"Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" was the first new "Guitar Hero" game that came out after my obsession with the franchise began. After spending so much time with "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," I was extremely excited for whatever came next, even though at the time of this game's release, I was a 9-year-old kid who hardly knew a thing about Aerosmith as a band. I didn't care, though, because I needed to own the next "Guitar Hero" game and play it as much as I could. And I did play it a good deal, though I do have to say, it was absolutely a step back from "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." And personally, I find it to be one of the least memorable entries in the series.
"Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" works in that it brings back that signature multiplayer fun of the "Guitar Hero" series. Like any other game in the franchise, playing it with friends and family remains as good as ever, and many of the Aerosmith songs on the tracklist are nice choices (I was most happy about songs like "Love in an Elevator" and the Run-DMC remix of "Walk This Way" making the tracklist). The motion capture work on Aerosmith is also strong, and the visual design is as solid as ever.
There are a few big problems here, though: for starters, with a shorter length and smaller tracklist, it's a bit harder to justify buying this at full price. The game is also much easier than the other entries in the series, which might be enough to convince those turned off by the previous game's difficulty, but otherwise, it might leave some wanting more. Beyond that, though, the biggest issue here is that there really isn't anything different between this and "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," to the point where this almost feels like Neversoft copying and pasting that game but slapping Aerosmith's name on it. Furthermore, with the lack of new features, this falls into the classic band-centric game trap of "you have to be a big fan of the group to love the game." If you don't care for Aerosmith's music, this game is going to leave you sorely disappointed.
Overall, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" doesn't exactly go above and beyond what a band-centric game is expected to do, and unlike some of the best band-centric games, this doesn't feel like an entirely essential experience. Rather, it's ultimately a game where your love for it will live and die with your love and appreciation for Aerosmith as a band. Unlike other band-centric games that can defy that feeling, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" falls right in it, and while it's not a bad game, it just doesn't offer enough for those who aren't Aerosmith fans.
Final rating: 6 out of 10 "Decent"