While I was busy checking out Guitar Hero: On Tour on the DS last week, on the other side of the hall I could hear everyone rocking out to the strains of Aerosmith. Being somewhat of a classic rock fan myself, I headed over to see what the hub bub was all about. Clearly it would be folly to try and explain the ins and outs of the workings of Guitar Hero at this point. If you haven't played it or at least watched it being played live or via videos, you must be living under a rock. Instead I will endeavor to cover all the new features that this particular iteration includes.

As the title implies, Aerosmith band members have been added to the roster of playable characters. Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton are all available for your use with singer Steve Perry and drummer Joey Kramer appearing when needed for full Aerosmith action. As an added bonus, Aerosmith coverer DMC will also be around to join in the hijinks as a playable character.

A slew of Aerosmith hits are available on the 41 song set list (a partial list resides after the jump) which is comprised of about 60% of original Aerosmith material. The remaining 40% are songs by "opening acts" and include hits such as Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes (cover) and The Cult's She Sells Sanctuary just to name a few. new venues are also a feature and include not only the site of Areosmith's first concert, Nipmuc High School but many others including: Max's Kansas City, The Orpheum Theater, the Superbowl Half Time Show and Moscow.

It's true that this version of Guitar Hero has plenty of new material to keep fans interested, especially those of the Aerosmith fan variety, and it's no where near the cop out that was Guitar Hero Eighties. But, will it be enough to send people out to buy a full priced retail version? With the advent of all the recently available DLC, a new retail version that doesn't include anything new gameplay wise seems a bit of a risky move. But then again, I never underestimate the power of a new song list to sell copies. I'm hoping that some or all of these songs will be made available as DLC in the future, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

PARTIAL SET LIST
Nipmuc High School
Mott the Hoople ? All the Young Dudes *Cover
Cheap Trick ? Dream Police
Aerosmith ? Make It
Aerosmith ? Uncle Salty
Aerosmith ? Draw the Line

Max's Kansas City
Joan Jett ? I hate myself for loving you
The Kinks ? All day and all of the night *Cover
Aerosmith ? Movin' Out
Aerosmith ? No Surprize
Aerosmith ? Sweet Emotion

The Orpheum Theater
The Clash ? Complete Control
New York Dolls ? Personality Crisis *Cover
Aerosmith ? Livin' on the Edge
Aersomith ? Ragdoll
Aerosmith ? Love in an Elevator

Half Time Show
Lenny Kravitz ? Always on the Run
Black Crowes ? Hard to Handle *Cover
Aerosmith ? Back in the Saddle
Aerosmith ? Beyond Beautiful
Aerosmith ? Dream On

Moscow
The Cult ? She Sells Sanctuary
Run DMC ? King of Rock
Aerosmith ? Bright Light Fright
Aerosmith ? Nobody's Fault
Run DMC featuring Aerosmith ? Walk This Way