New EGM reveals Guitar Hero: 1980s Edition (PS2)

49 Comments by Blake Snow Jan 12th 2007 12:35PM
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Microsoft Xbox 360

The new issue of EGM (February no. 212) has the goods on a few unannounced games according to Gaming Target, namely Guitar Hero: 1980s Edition for the PS2. The title is expected to ship sometime this spring (alongside Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 maybe?). And though a 3-4 month release for an unannounced game seems oddly quick, EGM merely states, "trust us; it's coming." More Van Halen better be on that if true.

Other games announced in the newest issue included Tomb Raider: Anniversary for 360, a pair of RPGs for the PS2, Half-Life 2: Orange for 360 and PS3, and Midway's Blacksite: Area 51 (multi?). Click through for detailed descriptions of each.

[Thanks, John]

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

sheppy: Jan 12th 2007; 12:48PM

"A pair of RPGs for PS2"

... well, that's useful.

"It is believed these games will ship on plastic discs in plastic DVD cases and may even include a manual and box art."

FrankTheCrank: Jan 12th 2007; 12:49PM

HALF LIFE 2: ORANGE??? WTF??

GH2 80's edition?? Bring it on!!! I'll go buy some Aquanet, you guys get the spandex...

Werbal: Jan 12th 2007; 12:52PM

efh;agfhagjghkja;hdfsjfhweiuhrfisudfainfuehfiuhefiuahsifuhasidfuhesioufhesa

:)

mietha CAG: Jan 12th 2007; 12:52PM

TR:A for the 360 is good news indead. TR:L was awesome, I just hope the new one can live up to it.

Phranctoast: Jan 12th 2007; 12:55PM

Id like to see TR:A on the ps3 as well. If they are making it on the 360 and the ps2, it cant be that difficult to have a ps3 version too.

LunarDuality: Jan 12th 2007; 1:11PM

Don't you get the feeling though that the 1980s tracks will be available as a downloadable expansion for the 360 version? I would hope so. (And why would you assume new songs in the GH II engine take longer than a couple months to release??)

Viridium: Jan 12th 2007; 1:15PM

Frank the Crank:
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/11/29/half-life-2-episode-2-interview-mentions-pc-black-box-console-orange-box.htm

"On the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, they* will come in a package simply known as Half-Life 2 Orange Box. On the PC, there will be a pack that contains just Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2 – this pack will be called Half-Life 2 Black Box."

* 'They' refers to TF2, Portal, and HL2:Ep2 along with HL2 (and maybe HL2:Ep1?).

Cooper: Jan 12th 2007; 1:23PM

Where are the Wii games? Did I get tricked into supporting another lame Nin-concsole?

Sam Gardner: Jan 12th 2007; 1:25PM

What the hell? You know the only reason they're making Guitar Hero: 1980's Edition is because thats the only decade of music that no one gives a crap about; they couldn't get the licensing to decent bands like Zeppelin so they're all like...lets play to the minority of people who still feel that artists from the 1980's had talent.

SID SPACE: Jan 12th 2007; 1:25PM

Majority of '80s songs = ewwww.

J.Goodwin: Jan 12th 2007; 1:27PM

The two RPGs are Wild Arms 5, and Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix

TR:A uses an updated version of the TR:L engine right? If so, I'm looking forward to it. That was the first Tomb Raider game that I've enjoyed playing.

Fernando Rocker: Jan 12th 2007; 1:43PM

@Cooper Wii games coming: Metroid Prime 3, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Final fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Super Smash Bros, Mario Galaxy, and a lot more...

By the way... the 70's and 80's music is the best... I mean... In the 90's: Nirvana (shit) Nirvana ruined the rock music.

The 70 and 80: Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Skid Row, Poison, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Helloween, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Judas Priest (electric eye will be a good guitar hero song), Whitesnake, Rainbow, Scorpions Steve Vai, Joe satriani, Metallica, Michael Angelo Batio,Stevie Ray Vaughan, Malmsteen, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Don Dokken, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Eric Johnson, God of War, Iron Butrerfly, DIO, Jethro Tull, Hendrix, Rush, , Motley Crue, Motorhead, Peter Frampton, , Rolling Stones. Uriah Heep

That was good music.

