Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

"Although I've been pretty negative throughout this review, it's still pretty hard to screw up a Guitar Hero game, and I plan on playing a good deal of Rocks the 80s over the next few months. I can imagine spending a lot of time trying to nail all the solos in songs like "Round & Round" or "Play With Me," and the return of co-op play will help make the game a solid party title. But the differences between Guitar Hero II and Rocks the 80s couldn't be more drastic. While I once said GH2 felt like a love letter to the series' hardcore fans, Rocks the 80s feels like a title lacking in heart. Or, for that matter, Heart."

"Have you ever picked up a so-called contractually obligated album? It’s an album where it’s clear that the band can’t take the current set-up, but are obliged to do one more CD with the current line-up. My favorite band did one, and while it has some moments it isn’t their best work. Depending on how acrimonious the split is, it could have all terrible songs, it could be all covers (so as to not give rights to new material to the other party), or it might just be old stuff that is being re-released. I bring this up because the announcement that Harmonix was going to work on EA’s Rock Band and another announcement that Activision was going to get Neversoft to work with RedOctane on Guitar Hero 3 before Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80’s was released. So we had the high-profile team behind the PlayStation 2’s best rhythm game series splitting up, but releasing one more game before it was all over. I remained optimistic; these guys wouldn’t do a mail-in effort, right?"

"Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s is certainly a disappointing release in one of the most fun and refreshing franchises we've seen anytime lately. It's fun, but it doesn't hold a candle to the previous two releases. If you're hard-pressed for new tracks and don't mind spending $50 for only a handful of good songs, you'll find that the good parts are great. But be prepared to sludge through plenty of boring tracks."