|
Guitar Hero’s second off-shoot delivers the goods… if you’re a fan of the band. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, like Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s before it is based on the predecessor game (in this case, Guitar Hero III) and its main change is the soundtrack. For Aerosmith, that means that you’re playing songs from and inspired by the band, so your ultimate enjoyment of the game will be based on how much you like the band. Neversoft did add a fair amount of fan service to the game though.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith’s Career Mode includes 31 songs, though you can unlock another 10 in the store. Songs include Aerosmith favorites like “Draw the Line,” “Dream On,” “Let the Music Do The Talking,” “Livin’ on the Edge,” “Love in the Elevator,” “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.” The Run DMC version of “Walk This Way” is also included, along with songs by other artists such as Stone Temple Pilots’ “Sex Type Thing,” Run DMC’s “King of Rock,” Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police,” and The Clash’s “Complete Control.” All in all, about 60% of the songs (24/41) in the game are by Aerosmith, with the other 40% coming from other artists.
You move through the Career Mode by going through the venues that the band went through. You’ll start off at Nipmuc Regional High School before eventually going to Superbowl XXXV. Some of the things in the game, like unlocking Joe Perry’s custom SG special, will certainly bring a smile to fans of the band. There are bits of trivia in the game’s loading screens, as well as video interviews from the band that are unlocked as you move through the career mode. Extended versions of those interviews can also be unlocked. In addition to unlocking videos, and guitars, you’ll also unlock additional characters like DMC.
In terms of core gameplay, this is Guitar Hero through and through. You’re still seeing notes scroll down. You need to hold down the fret buttons and strum according to the beat, getting star power for hitting certain notes, and using the whammy bar for added effect. That said, the difficulty curve is slower this time around, which is helpful since many complained about the Guitar Hero III curve. Lastly, there is only one boss battle in the game, which is skipabble, also addressing a common concern from the previous game. The game still has the expected cooperative, competitive, and battle multiplayer modes both offline and online (for new-generation consoles).
Visually, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith shares the art style and graphics engine of Guitar Hero III. The characters are detailed, though still a bit cartoonish, but the animation has been improved remarkably over Guitar Hero III. The band went in and motion captured moves, which shows in how they interact together. Most notable, perhaps, is the fact the drummer is no longer the robotic clone he was in GH III. The different venues you’ll go through all look great, too.
It’s obvious that Neversoft put in a lot more effort into Aerosmith than Harmonix put into Rock the 80s, thanks to the fan service in the game and subtle improvements. But ultimately how much you personally enjoy Guitar Hero: Aerosmith depends on how much you like the band. If you love Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is easily the best Guitar Hero yet.
-- Jose Liz & -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Jun 29, 2008
|
