I'm just going to rent this one so I can play through the songs and be done with it. Doesn't look like this is something I need to have in my permanent collection...

Damn, Love in an elevator and Sweet Emotion. I'd kill for those on rock band.

Sorry, but it's true.

The animated band members look like anorexic Gorillaz and Love in an Elevator is even more ridiculous when being sung by a fish in a Sgt. Pepper costume.
Luckily this can all be easily fixed with a new development style known as "trying".

other than the new aerosmith band member models, all the rest of it looked EXACTLY like GH3. go figure...

Will there ever be a situation where you hear a song and say "Well, I'm glad it's in Guitar Hero and NOT Rock band"?

Didn't think so.

Neversoft does it again... don't you guys have a skateboard engine to whore out some more?

Put on a shirt, Steven Tyler! You're, like, 70!

Yikes. Perhaps we can take some solace in the fact that a world in which Steven Tyler is even more surreal would in all likelihood also be a world in which Liv Tyler is even more beautiful. Based on what I've seen in this world, anyway. Does the end justify the means? This is a matter for the historians

And how is this any different from Guitar Hero 3 other than the music and the Aerosmith tie in? Time to buy me some Rock Band.

What's the deal with the cartoon Aerosmith? The only way that can logically work is if they all have superpowers, ala The Super Harlem Globetrotters.

So... get a contract,
play well, then battle satan?
Oh wait, I'm sorry.

Who are they trying to appeal to with this, really? The majority of 13 year old gamers don't know who they are, most of the adults that have followed them through the ages don't play games, and the 300 or so people that have actually enjoyed their music over the years (such as myself) aren't going to turn them a profit.

Really, they could have released this as DLC for GH3, and it would have probably went over much better.

I for one like it.

If they just fleshed out the 2d animated cutscenes into an hour or so and released it as a Direct to DVD pseudo biography, I'd totally buy it.

As it stands, I really don't think I'll be purchasing this game.

The dream police, they live inside of my head, the d- awwww DAMN! Got me too, Fahey. But man, just LOOK at the scarf physics on that microphone. Woo. Makes it all worth while.

That was quite...sterile.

They look like even bigger freaks.
I'm not sure whether to take away gimp from whoever made that or their game design programs.

Needs more of Fahey's cats.

Damn and it has a great Clash song in this game after Mick Jones really started to learn how to play. Yet it's poisoned by Aerosmith for me.

@galactus5000: Or the unstoppable force of team Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Look fine to me... <_<

Of course, ANYTHING looks great after the PS2 version of Guitar Hero 3. -_-

That game looked like chunks.

Don't care about the looks one bit. As far as I'm concerned it's just a large track pack with some additional bands at a cut-rate price (compared to individual song purchases).

If more than half of the songs are to my liking, I'll probably spring for it. If not, no worries.

@Dan Zuccarelli: When I like the guitar in a song and want the note chart to not suck ass, then yeah, I want it in Guitar Hero.

Complete Control is an odd choice, since it's already in Rock Band. I really hope that between this and the stuff in On Tour, it doesn't become a trend. I don't want big selling points in GHIV to be Won't Get Fooled Again and Highway Star.

I'll prolly buy it. I mean alot of aerosmith is pretty good. The solos are gonna be pretty week in comparision to living in color and metallica though...

It looks ok. What's wrong kotaku, not REALISTIC for you?

In Guitar Hero's defense, the guys from Aerosmith were pretty ugly looking to begin with...but yeah, that's pretty horrific to look at anyways.

@BigBooBuddy: Agreed.

The in-game graphics were expected. They look like GH3's. But the little cartoons (which they also had in GH3) leave me with a WTF feeling. Is it just me or does Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and the gang look really disturbing in that 2D cartoon form? Even worse than the 3D versions? o_O

All that mocap...and Kramer still looks like a robot back there.

Though I don't like the idea of an all Aerosmith version (until it's like 20 bucks), you have to admit a song in which a guy yells "YOU ARE MY GUITAR HERO!" is somewhat perfect for this game.

I thought the 2d stuff was pretty sweet personally.

Why does this remind me of some of the Limozeen cartoons from Homestarrunner.com?

"Our audience must be 94% hot young females with bangs higher than or equal to our own...and also a deviled egg tray!"

@MustyBuckets:

I think you really underestimate the power of good tunes. Good music is great regardless of age. I knew of Aerosmith when I was 13. I also knew The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Zep, all bands way before "my time." Don't assume that just because you are older means that you know more about music than kids.

