User Reviews (21 - 31 of 84)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Nothing Special

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Pretty disgusted at the lackluster attempt on this game. Theres virtually nothing special about it to explain the high price tag.

Amazing songs Amazing game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: July 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm not sure what the previous reviewers were talking about! I just played this last night and the game is as good, if not better than GH2! The songs bring me back to the good ol days of the 80's and their classic hits!! I can't wait to get home and play this again! Def must have for any GH Fan!!!!!!!!

Not the 80's I remember.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There are definitely more definitive 80's tracks than what is on Guitar Hero 80's, trust me. The audio seems wierd and it's difficult to hear the singers. Venues are not new, just re-used. They had so much material to work with, yet, give us so little for 49.99. I don't see how they can sum up the 80's in 30 songs in the first place. It seems they are taking the fans for granted on this one.

A Decent Attempt At Rocking The 80s

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Despite only having 30 songs (are two more sets so much to ask?), this is still a pretty darn good game if you like Guitar Hero. All the songs are fun to play, some more so than others. "Lonely Is The Night" and "Only A Lad" are particularly gnarly. In fact, there are 3 that I had never heard before, but they were a blast to play! As expected, there are great songs left off of the setlist, but you can't have everything. A few of the songs that I wanted are actually appearing on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band, so I'm not too upset! There are also some new loading screens that are pretty funny.

Now onto what's missing: My number one complaint, besides only having 30 songs, is that they took out some of my favorite characters! Clive Winston, Eddie Knox, Xavier Stone, and Lars Umlaut are all missing and though I know that some of them do not belong in the 80s and would not play these songs, fans have certain characters they want to see in the game! There are also no alternate outfits, which I was expecting considering the variety of 80s garb out there. The levels and main characters are slightly redesigned to look 80s, usually with just an 80s paint job and an 80s hair-do & outfit, respectively. Strangely enough, the bassist still looks like Duane Allman (which isn't a bad thing) and the lead singer still looks like an emo kid (which is a bad thing).

Bonus tracks are also missing, but seeing as how I never really played or liked any of the bonus tracks on I or II, I couldn't care one way or the other. In my opinion, bonus tracks from bands nowadays trying to do 80s music would cheapen the experience, though this might be good, considering the $50 price tag! Speaking of the price, it is indeed steep, but I thought it was worth it because it was so much fun to play. I also purchased mine at Best Buy for $39.99 instead of $49.99, though I did get it on the day it was released so that was probably why. Finally, the game is short. I mean really short - I beat it in a little less than 3 hours!

All in all, this is what I was expecting from the game. I wasn't expecting innovation galore this time around, I just wanted more songs and that's exactly what I got. I would have liked 40 songs instead of 30, but I'm happy with what's on the game. In a nutshell, the game is exactly what it claims to be: an encore.

Encore Performance

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"If you are out of songs for the encore, do not try to jam." - Guitar Hero II

This game fails the advice of its predecessor as this game feels more like a jam session than a full game. The tracks are distinctly 80s tunes that are fondly recalled by those who listened to them on the radio during the height of their popularity but, there just is not enough of them. Only thirty total songs grace the score of the game with no additional bonus tracks or songs in the Hard or Expert levels of difficulty. The same guitars and finishes from Guitar Hero II are in this one and only Ripper is added as an extra character. All the characters have one '80s' skin and not a single new costume is to be found in the game.

Do not despair, the game is incredibly fun and has its challenges for vetrans of the game. The problem is that the content falls short of expectations built by the franchise. All told, this game has the distinct feel of being an expansion than a complete game. This is unfortunate as it is being sold at a complete game price tag. When the price drops to $20 - $30 this will be the time to add this to your library of games.

from guitar hero to guitar zero????

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

i a sorry fellow shredders,but i feel like red octane dropped the ball on this one. there are way to many flaws with this game to be priced at $45-55. that is how much guitar hero 2 goes for,if not more. this game has the same venues as 2 minus stonehenge,the same characters(with 80's styled wardrobe) 1 unlockable character, no unlockable songs. speaking of the songs...some songs either end terribly, have long lulls in the middle with no guitar, or the solos suck(metal health solo is no where to be found,replaced with boring chord progession). unless you are a die hard 80's rocker, rent,or borrow, do not buy this.

