First tracks from Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's revealed

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 10th 2007 at 11:01AM }

An alarming abundance of outrageous attitudes? Check. Enormous shoulder pads and poor color coordination? Check. Extravagantly large hair and excessively shiny accessories? Check. With this Summer's upcoming Guitar Hero expansion, Rocks the 80's, publisher Activision is dangerously close to delivering their first Japanese RPG. Thankfully, Opposable Thumbs reminds us that it's all about the music and lists the first seven tracks from the game's 30-strong list.

I Wanna Rock (by Twisted Sister)
I Ran (by Flock of Seagulls)
Round and Round (as made famous by Ratt)
I Want Candy (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
Metal Health (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
Holy Diver (as made famous by Dio)
Heat Of The Moment (as made famous by Asia)

Given the lack of the "as made famous" bit, it seems original recordings are provided by everybody's favorite contorted siblings and maritime birds. Curiously, Opposable Thumbs notes that Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's will be "exclusive" to the PlayStation 2. Does that imply exclusivity for the in-store version, with the Xbox 360 receiving the expansion in downloadable form? Why would Activision limit the game's reach? After all, the pricing of Guitar Hero's online tracks makes it pretty clear that the publisher enjoys making money.

[Thanks, Jess]

Tags: Activision, Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero II, GuitarHero, GuitarHero2, GuitarHeroIi, Neversoft, Red Octane, RedOctane

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 11:10AM

30 hits?

So, if xbox live charges the same as before, 3 songs for 6 bucks, this will cost 60 dollars US?

Let's make it 39 bucks for PS2, I frankly don't even like half of the song on that list. and the 80s?? Great time for rock song, eh? ;)

nick @ May 10th 2007 11:10AM

Seems i may need to plug in that old PS2.... Kinda sucks since i would totally shell out the cash for a 360 version rather then to download tracks at a crazy bloated price.

Zoot Suit Jedi @ May 10th 2007 11:18AM

Holy Diver, you've been down too long in the midnight sea...

Matt @ May 10th 2007 11:22AM

Someone want to start a petition to get this thing on the 360 in disc form! I just dropped 90 bucks why don't they want me to drop another 40!

As for the songs, any of us 'older' guys who listened to music in the 80s love that ish.

Konny @ May 10th 2007 11:27AM

@kingofwale

The difference on XBL GH downloads is that you dont OWN the tracks.. its not like you cant go out and sell the tracks on eBay... its stuck to that particular HDD and XBL account.

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 11:27AM

Somehow... I have a sinking feeling Dr. Feelgood, Kickstart My Heart, Janie's Got A Gun, Just Like Heaven, and You Might Think.

But I guess I Want Candy seems peppy enough... for now.

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 11:31AM

^I have a sinking feeling those WON'T be included

EMPIRE @ May 10th 2007 11:31AM

They BETTER include Europe's "Final Countdown"! That shit is the 80's poster boy song!

Hoffer @ May 10th 2007 11:33AM

This better come to the 360. I love GH2.

kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 11:35AM

@Konny

yeah, I'm aware of that, I'm simply implying that Microsoft is charging way too much for songs.

JayDiggler @ May 10th 2007 11:37AM

...Oh what's becoming of me

Ride the tiger, you can see his stripes but you know he's clean, oh don't you see what I mean

Gotta get away
Holy Diver

Zoot Suit Jedi @ May 10th 2007 11:41AM

How about some Run to the Hills? Show the Maiden some love.

Ferior @ May 10th 2007 11:41AM

If they do Boys of Summer or Take On Me, I will gladly pick up this game and a guitar.

music hobo @ May 10th 2007 11:43AM

Okay... I know, I know I not be surprised by the poor selection one music but damnit! I held out some hope that they would put up some post-punk. Souixe and The Banshees' would be wonderful to play. I'm just sayin' fun rhythm beats the hell out of solos for me. I wish they would go out side the realm of modern 80's stereotypes and put accusal good music in the mix.

tcc3 @ May 10th 2007 11:44AM

King, don't imply. Make your voice be heard.They (MS or Activision)
*are* charging way too much for songs. =)

Fernando Rocker @ May 10th 2007 11:45AM

Oh fucking yes! Finally, my favorite band... DIO! Holy Diver, a good song, altough I will prefer Time to Burn or The Last in Line...

But finally, some good music, not mpre Nirvana crap music.

Grammar freak @ May 10th 2007 11:47AM

Holy diverrr! Check out the Killswitch Engage cover of that if you you haven't already

J8675309 @ May 10th 2007 11:49AM

As soon as I heard about this game, I said, man, it will be garbage if it doesn't "I Ran"

So yay~!

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 11:51AM

"If they do Boys of Summer or Take On Me, I will gladly pick up this game and a guitar."

