I Wanted More
Post Via amazon in Wii Games ReviewGuitar Hero Aerosmith Bundle
To be fair to everyone, I should state that I am approaching this item as a forty-something man who has been familiar with Aerosmith almost from the start of their career. While I am not a devoted Aerosmith fan, I have owned a number of their albums over the years and was happy that they revived their career after so many difficulties. I knew before I bought this game that it would feature mostly Aerosmith with songs from all stages of their time as a band, and of the forty songs in the game, there are twenty-four Aerosmith and three Joe Perry songs. One does not have to idolize Aerosmith to enjoy this game, but it would obviously help.
Here are the problems I found with the game.
1. Although we are supposed to be following the band's career, the songs do not appear in chronological order.
2. When the star power functions, the audience does not clap along to the beat of the song. It follows an arbitrary fixed rhythm that does not change from song to song. This glitch adversely affects play when one attempts to follow rhythm as well as visual cues.
3. The accompanying tour book indicates that perhaps at the last minute, the game company had to rely on cover versions of songs rather than originals. So, we do not have the New York Dolls, Mott the Hoople, the Kinks, or the Black Crowes in this game as originally rumored. We have art work in the tour book with those names erased, however. To their credit, the game developers now prominently name the cover bands during game play, and I actually like the new arrangement of All the Young Dudes that features a guitar solo at the end.
4. The playlist is stingy. I am happy to find The Cult and Joan Jett in the game. I would have liked to have seen more bands that have influenced Aerosmith and more that have been influenced by them in turn, to provide more context. And, honestly, Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever shows up on practically every 70s rock compilation around, so I'm ambivalent about its being in this product, too. No offense intended to the Nugent fans, but he did record a lot more than that song (maybe not Stranglehold, but Motor City Madhouse would work just fine). Further, there are no current, breaking bands on this disc; including them would have made a stronger argument for Aerosmith's legacy--the newest non-Aerosmith songs on here are from the early 90s.
5. I do not think I have gotten all that talented on Guitar Hero, but I when I played the first few levels in easy mode, I creamed them. This game starts off much easier than Guitar Hero III. I suspect that this game is intended more for dads than for the kids, and the game producers have dumbed it down accordingly. I prefer to play games as tough as those intended for my kids; this easy mode could be a bit more challenging.
Still, the game works well, and I am happy to have gotten the option to purchase the bundle with the guitar so my family can play co-op mode of this game and Guitar Hero III. Still, I suspect we'll be playing GH3 more than this one.
Finally, if the company really wants to go for specific demographics, perhaps it should consider genre games rather than band-specific games. Guitar Hero III is predominantly metal, but it contains enough mainstream rock to have a broader appeal. I imagine a southern rock genre game would appeal to a number of older Guitar Hero fans, and considering the guitar-heavy sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, and the like, that game could give players a mighty workout.
In conclusion, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for Wii will provide exactly what the packaging says. Like Guitar Hero III, it lets parents and kids share music. It draws musical connections some might not immediately recognize. It's fun to play, and it works. I just wish they had done more with the concept.
More Information - Best Prices
xml feed