies than you might expect.
Read Full Review >Da Gameboyz
Perhaps five years from now a greatest hits game would have been more appropriate but for now diehards may just want just pick this one up as an extended rental.
Read Full Review >AtomicGamer
If you've got the controllers already bought and the friends sitting around that are willing to play at least half of these songs either for the first time or in the new, updated way, then by all means go for it. If any of those conditions fail, though, you might want to wait three months for the next major iteration in Guitar Hero.
Read Full Review >Gameplanet
Probably best to consider this game as a track pack for Guitar Hero World Tour, with looser timing and an arguably better choice of songs. It does seem like money grab however, and we can't help but think offering it as a DLC pack may have been a wiser move.
Read Full Review >Kombo
If you can get past the feeling that you have already played these songs before, even though these are better recordings, Smash Hits is like a jukebox full of the best songs from Guitar Hero's past.
Read Full Review >Multiplayer.it
Guitar Hero Greatest Hits is trying to combine World Tour's features to appeal to casual gamers, with a tracklist mostly suited to hardcore gamers, built around a number of hardrock songs, most singers will find difficult to perform. Given the fact that you can't download additional songs, this could have been a perfect DLC. As it is, it may not be enough to be preferred to World Tour's Package.
Read Full Review >Vandal Online
It would be a tough buy decision for a series veteran, but is a more than recommended acquisition for those who want to jump into the music genre.
Read Full Review >Gaming Nexus
One could certainly argue that Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is nothing more than a glorified expansion pack. But there's definitely enough content in this game to warrant a look, even if you already own these songs in older Guitar Hero games. I just wish Activision would have done more with this idea than throwing us new songs.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
I can only recommend this title to Guitar Hero enthusiasts that feel the band side of their collection is sorely missing the tracks included with this release. Everyone else out there could just as easily hold out for Guitar Hero 5, or wait for Smash Hits to hit the bargain bin or used section of their favorite game store.
Read Full Review >XboxAddict
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.
Read Full Review >Xbox World Australia
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.
Read Full Review >MondoXbox
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.
Read Full Review >RealGamer
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.
Read Full Review >Gamervision
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.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine UK
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.
Read Full Review >IGN
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.
Read Full Review >Games Radar (in-house)
But ultimately, this expansion will live or die based upon its song selection.
Read Full Review >Gamer.nl
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.
Read Full Review >Everyeye.it
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.
Read Full Review >Meristation
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.
Read Full Review >Console Monster
The incredible set list and extensive online features make the title a great purchase for new and returning players alike.
Read Full Review >VideoGamer
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.
Read Full Review >GamePro
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.
Read Full Review >Games Master UK
A must-have for all late Guitar Hero adopters. A must-not for anybody with the earlier titles. [Sept 2009, p.70]
Worth Playing
Rather than put forth any real creative effort, it is a mere repackaging of existing content in an effort to earn some quick cash.
Read Full Review >3DJuegos
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.
Read Full Review >Gaming Age
It's a good selection of songs from the previous games, and it's a great way to reacquainted with a few old favorites.
Read Full Review >InsideGamer.nl
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.
Read Full Review >Boomtown
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.
Read Full Review >Teletext GameCentral
An expansion pack in full price clothing, offering only new versions of admittedly classic songs.
Read Full Review >X360 Magazine UK
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]
Gamestyle
While not a bad game, Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits just feels like an easy cash-in among the other music games flooding the market.
Read Full Review >Play.tm
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.
Read Full Review >Totally360
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.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
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.
Read Full Review >games(TM)
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]
Giant Bomb
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.
Read Full Review >GamingExcellence
As it is this isn’t a worthwhile value for your money. Accept that this is just Activision trying to milk the Guitar Hero fans for their money and wait for the price to drop so you can get it on the cheap.
Read Full Review >GameShark
Unless you’ve never played the first game or just have to have the vocal and drum parts included, there’s almost nothing here you can’t get by looking for a cheap deal buying Guitar Hero II or III separately.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nathan J. gave it a1:
Terrible game. You are better off with the Harmonix versions from GH1, 2 and 80s. Yes it's true that those are only guitar, BUT the drums and vocals aren't worth playing, so yeah you are better off with the old games.