Today just shitty music: I mean, what a fuck is Nirvana, HIM, good charlotte and all that shitty mtv music...

Heavy Metal and Glam rules!

Chris: Jan 12th 2007; 1:49PM

As long as it has Van Halen - Eruption, I'll be the happiest person in the world.

Actually now that i think about it, the first Van Halen Cd was released in 1978.. so unless GH is lenient with its "80's version", Eruption won't be on there. DAMNIT!

Werbal: Jan 12th 2007; 1:53PM

Seriously, a great song for GH:80s would be "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors. It'd be perfect for the first or second tier.

Jeff: Jan 12th 2007; 1:57PM

"And why would you assume new songs in the GH II engine take longer than a couple months to release??"

Song license contracts don't write themselves. And most of these songs need to be licensed individually.

Pete C: Jan 12th 2007; 2:05PM

TR:A for 360? Is this official now? Good Lord I hope so. I have such fond memories of the original.

Eric: Jan 12th 2007; 2:16PM

Re: Comment #15, from Jeff:

Licensing for covers of songs is compulsory. Anyone can record a cover of a song, without having to ask permission from the songwriter, so long as they pay a standard fee per copy they sell.

Almost all of the tracks from GH I and II are covers. So, no real licensing problems here.

Brian: Jan 12th 2007; 2:31PM

I just hope they don'tmake the 80's version a hair metal version. There was some great sophisticated music from the 80s. The Smiths, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Sonic Youth, The Pixies. Let's just hope they put "Vamos" and "Total Trash" on there, not just "Don't Stop Believin'".

FrankTheCrank: Jan 12th 2007; 2:33PM

I NEED SOME SLAYER!!!!

crono141: Jan 12th 2007; 2:57PM

Morons! 80's metal is the quintessential metal experience.

Werbal, "Turning Japanese" is what we call 80's pop. That'd be like saying we should have britney on guitar hero instead of Velvet Revolver.

Learn your genre's people. Damn!

Ocho: Jan 12th 2007; 2:58PM

I'm already gearing up for Guitar Hero: Grunge and Guitar Hero: Alt Country. At $50 a pop, Activision and MTV just need to sit back and let me money pour in.

Lost Carcosa: Jan 12th 2007; 3:07PM

Please let there be Ratt and Helloween.

There are a lot of people who like music from the 80's. Just because some people don't like the music doesn't mean it was bad, just like just because someone doesn't like the 90's music, doesn't mean thats bad either.

We're not going to start with the music fanboyism, are we?

DeadPlasmaCell: Jan 12th 2007; 3:08PM

Hopefully we'll see a 360 marketplace download along side of it. I would think it wouldn't be more than 10 or 15 songs probably.

OTAM: Jan 12th 2007; 3:25PM

Guitar Hero 80's Edition...HELL YES.

Jump!
Hot for Teacher!
Pour Some Sugar On Me!
Every Rose Has It's Thorn!

and that's just the hair bands,i'm sure we'll have other badass stuff on there. I'm a huge fan of 80's pop/rock hits so this makes up in tenfolds for GH2's crapass tracklist.

Rootbeer: Jan 12th 2007; 3:46PM

"Licensing for covers of songs is compulsory. Anyone can record a cover of a song, without having to ask permission from the songwriter, so long as they pay a standard fee per copy they sell."

That is definitely true if you are selling the cover song as a cover song. It's how the K-Tel record collections of yesteryear existed, as well as the "Kidz Bop" CDs of today.

If you are selling the cover song as an integral part of an interactive video game, I'm not so sure that the compulsory licensing is applicable. At the very least, I'm not familiar with any court cases affirming that it is.

Kevin: Jan 12th 2007; 4:28PM

You know what songs I'm hoping for?

Iron Maiden - Hallowed By Thy Name
Judas Priest - Hellbent For Leather
Accept - Balls To The Wall
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Anthrax - Caught In A Mosh
Motörhead - Damage Case
Spinal Tap - Big Bottom

Judd: Jan 12th 2007; 4:40PM

Sheppy: If you read the story it says that they two RPG's are Wild Arms 5 and Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix.

