Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is targeted toward those who have played Guitar Hero games before.If you haven't, then start elsewhere (you need a guitar anywhere...don't use Dualshock).I'd recommend Guitar Hero III or World Tour (the latter preferably, it's easier than GHIII and supports drums & vocals).
I think I'll do the opposite of what's usually done and start with the bottom line.
1.) It's too easy.
2.) It's too short.
3.) It has a lazy game design.
4.) Despite being easy, it's not great for beginners (will explain).
5.) Despite the above points, it's still fun.
6.) At the original price, it was only worth buying for hardcore Guitar Hero fans.At the new reduced price, it's finally worth the money for casual players.
Point #1: It's too easy.
I'm decent at Guitar Hero, but I'm hardly an expert.I've played every Guitar Hero and Rock Band game excluding the ones exclusive to the Nintendo DS.Generally, I can either beat every song on Expert, or I can beat all but a couple of songs (e.g. "Jordan", "Raining Blood", "Through the Fire and Flames", "Visions").At minimum, I'll at least fail a few of my sightreads (first tries, that is).So far, this is the only game where I beat every song on sightread.Even the very easy Guitar Hero:Aerosmith had a few songs that took me 2 or 3 tries.Also, it was too easy to 5 star most songs.I can usually 5 star about 60% of songs on Expert and about 50% on sightread.In this game, I 5-starred 21 out of 30 songs on sightread, and I 5 starred about half of the rest on retries.Wow, talk about a lack of challenge. This is even easier than Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Rock Band 1 (the 2nd and 3rd easiest GH/RB games). Supposedly the last song, Extreme's "Play with Me", is the "Jordan" of "Rocks the 80's". Ha!I can't even beat "Jordan" and I've never failed "Play with Me". Don't believe the hype.
Point #2: It's too short.
There's 30 songs.The progression is pretty much like the rest of the pre-World Tour Guitar Hero games.There are 6 tiers with 5 songs per tier.In a given tier, you can beat the first 4 songs in any order, and then you play an encore song.After beating the encore, you can move to the next tier.Unlike other Guitar Hero games, there are no bonus songs.Anyway, you can do the math.I beat this game in one sitting and you may too.
Point #3: It has a lazy game design.
This game is based on the Guitar Hero II game engine, which is fine, but they recycled pretty much everything, most noticeably the graphics.The concert settings are taken directly from Guitar Hero II and the menus are the same except for a few color changes.At least the characters were modified a little bit to give the game an 80's feel.This truly feels like a slapped together expansion pack, not a standalone game.
Point #4: Despite being easy, it's not great for beginners.
Although I beat every song on sightread, there is one song I have failed during some of my subsequent runs: Limozeen's "Because, It's Midnite". Most of the song is easy, but the guitar solo is by far the hardest in the game and will definitely trip up newer players.Guess where they stuck the song? It's the encore for tier 2!! Tier 2?! You've got to be kidding me.So, why is this a problem for beginners?Well, I'm assuming that some players coming into this game play on Medium or Hard and are looking to move up to Expert sometime.If you're new to Expert, you will fail this song. Repeatedly.So, if you're looking to try out Expert and wish to stick with Career mode, have fun playing the first 9 songs over and over again.Seriously, the difficulty progression is much better in other Guitar Hero games.Yes, Guitar Hero III is 100 times harder than this game (I haven't even beaten it on Expert, let alone on sightread), but at least they knew to stick easy songs in tier 2.
Also, this version of the game is not packaged with a guitar (they released a bundle with a guitar, but it's hard to find a new copy anymore), so brand new players will want to start elsewhere.You can play with a regular PS2 controller, but I would not recommend it.
Point #5: Despite the above points, it's still fun.
Okay, it's the worst Guitar Hero game, but it's still Guitar Hero.Even if it's too easy and the design is bad, the Guitar Hero brand of fake plastic rock is still fun.Also, I was originally a bit concerned about the setlist and the game largely relieved these concerns.It's basically a bunch of hair metal with a little bit of new wave, punk, and NWOBHM thrown in, along with some miscellaneous artists.Honestly, I'm not a big fan of 80's music and the game doesn't have much thrash (except for Anthrax) or indie-rock, which are about the only 80's genres I'm seriously interested in.However, given that this isn't my type of music, they did a pretty job picking the songs.Even though I can't say I care for hair metal or new wave, they seemed to find the few songs which I enjoy at least somewhat.Also, even though most of the songs are covers, the covers are done pretty well on average. In fact, I think they did a better job handling the covers than they did on Guitar Hero II.Okay, so they weren't lazy about everything.However, two obvious exceptions with regards to cover quality would be Dead Kennedy's "Police Truck" and Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild". I'm a fan of both bands, and both of these covers are virtually unrecognizable.
Oh, and I do want to say that even though the game is short and easy, it still has plenty of replay value.Even if I've beaten everything, it's still fun to replay the songs.Also, even though the songs are easy to beat, a few are hard to 5 star, so that can give you a goal.Additionally, despite finding it too easy to 5 star many songs, I have found it very difficult to get 100% on even the "easier" songs.In fact, I think this game has fewer songs which are relatively easy to get 100% on compared to other Guitar Hero/Rock Band games.
Point #6: At the original price, it was only worth buying for hardcore Guitar Hero fans.At the new reduced price, it's finally worth the money for casual players.
Self-explanatory.
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Product Description:
The 1980s were a crazy decade when big hair, tight clothes and fresh attitudes ruled the music scene; represented in Guitar Her0 Encore: Rocks the 80s. Play totally awesome songs from the 1980s with Guitar Hero characters decked out in sweet retro outfits. Turn off that tape deck on your boom box, pick up and play Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s! Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s gives you the chance to be a rock idol by playing the biggest hits of the 80s! With new characters and retro-inspired venues, you're ready to thrash with the best of them - and trash the place, if you're REALLY good. Cover the biggest hits of the era, and try the new multiplayer co-op mode with friends. Team up for double the rock as you play lead and your buddies play rhythm and bass. Songs Include: Dio - Holy Diver Asia - Heat Of The Moment. and many more!
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