Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

"I Felt the Heat of the Moment! For About 5 Hours."

Ah, Guitar Hero, the immensely popular video game that we've all come to love in the past two years. The first game came out in late 2005 with a sequel coming a year later. A Guitar Hero III has been announced for late October and many people are frantically excited. What's unique about this game is that it is more of an expansion than a full sequel. It lacks many features such as Bonus Material that was found in the last games. The game also pretty much directly copies off Guitar Hero II in ways of stages, character designs and... pretty much everything but the songs. I wouldn't be poking at this, however Guitar Hero II was way better than the first in ways of graphics and gameplay, and Rocks the 80's is pretty much the same. I would like to say however, that this game is a fantastic addition to the Guitar Hero Franchise, and a blast to play.

Plot: 3/10
You start out as a guitar player in a band and try to make your way to be a popular band. As you progress through various stages, your crowd grows larger, which shows you are getting more and more fans. The plot is not strong at all, but who cares? This game is all about the gameplay and mastering the songs. Many players don't even think about the plot in this game.

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics are great and the characters look like they were well thought out, even though they are missing two. The only thing I really don't like is how they just ripped off the Guitar Hero II designs and just slapped on clothes from the 80's. The stages look awesome, however, again, they just copied them from Guitar Hero II.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is the real thing you'll be paying attention to in the game, the gameplay. You basically want to hold down one, two, or three fret buttons out of five and strum to hit a note. Once you get the hang of it and get coordinated, you'll be practicing to perfect your timing. Eventually you'll start to have to hammer-on and pull-off. You basically hit a note with only the fret button in which you do not have to strum, after hitting a note while strumming. The notes you can hammer-on and pull-off will be lighter than the other notes, so you can pay attention to which notes have to be strummed and which don't. When you miss a hammer-on or pull-off note, you'll have to strum again to start going again. You're probably nervous about these if you are playing for the first time, however they'll get really useful in the later modes. Just like in other games, you get points in Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s. The number of points you get depends on how many notes you hit in a row, or if you start up Star Power, which is limited. The gameplay is close you perfect, and you'll be wanting to play over and over. This game, along with others, can last you a year or so.

Songs/Replay Value: 4/10
I think that this is the type of song list that you'll either love, or hate. The songs are all from the 80's, (obviously) and many have quite some charm. There are only 30 songs on this game however, and some get old quickly. This is where Rocks The 80's fails. You'll be playing the game for awhile if you want to better your score, however you'll pass the songs pretty quickly. The game is easy, so you'll get some good scores the first playthrough you have. Perfecting your scores will be the thing many people will want to do, and that's about it.

Honestly, this game is worth the money ONLY if you are a real Guitar Hero fan, otherwise you should just rent it. Guitar Hero II is a superior game and I recommend it for new players, instead of this one. The Guitar Hero Franchise has been strong for the last year and a half, and will continue to be popular even with this game in the series. Guitar Hero III is only a few months away, I'm sure we'll all see the goodness that is Guitar Hero when the game hits shelves in late October.

Final Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/07, Updated 08/07/07