Some may think that the answer to the question, ‘Who exactly is this aimed at?’ resides somewhere in the book of the screaming bloody obvious. But there’s more to the answer than ‘Aerosmith fans’. Because if you’re one of said fans, we can assume, since you’re reading this, that you own a PS3 and are probably shit-hot at Guitar Hero. And, since you’re a fan of both the game and the band, stop reading now and go buy it. But we suspect that most of you fit into a separate category and, like us, you have a tendency to shred the odd lick while bouncing around the lounge and looking like a bit of a cock, but are relatively indifferent to the middle-of-the-road strummings of Tyler and Perry.

The game itself doesn’t differ a whole lot from Guitar Hero III. In fact, when you begin, you’ll be hard-pressed to tell them apart. Each tier contains five songs beginning with two non-Aerosmith tracks, which you’ll play using the exact same characters from Guitar Hero III, and ending with three Aerosmith numbers; two standard and one encore. Each tier is divided by some pretty poorly edited documentary footage of the titular band offering cheesy sound bites about the venue you’re about to play; each one chosen based on its importance in the band’s career. Once Aerosmith are on the stage, you may note that Steven Tyler moves like Steven Tyler and the rest of the band bop, skip and jump their way around the stage in an overplayed Aerosmith stylee.

But these additions are purely cosmetic. Get down to the nuts and bolts and what you have here is a hugely expensive and not particularly pleasing track pack. Only 42 songs in fact, one of which, Dream On, you could have already downloaded for free if you have GHIII. We won’t bother offering our critique on Aerosmith as a band; you already know whether or not you’re a fan. However, the music itself is for the most part dull. Despite the majority having been taken from their respective master recordings, the mix is muddy and lifeless in many cases (comparing unfavourably with our MP3 versions of precisely the same tunes) and the line-up as a whole is only marginally rescued by the odd non-Aerosmith highlight such as The Cult’s Eighties floor-stomper She Sells Sanctuary. Run DMC make an appearance both solo and with Aerosmith in tow, but little effort has been made to mimic the classic backto- back stage that we all lovingly remember from the video. The game feels, to all but the most hardcore of Aerosmith fanboys, like a rather cynical cash-in. Zero evolution, minimum effort, maximum profit.

Dan Howdle