here are two ways that I could review this game. On the one hand I could come out with some witty quip about how my complete apathy for all things Aerosmith rivals Steven Tyler’s lip span. On the other I could walk a somewhat safer line and say that if you’re a fan of Aerosmith then GH: Aerosmith will appeal to you. But what I might do is try and juggle the two because, hey, you’re probably just like me – wondering if it’s worth shelling out for a game that really only speaks to a particularly niche audience.
KEEP ON ROLLIN’
Presentation wise, this game features an unashamed rehash of the Guitar Hero III presentation template; same menus, same graphics, same career structure. All that’s different is the that now we have one band as the focus, so your career takes place in real life |
locations that relate to the band’s actual rise to fame. Oh, and you get to see the band prance around in the background while you play.
If I actually cared about Aerosmith then I guess I’d see these as cool features, but I don’t, so I found myself ho-humming as I sat through each location’s cut scene, as well as an inevitable interview with each band member reminiscing how they played in some school’s hall and stole their rugby jumpers – you rock rebels!
The one thing I really do like about GH: Aerosmith is the way that it handles the extra, non-Aerosmith songs on the track list. Basically, you start each set out as an opening cover band for Aerosmith, so the extra tracks are totally in context and, for my money, are the most fun songs to play. Granted, nothing really stands out – although Dream Police by Cheap Trick is pretty funky I guess. Then, once you’ve played
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a couple of covers, Aerosmith take to the stage and you play through a set made up of their signature hard rock/blues output. Awesome if you love the band, less so if you don’t.
WALK THIS WAY
I think I recognised about three songs throughout the game, and each one is fun enough to play I guess, although the game as a whole does become extremely monotonous. All the songs sound the same (which, admittedly, can be said for any band) and by the end of my reviewing session I was getting pretty damn sick of the same blues solo lines and riff-centric
song structure.
Then there’s the almost exorbitant price. Never once does the game feel like more than an expansion pack, yet it’s been given the full release RRP. Such a move is probably not the best strategy for getting people who aren’t
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completely sold on the idea to commit to a purchase. Whack a price of $50 on the thing (for 40 songs) and you’ll probably get a lot more punters in, and they might actually feel like they’ve gotten value for money. You might even build anticipation for future Guitar Hero: ‘Insert Band Here’ releases.
LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR
The game’s difficulty is fairly toned down, mostly a result of Joe Perry’s fairly relaxed guitar method than Neversoft’s largesse. It’s also great to see that there’s only one of those stupid guitar battles in the game, right at the end – although we’d be even happier to see them
disappear completely.
GH: Aerosmith’s song choice does falter in some sections, though, in particular the extremely questionable bonus song efforts from Joe Perry’s solo project, in which he sounds
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