Hits (that’s what they call it on dashboard at least) is being developed by Beenox. Never heard of them before? They have been the leader of developing PC ports of popular movie tie-in games in the past but never really sold enough copies of their games to be heard much about. So now that the developer has finally got some recognition, can it pull off the legend of Guitar Hero?

 

 

Funnily enough, this game is actually really good fun. While the cutscenes make absolutely no sense at all, the creation tools are very well implanted. Before you even play a song you need to create a band name and logo and that in itself can take over 30 minutes to perfect, before you give up and realize that the random options which Beenox have created are much better. Then you enter into the career mode which to begin with anyway, chucks about 6-8 songs at you. It’s presented in a Quickplay-style system, and when you unlock a certain amount of songs the next bunch comes along. This is something which is welcomed back to the series after previous Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 outings of ‘gigs’ rather than ‘songs’. 

 

But being songs which we have all played before, there are flaws with the setlist. Firstly, many songs have loads of notes and this means it’s a much harder game than World Tour (especially on Guitar/Bass). The second problem is that the other instruments don’t really work with the game. Not because they are incredibly easy, which they are, or because they aren’t noted well, because they are, instead it’s because the experience has not been implemented very well. Unfortunately the drums just seem to be massively lacking the ‘punch’ factor, and therefore became very boring, very quickly. A big shame really since this would have added some much needed longevity to the title. 

 

Luckily the 48 songs have been incredibly well picked out (by the fans at least). Whether or not it was a promotional con to get players to buy a game they have helped create a setlist for is irrelevant since it’s one of the best around and is worth paying £45 for alone. Add to this the amazing new graphical details on each set, from the characters hands through to the fans moving in time with the music (and not just the fans who sing along with you!) and this has to be one of the most polished GH games around when it comes to graphics. And when you activate star power, you can still hear the words of the song. Oh boy do those classics add something to the series!

 

 

So is Guitar Hero Greatest Hits a game which will last you until The Beatles return this September, or just a pleasant weekend of rocking? Well the songs are short, but sweet. The guitar and bass tracks rock, but the drums and vocals lack massively. Lots of achievements require online, but luckily that area is strong, consisting of the normal modes such as battle, faceoff, band etc. The loadings screens are brisk, but the cutscenes are meaningless. The setlist rocks, but the studio just flops. You see the game should get a cool 50/50 mark but it doesn’t. It gets a hell of a lot higher. With a little bit more time and passion this greatest hits package could have been a shelf flyer with drums and vocals to match, but for what’s worth, it is just a good old song and dance through the fire and flames.