Frets On Fire... if it's not in already, you can add it.

Fernando Rocker @ May 10th 2007 11:53AM

@music hobo

Punk doesnt contribute nothing to music... sorry

Guitar Hero SHOULD be about guitar, good examples of good guitar players, and, to be honest, I dont think that a Punk guitar player can play like a heavy metal guitar player.

tcc3 @ May 10th 2007 11:56AM

I appreciate what the Frets on Fire folks are trying to do, and they've done a hell of a job. But the production values really kill it for me. The crappy midi just doesn't hold a candle.

It like playing shareware pacman where the graphics are ASCII symbols. Its just not the same.

mrx @ May 10th 2007 12:01PM

[quote] 1. 30 hits?

So, if xbox live charges the same as before, 3 songs for 6 bucks, this will cost 60 dollars US?

Let's make it 39 bucks for PS2, I frankly don't even like half of the song on that list. and the 80s?? Great time for rock song, eh? ;)

Posted at 11:10AM on May 10th 2007 by kingofwale[/qoute]

Welcome to UK prices lmao we pay $89.20 (£44.99) for new games

kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 12:02PM

@tcc3

see, i would've done something, but considering that when EPIC was trying to release their own maps for FREE on xbox live, Microsoft got the last word on that.

it's their own BLOODY MAP! yeah, don't think Microsoft cares what we say frankly.

benzitor @ May 10th 2007 12:16PM

Harmonix is gone...THEY were the heart of guitar hero...THEY were behind the choice of song by TASTE not by HYPE. This GH would have been good with harmonix behind.

Please, redoctane, stop right now...you will corrupt the essence of this serie by adding populare requests and hit songs ( flock of seguls ??? Anything else than GUITAR SYNTH in this...)

If they put a-ha it will be a joke. We are talking rock n roll here, not Hits compilations.

Baba @ May 10th 2007 12:40PM

Possible in-game footage of Holy Diver:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX5nFemKoSs

music hobo @ May 10th 2007 12:55PM

Fernando Rocker I said POST-PUNK. Its the genre the proceeds alternative rock and started the rave scene before it got all f'd up. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_punk) As a genre it is pretty damn good and well rounded in general. AND best of all you can dance to it! OOO! (slam dancing if fun but come on! =P)
And pardon me by saying this but the bands listed for GH 80s are in no way exemplitory when it comes to guitar work. Just well known and decent. Oh and Post-Punk was some what popular in the early to mid 80s so I think the rare guitar driven sound would work out amazingly well. The band I mention, Souixe and The Banshees, appeared on the American top 40 a few times during the first half of the period. But non of their songs I would recommend for Guitar Hero now that I think about it more. They have great work done but its the focused on the rhythm section to be good for this game. Okay, there might be one but its pushing it. But you know what would I recommend over a few handful of post punk songs I know that would work Most any Phycobilly! mmm eat your brains and shout a zombie int the face Phycobilly...
(excuse the partly edited wall of text. I'm lazy!)

rokerovakero @ May 10th 2007 1:03PM

They should add "I'm Turning Japanese" and have some crazy idiots that like to dress up as the king of fighters characters dancing!

Shmil @ May 10th 2007 1:10PM

@ fernando Rocker

"Punk doesnt contribute nothing to music... sorry"

Not contributing nothing means it contributes something
learn about your double negatives

James @ May 10th 2007 1:18PM

Um, it's Siouxsie and the Banshees.

I'd like to see The Cure, New Order, and The Smiths represented.

Shmil @ May 10th 2007 1:29PM

I'd love to see some Journey, as unlikely as it is i would bust my left nut from laughing if Journey was in this

bounchfx @ May 10th 2007 1:32PM

Wow... by those songs.. I couldn't be less excited. and I'm a huge GH fan..

regardless, I'll get this, but the only song I'm looking forward to on that list is dio

samfish @ May 10th 2007 1:40PM

* I Wanna Rock (by Twisted Sister)
Crap

* I Ran (by Flock of Seagulls)
Crap

* Round and Round (as made famous by Ratt)
Crap

* I Want Candy (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
Crap

* Metal Health (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
Crap

* Holy Diver (as made famous by Dio)
More crap

* Heat Of The Moment (as made famous by Asia)
Crap

Dmnkly @ May 10th 2007 1:41PM

a-Ha? The Cure? New Order?

Are you joking?

Don't misunderstand, I LOVE those bands. Some of my favorites, in fact. But they couldn't be more inappropriate for Guitar Hero.

