Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the second expansion title to the Guitar Hero series of video games, and was released in June 2008 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii game consoles. It is the first title in the series to focus primarily on the works of one specific band, Aerosmith. The majority of the game's set list are works by Aerosmith, but there are also works by artists that have acted as inspirations or touring partners for the band such as Run-D.M.C., The Kinks, and Joan Jett. In addition to 25 Aerosmith songs, there are four songs from lead guitarist Joe Perry's solo album. The game contains a total of 41 songs.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmiths gameplay is structured similarly to the gameplay of the other games in the series, in which players use a guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate the playing of rock music, hitting fret buttons and strumming in time to notes as they scroll on the screen. The player's performance is tracked through each song; if the player does well they are given a score and a rating of up to five stars; if the player performs poorly, the song may end prematurely and the player will need to try the song again. Each song can be played at one of four difficulties that changes the number and speed of the notes that must be played.
Main setlist The primary single player mode is the Career Mode, in which the player works through 31 songs divided into six sequential tiers as listed below, each representing a different chapter and at a different location during Aerosmith's career and reflecting an increasing difficulty in the songs. In Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the first two songs of each tier, representing opening acts, must be successfully completed before two Aerosmith or Joe Perry songs are presented. Once these are complete, the player then must complete (or turn down) the Encore song before they can move onto the next tier. The tiers are arranged as to follow Aerosmith's rise to success, starting at their first performance at Mendon-Upton Nipmuc Regional High School, up through their performance at the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show and their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The last tier features an additional Boss Battle against Joe Perry. In addition to the 31 main songs, ten additional songs can be unlocked from "The Vault" using in-game money earned during Career Mode. Once songs have been unlocked in Career Mode or from "The Vault", the player may then play these songs at any time in Quickplay mode, play co-operatively with another player performing the bass or rhythm guitar line, or compete in head-to-head battles offline or online. There is no Co-op Career Mode as was present in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
While tracks from Deep Purple and The White Stripes were initially reported to be in the game, they are not in the final setlist. There were no plans to offer the tracks from the game as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III or Guitar Hero World Tour. However, "Rag Doll", "Love in an Elevator" and "Livin' on the Edge" were later released as full band DLC for Guitar Hero 5 on 18 May.
All Aerosmith and Joe Perry songs in the game are master recordings as marked in the table below; in the case of four Aerosmith songs, these were specifically re-recorded for the game due to the lack of existing master recordings. All but four of the "opening acts" are also master recordings; in the case of the other four songs, these are cover versions performed either by WaveGroup Sound or Steve Ouimette. The year column in the table reflects the year the song was recorded as stated in the game.
Year Song title Artist Master recording? Tier1964"All Day and All of the Night" 1972"All the Young Dudes" Mott the Hoople(cover by WaveGroup) 1991"Always on the Run" Lenny Kravitz and Slash 1976"Back in the Saddle" Aerosmith 2001"Beyond Beautiful" Aerosmith 1977"Bright Light Fright" Aerosmith 1977"Cat Scratch Fever" Ted Nugent 1977"Complete Control" 1977"Draw the Line" Aerosmith (encore)1973"Dream On" Aerosmith (encore)1979"Dream Police" Cheap Trick 2008"Guitar Battle vs Joe Perry" Joe Perry 1990"Hard to Handle" ) 1988"I Hate Myself for Loving You" Joan Jett 1985"King of Rock" Run-D.M.C. 1993"Livin' on the Edge" Aerosmith 1989"Love in an Elevator" Aerosmith (encore)1973"Make It" Aerosmith 1973"Mama Kin" Aerosmith 1973"Movin' Out" Aerosmith 1979"No Surprize" Aerosmith 1976"Nobody's Fault" Aerosmith 1973"Personality Crisis" New York Dolls(cover by Steve Ouimette) 1987"Rag Doll" Aerosmith 1992"Sex Type Thing" Stone Temple Pilots 1985"She Sells Sanctuary" 1975"Sweet Emotion" Aerosmith (encore)1975"Toys in the Attic" Aerosmith 1974"Train Kept A-Rollin'" Aerosmith (encore)1975"Uncle Salty" Aerosmith 1986"Walk This Way" Aerosmith featuring Run-D.M.C. (encore) This song has been re-recorded for use in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Song has a rhythm guitar track instead of a bass guitar co-operative play track.
Bonus songs Bonus songs can be purchased using in-game money at "The Vault", along with additional characters, outfits, guitars and finishes, and video interviews with Aerosmith. Once purchased, the player may play these songs in Quickplay, co-operative, or competitive modes. All bonus songs in the game are master recordings.
Year Song title Artist1976"Combination" Aerosmith2007"Joe Perry Guitar Battle" Joe Perry1977"Kings and Queens" Aerosmith1985"Let the Music Do the Talking" Aerosmith2005"Mercy" Joe Perry1974"Pandora's Box" Aerosmith1998"Pink" Aerosmith1976"Rats in the Cellar" Aerosmith2005"Shakin' My Cage" Joe Perry2005"Talk Talkin" Joe Perry1975"Walk This Way" Aerosmith Song has a rhythm guitar track instead of a bass guitar co-operative play track.
References
External links Aerosmith – Official site of the Band