Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a
music video game developed by
Neversoft and distributed by
Activision. It was released on the
Xbox 360 and
PlayStation
3 consoles, with a
Wii version developed by
Vicarious Visions, a
PlayStation 2 version by
Budcat Creations and with a
PC and
Mac version
by
Aspyr Media. The game was released on
June 26, 2008 in Europe, on June 29, 2008 in North America, and on
August 6, 2008 in Australia.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold
as both a bundle with a specially designed guitar controller as
well as a game-only package.
The game is considered an expansion in the
Guitar Hero
series, extending upon the general features of
Guitar Hero III: Legends of
Rock. As with other games in the series, the player uses a
guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of
rock music by playing in-time to scrolling
notes on-screen. It is the first game in the
series to primarily focus on the work of one
rock band, with
Aerosmith
songs comprising approximately 60% of the soundtrack, while the
remaining songs are from bands that have been influenced by or
opened for Aerosmith. The single player Career mode allows the
player to follow the history of the band through several
real-world-inspired venues, interspersed with interviews from the
band members about their past. Aerosmith re-recorded four songs for
this game, and have participated in a
motion capture session to create their
in-game appearances.
While
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith maintains the same gameplay
as past
Guitar Hero games, it has
received criticism for being shorter and easier than the previous
Guitar Hero titles and difficult to justify its
price point; furthermore, with the game's strong
focus on one band, reviewers felt that the game's ultimate
enjoyment rested on the player's appreciation for the music of
Aerosmith.
Story
A departure from other games in the franchise,
Guitar Hero:
Aerosmith follows the career of Aerosmith, by playing
significant songs in their catalog in a 'rough chronological
fashion'.
The gameplay follows the band through various
periods in its history, spanning from its first show at Mendon
Nipmuc Regional High School in 1970 to the 2001 Super Bowl XXXV halftime show,
to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
on March 19, 2001. The player starts as
Joe Perry, and will eventually
be able to unlock
Brad Whitford and
Tom Hamilton.{{cite web |
url =
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-02-14-aerosmith-guitar-hero_N.htm
| title = Aerosmith plugs into '''Guitar Hero''' popularity | work
= [[USA Today]] | first = Mike | last = Snider | date =
[[2008-02-14]] | accessdate = 2008-03-03}} The game does not focus
on the internal strife and stress within the band; Guitarist Joe
Perry stated that the game would focus on the positive aspects of
Aerosmith's history. Perry has stated that "Having a game built
around Aerosmith has been a huge honor and really a great
experience for us. We've put a lot of ideas into the game so that
fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our
body of work and learning about the band's history." == Gameplay ==
{{seealso|Guitar Hero (series)#Common Gameplay Elements|Guitar Hero
III: Legends of Rock#Gameplay|l1=Common gameplay elements in the
''Guitar Hero'' series|l2=Gameplay in ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of
Rock''}} [[Image:Guitar Hero- Aerosmith Notes.jpg|left|thumb|To
play the game, players must use a guitar peripheral to play the
scrolling notes. Players must hold a colored fret on the peripheral
corresponding to the on-screen note and then press the peripheral's
strum bar as the note crosses the target.]] The gameplay in
''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' is based on the same gameplay elements
from ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]''. Players use a
[[guitar controller]] to hold down fret keys and strum on the strum
bar in time with the note patterns as they scroll down the screen
in order to complete a song. The player's performance is tracked by
a Rock Meter, and if it falls too low, the song ends prematurely.
Star Power can be collected by completing marked note phrases
correctly, and by using the whammy bar during sustained notes; Star
Power is released by lifting the guitar controller vertically or by
pressing the Select button in order to double the scoring
multiplier and dramatically affect the Rock Meter. The player is
rated after successfully completing a song from 3 to 5 stars,
and can examine statistics related to their performance, and in
Career mode, awarded money to be used to unlock ten bonus songs in
"The Vault" and additional guitars, outfits, and other videos about
the band. Each song can be played at one of four difficulties:
Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. [[Image:Guitar Hero Aerosmith -
Guitar.jpg|right|thumb|The guitar bundled with ''Guitar Hero
Aerosmith'' is modeled after the [[Gibson Les Paul]] guitar and
features an Aerosmith faceplate.]] The game offers several gameplay
modes. Career mode is broken into six tiers of five tracks, each
based on a period in [[Aerosmith|Aerosmith's]] history.