As an aside, I'd like to say that the original Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was only released in Japan. I played the original Kingdom Hearts and loved it so much I also played Chain of Memories for the GBA. But because I traded my PS2 I never got around to playing KH2. Now I'm glad I waited, because the PS2 is getting pretty cheap, and this is going to include Chain of Memories in 3D.

geostar: Jan 12th 2007; 4:41PM

"Butt Rock" sucks.

(for me)

Please make a classic rock and a 90s rock GH for those of us that can't stand 80s music.

sheppy: Jan 12th 2007; 5:51PM

Couldn't follow link. Site was blocked at work. But Joystiq posted the names of every other game they mentioned.

Incidently, Kingdom Hearts International Edition (also known as Final Mix or Director's Cut for some odd reason) is known officially in the states as Kingdom Hearts. That's right. The US got several exclusive boss battles including Sephiroth that Japan just didn't get. Likewise, we obviously got the english track they didn't. So the original Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was pretty much US's version, and an extra cutscene which lead directly into Chain Of Memories.

Now KH2 Final Mix, THAT'S an upgrade. Completely revamped battle engine.

I'm torn on TR:A (although when it drops, I will definately snag the 360 version now). I never really liked the games until Legend. If they keep the core gameplay of Legend intact but placing that in the original Tomb Raider levels and world (read: REmake for Gamecube), then I'm all about it. But if all they are doing is a graphical exchange (read: MGS:Twin Snakes or Ninja Gaiden Sigma) then I'll have to pass.

OTAM: Jan 12th 2007; 6:42PM

geostar,they already have a classic rock and 90s rock game,it's called Guitar Hero 2.

Werbal: Jan 12th 2007; 6:48PM

crono181, The Vapors were New Wave. And there was a lot more going in 1980s in music than just hard rock and thrash metal. Frankly I'd be dissapointed if the GH:80s expansion or whatever just turned out to be a big metal-fest.

That said, I am all up for some hair metal! How about Cum On Feel the Noize or We're Not Gonna Take It? Both cheesy songs, but I like having a few of those on each game. I think I'm the only person who actually enjoys Cherry Pie on GHII.

Cal The New Noise Thriller: Jan 12th 2007; 6:50PM

Ugh... The taste of music on this site is atrocious. Why don't they do a Guitar Hero: TODAY edition. With music from today. Some Thrice, Queens Of The Stone Age, various other rock bands who aren't just poppy. Play it up to different genres. There could even be a Hip Hop edition. Just please... No more 80s rock. Isn't that basically what Guitar Hero I and II are already? Generic guitar wanking music (how did Motley Crue get on there?)?

geostar: Jan 12th 2007; 8:07PM

#30 OTAM said "geostar,they already have a classic rock and 90s rock game,it's called Guitar Hero 2."

Yeah, except I gotta play through the likes of Warrant, Motley Crew, Van Halen and GNR to get to the good songs.

Andrew: Jan 12th 2007; 8:17PM

It better have some L.A. Guns on it.

Andrew: Jan 12th 2007; 8:18PM

#33

It's Motley Crue. :p

tbonespop: Jan 12th 2007; 8:20PM

Helloween? Poison? Are you guys, like, all 14 or something? In this day and age of unlimited music libraries (if you don't know how to get one, you're not trying hard enough), I can't believe the crap you people listen to. Have we neglected the youth of America so badly or is it that actual morons have found a way to connect to the internet? OMG. Part of me thinks that there are people posting this stuff just for a few yucks. Ok, gotta go take a shower now after reading these posts...

atomicapril: Jan 12th 2007; 8:32PM

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 1980s Guitat Hero, that game i completely video game crack, now if they would have guitar hero on wii...

ohhhhhhhhhh wii...

Fisher: Jan 12th 2007; 9:01PM

I'm not sure what's worse; long-winded fanboys or long-winded music elitists.

"OMG, I can't believe you like ROCK BAND, they're so crappy, how do you figure out the Internet? Are you retarded?"

"Oh God, not METAL BAND, I cannot believe anyone would ever listen to that with all the better music now."

"Oh jeez, the 80's were terrible, nothing good came out of that ten years, all music only became good recently."

"Crap, today's music all sucks! Nothing good came after 1989."

Seriously, it's not like it'll KILL YOU to accept that there are different strokes for different folks. The great thing about music is that it sounds completely different to each person; one man's corporate-vomited ballad is another man's metaphor for his own situation. One man's "greatest rock song ever" is another man's incomprehensible garble of noise.

