“Awesome, a Guitar Hero game starring Aerosmith!”

“Dammit, a Guitar Hero game starring Aerosmith?!”

Your reaction to the next entry in Activision/RedOctane’s megahit musical franchise depends largely on how you view the five-piece band from Boston. Do you associate them with their boozy ’70s classic-rock catalog, their MTV-dominating videos from the ’80s, or their overwrought power ballads from the ’90s? Whatever your stance, let’s face it: rock is part music, part pageantry, and yes, even part schmaltz. So however you see the stars of the next Guitar Hero, know this: It’s going to be as authentic a fantasy trip through the high-wattage world of Aerosmith as Neversoft can make it.

There’s no point in creating a game like this without the complete cooperation of the band in question, and Neversoft says they have it. Lead singer Steven Tyler subjected himself to a month of motion capture for the project, plus the crew opened the doors to their Vindaloo studio so it could be faithfully re-created in the game. When the band is shown performing one of their hits — and all five band members will appear on stage at the same time, a Guitar Hero first — the instruments they play will be faithful re-creations of their own, which means roughly 40 new guitars from the private collections of Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, and Tom Hamilton to unlock and collect. You’ll also be able to unlock new outfits for Guitar Hero III franchise characters like Axel Steel and Midori, but eventually you’ll be able to play as Joe and Brad yourself as you gig with the group from humble high-school shows to a Super Bowl halftime concert.

The animations are already smooth and more natural (drummer Joey Kramer looks vastly improved over the Chuck E. Cheese robotic stiffness of the Guitar Hero III percussionist); not that the previous game was unattractive, but Guitar Hero: Aerosmith already shows an extra level of polish. And in some ways, it’s fair to look at this as Guitar Hero 3.5, since it refines and improves upon what came before. In response to gamer feedback (and whiny critics), difficulty has been smoothed out, and the single-player campaign will have only one (skippable) boss battle. When we fired up “Love in an Elevator” and Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police” on Expert, we felt challenged but not overwhelmed.

Yeah, that’s right, Cheap Trick. Artists like Mott the Hoople and the New York Dolls will appear as a tribute to the acts that Aerosmith has toured with or been inspired by. Just don’t expect any downloadable content — what you get on the disc is what you’ll play until the inevitable Guitar Hero IV.