Furthermore, within each tier, there are two Opening Acts,
featuring non-Aerosmith songs, that must be completed before the
Aerosmith songs can be played; the final song in each tier is an
[[Encore (concert)|encore]] once the other four songs are
completed. As the player completes this mode, they will also be
presented with video clips talking about the band and other trivia
about the band. The Career mode features one Boss Battle (against
[[Joe Perry (musician)|Joe Perry]]) as introduced in ''Guitar Hero
III''. Any unlocked song can be played in Quick Play mode,
Co-operative mode, with one player on lead guitar and the other on
bass, and Competitive mode, including the Battle modes. Unlike
''Guitar Hero III'', there is no Co-Operative Career mode. One
significant upgrade from ''Guitar Hero III'' is the addition of
score balancing in Pro Face Off multiplayer mode, which allows each
player to choose their own difficulty while still allowing each
side to play the full note chart, instead of switching back and
forth within regular Face Off. == Development == ''[[Billboard
(magazine)|Billboard]]'' announced that the band [[Aerosmith]] was
"working closely with the makers of ''[[Guitar Hero: World
Tour|Guitar Hero IV]]'' [sic], which will be dedicated to the
group's music."{{cite web | url =
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003634525
| title = Aerosmith Hitting The Studio In November | date =
2007-09-04 | first = Gary | last = Graff | publisher =
[[Billboard]] | accessdate =2008-07-24}} ''Guitar Hero: World
Tour'' was also confirmed as in development following the
announcement of the merger between Activision and [[Vivendi Games]]
in December [[2007 in video gaming|2007]].{{cite web | url =
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/call-of-duty-5-guitar-hero-iv-confirmed
| title = Activision Blizzard fact sheet reveals some unannounced
titles in the pipeline | publisher = [[Game Industry Biz]] | date =
[[2007-12-03]] | accessdate = 2007-12-03 | first = Phil | last =
Elliot }} On February 15, 2008, Activision announced that one of
their two new ''Guitar Hero'' installments would be ''Guitar Hero:
Aerosmith'', and would be released in June 2008.{{cite web | url =
http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=294521 |
title = World Renowned Recording Group Aerosmith Rocks This Way to
''Guitar Hero(R): Aerosmith(R)'' | date = [[2008-02-15]] |
accessdate = 2008-02-15 | publisher = [[Activision|Activision,
Inc.]] | quote = }}{{cite web | url =
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51347 | title = Rock This Way
With ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' | date = [[2008-02-15]] |
accessdate = 2008-02-15 | publisher = [[Shacknews]] | first =
Marteen | last = Goldstein}} ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' was
developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions,
the Wii version of the game was being developed by [[Vicarious
Visions]], and the PlayStation 2 version was be developed by
[[Budcat Creations]].{{cite
web|url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3166299|title=Next
''Guitar Hero'' Game Aerosmith
Only|date=[[2008-02-15]]|accessdate=2008-02-15|publisher=[[1UP]] |
first = Philip | last = Kollar}}
[[Image:Aerosmith.png|right|thumb|Members of the band
[[Aerosmith]], including [[Steven Tyler]] (left) and [[Joe Perry
(musician)|Joe Perry]] (right) performed [[motion capture]] in
order to create their digital likeness for the game.]] The idea for
''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' came about during the development of
''Guitar Hero III''. Originally, a cover version of "[[Same Old
Song and Dance]]" was present in the game, but Neversoft president
Joel Jewett noted that the quality of the recording was poor. After
getting in contact with Joe Perry, Perry was able to provide the
original masters for the song, and, according to Neversoft
developer Alan Flores, "that sort of established the relationship."
