We love Guitar Hero here at Game Almighty. How could you not love this game? It’s got everything a great rhythm game needs – killer soundtracks, fun peripherals, it’s easy to learn and difficult to master. Games like this live and die by their soundtrack, but Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s is ALL about the song list.

GH 80s takes the popular franchise and back-dates it by about 20 years. Back in the days of pastel suits and Jeri Curl, palm trees and Care Bears, there was still rock and roll – but there weren’t rhythm-based video games. Harmonix has decided to remedy that lack of nostalgic jamming by releasing a retro themed version of what is essentially Guitar Hero 2.

Let’s be frank – pretty much anybody who reads this review already knows exactly how the game plays. You strum your guitar and press notes in time with the song that’s playing, striving for longer combos to boost your score. There are multiple difficulty levels, blah blah blah. I’ve played it, you’ve played it, your parents may have even played it. If you really don’t know how the mechanics of the game work, head over and check out my video strategy guide for Guitar Hero 2.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about covering what’s new this time around? It’s going to be really easy, because unfortunately the game is basically exactly the same as it always has been. It’s basically Guitar Hero 2 with some new songs and characters – everything else is literally exactly the same. All of the characters that you can choose from have been given a makeover to suit the era of the game better, but not all of your favorite characters will be returning. All of the game modes from GH2 are exactly the same here. All of the arenas are exactly the same. Even the crowds and loading screens are blatantly recycled without making any attempts to change them. My biggest problem with this new version of the game is all of the recycling that’s going on. If it’s not a full game, don’t charge full price.

So the soundtrack – that’s the only saving grace of this game, now that we know there’s nothing else to look for here. Again, it’s a little disappointing. There are only 30 songs here, which means that there are 5 songs for each of the six venues. No bonus tracks or further unlockables exist on this disc. Sure, there are some aging anthems like “Turning Japanese,” “Holy Diver” and “I Wanna Rock” – and these are a ton of fun to play. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for every song on the list. Some of these tracks are definitely memorable classics, but some of them are definitely not. Come on – Extreme? Limozeen? Seriously? The other problem with the soundtrack lies in the fact that there are only 5 songs that feature the original master track. Everything else is performed by cover bands, and that only serves to add to the overall lazy feeling of this game.

Basically, what we’ve got here is a stripped down version of a great game. It’s nothing short of a complete re-hash, but in the case of Guitar Hero that’s not necessarily a huge problem. Nobody really expected great innovation with gameplay here – that’s being saved for GH3 later this year. All you’ll get in this package are some new songs and a sort-of-new look, but you’ll have to pay full price for it. From a consumer standpoint, it would’ve made a lot more sense to release this content as downloadable add-ons for 360, but such is the life of a gamer. If you’re bored with GH2 on your PS2 and nostalgic for big hair and tight pants, you might want to check out Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s.