Guitar Hero II

"One of the last great PS2 games. ROCK ON BABY!!"

Harmonix. Red Octane. You may not have known these names before they developed arguably one of the best music games ever to be made...Guitar Hero. It was the first game to feature a guitar peripheral. This made the first game simple and addictive. Now that the first game is out and now they have a lot of credibility, Guitar Hero II looked to build upon the first one and make an even more addictive and even more fun game. Guess what? They did and more!

GRAPHICS: 8/10
The characters look pretty cool and the arenas are really cool as well. Ya know, there isn't really much else to say about the graphics. I mean, in a game like this, graphics don't matter. So let's move on.

SOUND: 10/10
Once again, Guitar Hero II features a huge set list from some classic artists, like Rush, Guns 'N Roses, KISS, Van Halen, and some newer bands like Wolfmother, Buckethead, The Butthole Surfers, and Avenged Sevenfold. All of the songs are covered except for two; Jane's Addiction's "Stop" and Primus's "John the Fisherman". They decided to give Harmonix the master recordings to both of these songs, making them exactly like the songs themselves, even down to who's singing it! All the other songs are covered, and they are all covered really well. You can barely tell which songs are covers or not, except for a few, like Axl Rose (no one sounds like him). The songs themselves are re-created pretty well and the songs are put into the game pretty close to the real way they're played on a guitar. The only one I don't think was redone very well was Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box". Regardless, the set list is way bigger and more star studded than last time, the songs themselves are recreated really well for the game, and the sound quality of the game is excellent. True achievement.

STORY: N/A
There's no real story. You're just an up-and-coming guitarist looking to become a "Guitar Hero". Hence the name. Duh.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
The core gameplay of Guitar Hero hasn't changed much for the second iteration. You still press down fret buttons and strum along to the beat. However, now there are three button chords (holding down 3 fret buttons and strumming as opposed to 2). Also, the game itself has become much much HARDER!! Trust me, "Free Bird" (YES IT'S IN THE GAME!) is damn difficult on Expert. Just like last time, the game is really addictive. Now for the best and biggest part. The multiplayer. Not only can you face off against your friends, you can now team up and one of you plays the melody and one plays the bass. The bass figures are just as successfully recreated as the melody parts. It's just as fun to play with your friends then against them. This game may not have changed much, but it didn't have to. This game is one of the best music games for sure.

OVERALL:
This time around is just as great, if not better than the first Guitar Hero. Simply put, you need this game if you have a PS2.
FINAL SCORE: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/06