This also came at a time where Activision was attempting to expand
the ''Guitar Hero'' franchise, and fans expressed a strong interest
in playing a game focused solely on Aerosmith's works, according to
RedOctane's Dusty Welch. Another producer for the game, Aaron
Habibipour, stated that Aerosmith was one of the five "holy grail"
musical groups as polled by Activision.{{cite web | url =
http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=8367 | title = 'Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith' Lowdown - Why The Boston Band Is Getting Its Own
Game | date = [[2008-04-17]] | accessdate = 2008-04-17 | publisher
= MTV Canada | first = Stephan | last = Tolito }} ''[[Newsweek]]''
reported that Aerosmith's license allows for exclusive use of their
songs within the ''Guitar Hero'' series for a limited amount of
time, preventing their use within other rhythm games such as ''Rock
Band''.{{cite web | url =
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/levelup/archive/2008/04/29/the-guitar-heroes-at-red-octane-lock-up-aerosmith-exclusively.aspx
| title = The Guitar Heroes at Red Octane Lock Up Aerosmith With An
Exclusive Arrangement, Leaving Harmonix and Rock Band to Dream On |
date= [[2008-04-29]] | accessdate= 2008-06-20 | first = N'Gai |
last = Croal | publisher = [[Newsweek]]}} This is not the first
time Aerosmith has appeared in a video game. The band was
previously featured in both ''[[Quest for Fame]]'' and
''[[Revolution X]]''. Similar to [[Slash (musician)|Slash]], [[Tom
Morello]], and [[Bret Michaels]] in ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of
Rock]]'', the entire Aerosmith band has participated in [[motion
capture]] to accurately recreate their moves digitally for the
game. Additional opening acts and special guest stars are also in
the game including [[Run-D.M.C.]] ([[Darryl McDaniels|D.M.C.]]
appears as a playable character), [[The Kinks]], and [[Lenny
Kravitz]].{{cite web | url =
http://www.destructoid.com/hands-on-impressions-guitar-hero-aerosmith-88756.phtml
| title = Hands-on Impressions: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | date =
[[2008-06-02]] | accessdate = 2008-06-03 | first = Samit | last =
Sarkar | publisher = [[Destructoid]]}} While Aerosmith was able to
provide many of the original master recordings to the development
team, the band re-recorded the four songs chosen for the game from
their first album: "[[Make It]]", "[[Movin' Out (Aerosmith
song)|Movin' Out]]", "[[Dream On (Aerosmith song)|Dream On]]" and
"[[Mama Kin]]".{{cite web | url =
http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/guitarheroaerosmith/news.html?sid=6188431&tag=newlyadded;title;2
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith First Look | date = [[2008-03-27]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-28 | publisher = [[GameSpot]] | first =
Aaron | last = Thomas }} Joe Perry re-mastered the lead guitar on
many songs to interact with the gameplay better, while Steven Tyler
re-recorded some of the vocals. The game itself is based much on
''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]''{{'}}s mechanics with some
improvements; notably, hammer-ons and pull-offs are "less mushy",
there are new venues for the game, and while all other gameplay
modes from ''Guitar Hero III'' are present, there is no co-op
career mode. The game's interfaces and menus were redesigned for
the game. Additionally, the team re-evaluated the difficulty of the
game based on feedback from players of ''Guitar Hero III'' who felt
that there were "too many brick walls for casual fans". The
developers attempted to recreate as many of historical venues
within the game. For example, to fulfill Joe Perry's request that
they recreate [[Max's Kansas City]] in [[New York City, New
York|New York]], the developers used old photographs and
[[YouTube]] videos of the club during the 1970s, to a highly
accurate degree, as claimed by those that had attended the club
during that period.{{cite web | url =
http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1913/Guitar-Hero-Aerosmith/p1/
| title =Guitar Hero: Aerosmith First-Look Preview (Xbox 360) |
date = [[2008-03-28]] | accessdate = 2008-03-31 | publisher = Team
Xbox }}{{cite web | url = http://www.maxskansascity.com/aerosmith/
| title =Aerosmith Biography: From Clive Davis to Guitar Hero:
Aerosmith| date = [[2008-09-11]] | accessdate = 2008-09-11|
publisher = Max's Kansas City }} Within these venues, set
decorations are inspired from Aerosmith album covers. Five that
were confirmed are ''[[Pump (album)|Pump]]'', ''[[Toys in the Attic
(album)|Toys in the Attic]]'', ''[[Just Push Play]]'', ''[[Get Your
Wings]]'', and ''[[Nine Lives (Aerosmith album)|Nine Lives]]''.
