Games that could be considered ground breaking are few and far between. Although falling into the "rhythmic music" category of games such as DDR, the original Guitar Hero could arguably be one of the few games in recent memory to claim that moniker. After a stellar sequel, it was only a matter of time before the series was cashed in on, and here lies Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s. Much like its predecessors, the song selection here is hit or miss, and it seems like there are far more bad songs and fewer moments of excitement than seen before. This leaves you with the knowledge that perhaps it's better to just remember the franchise as it was than continue on with what it seems to be becoming: a cash cow that has lost much of its luster.

The track list is hit or miss.

To begin with, the most important aspect of the Guitar Hero games has always been the soundtrack and, in some ways, it still succeeds. Harmonix dominates the game with heavy metal music, making up most of the title's 30 songs. There's Ratt, Winger, Twisted Sister, and bands like Poison here. These are actually some of the best songs on the soundtrack. Twisted Sister's is a master track, although a problem lies in that Dee Snyder obviously recorded this more recently with his voice sounding a bit worn down. It might actually be the first time in Guitar Hero memory where having the in-house band sing could have been a better choice. Past the hair metal, there are some other more eclectic songs like .38 Special's "Hold on Loosely" and "We Got The Beat" by The Go Go's. The latter is the first sign that they might have either run out of ideas or were trying to cover too many bases. That's a feeling that permeates throughout this game. Sure there are a lot of people that remember these songs; some of them are even still interesting to listen to. Yet, is it entirely necessary for Oingo Boingo to have a guitar solo in any of their songs?

It seems that a lot of the game really comes down to taste. Whereas Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II hand-picked songs that were great from across decades, some of the best were already taken from the 80s. That leaves Rock the 80's with little more than a few big songs and a lot of C and even D list tunes that just fall flat. For some reason, there are even songs that just do not fit, such as "Bathroom Wall" by Faster Pussycat. Besides being a poor choice of a song to be included in damn near anything, it just isn't enjoyable to play or listen to. Similarly, the made up band Limozeen makes an appearance, which normally would be just another track for a hero to purchase. Except here, it's a standard part of the already weak lineup, making the track list seem even worse.

Inevitably, the tracks rounds out with a few masters such as "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls that does sound good. Unfortunately, for every great song there seems to be just as many, if not more, mediocre songs, making this an annoying balancing act. Although "I'm Turning Japanese" by the Vapors is a lot of fun, "Radar Love" performed for some reason by White Lion (instead of Golden Earring) sounds terrible. What's stranger still is that some of these songs were not even memorable at the time, yet remain on this track list.

This is essentially a stripped down version of Guitar Hero II that's being sold for full price.

Music issues aside, the game itself feels recycled from previous titles, but with several parts actually removed. For instance, there are fewer characters here than used previously, only now they are wearing leg warmers. The reused maps are covered in neon lights to make them seem more 80's-like and that really doesn't cut it for what's supposed to be a new game. All of the bonus content is also cut out, leaving you with a bare bones version of Guitar Hero 2 with half as many decent songs. With the standard song list being so poor, it's scary to think of what they might have added as a bonus song had they chosen to. Also, the final Spinal Tap-inspired Stonehenge stage is gone, which is actually a big loss being that the entire joke of that level comes from the eighties.

Thankfully, the practice mode and multiplayer are intact from Guitar Hero 2, so that at least a bit of fun can be found in Rocks the 80s. Really though, that's the ultimate problem with this game. It costs fifty dollars and feels like it should be some kind of downloadable content or a cheap expansion. At full price, it's hard to recommend this game to even an enthusiast for purchase, but if you're really curious, a rent could be a worthwhile option. However, when the best thing that can be said about the game is that you had a good time playing the solo in a song by Flock of Seagulls, perhaps it's better to just stay away altogether.