Last year, Guitar Hero III hit a
wide range of systems, including the PC for the first time. The results were
pretty mixed, as the game offered all of the features and gameplay elements that
you’d find on consoles, but also presented some troublesome issues unique to the
PC, like serious lag and slowdown that would cause big problems with the
gameplay.
Now, the follow-up that hit consoles
this past summer, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, is releasing on the PC platform
courtesy of Aspyr Games. Much like Guitar Hero III on the PC, the game does a
fine job of offering all of the features of its console brethren, but
unfortunately comes with the technical issues of its PC predecessor in tow.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a
departure from the rest of the series, focusing on one particular band as
opposed to offering a varied mix of tracks. The tracklist represents a good
range of the band’s history, going back three decades up to recent years.
Unfortunately, there are some noticeable omissions, like Janie’s Got A Gun,
Deuces Are Wild, and a few others.
Aside from the Aerosmith tracks,
there are also some “opener” tracks that start out each tier to lead up to the
three Aerosmith tracks. The “openers” are masters and covers of rock tracks old
and newish, going back to the 70’s and up to the 90’s, with the most recent
track being “Sex Type Thing” by Stone Temple Pilots.
The stages represent periods in the
band’s career, starting with their humble beginnings playing in bars leading up
to their Super Bowl appearance and beyond. Each tier is also introduced by a
short video featuring an interview with the band members describing that point
in their career.
Of course, the ultimate enjoyment
that you’ll get from playing Guitar Hero: Aerosmith hinges on how much you like
the band. While there are some tracks from other bands, Aerosmith takes up a
large majority of the songlist. Therefore if you are a Guitar Hero fan who isn’t
a fan of the band, then this probably isn’t the game for you.
Additionally, the PC version still
features the issues that plagued the last Guitar Hero game on the PC. Slowdown
and lag are prevalent on a great deal of computers, requiring you to scale the
graphical settings way down in order to keep the lag to a minimum.
Unfortunately, even with the graphics toned down, slowdown can still be an
issue, leading to missed notes and frustration.
Graphically, the game looks just
like the console version if you have a PC that can handle the specs. The game’s
interface looks quite clean and the cartoony character models look pretty
decent. The game has avatars of Aerosmith that perform onstage whenever you’re
playing one of the band’s songs, but they look pretty frightening and garish.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a hit or
miss type of game, as fans of Aerosmith will love it, while everyone else will
probably pass. Unfortunately, the problems that plague the PC version will make
it lean more into the “miss” category for many gamers.
|
Review |
Gameplay: 6.5
The problems that were prevalent in Guitar Hero III (lag and performance
issues) rear their heads this time, exacerbated by the Aerosmith version’s love
it or hate it setlist.
Graphics: 8.0
The game looks nearly identical to Guitar Hero III, with added Aerosmith
avatars, which can are a bit scary looking.
Sound: 8.0
The game provides a nice retrospect of Aerosmith’s career, with old and new
master tracks from their storied history, as well as some tracks from other
artists handpicked by the band. However, there are a few tracks that are sadly
missing, as well as some inclusions that don’t make a lot of sense.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 6.5
Creating a Guitar Hero game with one musical artist in mind is a gutsy move,
but one that will likely only appeal to a certain niche of Guitar Hero fans who
also love Aerosmith. The PC version has some pretty marring technical issues
that can make it unnecessarily difficult to play at times.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith features the same multiplayer modes as GH III, like
online co-op, battle modes, and face-off.
Overall: 7.0
While there are a few missing tracks, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith provides a good
setlist that fans of the band will enjoy. However, the PC version runs into the
same type of problems as its predecessor did, and ultimately is tough to
recommend to anyone without the highest end PC.
