Guitar Hero: Rock the 80s
July 27,2007 - To give the PS2 Guitar Hero fans something to do before Guitar Hero III arrives in the fall, Red Octane and Harmonix have released the first themed expansion pack featuring 80s songs. Instead of going with the PS2 game trend in pricing at $30 or $40, Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s bucks the trend to charge $50 for what is essentially Guitar Hero II with less songs and some changes to make the game feel more like the 80s. Are the 80’s really worth revisiting once again?

While Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s may features 30 new songs, little else has really changed here since Guitar Hero II was released last fall. The career mode is still the same, with the same unlockables, minus bonus songs and videos. The practice, co-op, face-off, and pro face-off modes are really all the same, so the biggest question here is where the songs are really worth the full price that the game costs. If you’re expecting more new stuff besides just new songs, you might as well just wait until the fall when Guitar Hero III comes out.

While the track list in Rocks the 80s features quite a few good songs, there are not really any big songs, which is to be expected for a Guitar Hero game that’s not a major release. The number of master tracks here hasn’t really changed at all either, so the game lives and dies by the quality of the covers in the game. The majority are pretty good with a few stinkers (Holy Diver) and some that have been covered so many times that you’re not really sure what the original song may have sounded like to begin with (What I Like About You). What would probably be the biggest detractor for many Guitar Hero fans are the numerous pop songs that aren’t so much remembered for their great rock aspect, like Turning Japanese, We Got The Beat, and The Warrior. Overall, it’s still a fun game with several ways to get fun out of the game, but it’s not that rewarding to play for Guitar Hero II veterans.

Rocks the 80s’ graphics are pretty much at the same level as Guitar Hero II, just with some changes to fit the 80s theme. The menus are, for the most part, unchanged except for some pastels thrown around and the use of those bubble test sheets everybody used in school for tests to enter your band name. Even the band itself seems to have forgotten that they’re supposed to be in the 80s, so the rest of the band are wearing the same clothes they wore in GHII. It makes your 80’s-influenced character look out of place even though they’re the only one that actually fits the theme of the game. The playable characters themselves do look the part of being 80s influenced with even the Grim Reaper himself sporting 3D glasses and the Flavor Flav clock around his neck.

The audio is definitely a huge aspect of Rocks the 80s as the majority of the songs in the game are covers. As mentioned earlier, most are good, some just off, and there are a few songs you wouldn’t exactly have expected to see in a music game about rock music. The bass parts of each song in the co-op mode are a fine compliment to the guitar tracks, but don’t really redeem much of anything. Everything else is pretty much straight ripped out of Guitar Hero II.

While Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s certainly doesn’t bring much new to the table, it’s certainly an enjoyable game in its own right. The worst thing about the game really has to be what Activision expects you to pay for it, as the game clearly brings less than what Guitar Hero II gave you for exact same price. The game certainly isn’t a must have right now, but when deals pop up to make it cheaper, that’ll be the time to strike. If you’re looking to spend some money on new Guitar Hero and you’re expecting something more substantial, Guitar Hero III is only a few months away and may very be worth saving the money for a full-fledged sequel.

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