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By Keith B (23rd Jul 2007)

Over a year ago, a small gaming hardware company came onto the scene with their own title. This game was not a very well known due to the lack of advertising, but its sequel more then makes up for the slow start. RedOctane, the producer of many dance pads for games such as Dance Dance Revolution, has created one of the most unique ideas ever to hit the Playstation 2. In cooperation with Harmonix, RedOctane has produced this sequel with an amazing track list that includes Mötley Crüe, Nirvana, Aerosmith, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Whether you like the rock of Megadeath, or the guitar riffs of Kansas, this game has it all.

Starting out you have quite a few options over its predecessor. One very nice feature is the newly added Practice Mode. This allows a beginner of the game to slow down any of the songs unlocked on any difficulty they choose. I found myself using this tool a few times during play to work through those tough guitar solos and extensive bass lines. Whether you play real guitar or not, this, along with the small tutorial section, will make you enjoy the game much more.

The main story line in Career mode is a great part of the game. You choose to begin the career at one of four difficulty settings �" Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. The easy difficulty will only consist of three different notes you must play, and very few chords. As you get better, Expert mode offers you the opportunity to use all five fret buttons as well as three note chords. In every difficulty you will start out at as a small band playing Shout At The Devil by Mötley Crüe at a school battle of the bands. As you progress through the game you have the chance to play forty plus more songs until you finish out with a huge 10 minute encore at the end. And once you complete a difficulty of career mode, you have just broken the surface of the game. There are another twenty-four songs you can buy from the shop with the money you have earned playing gigs. In addition to songs, you can purchase more characters, outfits, guitars, finishes, and music videos of live concerts.

Another type of play is the numerous multiplayer opportunities that the game offers. Guitar Hero II adds in some multiplayer modes such as Cooperation, Face-Off, and Pro Face-Off that the first version did not have. The best part of these new modes is the cooperation mode. You and a friend pick parts on any one of the songs unlocked in Career mode. There are four different parts, which depend on what song is chosen. These parts are Guitar, Bass, Lead, and Rhythm. In most songs, both parts played are equally challenging, but in some songs such as Thunderhorse, by Dethklok, one of the parts is insane while the other is incredibly easy if they are on the same difficulty. In the Face-Off mode, both players play at the same time, but with different parts. They compete against each other for the top score. Pro Face-Off takes this to the next level by having both players play the same part. This mode was designed to put two players up against each other in competition and not have anyone complain that their part was the more difficult one of the two.

Visually I was disappointed. The graphics, although better than original Nintendo games, was disappointing. If you are looking for images that border realism, take a different game. However if you are like the cartoon look of characters that look almost human, this is the game for you. In some instances the characters, mainly the main character of Axel Steel, look way out of proportion. Their legs look tiny and their chest is huge. Even though this is probably what Harmonix and RedOctane were going for when they designed the game, they could have done better.

The sound on the other hand is amazing. Not only do they pack the game with a truckload of classic and modern hits, but the quality is astonishing. Over 25 of the songs, including all of the bonus tracks, are original recordings. The rest are either covers or previously recorded songs. Guitar Hero II definitely stepped it up a notch compared with the first version’s track list.

Overall this is a great game whether playing by yourself on a cold rainy day, or your playing it at a party with friends. There is always something you can work on to become the Guitar Hero. Even though I was disappointed with the graphics, every other aspect makes up for it a hundred fold. If you are looking for a game that will be playable for many months without getting boring, go out and buy this one.