While attending the latest Activision event in San Francisco late last month, PSU was given some quality hands on time with Neversoft’s upcoming title, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Obviously inspired by the classic rock band Aerosmith (it may have been the title that gave it away), this upcoming iteration of Guitar Hero features 25 exclusive tracks from the band as well as dozens of other rock songs from such groups as Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and The Clash.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith includes over 40 tracks un-shredded by Guitar Hero pros, five venues unseen by rockers’ eyes, and a slew of new characters including Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels of Run-D.M.C. The team at Neversoft has also worked very closely with Aerosmith to capture the essence of the band by spending extensive amounts of time collecting motion capture data of individual band members and facial capture of Steven Tyler for lip syncing. I was quite impressed with the look and feel of the characters in the game as they showed the signature moves and grooves of the real band.
Now for those of you who are familiar with Guitar Hero, the game handles exactly how you’d expect with a few minor tweaks. The guitars remain the same, the PS3 wireless versions still using the pesky dongles. Then again, while not drastic, there’s been a bit of a graphical enhancement when compared to Guitar Hero III. Character models and animation seem to be a tad smoother around the edges and everything is better lit than before.
One of the most unique features of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is the campaign, where players will follow the life of Aerosmith, starting at their humble beginnings at Nipmuc High School and moving all the way up to the Super Bowl Half Time Show. After players complete each venue, a VH1 "Behind the Scenes" type video plays, showing a few of the band members talking about a certain stages in the band’s life, whether it was harsh lessons they learned or an amazing life changing moment they experienced. Here is a list of the tracks players will run through as well as the venues they’ll visit:
Nipmuc High School
Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes
Cheap Trick – Dream Police
Aerosmith – Make It
Aerosmith – Uncle Salty
Aerosmith – Draw the Line
Max’s Kansas City
Joan Jett – I Hate Myself for Loving You
The Kinks – All Day and All of the Night
Aerosmith – Movin’ Out
Aerosmith – No Surprize
Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion
The Orpheum Theater
The Clash – Complete Control
New York Dolls – Personality Crisis
Aerosmith – Livin’ on the Edge
Aersomith – Ragdoll
Aerosmith – Love in an Elevator
Moscow
The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary
Run DMC – King of Rock
Aerosmith – Bright Light Fright
Aerosmith – Nobody’s Fault
Run DMC featuring Aerosmith – Walk This Way
Half-Time Show
Lenny Kravitz – Always on the Run
Black Crowes – Hard to Handle
Aerosmith – Back in the Saddle
Aerosmith – Beyond Beautiful
Aerosmith – Dream On
For Aerosmith fans this title is probably a given, but for those of that are still indecisive, just know there is plenty of new content to keep you rockin’ for hours on end. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is due to hit stores June 29, 2008 for $59.99.