To help figure out where to slot this next release into the ever-expanding Guitar Hero discography, start with this key:

Group A: Those who really like Aerosmith and will spend the money to get this retail-only disc-based release.

Group B: Those who don’t like Aerosmith and will wonder why the non-Aerosmith (yet Aerosmith-inspired) tracks in this retail-only disc-based release aren’t available separately as downloadable content.

It goes without saying that Group A should be quite pleased with a Guitar Hero installment of their very own -- one that serves as a history lesson of the band’s lengthy and storied career as well as a glimpse of their musical influences: the videogame equivalent of checking out the playlists on Steven Tyler and Joe Perry’s iPods.

The structure of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is essentially Guitar Hero 3 -- no major changes to the way things like Star Power and setlists work. But everything is presented as a timeline of Aerosmith’s rise to fame beginning with the first show they ever played at Nipmuc Regional High School (this is the first venue for Career mode). The "opening band" is represented by a couple of tracks from those other artists that somehow made an impact on Aerosmith. The first tier includes the likes of "All The Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople and "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick. (Check below for the first 10 revealed tracks.) And it’s not just a "we love these songs" sentiment governing the selection...The Kinks are included because they were stingy with stage space when the two bands played together way back when.

After the usual Guitar Hero stable of characters warms up the crowd with those songs, Steven and the boys take the stage. The final set list breaks down to 40 percent from the other bands and 60 percent Aerosmith tunes, and the collection isn’t just a repeat of Big Ones: The band wanted some of their more sentimental, fan-only songs like "No Surprize" to go along with the radio hits. Again, this pleases Group A, as should the other decorative elements like changing the Guitar Center-sponsored shop to Aerosmith’s Vindaloo studio and incorporating video interviews with the band between song tiers that add some more Behind the Music-type information.

Developer Neversoft did respond to complaints that the career mode in GH3 had some...uneven difficulty. They claim to have smoothed out a curve that rose way too quickly in some of the later tiers and difficulty levels while retaining the entertaining note patterns and chord changes. There’s even one boss battle in the game, though they were hesitant to divulge exactly who that would be. (The smart money’s on Alicia Silverstone.)

So what if you’re not in Group A? The music-game thing is exploding right now thanks to the dual and dueling success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The latter has been appealing to Group B thanks to its (so far) tremendous success with downloadable content, using the original disc and instruments as a quasi-platform to perpetually extend the game. Guitar Hero does this too, but (again, so far) on a smaller scale...and by actively denying the large installed GH fanbase those non-Aerosmith songs, they’re essentially pressuring them into buying a product for just 40 percent of the content. In an ideal world, the standalone package can exist for those who want the complete experience, and everyone else can cherry-pick.

But this burgeoning submarket is making this stuff up as it goes. It’ll be interesting to see the reaction to a single-band-oriented version of Guitar Hero -- the Neversoft developers we talked to said that even though this project came as a lark (Perry’s son is really into the game, so you have him to thank), they’d definitely be interested in executing the same idea with other bands. When you factor in how much money can be made with these games and the history and catalogs of your favorite bands (Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Metallica), it could prove to be a valuable weapon for Activision in this battle of the bands.

Until then, we Dream On in June.

First 10 songs as they appear in Career mode:

Tier 1
Venue: Nipmuc Regional High School

"Dream Police" -- Cheap Trick
"All the Young Dudes" -- Mott the Hoople
"Make It" -- Aerosmith
"Uncle Salty" -- Aerosmith
"Draw The Line" -- Aerosmith  

Tier 2
Venue: Max’s Kansas City

"I Hate Myself for Loving You" -- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"All Day and All of the Night" -- The Kinks
"Movin’ Out" -- Aerosmith
"No Surprize" -- Aerosmith
"Sweet Emotion" -- Aerosmith