Do you remember a time when a Guitar Hero game wasn’t coming out when you hadn’t even played or maybe finished the last two? Neither do I! So let’s jump right into Guitar Hero: Smash Hits for the Wii.

Though Guitar Hero hate flies around pretty rampantly in the gaming community — not helped at all by a CEO who is routinely defaced in Photoshop on account of what he says — I still have a pretty strong desire to rock with my plastic axe. This particular title was a multiplatform endeavor about the same time last year, in the heat of all the cries of oversaturation. Did Guitar Hero: Smash Hits fairly bear the brunt of such verbal abuse?

As most things go, it purely depends on context. On the one hand, you have a good port, functioning in almost the exact same way. The one exception, on the Wii’s part in any case, is a graphical downgrade. A massive downgrade. From the venues to the characters and anything in between, the game’s visuals are more akin to the portable affairs than anything on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is saved some embarrassment in this regard, as most eyes will be rightly focused on the note highways, so the issue is largely moot — despite a hideous translation compared to the stronger brethren of this console cycle.

The load times seem faster, though there are more of them. So there’s no benefit there. Also, for all those who yearn for online play packaged in with their Wii titles, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits offers up all the same as the Xbox 360 and PS3 — without the competent infrastructure of a good online service. Xbox Live still delivers the most; the PSN is a good but underwhelming alternative; the Wii online service barely exists. GHTunes wasn’t working at the time of my playing, nor was I able to find anyone online in any play list, despite my attempts of finding someone at supposed “peak hours.” Be wary, the functionality exists, but the support certainly doesn’t.

So awful graphics, online almost intangible at this point ... where’s the quality? Like most music game experiences, the quality is in the strength of its set list. Almost 50 songs from all the past Guitar Hero experiences, recharted and with masters for a full band experience. This game definitely has one of the most solid set lists of recent outings; the only disappointment for most is their favorite song not making the list. Guitar Hero: Smash Hits does a good job in my eyes and provides one of my favorite final tiers as far as difficulty in quite some time. On any instrument, you will have a lot of material to jam to (especially if you have access to GHTunes, the free online song download service) and will challenge players of any difficulty. I did not have a drum set to use with the Wii as of the time of this writing, but the other three instruments performed exactly as they do on the Xbox 360, so I have no doubt the drums go off without a hitch.

One of my last major complaints is more or less with the complete lack of bonus songs from any of the previous Guitar Hero titles. I thought some of the greatest tracks to play were in the extras, and sadly, we saw none. It begs the question why they didn’t offer DLC for this title, but they did for others. Sometimes companies miss a really easy opportunity for money and to deliver what players want.

Politics aside — and a reduced price for all of those financially conscious gamers who want quality — Guitar Hero: Smash Hits on the Wii is a smart choice for those who want some challenge on any of their favorite plastic instruments, or who are smart enough not to let splitscreen gaming go the way of the arcade. Though it should be noted, the Wii definitely gets the worst version. If you have no alternative in console except the Nintendo’s little console that could, then go for it. Otherwise, stick with the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions.