Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Music

Number of Players: 1 - 2

The 80’s brought us a lot of things. MTV, the surge of heavy metal, mullets, and all of these things are still around, though that may not be a good thing. During the 80’s there was plenty of music that was exploding on the scene thanks to MTV, and it wasn’t just metal, but you had the rise of New Wave, something that couldn’t last through the decade, 70’s bands still trying to make a name for themselves, and the alternative rock movement. Guitar Hero is making a movie back into the 80’s, and only on the PlayStation 2, and I suppose in some ways, this is simply a reward for the lack of downloadable content (though the exclusion on Motorhead from this release still doesn’t sit well with me.)

You know Guitar Hero, you love Guitar Hero, and you can’t get enough of it. It isn’t just the sales for the titles that have proven this to be true, but tournaments springing up all over the United States, so another game in the series isn’t going to harm anyone. There could be a new Guitar Hero put out every three months and people would still buy them. Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80’s is the PlayStation 2 exclusive that brings back the hits, and misses, form the decade that some would rather forget.

The gameplay really isn’t that much different from the first two games, and I think everyone at this point knows exactly what to expect from the GH series, but if not, the concept is really quite easy. Harmonix Music Systems has designed Guitar Hero using a similar concept seen in some of the other titles like Frequency and Amplitude. The main game screen simply has a field that looks like the neck of a guitar. There are five different colored circles that will move down the phrase meter and your objective is simply to hit the right color on the guitar controller while “strumming” it with strum bar on the guitar, something that serves as the pick and strings. For those longer notes, use the whammy bar to exaggerate the note and get the crowd going.

The more notes you hit, your combo will start to build, and the notes that have stars will be added into your Star Power, something that you can use by tipping the guitar upwards. Once activated, your points will double temporarily and the crowd will go crazy. You are the star in this game, but if you miss too many notes, the crowd meter will begin to drop and you’ll risk the song ending because, let’s face it, you suck. You’ll work your way through a variety of venues as your cover band gains more popularity and new songs. There are also six characters to choose from, all of whom have been seen in the other Guitar Hero games previously, so look for favorites like Johnny Napalm, Judy Nails, Izzy Sparks, Pandora, Axel Steel, and Grim Ripper.

The playable tracks are obviously all 80’s bands. You’ll get a selection of metal from the likes of Quiet Riot, Accept Dio, Ratt, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. There actually are a lot of metal bands, but that really was a huge thing during that decade, at least until grunge took over, temporarily at least. I was a bit surprised to see The Dead Kennedy’s included, and Police Truck of all things, though it is censored. The Vapros, Flock of Seagulls, The Police and even Billy Squire are a part of the mix, and each of the stages has five tracks at the start, and then an encore before moving to the next level. You can opt not to do an encore, but would you really want to miss out on playing something like I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister? I really didn’t think so.

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is really more of an expansion than anything else, so there’s no difference between what you’ll see here and what you’ll find on Guitar Hero II, but I don’t’ think that’s a huge set back for the franchise. You’ll also have the ability outside of the career mode to practice the songs that you’re not playing so well, play in a two player mode in either co-op or battle, and of course there’s always the store where you can spend that money you’ve earned on new axes and paintjobs.

While the game may be a little on the thin side as far as the overall amount of tracks go, it’s still not really a bad purchase, and sure there were some really bad songs in the 80’s, but even so, some of these have become loved simply because they weren’t great. Maybe next we’ll get something like Guitar Hero Encore: Power Ballads, but until that happens, we have Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s to tide us over and if some of you are thinking it might be time to break out those jean jackets, acid washed jeans, and bandanas again, please . . . . don’t.

-mike-