Guitar Hero: Aerosmith..meh...

The Game Room
21

Aerosmith did release a new album in 2001, called “Just Push Play.” It had a pretty popular song, “Jaded,” come out of it.

22

I’m 24. Since the odds of a getting GH game that contains anything I actually like are slim to none, I’m grateful for this, if only because it means I won’t have to play any more goddamned heavy metal.

  1. CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG
  2. Repeat 20x.
  3. Ridiculous sequence of hammer-ons that seems far too complicated for the “SCREEE-EE-EEECH” noise that results.
  4. Goto 1.

At least Aerosmith’s songs occasionally do something interesting. Couldn’t they have done Guitar Hero: Clapton or something? I’m still patiently awaiting Guitar Hero: Radiohead, but at this point I’d settle for GH: Red Hot Chili Peppers. Step up, Activision!

23

I’m trying to get excited about it. Aerosmith is a great choice but… damn, I still haven’t forgiven Activision for what they did to the series. If I have to do lame guitar battles with Joe Perry to progress or watch Axe body spray commercials between the songs, I might just skip this installment.

24

Trouble is, aside from the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, I’m not familiar with ANY of the others. Either I’ve lived under a rock (which is possible), they’re too early in the decade to register with me, or they’re “B” sides. Even the Aerosmith and Police selections are unfamiliar.

I have heard of “Dream On,” however, and bet the majority of players of all ages will have heard of it, too. And I’m hoping that their arrangement with the company will open the door for other huge acts (The Beatles!) to follow suit.

Rock on.

25

Are you sure about this? One of the songs you don’t recognize? If so, then I’m going to have to vote for “lived under a rock”. Sorry…

26

Hell, not only have I heard ‘‘Dream On,’’ it was voted our class song when I graduated in 2001. That is a nearly 3-decades old song overwhelmingly elected by a bunch of punk kids 7 years ago. I am 24 and I own the albums Toys in the Attic, Pump, Permanent Vacation, and Get a Grip among others… I’ve had them since 6th grade. My 17-year-old SIL knows Aerosmith and it’s not really her taste, but she’s got the respect. She plays Guitar Hero, which rocks stuff like Pat Benetar, Heart, and KISS. If kids will play a game like that, it stands to reason they’ll play this one.

Overall though, I agree that a genre game would make more sense.

27

I know. I was going for the great literary hyperbole that some of the great writers call “being a pain in the ass”.

28

I’ve gotta go with ‘lived under a rock’ as well. The only songs on that list that weren’t mega-hits are Green Grass and High Tides and Next to You.

I’m guessing you’d recognize most of them if you heard them. They’re great songs.

For example, here’s a youtube video of Foreplay/Long Time by Boston. I’ll bet 10 bucks you’ll recognize it once you hear it. Listen past the intro t be sure. If you don’t recognize the intro, fast forward to 2:30.

I hear ya. That’s why I play Rock Band and haven’t fired up Guitar Hero since I got it. Rock Band is the game for people who appreciate the music. Rock Band is for the gamers who want to post high scores and shred madly. Guitar Hero on expert has far too many tracks that were made hard at the expense of realism, with insane three-button chord changes where the original song as a two-string power chord, or insane speed notes that in the origianl song were actually a synthesizer - that sort of thing. The Rock Band charts are designed to match the feel of the original song, and are much more enjoyable to play (with a few exceptions).

But mainly, the best thing about Rock Band is the downloadable content, and how much of it there is. I’m a classic rock guy - don’t much care for the metal. I can play the song all night long without repeating a song and not have to play a single metal song.

29

I think this would be awesome.

“GH - Country” (I don’t even like country, and I think this would be great.)

“GH - Folk” (my mom would like that one)

30

According to the product description for this game, such as on Best Buy and other sites, this game will support both drumming and singing – woo.

Rock and had better be careful.

31

That’s a strange combination of features. If Guitar Hero is going to copy Rock Band by having the extra instruments - that, in itself, with a broad-appeal songlist would result in massive sales. Combining it with another gimmick (the single band version) seems like a strange mesh of ideas. There will be lots of people loyal to the guitar hero franchise that will be dying to try the extra instruments but aren’t particularly into Aerosmith.

32

I guess I owe you $10.

But that Reaper song? Nope.

33

Needs more cowbell.

34

I’ve got a fever!

35

I know a buncha teenage kids who play Aerosmith, Zep, The Who, Hendrix. This isn’t a case of a generation looking back 15 years or so to what was hot then - especially since the music I am naming is from twice that long ago. Good rock is good rock - and Aerosmith’s first 4 albums are rock solid.

Train Kept a Rollin’ is an old standard first made famous by Johnny Burnette’s Rock n’ Roll Trio in the 50’s. The Yardbirds - the UK band famous for having Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page in it - did a great cover of the song in the mid-60’s. Aerosmith covered in on their 2nd album, Get Yer Wings in the mid 70’s. Excellent stuff.

And if you haven’t hear Mama Kin off of Aerosmith’s first album (the one with Dream On on it) - oh, boy are you gonna thank me. An amazing, in the pocket, perfect rocker. Same with all of the album Rocks - if you haven’t heard Back in the Saddle, Last Child and Rats in the Cellar, let alone the rest of the album you are in for a great time. Turn it up loud - the guitar sounds on that album are just about perfect for what they are trying to achieve…

So yeah - even though Aerosmith does (IMHO) bullshit power ballads written by Diane Warren now, back in the day? Amazing stuff…

**PunditLisa ** - those songs from that list you haven’t heard are all good, solid rockers…The Police song Next to You is the first song off their first CD, Outlandos D’Amour (with Roxanne on it). It is probably their most aggressive song - really good, and the whole CD is excellent…(well, Born in the 50’s and Be My Girl Sally are goofs at best…)

36

I’m 37 and pretty much sick of Aerosmith. Sweet Emotion is a kick-ass song, but I’m very tired of it.

37

Are there any Pink Floyd songs on any of the games?

If there is any band that can cross all generational gaps and have a catalog deep enough to warrant their own, exclusive game, I can think of none better than The Floyd. They seem like such an obvious choice, I wager that rights of the songs must be near impossible to get. I would love the chance to play the entirety of The Wall or Animals. Though my forearms do cramp at the mere thought of the task.

38

Sign me up! (And I don’t like country, either.)

And signe me up for “GH: Bluegrass,” too.

RR

39

Ooh, just thought- how about a NorthWest Edition? Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, PotUS, Mudhoney, Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, Built to Spill, Minus the Bear, Black Mountain, etc… All have massive amounts of guitar ripping songs that would be absolutely perfect for these types of games.

You could also do a Texas or Southern addition. There are many bands to list here too, but some that I’d love to see/play are: At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, The Toadies, and The Old 97’s.

I remember reading that people were taking songs not available on the official games, porting them over to the GH/RB format, and making them available for download. Has anyone heard/played these? What’s the quality of these bootlegs and what system are people making them for?

40

There’s a free PC game called Frets on fire that allows user-created songs. There are quite a few of them out there covering diverse ranges, but the quality varies quite a bit.