The Top 5 Guitar Hero Games

If your torn between which game you should rock your socks off to, allow me to lend some help. What with the recent arrival of Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band, it seems that many people are rushing out to buy the latest installments when actually, you could probably get an older, better and cheaper game with much better songs on it. I shall tell you (in my opinion) which are the top five Guitar Hero games to buy, allowing you to drum, sing and strum yourself silly. Let us begin at the beginning (great place to begin)...

1. Guitar Hero Metallica

Dear lord there has never been more an intense shredding session than GH Metallica! One of the best and most intense bands of the 20th century has a whole setlist devoted to their greatness! I have chosen this first as I think it is the most fun and has some of my favourite songs on it. Getting to play things like Fade to Black, Fight Fire with Fire, Wherever I May Roam, Mercyful Fate and Fuel makes my fingers orgasm with delight. Activision has paid great homage to the band, with incredible likeness and detail going into everything from Lar's drumsticks to Rob's qudad ponytails, which they failed to do back in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, with Lars giving his sly smirks, James being intensly central and interacting with the crowd and Rob and Kirk just being immense. This is only for the hardcore expert player or a true Metallica fan, as playing on Medium is slightly bittersweet in my view as you can play the song but know your missing probably half the notes out. Not only does this game feature the gods of metal but it also features bands that have either inspired or been inspired by Metallica, such bands as Queen, Mastadon, Machine Head, System of a Down and Bob Seger. This game probably won't be for everyone, but in my view is the best GH game Activision have made.

2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

This was the first ever GH game I owned, the one that sparked my love affair with the 5 coloured buttons. This game is a great mix of difficulties, varied songs and has unlimited playability. There's something in there for everyone, from the chillaxed Indie fan (When You Were Young by The Killers, Reptilia by The Strokes and Helicopter by Bloc Party), to the old school rock and roll people (Cities on Flame by Blue Oyster Cult, Rock and Roll All Night by KISS and Rock You Like a Hurricane by The Scorpions) to the intense metal heads (tracks like One by Metallica, Raining Blood by Slayer and Before I Forget by Slipknot). This game has all the necessary ingredients to keep every type of Guitar Hero happy. The achievements aren't bad either, and also has the best and easiest hit system to date, not to mention DLC packs like DragonForce, Muse and Velvet Revolver.

3. Guitar Hero World Tour

This isn't really one of my favourites but I think it would suit most people as the songs are the most varied mix. Very different music types all blended into one setlist and plus this was the first introduction of all instruments in a Guitar Hero game (Rock Band's Rock in a Box being the first). Not many songs keep me happy on that game so I'm found to be playing Assassin by Muse, Trapped Under Ice by Metallica and Pull Me Under by Dream Theater over and over, but would recommend this for most people as this is slightly less intense and easier to pick up and play than GH3: LoR. The size of the setlist is huge compared to the previous installments, and the range of online modes is a nice change of pace from the usual Face-off, Pro Face-off and Co-op modes, with the introduction of new instruments allowing each song to have 3 seperate note tracks and allowing veteran players to get to grips with guitar, drums and vocals.

4. Guitar Hero 5

The latest installment is probably a decent buy, with 85 songs by 83 artists showing that Activision is really casting its net to the far corners of society to capture anyone and everyone it can. Music ranging from Bob Dylan to Arctic Monkeys and Blink 182 sounds like a good idea on paper with the company trying to please everyone, but the lack of focus here is a let down for me. However, the simplicity of the game makes it very user friendly, even for people who are over 40 and have a phobia of the joypad. There is just one big main menu, with the confusing to navigate mini menus that littered the previous titles being removed and the game being revamped to make it more appealing to newcomers without offending the hardcores. The drop in drop out play is a welcome feature, with your friends able to just join in, pick and instrument and jump right in with you. The tedious procedure of playing the early, easy and somewhat mundance songs in career mode has been eliminated and the career is now based on how many stars you can earn, allowing you to have alot more control and overall, fun. The in-song and band challenges will keep the addicts and completionists coming back for more. Overall I would this is a safe option as your first buy, but wouldn't being up 'til 3am on ebay outbidding some guy from poland to get it

5. Guitar Hero II

This is very old school, and so it obviously does has its flaws but you can tell that Activision, Harmonix and RedOctane had real bash and putting together this title. The hit system is very difficult to nail, as a slight mistime of a hammer on can shoot your note streak straight out of the sky, also it is very hard to differentiate between what is a normal note and what is a hammer-on/pull-off due to the poor and sketchy visuals but I suppose that is not what the game is about, it's about rocking. This has a decent mix of songs, both challenging and fun. The major downside is that the tracks you play aren't the master versions, so they will be the re-recorded versions that the companies themselves have done. This doesnt really affect the guitar track but vocal differences is blatantly obvious (listen to the version of Sweet Child O Mine and you'll see). The lack of online co-op really hurts the game, with your friends who own the game not being able to play with you online is real smack in the nether regions. However, when all is said and done, what matters on these games is the music and this game (considering when it was made) is a real gem, plus it has the best working guitar they've made so far.

Well I hope these concise and, fairly arrousing paragraphs, helped u in any decision making you have to do, or it may have been some non-sensical and intoxicated ramblings of a man with far too much time to spare but nonetheless, it was a pleasure.