Dear Activision and RedOctane,

You have earned today’s “Play of the Day”.

Originally, you got a thumbs down for advertising that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was going to be in Dolby Pro Logic II stereo when in fact the Wii versions were in boring mono.  Well, consumers got angry, and Activision and RedOctane reacted positively by offering to replace the disks with new ones.  As the linked article from joystiq puts it, players now get to experience “the bone-crunching intensity of two separate channels of audio slamming into them at whatever volume level their moms have deemed acceptable.”

Free gifts, a picture, the most recent Guitar Hero World Tour setlist, and my new requests after the jump. 

Not one to pass up a free hot meal of stereo, I sent in my disk about two weeks ago.  Today, when I got home, I got two packages.  One of them was the last Play of the Day, and the other was a big box from Activision and RedOctane.

“A big box?” I surmised, “I don’t remember my Guitar Hero game disk being this big?”  Well, it wasn’t.  It was a free faceplate for a guitar, along with a lacquered postcard-sized note.

“Dear Valued Activision/RedOctane Customer,

You Recently received a Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock Wii replacement disk.  To show our appreciation for your patience during the re-mastering and manufacturing phase of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock for the Wii, enclosed is a complementary Guitar Hero™ faceplate from Activision/RedOctane.”

First of all, Guitar Hero is both a ® AND a ™?  You, good sir, are blowing my mind.

Second, thanks for the lovely gift, but WHERE IS MY GAME?  Your site says it’s “on the way”, but wouldn’t it have been cheaper to send my gift and my game in the SAME PACKAGE?  No wonder that these plastic plates cost $19.99 retail, you’re paying twice the amount you need to for shipping.

Here’s a picture:

While we’re at it, let’s compare my request list to the songs that have been announced for the latest version, Guitar Hero World Tour.  The following is the list of songs in the game as of today, August 27th.  The only one on this list and my list was “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne.  The ones I’ve bolded on this list are AWESOME and I’m happy to see their inclusion.

About a Girl – Nirvana
Aggro – The Enemy
American Woman – The Guess Who
Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
B.Y.O.B. – System of a Down
Beat It – Michael Jackson
Bullet with Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins
Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
Dammit – Blink-182
Escuela de Calor – Radio Futura
Everlong – Foo Fighters
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Feel the Pain – Dinosaur Jr.
Float On – Modest Mouse
Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
Good God – Anouk
Hail to the Freaks – Beatsteaks
Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar
Hollywood Nights – Bob Seger
Hot for Teacher – Van Halen
Hotel California – Eagles
In the End – Linkin Park
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
Light My Fire – The Doors
Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Love Me Two Times – The Doors
Love Removal Machine – The Cult
Low (Travis Barker Remix) – Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
L’Via L’Viaquez – The Mars Volta
Misery Business – Paramore Paramore
Monsoon – Tokio Hotel
Mr. Crowley – Ozzy Osbourne
Never Too Late – The Answer
No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
Nuvole E Lenzuola – Negramaro
Obstacle 1 – Interpol
One Armed Scissor – At the Drive-In
One Way or Another – Blondie
Overkill – Motörhead
Purple Haze (Live) – Jimi Hendrix
Rebel Yell – Billy Idol
Rooftops – Lostprophets
Santeria – Sublime
Shiver – Coldplay
Some Might Say – Oasis
Spiderwebs – No Doubt
Stillborn – Black Label Society
The Joker – Steve Miller Band
The Wind Cries Mary – Jimi Hendrix
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast – Airbourne
Toy Boy – Stuck in the Sound
Trapped Under Ice – Metallica
Up Around the Bend – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Vinternoll2 – Kent
Weapon of Choice – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
What I’ve Done – Linkin Park
You’re Gonna Say Yeah – HushPuppies

I’m going to make a last-minute pitch again for a few songs. Besides the ones I requested in the last post, I want to see the following songs:

Revolution – The Beatles – The guitar in the first five seconds of the song alone is enough to earn it a spot in the game.

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me – U2 – In fact, you could put ANY U2 song in the game and I’ll be happy.

Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry – “Chuck. Chuck. It’s Marvin – your cousin, Marvin BERRY. You know that new sound you’re looking for? Well, listen to this!”

Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen – Since “We Will Rock You” only has about 30 seconds of guitar in it.

Guitar Hero, make it happen.