Title Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s Date 08.03.2007 Genre Music Oriented Platform PlayStation 2 Developer Harmonix Publisher Red Octane/Activision

Foreword
Ok, let me just say that I absolutely obsessed over both Guitar Hero 1 and 2 when they were fist released. Hell, I even bought the X-BOX360 version even though I had already been jamming out to it's PS2 counterpart for months. Now you may ask, is it worth it for the budget gamer to go out and purchase the same game twice, with handful of extras? Well, the answer's debatable. I, along with many other people out there say yes. However, unfortunately for this latest release in the outstanding Guitar Hero franchise, I really can't endorse the same thing. IMO, if you own a 360, but don't have the port of GH2, and are considering purchasing the 80's Edition... don't. Go out and buy the 360 version for the same price and enjoy a far superior game with far superior song choices. While this game does have some good songs, they are too few and far between to warrant a purchase for anyone but a diehard GH fan.

Presentation
Very similar to GH2. All of the menus (save for the main screen) are exactly the same as its predecessor. Everything from the difficulty selection screen to the loading screen is pretty much unchanged except that their colors have been tweaked to hearken back to time when the dudes wore more makeup then the chicks. This kind of rehashing could be overlooked if it just wasn't so damn blatant. I mean, this even translates over to some of the game's more interactive components. There are no new guitar designs or finishes. And there are no bonus tracks. In retrospect, this makes some sense, but I'm pretty sure Harmonix could have managed something. Even if it meant getting lesser known 80's bands. I mean, they got a song by the fictitious band "Limozeen" for crying out loud. Overall, it's just lacking.

Graphics
Essentially, the same as GH2 for the PS2. No complaints here except for the fact that the venues and the band remain pretty much unchanged. Sure, there are some color tweaks here and there to create the illusion of an authentic retro stage. But unfortunately, it's just that. An illusion!!! Harmonix was just plain lazy in this department. Granted, the guitarists are the most important figures on stage, but that doesn't warrant the lack of attention to all the other secondary details. And cripes to the copy and paste job of the Grim Ripper's 3D-Glasses. Plus, I know I already mentioned this, but there are no new guitars. You have all of the GH2 guitars at your disposal, which is a plus. However, most of them fail to create that real 80's feel. I mean come on, even the lightning bolt finish Flying V guitar on the cover of the box isn't in this game.

Sound
Ok, first off... while the set list isn't bad, it certainly is the weakest link in the chain. Even with all the mentioned flaws, a good set list would probably negate most of my complaints with the game. However, Harmonix really dropped the ball with this one. While a lot of the song choices are good to listen to, they're not really fun to play. For instance Skid Row's "18 and Life" is a classic power ballad. But even as a encore in the fist tier, it's a boring song to play. The same can be said about Asia's "Heat of the Moment," Billy Squire's "Lonely is the Night," Dead Kennedy's "Police Truck" and many others. I played the game only on expert and 5-starred roughly 25 of the 30 tracks in this game on my first try. In my opinion, the only enjoyable songs to play were Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild," Judas Priests' "Electric Eye," Winger's "Seventeen," Anthrax's "Caught in a Mosh," and Extreme's "Play With Me." A whopping five songs!!! But just for the record, these songs were a blast to play.

And another issue I have is with Scandal's "The Warrior" and Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock," both of which are master tracks (which is good). However, these songs don't have any real ending's (which is bad). They are master tracks, and yet they fade out, much like if you were listening to them on their albums. Pretty crappy IMO. Plus, Quiet Riot fans will be saddened to know that the sweet 1st guitar solo in "Metal Health" is questionably missing. Apparently, since Harmonix decided to place this song in the first tier's first song slot, they removed the guitar solo entirely to make it less difficult an opener. Hmmm... seems to me to could have just put an easier song there, but I guess removing an entire part of a song make sense too.

Gameplay
No complaints here. This is exactly the same as GH2's gameplay engine. Expert mode seems a little bit easier that in GH2, but that's mainly because of the set list.

Replay Value
Besides trying to five star everything, this game has little to no replay value whatsoever. You can unlock everything in the store by the time you get to the second to last tier, there are no bonus tracks and because of this game's difficulty, it really won't take to long too five star all the songs (save for such songs like "Play With Me," “Caught in a Mosh," and “Electric Eye”).

Overall
If you're a diehard fan of the series, you will find this game to be an enjoyable change from the songs you've played over and over again since the release of it's predecessor. It should tide you over for a short period of time. It probably won't keep you going till GH3, but it's a welcome change from GH2 and 1. Otherwise, just save your money for GH3 and/or Rock Band.

Game Score

C+

Reviewed By: Contributed