Guitar Hero II (Sony PlayStation 2, 2006)

Everything I wanted to do with the first Guitar Hero, they are putting into the second. Bass or Rythym guitar for second player, different difficulties for each player, a practice mode to slow down and learn the hard parts, more and more songs, non-cover studio tracks, colorful SG controllers.

The dueling banjo multiplayer is fun for a while, but gets old quick. Harmonix and Red Octane have really expanded the depth with co-op multiplayer. The ability to have each player on their own difficulty level and play different guitar parts is an answer to my prayers.

Practice mode is something I've become accustomed to with Beatmania. The ability to slow down the song and learn the hard parts is a big improvement to the Guitar Hero set list. I hope this feature is easy to use.

The creaters have announced there will be 40 licensed tracks and some 55 songs total. Even better is they are trying to get studio master tracks instead of covers for the songs. Primus has already announced they're song will be a master track and not a cover. Primus plus bass mode equals heaven.

The thought of jamming out Cowboys from Hell on a pink SG controller makes my eyes water with happiness. Red Octane says all of the styles at E3 will be available for sale. Let's hope so. Maybe I won't feel so weird playing a toy guitar if it's pink...

I cannot wait for this game. Wanting to play the game is the only thing keeping me from going into a drunken, cocaine-induced coma.

Some of the most fun I've had playing games in the last few years was going a couple of rounds of Guitar Hero with a few friends. It's a fantastic party game and if you've never played it, you owe it to yourself to check it out. This, much like SingStar and Dance Dance Revolution, is a title that's going to appeal highly to your "non-traditional" gamer crowd. I could, honestly, fawn over how much fun it is for hours, but there were a couple of things about the 360 version of this game that I wanted to bring up.

First, I know there are a ton of you out there that have a PS2 version of this already. If that's the case, I'm not sure there's enough added content out-of-the-box to warrant buying the game a second time. The only difference would be about ten added titles to the soundtrack. Now, mind you, they're all great songs; but is what amounts to a CD enough for you to plunk down another ninety bucks?

Unfortunately, two of the features I was really pulling for on the 360 version aren't making the final release. I was wildly excited over getting a wireless guitar, but there was some kind of licensing hang-up with Microsoft over the use of their wireless technology. Red Octane has said that they're hopeful they'll eventually release a wireless guitar, but they couldn't get past the red tape fast enough. I'm a bit bummed, but, to Red Octane's credit, the wired guitar they included is really cool looking.

Secondly, I'm also a bit disappointed that there isn't an online multi-player competition. I thought it would have been awesome to have head-to-head rock-offs. I don't know if this is something they could work in later, but Microsoft's online play is so well done and so much fun that I'm always a little let-down when developers don't take advantage of it. It wound up being the only issue I dinged the game a star for. If that was included, this may have been as close to perfect as I could have hoped for.

The graphics for this aren't staggeringly better then the PS2 version, but on the other hand, they don't really need to be either. It's considered a high-definition game, but honestly, you'll probably only notice a small difference. In a game like this, you're looking at the play-ability. As long as the graphics aren't a distraction, that should be enough. The game play here is as addictive as any you'll ever hope to find.

The Co-op play with the bass-guitar mode is a lot of fun and a cool feature. I'm also really looking forward to seeing what song downloads end up being available on xBox marketplace. Jury's still out until we see the content, but that's a pretty cool feature that'll keep this game fresh for a long time.

As I mentioned before, if you're an xBox lifer, who's never had the chance to check out this former PS2 exculsive, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. If you already have the PS2 version, however, you'll be just as content to rock out with that for now.

RedOctane was bought out shortly after the release of their first game, Guitar Hero - something to be grateful of since Harmonix, the ones who created Frequency and Amplitude among many others were the ones who did it. With this in mind, you can expect the game to be even better.

The new Cherry Gibson SG guitar controller is much, much better and easier to use than the original; unlike the first all-plastic controller, this one has some sort of resin on it that makes hitting the notes easier. Also, the note buttons, whammy bar, and strummer work better than before. And who can pass up the Cherry color?

Like the controller, the gameplay is much improved on as well. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are easier this time around; where you had to have enarly perfect timing before, this one gives you a wider timespan to hit them. Easy mode is still easy, but expert mode has you playing every single note. The user interface is improved, showing you a statistics screen including how many notes you hit, your average multiplier, and the percentage of notes you hit correctly in each section. And FINALLY, you have a Practice mode! There are more songs, and a wider variety of them too, including death metal and techno.

