Glam Rocking Through The 1980s

By Thomas Machuca

You know what would have been great about reviewing this game... a guitar controller!

Since I wasn't supplied with a guitar controller when I was reviewing this game [my Bengal Tiger ate it - Ed] I'd have to say it's not that great of a game to play.

The sad part about that last sentence is that even if I had a guitar controller, I still would have been quite disappointed.

I'm not saying that 'Rocks the 80s' isn't fun to play and that the intense enjoyment you got out of playing Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2 isn't a fundamental part of this game. I'm saying that it is disappointing as a new game in this excellent franchise.

There's a reason why Activision recently overtook Electronic Arts as the highest selling videogames developer, and it's called Guitar Hero. This game is wildly popular. Everyone wants it.

Not unlike the Nintendo Wii and the Singstar games, part of the attraction is the cool peripheral and it's ease of use. Even old people can play this game without having to memorise all the buttons.

However, getting back to the reason for this 'disappointing' conclusion, nothing has really changed besides new songs and the fact that everything has been tinted with neon and pastel colours to coincide with the '80s.

30 songs... that's it. For a full priced game. "Not Happy Jan!" There are only six tiers and not even one bonus song. Unlike GH1 and GH2 where almost every song is a winner, Rocks the 80s falls somewhat short.

That said, if new songs are all you really wanted and you love '80s glam rock, you may find it less than disappointing.

The game plays like its predecessors in that a number of notes come up on the screen during a song and you basically have to keep in time with them to get a good score. It's kind of like karaoke with a guitar, and you get scored on your performance. Nail the song, and you can even score combo multipliers to up your score.

The core of the game is simple and addictive but as far as I'm concerned, the actual song structures in this addon lack enough variety to make them worth playing over and over. They are boring and easy.

About 80% of the songs are covers (some are really bad), so vocals are a definite problem with some of these songs. Also, some of the mixing doesn't have the guitar or other instrumentation as loud as I was hoping.

Just to mention a few of the titles, songs included are big-time hits like Ratt's "Round and Round," Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time," and Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock". If you want the full track listing, check out the official website.

There's lighter rock tracks, like Asia's "Heat of the Moment", pop rock tunes like The Romantics' "What I Like About You," and new wave classics like The Vapors' "Turning Japanese" and Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran,". Then there's neat but unfamiliar songs like Oingo Boingo's "Only a Lad," The Police's "Synchronicity II," and .38 Special's "Hold On Loosely."

There are some diamonds in the rough that are really fun and engaging to play like Judas Priest's "Electric Eye", Winger's "Seventeen", Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild", Anthrax's "Caught in a Mosh", and Extreme's "Play With Me."

Not much more can be said about this game without sending you to sleep, except that two-player games are awesome. So to wrap it up, Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s in my opinion (which is what matters seeing that this is my review... write your own if you think you could do better!) is a letdown. It feels like no care was put into this title, unlike GH2 where you could tell it was loved. 

With the 30 sub-par selection of songs and no new features, just all the characters decked out in 1980s gear and the same venues (actually minus one – Stonehenge), and not even a bundled guitar, Activision should slap a sticker on the cover of this game reading "Guitar Hero Diehards Only!"

Game: Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s
System: PS2
Players: 1-multi
Online: No
Developer: RedOctane
Distributor: Activision

Rating: 70%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)