When a “greatest hits” Guitar Hero compilation game was announced a few months ago, I couldn’t help but scoff and think it was just another half-baked cash-in on the popular franchise. Okay, this probably still holds true, but as the release date came closer, I wondered if this game could possibly recapture the magic of the first two Guitar Hero titles. Despite having given up on the series and found a new love in Rock Band, I can’t forget how many hours I put into Guitar Hero I and II (before Harmonix jumped ship and went on to create the Rock Band franchise).

The point I was trying to get to amongst the reminiscing of the good old days was that I recently vowed to give Guitar Hero: Smash Hits a fair try. Today, the tracklist for the game was announced, and while I’m happy to have an excuse to play “Freebird” again, it still ticks me off that there are only 48 songs in a full-priced Guitar Hero game. Here’s what $60 gets you:

Guitar Hero

Blue Öyster Cult - "Godzilla"
Boston - "More Than A Feeling"
Deep Purple - "Smoke On The Water"
Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
Helmet - "Unsung (Live)"
Incubus - "Stellar"
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock N' Roll"
Ozzy Osbourne - "Bark At The Moon"
Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell (Live)"
Queen - "Killer Queen"
Queens Of The Stone Age - "No One Knows"
The Donnas - "Take It Off"
The Exies - "Hey You"
White Zombie - "Thunder Kiss '65"

Guitar Hero II

Alice In Chains - "Them Bones"
Avenged Sevenfold - "Beast And The Harlot"
Danzig - "Mother"
Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench"
Iron Maiden - "The Trooper"
Jane's Addiction - "Stop!"
Kansas - "Carry On Wayward Son"
Lamb Of God - "Laid To Rest"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"
Mötley Crüe- "Shout At The Devil"
Nirvana - "Heart-Shaped Box"
Rage Against The Machine - "Killing In The Name"
Reverend Horton Heat - "Psychobilly Freakout"
Rush - "YYZ"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart"
The Police - "Message In A Bottle"
The Sword - "Freya"
Warrant - "Cherry Pie"
Wolfmother - "Woman"

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

Anthrax - "Caught In A Mosh"
Extreme - "Play With Me"
Judas Priest - "Electric Eye"
Poison - "Nothin' But A Good Time"
Ratt - "Round and Round"
Twisted Sister - "I Wanna Rock"

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

AFI - "Miss Murder"
DragonForce - "Through The Fire And Flames"
Heart - "Barracuda"
Kiss - "Rock And Roll All Nite"
Living Colour - "Cult Of Personality"
Pat Benatar - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
Priestess - "Lay Down"
Slayer - "Raining Blood"

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Aerosmith - "Back In The Saddle”

This list is kind of hit or miss for me, there are some great songs on there, and some that I never cared to play again. There are also some that have since been released in Rock Band, making them seem even more redundant. I’ll still give this game a chance, but I’m not as excited as I thought I would be. Also, I’d really like to know if songs that were formerly cover versions will now be master tracks. I guess I’ll find out when the game launches next month.