 The series has also been criticized for its release model in contrast to the Rock Band series , causing some players to hold contempt towards Activision . Harmonix considered the Rock Band series as a " music platform " , and supported it with downloadable content and the ability to import songs from its games and expansions into most other games of the series . Critics argued that Guitar Hero should have been doing the same , either through releasing expansions that could be incorporated into the main games of the series , or by issuing the songs as downloadable content . The release of Guitar Hero : Smash Hits , reworking older songs from the series to full four @-@ instrument band support but otherwise adding no additional material , was called " the definition of ' milking ' " by reviewers , with no observable technical limitation as to why the songs could not be added as downloadable content . Ars Technica recognized that licensing issues might have limited when songs from one single game could be played in others of the series ( such as the case for The Beatles : Rock Band ) , but that such cross @-@ compatibility should have been a high priority for rhythm games . Furthermore , some expansions were praised for the additional content beyond the note @-@ matching gameplay ; Guitar Hero : Metallica is considered to be one of the series ' best works to be developed by Neversoft in part due to the care that the developers took with imaging the band and the available extras for the game . Activision later revealed that both Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero would support playing songs from both Guitar Hero World Tour ( both on @-@ disc and downloadable content ) and Guitar Hero Smash Hits , with music licensing being the only limiting factor on which songs could be made forward @-@ compatible . 
