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Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Review (X360)

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Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Review (X360)Activision
If you love Aerosmith, you’ll love this game. If you hate Aerosmith, you’ll hate this game. It really is as simple as that when recommending Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. For everyone in the gray area in between, however, it becomes a bit harder. You have to look at things like overall value and how well Aerosmith songs actually work in the Guitar Hero format, and then things slip from “buy” into “rental” territory. Find out all of the details right here.
Quick Hits

  • Title: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
  • Platform: Xbox 360
  • Publisher: Activision
  • Developer: Neversoft
  • ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
  • Genre: Music/rhythm
  • Pros: Same ol’ Guitar Hero you know and love; easier than GH 3
  • Cons: Poor value; Aerosmith would work better in Rock Band

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith follows Aerosmith through their career from their humble beginnings at Nipmuc High School all the way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to the boatload of Aerosmith songs included in the game, other artists that inspired the band such as Joan Jett, Run DMC, The Kinks, and Ted Nugent are also included. There are 41 songs in total, 25 of them from Aerosmith. All of the modes from Guitar Hero III make a return, including career, co-op, and all of the Xbox Live modes.

The question of value has to be brought up, however, and GH:A seems a bit light for a full $60 release. There are only 41 songs with no DLC on the horizon, so what is included on the disc is all you’re going to get. It is also rather unchanged from GH3, and I don’t think it was too much to expect more improvements and new stuff. Also, the song list seems like they intentionally avoided some of the radio/MTV friendly songs from Aerosmith in favor of more obscure stuff that hardcore fans of the band would appreciate.

Gameplay

Activision
The gameplay in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is the same old Guitar Hero we all know and love. Also, it seems that Neversoft learned a few things from GHIII and toned down the difficulty quite a bit and made the note charts a bit less insane. I’d say the difficulty in GH:A is more in line with what it was in GHII and Rock Band. Of course, I’m not entirely convinced it is easier due to Neversoft making adjustments or the fact that Aerosmith songs just aren’t all that complicated. The achievement list is definitely easier here, which is very much appreciated.

A main complaint I have after playing through all of the songs is that the Aerosmith style just doesn’t seem to work all that well with Guitar Hero. Their songs are kind of simplistic, and tend to follow the same kind of formula (with a few exceptions), and tend to repeat simple riffs way too often. And even the best solos don’t hold a candle to the best solos from other bands featured in GH/RB. I’m not saying any of this is bad, I’m just saying that it isn’t really what I like about Guitar Hero. It seems like Aerosmith would have been better suited to Rock Band or the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour that focus on the whole band and playing with your friends rather than exclusively on the guitar.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith looks a lot like GHIII. Only with cartoony, stylized versions of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, and Joey Kramer prancing around stage, of course.

The sound is at the same level of quality we have come to expect from the series. The music sounds nice and clear, so what more could you ask for?

Bottom Line

Activision
All in all, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a love it or hate it game depending on how much you like Aerosmith. Aerosmith fans will absolutely love it and find the re-creations of the famous venues from the band’s career and the virtual members of the band onstage to be absolutely amazing. And if you aren’t a fan, the game sort of becomes a grind just to get as many achievements as you can before you go crazy. Buy it if you are a fan of the band. Rent it if you aren’t a fan.

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