Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Rock and pop fans have a wealth of videogame options, whether they want to sing, dance or shred like Hendrix. It would be nice, though, if developers tried to broaden the scope of rhythm games.

That’s certainly not the goal of the latest Guitar Hero, which instead narrows the focus to one band and the acts that inspired it. Short review: If you like Aerosmith, you’ll like this game.

It’s Guitar Hero, of course, so mostly you’ll be trying to duplicate Joe Perry’s greasy riffs. You follow Aerosmith’s storied career, from playing at a high school gym to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

You get 25 tunes from Boston’s finest, from early classics like “Mama Kin” to later hits like “Livin’ on the Edge.” There are also 12 tracks from other acts like Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent, and three samples of Perry’s solo work. Most of the songs are fun to play, but it seems a little chintzy to charge full price for just 41 songs — especially when you consider that some major Aerosmith hits, like “Last Child” and “Janie’s Got a Gun,” are absent.

Activision, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99; Wii, PlayStation 2, $49.99.

Singstar

Then again, SingStar offers just 30 songs — although Sony has made hundreds more available for download, at $1.49 apiece. The range of material on the disc is a little broader, with some hip-hop (Ne-Yo, Outkast) and dance music (Britney Spears, Scissor Sisters) but rock bands like U2 and Weezer carry most of the load.

The gameplay is simple enough for any of your karaoke-loving friends. Plug the two microphones into your PS3, then try to keep up with the singers performing on screen. The songs are accompanied by their original videos. You’re judged on your pitch and timing, so you don’t even have to enunciate the lyrics clearly.

There are three difficulty settings, and you can shorten song length if you get easily winded.

Played solo, SingStar is kind of pathetic, but it shines as a party game.

Sony, for the PlayStation 3, $59.99 with microphones, $39.99 for game only.