In its somewhat short existence (well, compared to other videogame franchises, that is), the Guitar Hero franchise has skyrocketed to rock stardom, selling millions of entries on nearly all systems, putting literally tons of plastic guitars in the hands of gamers everywhere. So, like any band would at the top of their game, Guitar Hero is now releasing its first Greatest Hits compilation, named Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits takes some fan favorites from the series’ previous entries (prior to Guitar Hero World Tour, that is) and lumps them all together in a single game. Additionally, the game adds in full band support, meaning that players can also drum and sing to a variety of songs, with some being very challenging.

The setlist is a varied mix of songs from every Guitar Hero game prior to World Tour (contrary to earlier reports, one track from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith made the cut, “Back in the Saddle”). The developers left the choice up to Guitar Hero fans to choose what tracks they wanted from each entry, and they made some solid choices here. You’ll find classics like Heart’s “Barracuda”, Extreme’s “Play with Me”, Reverend Horton Heat’s “Psychobilly Freakout”, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” and more.

The songs use the same gameplay mechanics as Guitar Hero: Metallica, which means that not only the changes from Guitar Hero World Tour (touch bar support, open notes on bass, etc.) are here, but also Expert + mode for seasoned drummers with two bass pedals. There are only a handful of songs in the game that support Expert + mode, but those that do (like Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and Flames”, Slayer’s “Raining Blood”, and Lamb of God’s “Laid to Rest”) are pretty tough cookies.

Instead of simply taking the tracks from previous games, adding drum and mic support and calling it good, Activision and Beenox have gone the extra mile by securing the master recordings of each song (when masters weren’t available, they instead feature live cuts). The songs sound great, so luckily fans won’t be dealing with the covers from prior Guitar Hero games (something I’m especially thankful for after the notoriously lousy cover version of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” from Guitar Hero 2).

However, if there’s one thing that Smash Hits is sorely lacking, it’s overall value. For newcomers, the deal is pretty sweet as they get a whole new-to-you setlist with a bunch of great tracks of varying difficulty. However, if you’re a longtime fan of the series, you may not want to pay a premium price to go back and revisit KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Nite” or Incubus’s “Stellar”, even if you get added drum and mic support. Additionally, the game currently retails for 60 bucks, and with only 48 songs (as opposed to the 96 on offer from Guitar Hero World Tour) and no DLC aside from Music Studio tracks, it isn’t the best deal around.

Another sore spot is the career mode. Whereas previous Guitar Hero games have featured a more fleshed out approach with “side-mission” sets and somewhat of a cohesive story element, Smash Hits is a pretty basic affair, borrowing the majority of its layout from Guitar Hero: Metallica and its star-based career progression system. Luckily, all of the songs are unlocked in Free Play mode from the get-go, meaning that players will be able to take on whichever song they want from the beginning.

Graphically, the game looks pretty decent, but not great. The aesthetic is mostly lifted from Guitar Hero World Tour, and the character models are the same cartoony avatars that you’ve seen in prior games.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is a solid game for players that picked up the series at World Tour, but doesn’t offer a lot of incentive for seasoned fans. Also, the 60 price point is a bit high for what can be considered an already traversed entry to the storied franchise.

Gameplay: 7.5
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits features the same gameplay as Guitar Hero: Metallica, meaning that gamers can utilize Expert + mode for drums and the touch bar for guitar solos. The career mode is pretty basic, and the game only features 48 tracks, half of what is on offer from Guitar Hero World Tour.

Graphics: 8.0
The environments are on par with the rest of the series, but character models are the same cartoony avatars as before, so there’s really nothing new here aesthetically.

Sound: 8.5
All of the songs have been featured in previous Guitar Hero games, but this time around, every one of them is a either a master recording or live cut from the original band; no covers here.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.0
While it’s fun to go back and revisit earlier songs from the GH canon, there’s really nothing new on offer here.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Same features as Guitar Hero World Tour.

Overall: 7.6
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.