Meatball: Jan 12th 2007; 10:06PM

You know, there is a pretty kick ass rock cover of Turning Japanese. Think it came out in the 90's though.

IXNAY: Jan 13th 2007; 2:47AM

Why has nobody ever brought this one up -
One by Metallica

???

One of the best songs to come out of the 80s, and in terms of guitar hero, its got all the different riffs to compensate for all aspects of playing. The slow intro to begin with, the harder sections, then the killer solo at the end!

Speaking of which, I reckon they should put buttons on the high parts of the fret board to do tapping solos. Eruption anybody??

Suzuki: Jan 13th 2007; 10:40AM

I can't wait for Guitar hero 2 to come out on xbox 360, now I feel like this might be better.

Quando: Jan 13th 2007; 11:14AM

What is this Guitar Hero people keep talking about?

adam scholten: Jan 17th 2007; 10:52PM

Well, everyone has their own opinions, but i think that the Guitar hero series would be muhc better off releasing new editions to specific generes and periods of time in music history, because not everyone likes music that was made today and vice versa. Then people don;t get stuck playing through songs they could really care less playing along too.

That being said I really hope they do include a few borderline 80's pop songs. Like money for nothing and maybe a few others that I can't think of right now.

Questworld: Jan 18th 2007; 8:31PM

Where's the Tomb Raider Anniversary for the Wii? Please stop trying to sabotage support by trying to release it months later again. Well, I suppose it would be okay as long as it's sold cheaper and not full price unlike what I read about Hitman 2 on the Cube, which was said to have been released months later and at $50 while the other versions were already released and discounted in price. You see, TR:L for the Cube was at least released at $30, that's why I got that. Nothing drastic was omitted (i.e. unlike Ubisoft's Splinter Cell where online modes are always omitted for the Cube version) though for future reference, for the Wii anyway, at least give us some addded incentive, bonus, and/or fixes for the delay.

yotch: Jan 20th 2007; 1:49AM

Regarding:

Licensing rights - There HAS to be a reason that certain tracks were chosen on GH2. Is "Last Child" really the best Aerosmith song to pick? "Can You Hear Me Knocking?" is the best Stones song we got? And a Van Halen cover? Come on. There's tons of legal and financial reasons songs are picked...and I'm sure better ones could have been used had the price been right.

Also, I know we all have our wish lists, but in all reality, they're not going to include songs that you and 6 of your friends think is great. The songs need to be fun (Every Rose Has it's Thorn would NOT be fun to play) and relatively well known (assuming they can get the licensing rights, and don't have to pay a fortune for use of the song).

hypnoreagan: Jan 24th 2007; 1:33PM

Well, if we're lucky, it won't be all hair metal stuff. I mean, there's the Smiths, the Pixies, the Replacements, Mission of Burma... The point is, there's a lot of stuff out there there that was (and still is, to some extent) underground that'd be great for this, and I hope they put some in. That and "Welcome to the Jungle".

Kusanagi: Feb 18th 2007; 5:46PM

Hope I get to pick on some W.A.S.P., KISS, The Police, Pretenders, Anthrax, Ozzy (a song with Randy Rhoads, plz!) MÖTLEY F***IN' CRÜE and SSSSSSLLLLLLAAAAAAAYYYYYYEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!

PS: oh, and if they snuck MJ's "Beat It" in (just for the pleasure of playin' like Eddie), I'd be delighted too!

Ryan: Mar 4th 2007; 11:45AM

Nice to see some musical nitwits on the board. The 80s weren't the greatest era of music but they definitely had their fair share of cool music. For starters, AC/DC's Back in Black (1980), one of the greatest albums ever. Metallica's Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for all. Other greatest rock albums ever from the 80's include Guns 'N Roses: Appetite for Destruction, Prince's Sign O the Times and Purple Rain, Michael Jackson's Thriller. There was that other guy who left Black Sabbath, what was his name, oh yeah, it was Ozzy Osbourne, who's first solo album (Blizzard of Oz) was a 1980's release. Other groups with significant 80's releases include Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Van Halen (perhaps you've heard of them. Basically only idiots think the '80s didn't have anything musically.