Metareview - Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Think of it this way: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is like Neversoft's version of former Guitar Hero-dev Harmonix's Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Old man Activision wants Guitar Hero twice a year, but there's only so much one dev team can do when they're hard at work on their own follow-up featuring a full band lineup.

So, the same ... just remove the whole part about the dev team getting bought and releasing that follow-up through Activision's biggest competitor – oh, and the whole part about it being 2007 – and you've got an idea of where critics are putting GH:A on the fake-instrument rhythm game pantheon. Like Aerosmith? You probably already bought it. Don't like Aerosmith? Move along.

• IGN (76/100): "Even if the formula is a bit stale by now, that doesn't make Guitar Hero: Aerosmith a bad game. In fact, if you're a huge fan of the band, of the Guitar Hero franchise, or haven't yet seen what all of the fuss is over the music rhythm phenomenon, this release will please and then some. However, if you've been following the franchise since the beginning, you'll probably wonder if this game is really necessary."
  

• GameDaily (70/100): "Aerosmith junkies will love Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, thanks to its impressive song list and extra content. Everyone else, however, should rent it. It's a pleasant diversion, providing single-player and multiplayer enjoyment for would-be strummers, but with missing songs and the same old gameplay, it doesn't have enough sweet emotion to justify its $59.99 price."
  

• GameSpot (70/100): "If you like Aerosmith, you'll like this game. If you don't like Aerosmith, you will not like this game. Even dedicated fans of the group may have trouble rationalizing paying full price for just 41 songs, but while GH: Aerosmith is a little short on content, it's plenty of fun."