bit-tech Shopping: Activision Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Wii)

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Aerosmith!

Weaknesses: Not the best Aerosmith songs

Summary: If you are a fan of Aerosmith, or just need more GH3 songs to keep you busy, this is the game for you. Some people complain about the graphics, but the focus of this game is not the graphics, but the gameplay, and that is spot on.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 4 Days

Strengths: Strong focus on Aerosmith (with a few extras thrown in)

Weaknesses: Missing most of the bands biggest hits.

Summary: I've been playing this for a few days at a pals house and finally broke down to order my own copy. It's pretty much the same scenario as GH3 with an Aerosmith flavor. As I'm a big fan of the band it appeals to me but would likely be a disappointment for someone with a passing interest in Aerosmith. It feels more like a bonus add-on to GH3 rather than a stand-alone game but I'm glad to add it to my collection anyways.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1 Day

Strengths: Good array of songs, better online play

Weaknesses: Poor Aerosmith visuals, many Aerosmith songs are obscure, big jump in difficult level between one level to the next, Wii platform doesn't allow for downloads of more songs

Summary: I've been looking forward to this title since it was announced and would have bought it regardless of the reviews. However after playing for an hour or two, it's clear that this was a rushed title. Where Guitar Hero feels lovingly crafted and there is a definite flow to the songs, Aerosmith felt very jumbled together. Each level contains four songs--two my Aerosmith and two by a band that was influenced by/influenced Aerosmith. Due to a functionality restraint, the player must play through both non-Aerosmith songs to get to the actual Aerosmith tunes. Oddly enough, even though the band apparently worked very closely with the programmers/publishers of the game, there are some very offbeat song choices for the band. Missing are many of their "Big Ones" classics that would have lended themselves perfectly to such a fan-based game. If you love Guitar Hero, this may be more of a rental--it's nowhere close to a standard issue GH game. However, if you're a big Aero fan and want to feel like you're a part of the band, this probably won't disappoint. I hear there are many more Guitar Hero band-based games in the works...hopefully they learn a bit from this Aero start and make future games a bit more solid in song choice and functionality.