Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

Having played Guitar Hero 2, I decided to purchase a real guitar and start a real band. Well, I bought the guitar, but the band has yet to be formed, since I'm not ready to jam, even in front of an audience of 3 people. Some folks just aren't born to rock on stage. So, frustrations aside, I was eagerly waiting for the Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s title, tidying up my guitar-shaped PS2 joystick and practicing my skills with Guitar Hero 2. However, all I got was a collection of 30 tracks slapped over the content of Guitar Hero II and some 80s style makeovers of the characters and environments. And I wanted to rock...

Concept & Gameplay In my first day as a reviewer some colleague of mine mentioned that most of the gamers are rockers and this fact keeps puzzling him. Well, come to think about it, it's true if you take into consideration that rock music is the best choice for most of the titles (unless you count the Barbie-based games). So, the audience made out of hardcore gamers was ready to receive Guitar Hero and make it a world famous phenomenon. The series flourished beautifully rewarding us with a second blockbuster, Guitar Hero II. Here comes the evil twin of the series, the Liquid Snake of the Metal Gear brothers, the Locki of the Nordic mythology. What's with these games?

I've just reviewed Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, a port of The Two Thrones, that features the exact same content as the original game, plus some clunky controls. Guess what? I'm reviewing another game that takes advantage of its predecessor's content: Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. While Rival Swords was a method of cashing in, from the producers, Encore bears the name because the GH II fans wanted more, wanted another shot at becoming famous and they seemed to cry for an "encore". The game includes famous songs like "Caught in a Mosh", performed by Anthrax, "Balls to the Wall", performed by Accept, "Electric Eye", performed by Judas Priest and many other (even Iron Maiden), summing up to 30 new songs from the 80s. All the playable characters of the previous installment were given a serious makeover, eighties style with big hair, colored scarfs, tight pants and lots more.

Aside from that, the other members of the band have the same looks, as a sign that Harmonix got lazy at some point, while giving the public the "encore" they wanted. Personally I don't like the songs they've chosen and from what I've read on forums, the fans don't either. "Wrathchild" from Iron Maiden?! Where is "Fear of the Dark"? Where is AC/DC or Aerosmith? Did someone just say "where is Bon Jovi?" ? I thought it was an echo from a Barbie game fan... You should see this title more like an expansion pack than a whole new experience. The Star Power is still here to give the public that extra burst that grants you the spirit to keep on rocking while feeling like a star.

In an era when everyone's listening to pop and rap, making Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s turns Harmonix into daredevils, but the fans of the series will surely be pleased by their initiative. Once you get enough points to spend them buying guitars and outfits for your characters, you'll surely enjoy toying with a couple of Gibson Les Paul Double Cutaways or some of the crazy-looking bonus guitars. Speaking of bonuses, one shouldn't expect much from the bonus tracks section of the game, since it doesn't even exist.

I remember playing Guitar Hero II for hours just to get to hear one more bonus song. Now you'll only play to test your skills, since every gaming site on the Internet displays the song list of the latest Guitar Hero game. The control system is exactly the same, so you'll be strumming like hell if you want to get the hang of it fast. I recommend a practice session before you start rocking, because it will be really helpful, in case you've missed the previous Guitar Hero games. All the songs included in the game are reasonably tough to play, no matter what difficulty mode you select, unless you're the famous eight-year-old kid that puzzled everyone with his Guitar Hero skills. He must have found a new way to embarrass the young punks that were only decent at playing the GH songs. Encore still feels like a unique and fun to play title, baring the positive aspects of GH II and adding some oldies flavor, acting as a method of resurrection for the original title.

Video The game looks exactly like Guitar Hero II, with a few minor modifications, mostly when it comes to the characters' outfits, hairstyles, or the environments. The scrolling list of chords is still vividly colored and a really neat challenge for us rockers. I don't appreciate the fact that Harmonix have left the band members intact, not even trying to add some extra clothes or some new rocking moves to them. Each punk-rockin' girl is hotter than the previous one, although the characters are the same, but a change of clothes can really make miracles when it comes to looks nowadays. The guitars are stunning and some of the bonus goodies will keep you drooling for days, as they are mean-looking and cool.

Sound Guitar Hero Encore's soundtrack is pretty good, specially for the gamers that love the golden oldies, but the younger ones will surely be shocked to find out that good music was played even before they were born. Solos still sound neat and even if most of the GH II fans complained about the choice of tracks, it was made according to the number of solos per song and the popularity of the band in the hair metal days. Of course, the little things that matter, like the sound of a flushing toilet heard when you enter your name in the hall of fame, are still here to make a good impression, at least for us, the rude rockers.

Multiplayer Did your brother or friend defeat you a million times while playing Guitar Hero II? Encore comes with the perfect way to find your vendetta, specially if you're an eighties music fan and your opponent is a My Chemical Romance groupie. Battle it out and see who's rocking harder or try a co-op mode, if you're striving to make a new band with an old-school sound. I can say that the multiplayer mode is unchanged, but equally fun, specially if you're attending a party that includes only rockers.

Conclusion Unless you're a Guitar Hero fan, or a collector, you won't appreciate the fact that you get 70% percent of the content from Guitar Hero II at a higher price and the whole pack's been named Encore. It's true that the characters and environments are a little bit revamped and that the track list is brand new, but Harmonix are really targeting a certain audience, leaving many members of the public aside. Some are still hoping to see a Guitar Hero: Metal or Guitar Hero: Punk edition to fulfill their aspirations of becoming the next Sid Vicious or James Hetfield, but that's not going to happen too soon. If you consider Guitar Hero II to be an aperitif for Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, then Encore is a chewing gum, that will start tasting bad after three or fours hours of hard-rock chewing.