During Activision's press conference at the 2008 [[Electronic
Entertainment Expo|E3]] convention, it was announced that a
long-standing dispute between Activision and [[Electronic Arts]]
over the use of guitar controllers in their respective games had
been resolved; ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' on the 360 was patched
after released to allow the use of the ''[[Rock Band (video
game)|Rock Band]]'' controller within the game, while all such
instruments will be usable in ''Guitar Hero World Tour''.{{cite web
| url =
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/07/16/guitar-hero-world-compatible-with-rock-band/
| title = Activision: ‘Guitar Hero: World Tour’ Is Compatible With
‘Rock Band’ Instruments | publisher = MTV | date = [[2008-07-16]] |
accessdate = 2008-07-16 | first = Stephan | last = Tolito }} The
Playstation 3 ''Rock Band'' guitar controllers also are compatible
with the Playstation 2 version of ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith''. ===
Promotion === [[Image:Times Square Guitar Hero.jpg|thumb|Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith advert on Times Square, New York City.]] Activision
released Aerosmith's "[[Dream On (Aerosmith song)|Dream On]]" to
the [[Xbox Live Marketplace]] and the [[PlayStation Store]] as a
free ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' downloadable song.
The free download was available from February 16–18, 2008, after
which it was removed pending the release of the game.{{cite
web|url=http://xbox.joystiq.com/2008/02/15/guitar-hero-aerosmith-announced-and-a-free-ghiii-dlc-download/|title=Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith announced and a free GHIII DLC
download|last=Burg|first=Dustin|date=February 15,
2008|publisher=joystiq|pages=1|language=English|accessdate=2009-04-21}}
The members of Aerosmith participated in a special sneak preview
event at the [[Hard Rock Cafe]] in [[New York City]] on June 27,
2008, allowing attendees to ask questions and try out the
game.{{cite web | url =
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003822009
| title =Aerosmith Unveils 'Guitar Hero' In New York | publisher =
''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' | first = Laura | last =
Leebove | date = [[2008-06-28]] | accessdate = 2008-06-28}}
[[Target Corporation|Target]] had [[Chip Ganassi]]'s #40 car,
driven by [[Dario Franchitti]], painted to celebrate the release of
''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' for a [[NASCAR]] race on June 29,
2008.{{cite web | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168298
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to Sponsor NASCAR | publisher =
[[1UP]] | first = Andrew | last = Hayward | date = [[2008-06-18]] |
accessdate = 2008-07-01}} As with some of the previous installments
in the series, ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' is available as both a
standalone disc and as part of a bundle. This bundle includes the
''[[Gibson Les Paul]]'' controller and a special red faceplate with
the Aerosmith logo in white. The bundle also includes a tour book
for the game listing the songs featured in the game. The special
Aerosmith bundle is available for the [[Xbox 360]], [[PlayStation
3]], and [[Wii]] versions.{{cite web | url =
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=70918
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle - Xbox 360 | publisher =
Gamestop | accessdate = 2008-07-09}} The Playstation 2 bundle
includes the Kramer Wireless controller included with ''[[Guitar
Hero III: Legends of Rock]]''.{{cite web | url =
http://ps2.ign.com/objects/142/14250800.html | title = Guitar Hero:
Aerosmith Special Edition Bundle (Game+Guitar)-PS2 | publisher =
[[IGN]] | accessdate = 2008-07-09}} There is also a very limited
edition bundle for the PlayStation 2 at Wal-Mart. This bundle comes
with the game and two wired Gibson SG guitar controllers as bundled
with the original Guitar Hero and its sequel.{{cite web | url =
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9856819 |
title = Walmart.com: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith w/ 2 Wired Controllers
| publisher = [[Wal-Mart]] | accessdate = 2008-08-31}} ==
Soundtrack == {{main|List of songs in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith}}
''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith''{{'s}} soundtrack consists of
41 songs; thirty are playable during Career mode and another
11 songs are unlockable in the vault. Twenty-nine of the songs
are from Aerosmith, while the other twelve songs are from bands
that inspired or have played with Aerosmith in the past.{{cite
web|url=http://www.amazon.com/ACTIVISION-047875953437-Guitar-Hero-Aerosmith/dp/B0013ZAM22|title=Amazon.com:
Guitar Hero Aerosmith Wii: Video
Games|publisher=[[Amazon.com]]|accessdate=2008-07-14}} Most of the
songs are [[master recording]]s, including four Aerosmith songs
that were re-recorded for this game. Four songs are covers—two