Unfortunate Turn for the Guitar Hero Success

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was excited when I walked into my local Best Buy on the Tuesday that this game came out, and was even more excited on the drive home. Being a huge fan of the Guitar Hero games (1 and 2), I was looking forward to battling some new levels and playing 80s songs! However, when I got home, unwrapped the game, and started playing, within an hour I was severely disappointed. There was no creativity in the choice of songs this time, I didn't even know a quarter to a half of them, and the ones I did know were versions that, not to be mean but, the singer sucked. They didn't use the original versions of the songs in this version of Guitar Hero, unlike the other games, and it SHOWED. If you are a Guitar Hero fan, and you enjoy playing the songs, skip out on this expansion, it's not worth it. Since I couldn't take it back, being open and all, I sold it the next day. Hopefully Guitar Hero 3 will not be the same...

Rather disappointing

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I really like the Guitar Hero games, so I was pretty excited when I heard they were doing an 80's Guitar Hero, because as it would happen, I also really love the 80's. But I was a bit disappointed in what I got.

First off, there are no bonus tracks to unlock in this game. Isn't the whole purpose of playing the gigs to make money so you can go unlock to bonus tracks? In this game, you have the standard 30 songs, and that's it. Not to mention, they cut out a lot of the characters, so now you only have 5 to choose from. LAME. On top of that, this game is super easy. There's very little challenge in beating it because so many of the songs are New Wave pop songs that don't have very challenging guitar parts in them. Don't get me wrong, they're good songs. Just not for this game.

I understand that this game was just an "encore" that they tossed out between games because the first two games did so well. that being said, it's not bad. However, what irritates me the most about this game is that they took a $30 game, hyped it up, and packaged it as a $50 game because they knew people would pay that much money for it. It's so not worth $50.

Bust out the day-glo, but don't get *too* excited...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's is exactly what you'd expect from an 80's expansion pack: bad hair, bad clothes, and a lot of hair metal. The tracklist is actually surprisingly diverse given that the expansion pack is genre-based, with the painfully-metal "Holy Diver" from Dio, a pop infusion of "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Go's, and even "Play With Me" by Extreme (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure aficionados will recognize that little number, and believe me, it belongs in the final slot).

The tracklist it not the problem, however; the issue I take with it (as many others have) is that the game is priced at "full game" level while only offering the basics of an expansion pack. There are the same characters and guitars and skins, but no unlockable songs, no local band stuff, no crazy changes that made Guitar Hero II an exciting release. I felt comfortable paying fifty bucks for Guitar Hero II because in addition to a 40-song setlist, I was getting dozens of other songs, essentially doubling my repertoire. But nothing of the sort enters into Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's, and the game suffers for it.

It's a solid setlist with the same great game play as Guitar Hero II, but you may want to wait for a price drop if you're not interested in paying almost $2 per song.

Guitar Hero 80's Lite (not a good thing)

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's was one of the few games I'd been anticipating for the PS2 other than GHIII. Unfortunately, it has failed to meet my somewhat moderate expectations. For instance, there are only 30 songs. The least amount of all the Guitar Hero games and a significant step back from the Guitar Hero II with its 40 regular songs (for PS2) along with 20+ unlockable tracks.

Also there is very little that is unlockable that I actually cared about. I hardly notice my guitar's new finish when I'm playing the game because I'm concentrating on the notes going by. Other than the Grim Reaper, guitars and new finishes hardly get me rockin'.

GH: Rocks the 80's stages are all the same as Guitar Hero II's minus a couple. And it also uses the exact same menus with just slight 80's neon color differences, so everything just feels recycled. The "updated" character models were pretty cool and one of the few things in the game that have thought put into it.

The challenge still exists in completing the various difficulty modes and getting 5 stars for every song, but the rewards do not seem worth the effort and will only be sought out by the hardcore.

All these complaints would mean very little if the game didn't have the premium sales price of a new, complete game. Unless you're a Guitar Hero freak, you are better off waiting until it drops in price when the Guitar Hero III comes out.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next 

Actions