As the result of some odd timing, Van Halen and video games have been linked together in my mind for years now. It was the release of Greatest Hits: Volume I that really got me into the band and their older catalog, which was also approximately the time I was heavily invested in Super Mario 64.

Lots of really good early Van Halen songs; Note layouts that highlight Eddie Van Halen's guitar work; Details about EVH's guitar setup for each song; Excellent sound quality

Missing Sammy Hagar's songs & Michael Anthony's presence; No drop-in/drop-out from GH5 (World Tour engine?; Wolfgang's horrible 18-year old musical taste; Not exportable; Should have been DLC

The graphic design in Guitar Hero: Van Halen screams "80's" with totally "mod" black, white and red stripes used heavily throughout, while you can choose from familiar existing characters or create up to twenty custom characters of your own.

One of two things need to happen to these themed discs – either they need to be priced cheaper, similar to a SingStar disc, or they need to offer a little more value than a bunch of songs, some new characters which are supposed to resemble the band, and some random pieces of information about said...

I will admit that, being under the age of 45, I've never been an avid fan of Van Halen. Their brand of sugar coated glam rock goodness served them well in the 1980s, but, while some of their hits have entered my consciousness, the band hasn't exactly aged well, descending into obscurity in the eyes...

There once was a magical yet terrifying time full of humongous hair, T-top convertibles and jeans so tight that you may as well have just painted your lower body denim blue and called it a day.

Guitar Hero itself is still a fiendishly playable game, and the note charts here are of a high standard (this is one area in which the franchise has been steadily improving following Harmonix's departure).

I take a bit of pride in being one of the few remaining Van Halen fans left on the planet who is younger than 65. I can't remember a time when I didn't rock out to Eddie's amazing solos and riffs and Diamond Dave's captivating vocals.

Another Guitar Hero title is offered up to the masses featuring 28 Van Halen tracks and 19 guests chosen by the band. This one however did not keep up to the standards I expected from a Guitar Hero title. Mostly this is because the new features brought to us in Guitar Hero 5 are absent.

What a terrible, raging piece of crap this game is. Maybe the band was uncooperative in releasing info about themselves. Maybe it was impossible to get the rights to make this a DLC offering. It doesn't matter. This game on disc shouldn't exist. Period.

So let's pretend you're Activision. You've released a Guitar Hero game based on Aerosmith, as a means of testing the waters to see how the fans would react to a product like that. Then you green-light a full-scale game that's dedicated to the biggest name in the rock world, Metallica.