Is new 'Guitar Hero' worth the price? Dream on

By Omar Gallaga
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

It was only last holiday season that the "Guitar Hero" franchise seemed unstoppable. Now, only half a year later, the idea of playing a music game with only a guitar seems quaint. Rival "Rock Band" added a microphone for vocals and a drum kit to the mix, and the "Guitar Hero World Tour" will do the same later this year.

So what to make of a full-priced "Guitar Hero" game that only adds new songs and the backstory of the band Aerosmith to the franchise? Ho-hum, strum-strum. "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" feels like filler, even as it adds great songs such as "Walk This Way," "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion" to the virtual guitarist's set list. The game, like the last "Guitar Hero" title, feels like it's about scoring points and having guitar battles, not playing music. In between levels on "Career Mode," you get video clips of band members talking about significant gigs in Aerosmith history, and there's the usual assortment of unlockable outfits, guitars and venues. Basically, it's "Guitar Hero III" with a few dozen new songs, which is fine for what it is. But even with songs by Joan Jett, the Clash and a surprisingly shreddable "King of Rock" by Run D.M.C., this game is more opening act warm-up than crowd-pleasing arena anthem.

Even more unnecessary is "Guitar Hero: On Tour," a portable game for the diminutive Nintendo DS. How does that work? The game comes with an odd-looking peripheral that slides into the DS secondary cartridge port, adding four huge guitar buttons to the side of the console and a finger strap. You hold the DS vertically and strum songs like Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven" or "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt with an included pick-shaped stylus. It doesn't exactly look cool, but amazingly, it works. As technically impressive as "On Tour" is, I was only able to play two or three songs at a time before developing a major hand cramp. It's a great idea, executed as well as could be hoped for, but some things are better left to the big screen.

— Omar L. Gallaga