Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s – PS2 – Review

“Always
re-tease your hair before the encore. ALWAYS.”

Good advice
for a good time. The 80s were an era of ridiculous hairstyles, outrageous
clothing, and a distinct type of rock music that lives on today in memory and in
many CD compilations. Since music games target a modern audience, their content
usually centers on current hits, J-pop or Euro-pop. That changes with the
release of another chapter in the Guitar Hero series, developed exclusively for
PlayStation 2 – Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

More of a
standalone expansion disc than a sequel (no other GH discs are required to play
it), Rocks the 80s delivers 30 tracks for players to strum their way to rockstar
glory. It’s not a revolutionary game, but if you love the series, you’ll enjoy
this mid-sequel update.

Same
Great Taste

Rocks the
80s is a gameplay redux of last year’s Guitar Hero 2. That means more chords,
insane note transitions, and multiple difficulty settings to keep the best of
players from finishing the game too quickly. Star Power, which fires up the
crowd and is earned by forming and holding chains (where you don’t miss a beat),
returns to give flailing players a second chance. The full track list includes
(personal favorites in bold):

1.
Caught in a
Mosh (as made famous by Anthrax)

2.
Balls to the
Wall (as made famous by Accept)

3.
Electric Eye
(by Judas Priest)

4.
Los Angeles
(as made famous by X)

5.
Police Truck
(as made famous by Dead Kennedys)

6.
We Got the
Beat (as made famous by The Go Go’s)

7.
(I Think I’m)
Turning Japanese (as made famous by Vapors)

8.
Seventeen (as
made famous by Winger)

9.
Because, it’s
Midnite (by Limozeen)

10.
Hold On
Loosely (as made famous by .38 Special)

11.
No One Like
You (as made famous by Scorpions)

12.
Only a Lad (as
made famous by Oingo Boingo)

13.
Ballroom Blitz
(as made famous by Krokus)

14.
The Warrior
(by Scandal)

15.
What I Like
About You (as made famous by The Romantics)

16.
Wrath Child
(as made famous by Iron Maiden)

17.
I Wanna Rock
(by Twisted Sister)

18.
I Ran (by
Flock of Seagulls)

19.
Round and
Round (as made famous by Ratt)

20.
Metal Health
(as made famous by Quiet Riot)

21.
Holy Diver (as
made famous by Dio)

22.
Heat Of The
Moment (as made famous by Asia)

23.
Radar Love (as
made famous by White Lion)

24.
18 and Life
(as made famous by Skid Row)

25.
Bathroom Wall
(as made famous by Faster Pussycat)

26.
Lonely is the
Night (as made famous by Billy Squier)

27.
Nothing But a
Good Time (as made famous by Poison)

28.
Play With Me
(as made famous by Extreme)

29.
Shaken (as
made famous by Eddie Money)

30.
Synchronicity
II (as made famous by The Police)

I know I’ve
heard “(I Think I’m) Turning Japanese” prior to its inclusion in Rocks the 80s.
But now I’m compelled to track down an old Vapors CD just to have it blasting
through my car’s speakers. That’s true for other tracks in this game, most of
which I couldn’t have cared less about two months ago. It’s not that I didn’t
like them before, but they hadn’t grabbed me in the way that 90s alternative
rock and punk rock music have. The strength of these songs lies not in the
vocals, the lyrics, or the drumming – it rests entirely on the guitar, which is
why they were chosen for Rocks the 80s, a game that emphasizes every individual
guitar sound.

Music
Shoppe

Guitar
Center is a
well-known music store, so it’s appropriate – even to me, a guy who despises
most product placement – for the store to be publicized in this game. You can
visit the store from the Medium difficulty setting and up (Easy mode is
excluded) to acquire new guitars. They aren’t free, so keep that in mind every
time a note slips through your fingers. Better performances lead to higher cash
rewards, and thus more guitar buying options.

Many of
these guitars have appeared in Guitar Hero 2, but the selection is still
impressive. The double-neck Gibson EDS-1275 is too cool for words (and too
complex for most of us to handle in the real world), as are the Marauder and
Melody Maker models. Epiphone brings the Casino, Sheraton and Coronet guitars.
Other Gibson classics, such as the Firebird, X-Plorer, and Les Paul Double
Cutaway, are also available. Bonus guitars (added to the lineup after finishing
the game on various difficulty settings) often represent an animal of some kind,
or something less friendly – like death. “This is a highly practical and
efficient guitar design. Because it looks like a fish,” notes The Fish guitar’s
description.

80s Flair

Rocks the
80s isn’t just about great rock music – it’s also about re-creating the big-hair
era. Johnny Napalm, one of the playable characters, looks stellar on stage with
his mousse-drenched green hair. Judy Nails’ punk appearance is cool and stylish.
Pandora, whose long hair covers half her face, has that fried and
too-out-of-it-to-care attitude. Izzy Sparks is your typical 80s guitarist with
long and fluffy, blow-dried hair. Axel Steel’s bland appearance doesn’t say much
of anything, but the secret character – known as the Grim Ripper – could tear
your heart out and steal your soul while tearing up the stage.

The venue
selection isn’t new, but the 80s designs do alter their appearance. Swirls of
neon lights cover one small stage while colored spotlights highlight another. An
oversized monster construction (which looks like it’s supposed to be made of
cheap wood or cardboard) stands in the back of an outdoor show, while wavy and
hypnotic lines cover the stage at another location.

Guitar Hero
Encore: Rocks the 80s is not much costlier than purchasing 30 tracks from iTunes
– but is several times more fun. I know many of you plan to move up to the next
generation with Rock Band and Guitar Hero III. But if you already have a PS2
guitar controller, don’t move on without experiencing one final Encore.

Review Scoring Details for Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

Gameplay: 8.0
Modern gaming
with a retro twist. Rocks the 80s is Guitar Hero II – the GH2 tracklist + 30 new
songs from the 80s.

Graphics:
8.0
I do not think of
Guitar Hero as being a visual series. There are graphic elements – mainly the
band and its thriving audience – but you spend most of the game staring at
circular icons. That said, Rocks the 80s looks great. The high resolution and
standout stage and character features are above the average PS2 release.

Sound: 8.5
Aside from the
SingStar series, music games don’t typically include the artists’ original
recordings. But I’ve got to give credit to the artists of Rocks the 80s, whoever
they are, for producing sounds (musically and vocally) that are worthy remakes
of these 20-year-old hits. The sound quality is high in clarity and performance
appeal, making other games’ remakes – which were once acceptable – seem really
weak.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The Easy mode is
just that – easy. The rest will make you want to grab your guitar controller and
thrash your bedroom like an angry rock star just about to exit the stage. But
don’t. He has people to pick up after him, a luxury you probably don’t share –
unless you’re a rock star too, in which I must ask for a backstage pass
at your next gig. Oh come ‘on, what do you mean you’re fresh out?

Concept: 7.0
As a spin-off of
the main series, Rocks the 80s isn’t as creative as its predecessors.

Multiplayer: 8.0
You’re gonna rock
this game like it’s 1980 – with a friend.

Overall: 8.0
Just like the
title states, this is Guitar Hero “Encore.” Another great performance from last
year’s tour.