12DOVE Verdict
Pros
- +
Still incredibly fun
- +
The songs you remember
- +
Ripping it with Grim
Cons
- -
Not knowing some tunes
- -
Fewer features & less polish
- -
Paying full price
Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
"Do we even need to review this, or can we just slap another 10 on it?" That's the thought that crossed our minds when Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s (no apostrophe, dammit - we're all about rebellion, apparently) arrived in our offices. After all, how different could it be? It uses all the same characters, locations, and graphics that Guitar Hero II used - isn't this just more of the same?
Well, yes and no. This is more of the same, sure - so it's basically fantastic. But it's not as much "more" as you might imagine. There are only six playable characters (five normal and one unlockable: the scythe-wielding "Grim Ripper") as opposed to ten in the normal game. And they all have only one outfit: a new, '80s-themed look. You can't buy more in the store. More importantly, this version of the store also fails to stock any new songs, leaving you with just the 30 you'll encounter over the course of the regular career mode.
This leads us to an interesting point: the music here is more diverse and less universal than that of either of the first two Guitar Hero games (you can check it out by goinghereand then clicking "Tracklist"). And if our office is any indication, that makes this a much more polarizing song list than in previous games. Most everyone knows the Go-Gos and Police, but only the office metalhead threw the horns over second-tier headbangers like Dio and Accept, and bands like Oingo Boingo and X are great for new wave and punk devotees, but will leave others cold.
It's all fine music, and these groups were all undeniably successful in their own circles. But the end result is that many players - especially those under the age of 30 - might find a lot of this stuff to be too obscure for their tastes. That's a big concern when you're shelling out $40 or $50 - watch for sales. A few of us also feel that the placement of the gems is slightly less careful than usual, leading to occasional moments where you feel the song is sluggish, or that you're playing the gems, but not the song.
More info
| Genre | Family |
| Description | An '80s themed edition to the peripheral-tastic music game reportedly heading to PS2. |
| Platform | "PS2" |
| US censor rating | "Rating Pending" |
| UK censor rating | "" |
Unicorn Overlord is my GOTY, so I had to talk to its director about how the devs ran out of money, what makes strategy RPGs fun, and hopes for DLC or a PC port
As Path of Exile 2 sees new players fall to scammers' old tricks, RPG veterans step in to raise awareness: "Be careful, exile!"
SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 review: "a Hall effect darling that doubles down on the original’s greatness"
