For Those About to Party Like a RockStar...

Guitar Hero II may be the second chapter in the Guitar Hero series, but it is by no means second best. Published by RedOctane/Activision and developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Guitar Hero II rocked its way onto our TV screens in November of 2006.

WHAT'S THE SAME?
*Difficulty Levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert
*Face-off Mode: You play a few notes, I play a few notes, Etc... Etc...
*Characters: Pandora, Izzy, and Judy are still here just to mention a few.
*Lefty Flip: for the South Paws that wish to rock--such as myself

WHAT'S DIFFERENT?
*Pro Face-off Mode: We both play every note and see who rocks the hardest!
*Co-op Mode: You play the lead and I'll take the rhythm--or the bass...
*Cherry Red Gibson SG guitar controller (wireless controller also available for the PS2 version, for those of us who rock a little bit harder than others!)
*Improved Hammer-ons and Pull-offs!
*Player Stats: See how well you did on each section so that you know what part of the song to practice, or how loud to brag
*Practice Mode: The song is broken up into sections so you can really nail that solo that's been getting the best of you--in slow motion
*New Note Combos: such as three note chords, worth triple points if you hit 'em--savage...
*More Songs: 2 additional brackets, for those about to rock.
*High Score List: High Scores for both Quick Play AND Career mode are saved to the SAME High Score List
*Improved Navigation for Lefty Flip Mode: By this I mean that instead of going ALL THE WAY BACK to the main menu and taking FOREVER to get back to the game play, you can simply hit the start button and change from Lefty to Righty in the pause menu and get right back to rocking--Sweet!
*Each Venue is in a different city and the band has to travel to get there.
*Encores: If you rock hard enough, you get to play a bonus "encore" song in each bracket (not available in Easy mode)
*Alternate Outfits for the 8 starting characters are now available in the Store!

GAME PLAY
Like the first Guitar Hero game, the notes scroll towards the player and the notes are played by holding the correct fret button on the guitar neck down while pressing the strum bar at the correct time--tilt the controller upwards for Star Power. For the truly guitar impaired, you can still use the DualShock2 controller by pressing the R, L, and X Buttons at the right time--press Select for Star Power.

CAREER MODE
Create a Band Name, choose your character (Eddie Knox, Axel Steel, Casey Lynch, Lars Ümlaüt, Izzy Sparks, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm, or Pandora), and get ready to rock!--3 additional players may be purchased later in the store, after you earn some cold hard cash working your fingers to the bone.
Only lead guitar is playable in career mode--sigh, poor bassists--but you can play at 8 different venues, the first of which is the Nilbog High School Battle of the Bands in a vague Ohio city referred to as the "Midwest. As Game play progresses, your band moves to bigger better venues, gaining fans the whole way.
Depending upon the difficulty level at which you are playing, you progress to the next set list once the required number of songs are completed (3-5 depending); This also unlocks the "encore" song in each bracket (Easy mode excluded). Once a song is unlocked in career mode it is available in all other modes of play as well.
Three Stars or better on Medium or higher difficulty will earn you the cash you need to unlock all those bright, shiny extras in the store--such as: new guitars, bonus songs, guitar finishes, 3 additional characters, alternate character outfits, and bonus videos. Keep in mind that some of the items in the store are only available after completion of all songs at certain difficulties or achieving 5 stars on every song. Higher difficulty levels and performances that truly ROCK will earn you more cash, so practice, practice, practice!

MULTI-PLAYER MODES
*Cooperative Mode
One player plays the lead while the other plays the rhythm or the bass, depending upon the song played. You share a score, rock meter, streak multiplier, star power meter, and the ability to fail--this is the only multi-player mode in which a song can be failed. Not only can you fail, you must activate your star power simultaneously or it's a no go, so choose your partner wisely!
*Face-Off Mode
Just like the original guitar hero (you play a section, I play a section, so on and so forth), except that each player can choose a separate level of difficulty, and the scores are weighted accordingly.
*Pro Face-off Mode
Each player plays the lead and the whole song on the same difficulty and see who rocks the hardest! You have to unlock this mode by completing career mode at any difficulty.

PRACTICE MODE
An extremely helpful entity when trying to nail that solo that just won't let you pass, you can practice a certain section (Solo A, Bridge 2, Verse 1, Chorus) of a certain song, on different difficulties, at different speeds (Full Speed, Slow, Slower, and Slowest). You can also practice the rhythm and bass guitar riffs in practice mode.

MAIN SETLIST (this section contains SPOILERS)
1. Opening Licks
"Shout at the Devil" --Motley Crue
"Mother" -- Danzig
"Surrender" -- Cheap Trick
"Woman" -- Wolfmother
Encore: "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" -- Spinal Tap

2. Amp-Warmers
"Strutter" -- Kiss
"Heart-Shaped Box" -- Nirvana
"Message in a Bottle" -- The Police
"You Really Got Me" -- Van Halen
Encore: "Carry on Wayward Son" -- Kansas

3. String-Snappers
"Monkey Wrench" -- Foo Fighters
"Them Bones" -- Alice in Chains
"Search and Destroy" -- Iggy Pop and the Stooges
"Tattooed Love Boys" -- The Pretenders
Encore: "War Pigs" -- Black Sabbath

4. Thrash and Burn
"Cherry Pie" -- Warrant
"Who Was in My Room Last Night?" -- The Butthole Surfers
"Girlfriend" -- Matthew Sweet
"Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" -- The Rolling Stones
Encore: "Sweet Child o' Mine" -- Guns N' Roses

5. Return of the Shred
"Killing in the Name" -- Rage Against the Machine
"John the Fisherman" -- Primus
"Freya" -- The Sword
"Bad Reputation" -- Thin Lizzy
Encore: "Last Child" -- Aerosmith

6. Relentless Riffs
"Crazy on You" -- Heart
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" -- Stone Temple Pilots
"Rock This Town" -- Stray Cats
"Jessica" -- The Allman Brothers Band
Encore: "Stop" -- Jane's Addiction

7. Furious Fretwork
"Madhouse" -- Anthrax
"Carry Me Home" -- The Living End
"Laid to Rest" -- Lamb of God
"Psychobilly Freakout" -- Reverend Horton Heat
Encore: "YYZ" -- Rush

8. Face-Melters
"Beast and the Harlot" -- Avenged Sevenfold
"Institutionalized" -- Suicidal Tendencies
"Misirlou" -- Dick Dale
"Hangar 18" -- Megadeth
Encore: "Free Bird" -- Lynyrd Skynyrd
(Free Bird is 9 1/2 minutes long... So be prepared folks!)

CONCLUSION
Guitar Hero II Rocks! (no pun intended) The game play is smoother, there are more songs, new game play modes, and it's interactive fun that the whole family can really get into together--providing everyone plays nice and passes the axe when it's their turn.