You’ve got to feel sorry for Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Essentially thrown to the wolves before even being properly announced, it hasn’t really had the same push as the annual major iteration or the two band specific versions: Metallica and Aerosmith. If the level of input is anything to go by, though, it probably didn’t deserve it in the first place…

Above all else, one of the major selling points of Guitar Hero: Metallica was how successful it was at servicing its fans. With information for every song on the disc, behind the scenes videos and a handful of charming touches that made it essential, it seemed Activision had found the perfect way to approach these spin-offs. Unfortunately, all that praise is lost where Van Halen is concerned. With not even as much as a distinct career mode, every aspect just feels extremely lacking. There’s no unique extras whatsoever and the only real appeal on offer is the list of songs. Naturally if you’re a fan of the group this should be enough but a few odd decisions make that rather difficult as well.

Even the most lax follower of rock music knows that Van Halen has been through a few changes over the years, the major one being the leaving of David Lee Roth and the arrival of Sammy Hagar. Although arguments will continue to rage about who was better, the fact the latter is nowhere to be seen whatsoever is a huge problem. A quick scan of the tracklist reveals some huge omissions directly because of this. The same peculiarity runs rampant throughout the 44 songs.

The beauty of Metallica was that the other bands on the disc were direct inspirations chosen by the group themselves. Clearly Van Halen decided not to follow the same tact, as many of the ‘guest acts’ seem to have no place whatsoever in relation to the headliners. We could be wrong, but we can’t imagine Blink 182 or Lenny Kravitz being mentioned in the same sentence. To be fair, these random choices are responsible for some of the game’s best moments – Jimmy Eat World’s and Alter Bridge’s entries are excellent – but a handpicked selection of artists from Eddie himself would’ve been much more appreciated.

Stateside, Guitar Hero: Van Halen was GIVEN AWAY FREE with early purchases of Guitar Hero 5. Although it’s certainly not an abomination, there seems to be a sense of logic in that process. Diehard enthusiasts will certainly take away a little something, but it’s a step backward for the series in general and mistake we hope not to see replicated again anytime soon.