Looks like something out of The Venture Bros. That's not a bad thing.

I like the crystal meth effect coming out of Perry's hands as he plays....or is it crank?

meh....after Rock Band dropped...I stopped caring for Guitar Hero all together.

Not really impressed by this at all after playing Rock Band....they should just give up and beg Harmonix to let them just use all those songs in Rock Band.

Oh thank GOD, someone agrees with me about the sheer volume of 'fugly' in the art stylings!

I don't think it looks any more weird than Guitar Hero III. I mean, the singer for GH III had even weirder lips that Steven Tyler.

If this turns into another Rock the 80's, however....

Aerosmith is so gay...

@Stratovarius: well said. hate to break the news, but I'm pretty sure Aerosmith still has a following.

h well, the art direction for GH as a whole has always sucked. It's just that now Rock Band is around to show what a band game with decent art looks like.

Next up: "But why are they in space?"

preferences between the two franchises aside am I the only one concerned that activision and neversoft are throwing money at guitarhero to compete rather than you know. Acutally improving thier product?

I've been an Aerosmith fan for over 18 years now. I have every studio album, and greatest hits collection released in the U.S.

I met Joe Perry when I was 15 years old. I will be buying this game.

Abominations X_x

I can't believe I actually want this...

@BigBooBuddy: couldn't agree more

Dear guitar hero,

your graphics suck and are outdated, why don't you mocap some people to get some fluid movements, it looks like the only thing you made well was steven tylers gay ass scarves or whatever they are (joe perry's woven ass hairs) in to fluid motion

Probably going to end up getting this. I'm just a rube for any and all Rythym games.

Bleh. More Activision-branded Guitar Hero milkage. I can't believe Harmonix let that gold mine of an IP go.

Reminds me of Guitar Hero 80s: take the previous iteration, put in some new songs, add a few extra backdrops in the venues, touch up the models a bit and call it a new game.

@Asper: XD
I wouldn't mind buying it if the game cost $40, but IMO $60 is a bit of a stretch.

*sigh* I wish they would stop milking the Guitar Hero series...
Nevertheless, this is looking like a purchase for me, just because I'm a guitar hero fanatic.

@A-bleeding-memory:

Well, they do it because people like you will buy it.

@HungryWolf AKA C of TeamChink.com:

Yeah...but I'd rather they actually put SOME effort into it...now they're crapping out a new one every 4 months pretty much...

@Archaotic:

Because Rock Band, you know, isn't doing that well at all.

@BananaKid: The note chart argument is completely debatable. And, while I'm not going to try and take sides here(as far as not charts), the larger consesus has been that Rock Band has a more realistic note chart, while Guitar Hero has the note chart with more notes in it.

@Eddy666: Actually, I believe it has to do with the art direction. It's rather un-appealing. You can have an excellent resolution, fancy bloom, whatever, but if the style you chose is ugly, the end product will be ugly.
And that's the main issue there- it's not that the character models lack realism, it's that they lack any class.
They disgust the viewers. Rock Band has essentially the same level of realistic graphics, they just chose an excellent art style that complements the game instead of repelling.

Kotaku has some serious hate towards Aerosmith. I'm really looking foward to the game actually, especially with Dream Police.

Worst Drummer animation this side of Guitar hero 3. Seriously. Did they watch Captured! By Robots to see how a drummer works? (wikipedia kids).

The reason I stopped playing Guitar Hero was due to the "new and improved" visual style. It's hideous

Activision has become the new EA. The animation is EXACTLY like GH3!

Also, I liked when Joe Perry's hands were on fire as he was playing the guitar!

@Archaotic: And they didn't let it go, as they never owned it in the first place. RedOctane did.

@TRT-X: you have to admit a song in which a guy yells "YOU ARE MY GUITAR HERO!" is somewhat perfect for this game.

Yes, that's why you can download Complete Control by the Clash for Rock Band right now! :)

@MustyBuckets: Exactly what I was thinking. Release a few tracks online and a fugly Stpehen Tyler, and call it a day.

I'm with you all the way Kotaku. Fuck Aerosmith! WTF is this shit? Are all the shitty 80s bands going to start paying to have games starring themselves for their grandkids to play now?

@dawimp523: Except that EA is churning out the DLC vs. releasing a new disc each year.

Which means you're going to end up paying probably DOUBLE for what would be a disc's worth of content.

Rock Band > GH an