Here it is! Rock you like a hurricane

Finally, a follow-up game that's as good or better than the original! Guitar Hero II, the long-awaited sequel to the original game from 2005, packs in more songs, improved graphics, more challenging note patterns, an easier user interface, and vastly improved multiplayer modes in what has become the most common usage of my television for the past few weeks. Well done, Red Octane.

Guitar Hero II

In this game, you represent the lead guitarist in a travelling cover band that can advance through the ranks of popularity from playing in people's basements all the way up to huge venues. As in the original game, as you play a song on either the official Red Octane guitar controller, or one of the wireless third-party controllers, your actions and success will determine to what level the audience will enjoy your performance, and what elements of the background will start to come alive with your serious thrashing! As you play, the guitarist's fingers actually move along the frets and the strings, which is a nice improvement from the first game. You have 5 colored frets to choose from, which you must hold in conjunction with strumming the up/down "string" key. And, as before, you can rock out by tipping the guitar skyward, to activate your "star power".

Advancements since Guitar Hero I

How about having to hit three notes at once! A nice addition, and not that complicated once you adjust

Easier hammer-ons and pull-offs, which were a huge pain in the original

A practice mode where you can select individual parts of the song, slow it down, and replay to your heart's content

Freebird! The most ridiculous guitar solo you'll ever try.

58 songs from huge artists like Rage Against the Machine, The Police, Megadeth, Heart, and rock legends spanning many decades

Lead and bass guitar in vs. mode, or even full-song direct head-to-head mode, which are both much better than the dueling-banjo mode of the original game.

More characters, guitars, skins, and venues, which don't really matter to me much, but are a nice bonus.


Graphics

There isn't much to speak of in terms of uniqueness as far as graphics go. The bulk of your time you'll be staring at the notes, but there are some cool background effects and the realistic playing to accompany your notes is fun. Plus there are a few amusing easter eggs hidden in the game that I won't spoil.

Sound

Once again, Harmonix/Red Octane have done a fairly good job getting decent covers of the primary 40 songs in the game. "Crazy on You" might sound a bit off, along with some others, and there is a lot of death metal, but you take the good with the bad. There are so many enjoyable songs from so many different eras and styles that it's fun to play regardless of disliking a few songs. And the sound quality is great, obviously.

Replay Value

This game hasn't gotten old for us yet. I still play the original, which is over a year old, and I expect the same to be true for this game. Especially if you get a second controller, learning to play the bass and rhythm parts to the songs can provide hours of enjoyment, whether competitively or not. You can even play the bass part without having to bring a second player, through the new practice mode for people having difficulties. And progressing up from novice through expert expands the number and variety of notes, which makes replay progressively more challenging (although you may just start on expert if you've played before, and wrestle your way to the top a few times).

Overall

A must-own game for any self-respecting rock addict. Very well assembled, with plenty of music to scintillate your various sense receptors. With all the flashing lights and awesome music, it will be sure to have you trying to form a garage band with your friends in no time! Strangely enough, the only people I've found that don't enjoy this are people who actually play the guitar - those that find offense to it being made into a game instead of a hobby. But hey, it's a great game for those who, like me, never quite got around to actually playing anything but video games as a child.