Buzzin Games

For a company that has been known to cancel games for not having “potential to be exploited every year across every platform”, it’s no surprise that Activision loves the Guitar Hero series, but even they must realise that they’re pushing it a bit now.

Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits is coming to Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 3 and the must-be-on-its-last-legs-now-surely Playstation 2 platforms this summer, and it will include 48 master recordings from the previous games in the series.

The good news is that this will take many of Guitar Hero World Tour’s improvements on board, so gamers can look forward to added drums and vocals in the songs for the first time, as well as online play and GHWT’s Music Studio feature that allowed you to make your own songs or blatantly copy more famous ones.

There will be no new venues, but gamers who have spent far too long on the series and can play “Through the Fire and Flames” on expert blindfolded will be rewarded with a new “Expert +” setting. Think I’ll just stick to hard.

Of the 48 tracks (which seems a little short to me, given even Guitar Hero: Aerosmith managed 41), only a partial track listing has emerged just yet, but here it is anyway:

Alice in Chains – Them Bones
Dragonforce – Through the Fire and Flames
Heart – Barracuda
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – I Love Rock N Roll
Poison – Nothin’ But a Good Time
Queen – Killer Queen
Rage Against The Machine – Killing in the Name
Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock

Disappointingly, according to an interview with IGN, Activision haven’t followed in the sensible shoes of Harmonix’s Rock Band series and will not be allowing the tracks to be exported to the hard disk for use in future titles. Neither will DLC purchased for Guitar Hero World Tour work in this new release, which sounds like Activision shooting itself in the foot to me.

What do you think readers? Is Activision going to cause the franchise’s downfall by milking it too hard?

Never seen the appeal of waving around noisy plastic instruments?

And what have been the best songs to virtually strum along to, anyway?

Let us know in the comments.