Requires a Mac with an Intel processor.

By Brad Cook

The band is back, although they’ve added a platinum blonde, mini-skirted female guitarist to the roster. With one world tour under their belt, they’ve booked a gig at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, where they’re opening for a local act. I join them onstage for a cover of New York Dolls’ “Personality Crisis,” a nimble number that has my fingers flying across the multi-colored frets as notes cascade toward me. Successfully hitting a string of star-shaped notes lets me unleash Star Power for bonus points.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

I rack up a high score, with a 150-note streak and 95% of the notes hit by the end, and the crowd roars its appreciation. Then the Orpheum goes black — when the lights come up, Aerosmith stands on the stage, soaking in their adoring fans’ cheers. Thanks to the magic of the digital world, I’ve stepped into lead guitarist Joe Perry’s shoes for “Livin’ on the Edge,” a song that starts slow but soon kicks into high gear.

Perry wields a double-necked guitar while singer Steven Tyler twirls his microphone and the rest of the band keeps steady time. Reminders of the band’s multi-platinum career adorn the stage, including the pick-up truck from the cover of the album “Pump” and the artwork from “Permanent Vacation.” “Livin’ on the Edge” comes to a rousing finish, a five-star effort that earns me nearly 90,000 points.

Where You’ll Be in a Year

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith charts the band’s career, from their first official gig at Nipmuc High School to their concerts in Russia, their performance at Super Bowl XXXV, and their induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. You play Perry’s role for all of their hits, from early favorites like “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” to such latter-day classics as “Rag Doll” and “Mama Kin.”

As in Guitar Hero III, you earn money as you progress through career mode, with four difficulty levels available. You also unlock plenty of content, including playable band members, expanded video interviews (they’re longer versions of the ones that play between career mode’s six segments), bonus songs, customized guitars, and more.

Multi-player mode also makes an encore appearance in the Aerosmith edition of Guitar Hero, allowing you to battle other axe masters or join forces with them online or at the same computer. Engage in a face-off, each of you trying to pull the rock meter in your direction, or lock horns in Battle mode, where well-timed attacks break your opponent’s guitar strings, overload her amplifier, and more. If you’d prefer a friendly jam, you can do that too, with the option of playing guitar or bass.

Looks like that’s all the wisdom I have time to impart right now: the crowd is screaming for more, so we’re headed back onstage for an encore of “Love in an Elevator.”

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The lead singer.

Train Kept A-Rollin’ All Night Long. Steven Tyler grooves to the beat at a Nipmuc High School gig.

A large guitar.

Nothing’s Wrong With His Eyes. Joe Perry hits the notes during “Livin’ on the Edge.”

X-Plorer Wired Guitar Controller
Guitar Controller
Why not grab the Guitar Hero X-Plorer wired guitar controller along with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith? Now you can with this complete Guitar Hero package. It also includes a copy of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Crank Up the volume and prepare to rock around the globe. Battle against some of the greatest legends to ever shred on a guitar and become one yourself.
 
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Learn more about the Guitar Hero series by reading our previous feature which covers Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Eight rock venues. Thirteen characters. Seventy-one songs. Concerts in front of adoring crowds. Now you can be a deity among rockers when you play Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
 

System Requirements:

 

Recruiting for the Blue Army

The band.

Like many great bands, Aerosmith trace its origins to chance meetings of its members during their formative years. Raised on a steady diet of 60s rock ‘n’ roll — particularly Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and other blues-influenced acts from England — the five musicians found common ground and began jamming. A fortuitous gig at New York City club Max’s Kansas City was attended by Columbia Records president Clive Davis, who signed them to a deal after the show. Using old videos and photos, the development team recreated the now-defunct nightspot for the game.

The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 1973 to middling sales, although the track “Dream On” went on to become a radio staple. (It’s included in the game, of course.) Aerosmith achieved multi-platinum success, however, with “Get Your Wings” (1974) and “Toys in the Attic” (1975); with the help of constant touring, the band spent the rest of the 1970s headlining arena concerts.

As chronicled in the game, the early 1980s were rough for Aerosmith, with Perry and fellow guitarist Brad Whitford quitting and Tyler suffering serious injuries in a motorcycle accident. The band replaced Whitford and Perry, but 1982’s “Rock in a Hard Place” only reached gold status in sales. Two years later, however, the band reunited and a 1986 collaboration with rap act Run-D.M.C. on the song “Walk This Way” reached number four on the Billboard charts, cementing Aerosmith’s comeback. You’ll find both the 1975 and 1986 versions of the song in the game, with D.M.C. available as an unlockable character.

Aerosmith was back for good in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, with a string of hit albums and world tours. In January 2001, they headlined the half-time show at Super Bowl XXXV, and later that year they were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, two events featured in the game. As of late 2008, the band plans to record a new album for release in 2009, followed by another world tour.

Cheat If You Must

To enable cheats in Guitar Hero Aerosmith, select “Options” from the main menu and then choose “Cheats.” Select “Enter Cheat” and follow the pattern of notes below. When you see two or more notes together, you must hold down all of those colors as a chord. After you’ve successfully entered a cheat, you’ll hear glass shatter and an acknowledgement will appear on the screen.

However, rather than entering cheats to unlock some characters, as in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, you’ll need to complete goals first. For example, beat Joe Perry in a guitar battle in career mode to unlock him, and finish career mode at any difficulty level to unlock the Aerosmith song “Kings and Queens.” You’ll need to become proficient at all four difficulty levels to unlock other things, including bonus guitars like Perry’s double-neck model.

Note that cheats shared between this game and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock are entered differently in the Aerosmith version.

G = green, R = red, Y = yellow, B = blue, and O = orange

 

The Codes

(YO) (YO) (YO) (YO) (YO) (RY) (RY) (RY) (RY) (RB) (RB) (RB) (RB) (RB) (YB) (YO) (YO) — Hyperspeed (the notes come at you faster; change the number to increase or decrease the speed)

(GR) (GR) (RO) (RB) (GR) (GR) (RO) (RB) — Performance Mode (removes the display, forcing you to play by memorizing the notes and timing)

(RY) (RB) (RB) (RY) (RY) (YB) (YB) (YB) (RB) (RY) (RB) (RB) (RY) (RY) (YB) (YB) (YB) (RB) — Precision Mode (forces you to be more accurate when pressing notes)

(RY) (GR) (GR) (RY) (RY) (GR) (RY) (RY) (GR) (GR) (RY) (RY) (GR) (RY) (RB) — Unlock all songs, except “Pandora’s Box”

(RY) (GR) (RY) (RY) (RB) (RB) (RB) (RB) (RB) (YB) (YB) (YO) — Air guitar (makes your guitar invisible)

(GR) (B) (GR) (GY) (B) (GY) (RY) (O) (RY) (GY) (Y) (GY) (GR) — No fail (makes it impossible to fail a song; doesn’t work in career mode, however)

 
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