Aex @ May 10th 2007 1:41PM

Well I've already known I would be buying this from day one. But take on me would bring a giant smile to my face.

ymmv @ May 10th 2007 2:07PM

@Benzitor, you'd be surprised at the amount of guitar work in "I Ran". The song feels like it's synth driven, but that's mostly because of that electronic drum track and a droning synth sound. The rest is bass and effects laden guitar work. It has a *lot* more in common with The Cure's "The Forest" than with anything by Depeche Mode or The Human League.

Personally I think it's an eighties classic.

Bad Mojo @ May 10th 2007 2:10PM

Personally, I am a HUGE fan of the hair metal days, so the is so far is good. But you want to talk some kick arse Iron Maiden... I recommend Wasted Years off of Somewhere in Time.... Simply an AWESOME track!

wes @ May 10th 2007 2:17PM

This soundtrack feels amazingly similar to Vice city stories...But oh wells

wes @ May 10th 2007 2:18PM

Not that its a bad thing...Holy diver baby woot

OTAM @ May 10th 2007 2:32PM

I am buying this for Quiet Riot and Flock of Seagulls alone. The guy saying every song is "crap" is simply astounding. Maybe when the people release this isnt a game series made for music snobs they'll stop bitching. Nobody wants to play some unknown "deeper cut" from a band except for a bunch of music snobs. I want to rock out to Motley Crue,Twisted Sister,Quiet Riot,and Poison. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Guitar Hero 2 was already a disappointment for the amount of inaccessible tracks on it.

Dave Silva @ May 10th 2007 3:24PM

Those songs look AWESOME. I first heard of Holy Diver a few weeks ago at a board where some friends ridiculed the video...

And I loved the song.

Too bad it'll only have thirty songs, though. :( It needs at least forty so it's the same size as Guitar Hero II.

Dave Silva @ May 10th 2007 3:32PM

Oh and all of you people who keep saying "OMG this song sucks and this song sucks too"? Shut up, you'll STILL buy the game. I'm pretty happy about getting a new song pack. There's a few songs in GH2 I don't really like to listen to, but they're FUN to play, and that's what matters.

Johnny Napalm @ May 10th 2007 4:07PM

You can't be more wrong benzitor.

1. Harmonix is the developer of this game.
2. The songs for both previous games were picked by 2 teams (1 at harmonix and 1 at red octane)

... so please don't bother talking about things you don't know.

Jeff @ May 10th 2007 4:26PM

I saw this coming...Crappy pop and hair metal.

First of all, The Cure would be great in this game. Robert Smith is a surprisingly good guitarist. They'd just have to pick the right song.
Second of all, punk contributed a hell of a lot to music. Also, the idea that punk rockers can't play guitar is insane. Did you play, I dunno, Institutionalized, in GH2?
I really wanted to see some Descendents, or Black Flag, or Dead Kennedys. Two of those three bands have great guitarists, and the other one has guitar riffs that would be hard simply because they're so off time :p. I mean, come on, at least throw in some Pixies.
Of course, the song list isn't fully released yet, but, after seeing this, I have no hope at all. Of course, I'll buy it anyway.

music hobo @ May 10th 2007 5:37PM

Okay, okay I'm sorry James I had the Peep Show in front of me while posting that... I'm sorry I'm a unobservant lazy ass speller and a terrible fan. :*(

But anyways back to what I want in GH. MORE PSYCOBILLY! MORE!!!

YoYoBoY @ May 10th 2007 6:06PM

I Ran is the best song ever.

Rubang B @ May 10th 2007 7:39PM

I'm down with "I Ran," "I Wanna Rock," and "Holy Diver" so far. Needs some Smiths and New Order (both very guitar-driven if you hadn't noticed). And it definitely needs "Let's Dance" for Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar solo. It can't be 100% hair metal if they want to sell this thing.

And Harmonix is owned by MTV now. They can burn in hell.

n3rrd @ May 10th 2007 10:04PM

I'm sorry, but if we're going to talk about "good" guitarists, we need to define "good". Especially since we're talking the 80s.

Are we talking Michael Angel Batio from Nitro, or Yngwie Malmsteen "good"? Van Halen "good"? Paul Gilbert from Racer X? Trey Anastasio from Phish?

There are plenty of "good" guitarists, and that hasn't been the primary focus of Guitar Hero. It's about memorable guitar riffs, and you don't have to be a good guitarist to write something catchy. Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, for example.

32_Footsteps @ May 11th 2007 8:30AM

You know, I really like A-Ha, but "Take On Me" was entirely synth-driven. I've heard covers that work, but the original wouldn't be in the game.

Speaking of, Bow Wow Wow covered "I Want Candy" - it was originally a pre-rock pop song from the 50's. So "as made famous by" is rather appropriate for that song.

What this game needs, though, is a huge dose of Van Halen. We all know it's true. Beyond that, GOB demands "The Final Countdown."