Monday Morning Review: Guitar Hero Aerosmith

If you've been counting, Guitar Hero Aerosmith is the 37th Guitar Hero game released this year. They squeezed it in nicely between Guitar Hero Elton John and Guitar Hero Abba. And let me tell you, if you pass on this Guitar Hero, you aren't really missing anything.

As you read from a previous blog, The 30yoGF and I are huge fans of the Guitar Hero series. We play at least a few songs just about every weekend. And with me being from Boston and all, the 30yoGF thought it would be just a perfect decision to pick up the latest in the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero Aerosmith.Now to be fair, the game isn't awful. It is Guitar Hero after all, so even on it's worst days it's still better than playing Wii Play. The way the game plays is pretty cool. You are basically going to play through the entire Aerosmith career, starting at their very first gig at their high school. Each segment starts with interviews from the band about what each gig meant to them and their career, which is pretty cool. It sort of puts the whole thing into perspective. Then the segment starts with you using the standard Guitar Hero characters as the opening band for Aerosmith. You play a couple cover songs, and then it's Aerosmith's turn. You then play as the famous band itself and play their songs. It's here where the game falls off the rails.

The biggest problem with the game is that the songs just aren't that good. Each segment has about 3-4 Aerosmith songs. Some of them are very good, like the Run DMC version of Walk this Way. However, there is just way too much filler. Sure, there are some bad songs in GH3 and GH2, but they are few and far in between. There is a segment in GH Aerosmith where you are playing internationally, and 3 of the 4 songs are just flat awful. They make you want to just sit on your couch and get through them as fast as possible.

Also, there really aren't a lot of songs. There are about half as many songs in this game as in GH3, and when half of those songs suck, you really feel like you kind of got ripped off. Remember, this game costs just as much as GH3. Let's also not forget that all of the graphics are identical to GH3. Except for the Aerosmith characters, there is absolutely no difference at all. If you are playing one of the non-Aerosmith songs, you would have no idea if this is GH3 or GH Aerosmith, except for the fact that this song sucks.

And if you don't like Aerosmith? Forget about it. There would be no reason at all to ever play this game. If you do like Aerosmith, then it's entertaining but not much more. So if you have beaten Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, and all of the downloadable content and are still looking for more, then go out and rent this one. It's not worth your money to buy it at full price. And this advice is coming from a guy from Boston who grew up listening to Aerosmith.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer