"Taking Me back To My Teen Years"

Rocking 80's Style

I was excited when this was announced. My teen years were pretty much spent in the 80's so when news of this popped up it had my attention right away. I was waiting to see what songs they would put in this to represent the 80's. I went to many different web sites and read a lot of boards and topics on this game. When I heard it was actually going to be released I couldn't wait. When the set list for this game was complete I was patiently waiting for the release date for this game. If you have played GH1 or GH2 then you know what this brings. Rocking the 80's with 80's song selections.

The Story - None. You pretty much play your way through tier of songs to unlock the next one. Six tiers in total. You rock out to tunes that represent the 80's.

Graphic wise the game is pretty much Guitar Hero 2 with an 80's look. The camera pans the stage and lights flash and other stuff. The venues are taken from GH2 and given an 80's look and feel to them. Character models also look O.K. but I am disappointed in the selection that they didn't have alternative outfits for each character like in GH2. I wish you could have bought one in The Store for each character in the game. Still just a GH2 game with a revamped 80's look to it. Also the lack of extra characters to be purchased brought this down in the "extra stuff" department. Granted the characters have a lot of 80's color to them and the outfits they wear, but they needed an alternative outfit.

Sound wise the song list was interesting. Growing up in the 80's I knew all the songs. That was a plus for me in this game. Some of the covers were good and some not. As stated on the game, "from New Wave to Hair Metal" they had a variety but maybe not the best representation of music from the 80's. What surprised me were a handful of songs used in the game performed by the actual artist(s). This was a big step being able to have an actual song to play with than a cover song. I thought it was a nice addition. I think the biggest downfall of this game was NO EXTRA SONGS(Bonus Songs). This really took away from the game. Guitar Hero 2 had a lot of bonus songs to play after being able to purchase them in The Store after gaining money playing through the tiers. This one was a disappointment not having any.

Game Play wise Guitar Encore: Rocks the 80s is the same as Guitar Hero 2. The HO 's/PO 's are just as good as GH2. Some songs do present a bit of a challenge and some songs present a great challenge unless you've played the other Guitar Hero games for a while. I did notice there were a couple of tiers that I wish they would have worked on the note set up a little better. I played 10 songs in a row, one after the other, and noticed it was like playing the one before with minor adjustment to the chords. This game does give you area to improve yourself on in areas that you need to if you are not an expert player. I found myself working more on the three note combination than in Guitar Hero 2. The game play here is still as good as Guitar Hero 2.

Replay Value, well let's just say if you like the 80's like I do this will get you by until Guitar Hero 3 comes. Also this is nice because at least there are 30 new songs to play until then. 30 songs aren't much, but it'll keep you busy for sure. Working on the songs you need to work on and get better. For those who play Guitar Hero 1, 2, and Encore Rocks the 80's, this makes for good practice.

So to finish my review I just want to say this is refreshing to have since Guitar Hero 2 came out months ago. 30 new songs to jam to. Some songs get to grow on you after a while. You either like playing them or you don't. The game is just like Guitar Hero 2 but lacks in a lot of areas but what do you expect?, it's an "encore version". Do I feel like this may have been rushed? Yes, a little. Do I feel like there could have been more? Yes. Would I recommend Guitar Encore: Rocks the 80s? Yes. Would I recommend renting or buying? That's your call. Definitely a rent, but if you're a fan of the series and have the money to spend on buying it, buy it.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 6/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay value - 7/10
Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/07