Guitar Hero II

"Are you ready to ROCK!?"

The award winning Guitar Hero finally comes out with a sequel thats even BETTER!

The story in GH2 is pretty much the same as the first one. You start a band and try and play up to the top of the charts with your montage of cover songs. The only difference is that instead of playing in one town, you play all over the world in places like small clubs, arenas, and Stonehenge. This is not a game to play just for the story.

In the gameplay department you still get to you rock out on your guitar controller and play your favorite songs in 4 difficulty levels; Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. You still have your Star Power ability and your x8 combos. Some new things is that when you miss a note the screen shakes so you know you messed up part of the song. One thing though you might break your guitar over...this game is HARDER. Medium feels like Hard, Hard feels like expert, and Expert is godly impossible. Plus with 8 five song set lists you can expect the last set of songs to be very, very, frustrating. Don't worry though, there is a new Practice mode so you can master though furious licks that have been kicking you in the mouth for hours. In practice mode you can slow down certain parts of songs and you can also practice the Bass parts for multiplayer. Another new feature is the bigger guitar selection! When you beat a mode you unlock a new guitar and when you beat a mode with 5 stars on every song you get a better guitar. And you you GH1 fans the battle ax is back and ready to shred with the legends who can beat Expert mode. Speaking of new things, there is 3 new characters joining the classic old set of lovable wanna-be guitarists.

The multiplayer also pulls a fast one on you with new modes for making your friend cry from getting defeated. There is the classic "Face-Off" mode for your competitive pleasures and the new "Pro Face-Off" and "Co-Op" modes. The Pro face off is the same as Face off but you both play the entire song not in choppy little bits for each person. The Co-Op is probably the best new feature in GH2. You can choose to be Lead Guitar or Bass/Rhythm Guitar. You also share the star power so you have to both tip your guitar at the same time! Only thing missing is a much needed Online mode.

If this game had no sound, it would not be a game at all! You know you bought this to hear some Avenged Sevenfold, Spinal Tap, Rush, and Black Sabbath tunes. Other then the re-created music, the sound effects do a good job too. From missing a note or the crowd booing you off-stage, this game does a good job in making you feel on stage.

Graphics are pretty good overall, they still have that little cartoony feel to them. The backgrounds and venues are made perfectly, its like the places could be real! You won't really notice them much because you will be too focused on the fact that Free Bird is kicking your butt. They added some new lighting effects to the game, like when a fast part comes on the lights go crazy and are in-sync with the songs. The crowd is still the same though, clones of the same 5 people will be booing or cheering you.

Here is a quick recap:
Story - 7
Gameplay - 10
Multiplayer - 10
Sounds - 10
Graphics - 9

OVERALL - 10

Overall this game is a must buy. This is actually a fun game to play for hours and try to beat your best score and get 5 stars on every song to unlock the special guitars. If you see it, buy it. Also there is a 360 version coming out so Microsoft fanboys can finally get something to riot about.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/07