Guitar Hero II

"Guitar Hero II: I ask you, can it get any better?"

Here's the crappy intro about how I bought Guitar Hero 1 and loved it, then highly anticipated the sequel, bought the sequel, and loved it more than most of my friends.

Now we get to the real part where I actually break down the game for you.

Gameplay: 10/10

Simply put, the gameplay is impeccable. Like the first game, you hold down a button, then strum to play the note. Couldn't be simpler, but it gets much more complex as you progress through the game. Chords, in which you hold down more than one button, are thrown your way. You also have to strum faster and faster as the game escalates in difficulty. Hammer-ons and pull-offs eventually make their appearance. However, unlike the first game, they are much easier to execute; you simply hit the button after releasing the previous button. Of course, you can also do it in the style of Guitar Hero 1, if you're old school like that. The accuracy for hammer-ons and pull-offs is much more forgiving as well. However, this causes problems with button mashing on the fret buttons. There is no penalty for incorrectly hammering-on or pulling-off, besides the standard punishment for missing a note. This means you can wildly flail your fingers until you miss a note, in which case you strum again. Except for this minor flaw, which doesn't really matter until you get to Expert, the gameplay couldn't be better.

Also, remember in Guitar Hero 1, where in multiplayer you traded licks, then your opponent complained about how you got the easier section, and blah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah? Dry their tears with Pro Face-Off, a new multiplayer option in which both of you play the exact song as it appears in Career mode, at the same time. No trading licks, just rocking out for the full song for both of you. Now you can actually enjoy beating other people into the ground. But say you want to play with a friend and don't feel like kicking his "amp" all over the place? Try Co-op mode, where the two of you work together to beat a song. One of you plays Lead Guitar, and the other plays either Rhythm or Bass, depending on the song. You share a rock meter, and your streaks and score are combined. You can still look at individual stats after the song, though. As the game so kindly puts it, "In Cooperative Mode, everyone's a winner. Unless you're both losers."

Quick Play and tutorials are essentially the same, but that's okay since they were pretty good to begin with. However, you'll be pleased to know that this game features a Practice mode, where you can break down individual sections of songs and slow them down to your liking. That may not seem like much, but it is REALLY helpful for practicing those annoying riffs in Hard and Expert modes.

Sound: 10/10

Harmonix does it again! No repetitive rap songs or crap country songs, we're talking heavy metal pure rock energy here! Guitar Hero II is much more metal-based than its prequel (the menu screens even take on a metal motif) and thus playing the songs is much harder. However, those who like guitars (if you don't, go crawl in a hole and die) will like the choices for the setlist. Sure, it's a little less recognizable than Guitar Hero 1's hits, like Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, Godzilla and Crossroads. But if that makes it more awesome of a game than Guitar Hero 1, I don't see the problem. Songs like Shout at the Devil, Woman, Cherry Pie, and Killing in the Name will have you headbanging until your head falls off. And then you'll probably headbang some more. Two songs, however, I must rant about. First, FREE BIRD! Yes, it's here. Scared yet? You should be, because this song is even harder than Bark at the Moon. (Here's where Guitar Hero 1 fans say, "How is that possible?") The opening, you should all know, is pretty innocent, but about halfway through the 8-minute song you'll die if you don't know what you're doing. However, if you do manage to beat this song, you will have beaten the game and you get abducted by aliens... (???) The second song is... TROGDOR! Those who check out the Strong Bad e-mails will know this song. Those who don't should go check out the Strong Bad e-mails and get this song running through your head to no end. Because it's on Guitar Hero II. And it's awesome. Sadly, though, it's a bonus track, which means you have to buy it in the in-game store, which means you have to be good at this game.

Plot and Characters: 10/10

The plot is plain and simple. You're a guitarist. You play. You eventually get sponsored a whole bunch and gradually get abducted by aliens. The typical life of any guitar god.

Now, let me introduce you to your playable characters. All eight guitarists from the first game have returned, and they've adopted some new duds. (Clive Winston now seems to be magic as well. Heh. Who knew?) There are also three new guitarists: A fat guy, an old guy, and some awesome rocker chick who seems to be the only worthwhile new character. At least the fat guy can play the guitar with his teeth. And breathe fire. In fact, all of the characters' Star Power is much better than their moves in Guitar Hero 1. Grim eats souls, yay! Oh, and everyone except Clive, Xavier and Grim have unlockable outfits. That's cool. Their outfits are cool.

Graphics: 10/10

Okay, not much of an improvement specs-wise from the previous game, but the overall look of the game is better. The Grim Ripper's costume is much more awesome, as are all the characters' outfits. The fretboards are pretty cool, but the main point of improvement is the venues. Your crowd can hold lighters in the air. How cool is that? There's also plenty of interactive elements in the game which tell you how good you're doing. The scoreboard in the high school venue changes its display depending on how much you're rocking out. Lightning flashes at Stonehenge if you're nailing those solos on Hangar 18. A nice backdrop reveals itself in Detroit if you're doing good. Also, for the encore performances, there's nice touches like exploding drummers, the Grim Reaper (not to be confused with Grim Ripper) destroying buildings and making tentacle monsters, zombies, and disco balls. My personal favorite is the UFO at Stonehenge.

Other Stuff: 10/10

Replay Value? Over and over and over and... (continues infinitely) Even if you have absolutely no life and get a perfect score on all songs on all difficulties, you'll still feel like playing Free Bird a few more times. And a few more. These perfect scores must be flukes, right? I can use my Star Power in a better place to get more points, right? The power of rock compels you to keep playing.

Anyone remember Guitar Hero 1, where the in-game shop would be cleaned out just from crushing the game on Medium? Not so with this game. Conquering Medium only buys you a third of the store's valuable trinkets. There's more guitars, more finishes, more bonus songs, more songs in general, more unlockable characters, but not more videos. Surely beating Medium shouldn't be enough to reward you with the game's full potential. However, there's a loophole. Make three bands, buy different stuff with each band, and you should be able to buy the whole shop without venturing to even one song on Hard. Not so fast! The game developers thought it would be nice to include guitars that can only be bought if you fulfill certain requirements. These requirements involve beating the game getting 5 stars on all songs for certain difficulty levels. For example, there's a guitar shaped like an eyeball that you can't even touch until you get 5 stars on every song on Hard. Anyone for Hard mode? Or perhaps Expert?

Overall Score: 10/10

I love this game. If you like guitars, you'll love this game. If you like rock, you'll love this game. Even if you've lived in solitary confinement for the past 40 years, you'll love this game. If you hate loud music, go die, but you'll love this game anyway. If you hate music, I'll hunt you down and hurt you real bad. If you don't like this game, you don't deserve to exist in any physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or intellectual plane known to man. And I will make sure that you don't. (Not really, but it sounds like something I would do.)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/06