System: PS2
Dev: Harmonix
Pub: RedOctane (Activision)
Release: July 24, 2007
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: Teen
Review by Jason Nimer

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

Speaking of the music, Rocks the 80's has done what I certainly didn't think was possible: take the rich tapestry of sometimes excellent and sometimes awful 80's era pop music…and make it both boring and maddening. People have been complaining since the first Guitar Hero hit shelves that the powers that be have no grasp on what songs the public actually want in the GH games, and nowhere is that more evident than with Rocks the 80's. A quick glance over the game's track list had me convinced that whoever chose the songs went out of their way to select sometimes stunningly bad choices.

For example, you'll see 80's artists you know and love singing songs you may never have even heard. The Dead Kennedy's "Police Truck?" Where are "California Uber Alles?" and "Holiday In Cambodia?" Iron Maiden with "Wrath Child?" Where is "Hallowed Be Thy Name?" or "Die With Your Boots On?" I guess expecting the artists we love to perform the songs that we know is too much to ask, like going to an REO Speedwagon concert where they insist on playing "their newer stuff." The examples go on and on with only Dio's "Holy Diver" and .38 Special's "Hold On Loosely" as examples of great artists singing their greatest hits. A lot of complaining has been done concerning the songs in Guitar Hero games not always being performed by the original artists. I, unlike a lot of folks, don't mind if a song is a cover or the original version. In Rocks the 80's, both the original recordings and the cover versions sound good, but not as nice as they could have if the game was available on a next-gen system. I do mind, however, that Eddie Money is presented in this game singing "Shaken" and not "Take Me Home Tonight." Somewhere, thousands of miles below the Earth's crust, Red Octane and Harmonix are performing unholy rites with the heads of record companies and hoping that by including big name artists with their no name songs, CD profits will skyrocket due to thousands of GH fans buying up the overstocks of old albums, just to prove to each other that yes, Quiet Riot wrote more than just "Cum On Feel The Noize."

It seems like I've been fairly harsh to Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's and maybe I have. The decision to release the game as an exclusive on an outdated system baffled me nearly as much as the completely random scattering of great songs alongside awful ones. If you're as big a GH fan as I've become over the past few months, these minor criticisms won't matter one bit; in fact, you have probably already purchased a copy. Rocks the 80's is a .5 version of a great game, released just months before the next full-fledged sequel. I know I won't be happy until Dragonforce makes it into a GH game and/or you are able to use mp3s as custom tracks, but platform choice and song selection aside, if you love GH, you'll love this game.

By Jason Nimer
CCC Freelance Writer

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