Alas, here we are looking at Rocks the 80's, a collection of tracks from that oh so memorable era (good and bad), and it's not very good. One thing I've always loved about Guitar Hero is that even songs that I didn't like ended up being surprisingly fun to play. That is not the case here. Although I wouldn't consider many of the songs on this track list great, there are many that I would consider memorable to reminisce about. Unfortunately, the majority of these songs are just pathetic when it comes to the guitar portion of the song.

The two biggest problems with the game are the song selection and the note charts, which is for all intents and purposes, the game. Many times I would come across a song in the first half of the game, think upon it fondly and start playing only to find that the guitar parts really suck. Most songs are full of boring, and I mean boring, rhythm sections with a solo splashed in for good measure. Nothing dynamic nor engaging to be found. Hardly anything that gave that feeling of playing rock solid music like in the past two games. The bright spots are limited to maybe 4 or 5 songs out of 30.

Those issues with the songs may have been easier to swallow at an expansion pack price, like $19.99, since it's still extra songs for Guitar Hero, which is a good thing. But that's not the case. Instead, you're paying full price when there are no bonus tracks, no costumes to unlock, half the characters of GH II, all the same arenas, and all the same presentation in the menus. Only 6 characters return for the 80's, and they are suitably dressed for the era (except for Death, who looks the same with the addition of a Flava Flav clock around his neck and 3-d glasses on). The venues are all the same except for some pink and green wallpaper and posters tacked on. The rest of the band and the crowd are straight out of GH II, which totally ruins the immersion. For instance the one girl singer still has big dreads and a camo miniskirt on. All the guitars and skins are the same.

I 5-starred all but three songs on Hard on my very first trip through the game, and I was yawning most of the way through. There's basically no replay value after one trip through the track list. I'll probably break it out for my sister and a couple of friends for a once over, but this is a real disappointment for the Guitar Hero franchise.

I'm not sure if anything can slow down Guitar Hero right now, which is good and bad. Rock Band is coming up right around the corner with Harmonix at the helm, so it's going to interesting to see what Neversoft can do with Guitar Hero III. As it stands, Rocks the 80's is not worth retail price, and I'm unhappy to see the turns that are happening with the franchise.