Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Score = 7.5 / 10

Positive
- Includes Run DMC's version of "Walk This Way" and not the one with Britney Spears
- Most people will appreciate the kinder difficulty
- Motion-captured Steven Tyler
- Aerosmith fans will love it

Negative
- Too much Joe Perry solo music
- Not enough content to justify full price
- Ultraskilled players might find the game too easy
- Not much here for people who don't like Aerosmith

For those of you who are pressed for time--or simply hate to read--here's an abridged review of the latest Guitar Hero: If you like Aerosmith, you'll like this game. If you don't like Aerosmith, you will not like this game. Even dedicated fans of the group may have trouble rationalizing paying full price for just 41 songs, but while GH: Aerosmith is a little short on content, it's plenty of fun. There are two versions of the GH: Aerosmith available: One includes just the game, while the other contains a wireless guitar, some stickers, and the game. The guitar is essentially the same Gibson Les Paul that came with Guitar Hero III, only now it comes with an Aerosmith-themed faceplate. Several guitar controllers, such as the official controllers from Guitar Hero II and III, work with the game, as does the Fender Stratocaster from Rock Band.



With so many controllers compatible with GH: Aerosmith, it shouldn't be any surprise that it plays almost exactly like previous Guitar Hero games. Colored circles that correspond to the guitar's five fret buttons move downward along the onscreen guitar neck. When they reach the bottom, you press the proper fret button(s) and strum. If your timing's consistently right, you'll go on streaks and earn score multipliers. If you miss notes, you'll lose those multipliers, deplete your rock meter, and eventually fail the song. Certain song sections are highlighted and will fill your star power meter if played correctly. Once the meter is at least half full, it can be activated by tilting the guitar upward. Doing so makes you look super cool and increases your score multiplier. You'll want a high score not only because of the online leaderboards, but also because that's what determines your star rating at the end of each song. The more stars you get, the more cash you'll earn. Money earned in Career mode can be used to unlock songs, outfits, additional characters, and videos.



While it's entertaining to see a virtual Steven Tyler prance about the stage in a high school gym, the band's music is the real highlight of the show. The music sounds great and the songs that the band rerecorded for the game ("Dream On" being one) sound just like they did on the albums--possibly even better. It's always nice to have the original version of a song, but a few of the non-Aerosmith songs such as "Hard to Handle" and "All the Young Dudes" are covers. All of them are well done, so it's not a huge deal. The biggest knocks against GH: Aerosmith are that it only has 41 songs (versus 70+ in GHIII), and if you're a Guitar Hero fan who doesn't like Aerosmith, you're not going to like a huge chunk of the game. If you're a big fan of the group you might enjoy the brief documentary videos, as well as seeing the band in video game form, but there's not much here for you if you're not fan or were hoping for new game modes. What's here is a lot of fun, but there's not enough content to justify charging full price.