It still has flaws. One of the more noticeable flaws occurs when you start a game on another difficulty. When you switch difficulties, your guitar stays the same. This means that when you unlock the Grim Ripper in Hard and go to your game on Easy, your character will have the Scythe guitar. Or when you pick the Cherry Gibson for Expert, your Grim Ripper on Hard will be using the Cherry Gibson, even though he's not allowed to change guitars.

Despite this, its still a great game. Go buy it. Go play Free Bird.

Guitar Hero II was purchased to compliment Guitar Hero. Our kids love the game and sharing it with their friends. They loved the concept and the songs that were initially introduced in the first game.

Like an answer to their prayers...Guitar Hero II allows them and/or their friends to play two different style guitars or even the bass. They like being able to play different courses throughout the songs. They play it over and over again and still play the original game too. Some of them prefer the songs on the first one over the selections on the second version. However, the point is that for the money spent...this is a game they put in again and again to play.

The children think the company should give them special recognition because so many of their friends and peers have purchased their own games and guitar controllers after either playing it at our house or just hearing about the fun from one of the other kids who had.

All of us love the game and are looking forward to updates and/or advancements in instruments and songs! It is actually a fun game the whole family can play because most of the current sound tracks are from mom & dad's generations. Thus the kids would like future improvements to include groups and songs from their generation...as well, we would like to see future improvements that would allow almost any kind of musical instrument controllers that one would find on stage in a real life performance; like keyboard or piano, drums or percussion, wind instruments, orchestra, techno, etc. Also other types and/or styles of music besides rock-n-roll has been suggested a few times!?! Hopefully this is not the last of Guitar Hero we see...from Red Octane, Activision and/or Harmonix Music Systems! Maybe these suggestions from this review or others like it will find its way to the producers of the games and inspire them to continue upgrading the fun!!!

I hope that this review will prove useful and provide insite to your own consideration for purchase. It truly has been money well spent for the hours of fun that has been applied to date! We are in no way shape or form being compensated in any fashion for this review. So what are you waiting for? Start your own fantasy world tour today! Who knows...maybe they'll (the children) will be inspired to become future real life performers!?!

Jamming on Your PS2 Like Never Before
A Review of Guitar Hero II and Controller

Music games haven’t always been considered the cream of the crop with gaming. As a matter of fact, outside of Dance Dance Revolution, music games are basically laughed at! That all changed, however, when in 2005, Guitar Hero hit the PlayStation 2. Fun, fast, and frantic, Guitar Hero changed the way music games are played and was a massive success. That all followed up late last year with the release of Guitar Hero II, a game multitudes better than the original!

The Game

The game itself is a great time. Containing a grand total of 64 songs, with a few performed by the original artists, there is no shortage of songs to play in Guitar Hero II. You play the game by pressing a fret button at the same time as its corresponding color appears on screen, and flicking the strum bar at the same time. If you get a long note, you can distort it with the whammy pedal. And if you earn enough points on “star” notes, you can tilt your guitar upwards and multiply your points! The songs get progressively harder as the game goes on, and by the end you will be a certified guitar hero.

The game also contains an in-depth practice mode, where you can slow down and/or isolate parts of songs to really practice before you get into it. There’s also a multiplayer mode, where two friends can cooperate or go head to head on every single track of the game! For most songs, the second player will play bass, but on a few of the tracks, player two will be on rhythm guitar. With so many songs to play and master, alone or with a friend, Guitar Hero II is a game that should not be missed.

The Controller

The controller (usually bundled with the game) is a lot like that of the original game. Modeled after the Gibson SG guitar, the guitar controller looks and feels like a real guitar. Featuring the fret buttons, strum bar, and whammy bar, not to mention the tilt feature, the controller may seem a bit overwhelming at first. But once you get into the game there is no stopping it. The guitar also comes with a strap to prevent you from losing the guitar if you rock out too hard, and stickers for you to customize your guitar any way you like!

The guitar is undoubtedly a huge innovation. Since it looks and feels like a real guitar, you won’t feel like a fool playing this game. As a matter of fact, its style and look make people look like rock stars all on their own. And the best part? If the controller and game together seem like too much money, you can always just get the game and use your original Guitar Hero controller!

All in all, Guitar Hero II is a huge improvement over the already fantastic original, and not only that, but it is an amazingly fun time that anyone can pick up.

Just a note about the writer of this guide/review:

Thumbmonkey is a small company dedicated to providing its customers with a reliable, friendly and affordable source for their gaming fun! We carry a wide selection of video games and accessories for most of the major video game platforms.