In the wait for the next proper installment of the franchise, Activision hopes to keep your fingers on the fret with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Similar to Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, this offshoot sequel does more to offer a slate of new songs and minor features than to introduce radical changes to the core gameplay; in other words, if it isn't broken then don't fix it. The game intends to stick closely to the formula that has made the franchise a phenomenon.

No alterations to the gameplay here as it takes the design from Guitar Hero III and wraps it in a new career based around the band's history. Multiplayer remains intact from that installment, offering the same assorted modes from cooperative play to battles and even face-offs. As you'd expect, a slew of Aerosmith songs are being packed into the game; however, getting to them is going to require a bit of work. Unlocking all of the included songs demands completing each chapter in the biographical career mode. You start by playing at the group's high school, venturing to progressively larger venues until they hit the big time with a Super Bowl half-time show. Each chapter features a short documentary on the significance of the locale, time, and band members after which you start the show.

Like any real concert, Aerosmith isn't first up on stage. Opening acts warm the crowd up before the titular band comes on ranging from Cheap Trick to The Clash to Lenny Kravitz. Bands have been chosen for their influence on the group's music or simply because they were requested out of admiration. Beyond creating the atmosphere of coordinating a real show, adding secondary songs is intended as a way of getting to know Aerosmith and their style.

Of course, the best way to do that is to actually play as them which you can do by successfully completing the pair of opening tunes. Playing as Aerosmith, you get two songs to perform tied to specifically to the chapter; additionally, you can unlock an encore track depending on how well you work up the crowd. At the band's first gig at Nipmuc High School, for example, you tune up to "Make It" and "Keep it Salty," followed by a potential encore with "Draw the Line."

This opening chapter, entitled "Getting the Band Together," starts a lengthy career spanning three decades of Aerosmith history. New tracks, opening acts, and video insight into the group come in other chapters including "First Taste of Success," "The Triumphant Return," "International Superstars," and "Great American Band." Late in the game Aerosmith joins up with Run DMC via an encore performance of the rock-rap hybrid "Walk This Way." Interestingly enough, or sadly enough depending on your perspective, Activision and developer Neversoft worked with Run DMC to recreate the classic song in playable form.

In fact, extensive cooperation with the band has enabled full motion capture of each musician including Steven Tyler's mouth. For anyone familiar with the franchise, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith graphically turns things up to 11 with incredible motion-capture animations, increasingly detailed character models, and a greater range of lightning effects.