performed by Wavegroup Sound and two by [[Steve Ouimette]]. {{-}}
==Reception== {{VG Reviews |GSpot = 7.0/10{{cite web | url =
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/guitarheroaerosmith/review.html
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for the Xbox 360 Review | first =
Aaron | last = Thomas | date = [[2008-06-30]] | accessdate =
2008-07-01 | publisher = [[GameSpot]]}} |GSpy = 3.5/5.0{{cite web |
url =
http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/guitar-hero-iii-aerosmith/885319p1.html
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (X360) | first = Sal | last =
Accardo | publisher = [[GameSpy]] | date = [[2008-06-30]] |
accessdate = 2008-07-01}} |GI = 8/10 {{cite
web|url=http://gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200808/R08.0701.1712.57472.htm|title=Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith|publisher=[[Game
Informer]]|first=Matt|last=Miller|accessdate=2008-07-06}} |EuroG =
6/10{{cite web | url =
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=159820 | title =
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith | first = Tom | last = Bradwell | date =
[[2008-06-26]] | accessdate = 2008-06-27 | publisher =
[[Eurogamer]]}} |IGN=7.6/10{{cite web | url =
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/885/885170p1.html | title = Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith Review | first = Erik | last = Brudvig | date =
[[2008-06-29]] | accessdate = 2008-06-29 | publisher = IGN}} |OXM =
8.0/10 |GameZone = 8.0/10{{cite
web|url=http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r34733.htm
|title=Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Review |accessdate=2008-07-08
|author=Steven Hopper |date=2008-07-07 |publisher=[[GameZone]]}}
|GR=71%{{cite web | url =
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/944964.asp?q=guitar%20hero%20aerosmith
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Reviews | accessdate = 2008-06-30
| publisher = [[Game Rankings]]}} |MC=76/100{{cite web | url =
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/guitarheroaerosmith?q=aerosmith
| title = Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (xbox360: 2008) | accessdate =
2008-06-30 | publisher = [[Metacritic]]}} |XPlay=3/5{{cite
web|url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1809/Guitar_Hero_Aerosmith.html|title=X-Play's
review of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith|coauthors=G4
TV|publisher=[[X-Play]]|language=English|accessdate=2008-07-10}} }}
The game has received generally mixed reviews. Many reviews found
the game avoided some of Aerosmith's "more popular sugar-coated
hits...like 'Amazing', 'Crazy', or '[[I Don't Want to Miss a
Thing|I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing]]'{{sic}}", but felt that other
major Aerosmith songs could have also been included. ''[[Game
Informer]]'' noted that "creating a band specific game was smart",
but that "very little has changed from the base game". They also
complimented the great job that Activision did with their motion
captures of [[Aerosmith]]. The difficulty of the game was not to be
found as hard as ''Guitar Hero III'' due to the "very riff-friendly
guitarist" Joe Perry; while reviewers felt this was a good
correction from the previous game, they also noted that the
easiness of ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' led to some bland tiers,
repetitive musical sections, and lack of any significant difficulty
curve. The length of the game was poorly received, with reviewers
commenting that it is difficult to justify the title priced
equivalently as other next-generation console full games.
[[Eurogamer]] commented that one's appreciation for the game "lives
or dies based on [the player's] fondness for Aerosmith", and that
ultimately, with other available music games that offer additional
downloadable songs, a game that focuses on a single band would need
"to offer gameplay innovations, spectacular fan service, or a lot
more material" than what
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith provides.
Reviews also noted the sparseness of downloadable content.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold more than 567,000 copies
in its first week and grossed more than $25 million. The game
has seen more than $50 million in sales in the first three
months following its release, with over one million copies sold.
The band itself saw a 40% increase in their catalog sales in the
weeks following the game's release. According to Activision CEO
Bobby Kotick,
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has made more money
for the band than any sales of their previous albums. The game
surged in sales in April 2009, with 110,000 copies for the Xbox 360
sold in North America, due to retails discounts on the title
following the release of
Guitar Hero: Metallica, and
actually outsold the newer title.
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
