The awesomeness that is Guitar Hero II helps gamers unleash their inner rockstar.
Being a total newbie to the Guitar Hero series, this is the first I've played. From the get go the game becomes instantly addicting, and very user friendly. Anyone can pick up and play Guitar Hero, especially with a highly useful practice/training mode right from the start. The package comes with the X-Plorer Guitar controller and is used as your instrument to becoming a total rockstar. From one aspect, GHII helps the player learn the basics of playing guitar. On the controller exists five fret buttons (green, red, yellow, blue and orange), a strumming bar, and whammy bar. Notes corresponding with each fret color will slide down the gameplay interface on screen in different speeds and combinations. Chords are when two different color notes pass by at the same time. There also long notes or "sustains." As the rocker, it's your duty to hold the fret and strum simultaneously as the song progresses. Playing the guitar controller properly with good timing will increase points on your overall score for a song. Two new mechanics to the series are "hammer-ons" and "pull-offs." Towards the left side of the screen the combo multiplier is shown. At standard you can reach up to a 4x multiplier. A defining mechanic to GHII's gameplay is "star power." When deployed you become an invincible God of rock! Well, not literally. A string of notes during play will come around having star outlines around them. Hit these special batteries of notes successfully, and star power will be added to a tube like illustration on the right side of your screen on top of a graphic displaying the "rock meter." The rock meter justifies the audience's reaction to your performance, staying in the green zone demonstrates how much you're rocking the show. The gameplay may appear simple, but becomes a worthy challenge to master.
Guitar Hero II is no slouch when it comes to presentation, and of course it wouldn't be a music game without the music. The game contains a soundtrack of over 70 songs, ranging across all of rocks' sub-categories i.e. punk, metal, etc. Although there have been complaints about this soundtrack's lack of quality compared to the first by a number of players, it's better to see for yourself. I enjoyed the vast majority of the songs here. It's highly likely that the game features several songs that will fit your tastes. The most noteworthy is Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird," which is the climatic track of the game. Overall, GHII's soundtrack is pretty good.
Graphically, Guitar Hero II utilizes the same visual tone as the first, with technical improvements on the Xbox 360. The somewhat cartoonish character models maintain the same level of fun appeal. The environments are more detailed, and each venue you rock out at has its own unique and distinct flavor. The lighting and smoke effects look awesome as they coordinate with the sounds of the song. For instance, when a guitar solo begins, the lighting effects become more dynamic and flashy. Even though the graphics are pretty decent, you won't be paying much attention to them at times since you'll keep your eye on hitting the notes.
I don't remember a music having so much appeal in replay value. This game will keep you rocking for months on end, I'm a living example. The career mode lacks story, but the true reward is scoring high on each song of the eight main sets, honing your skills with the guitar, and trying the same on harder difficulties. Beware. GHII becomes quite a challenge on hard and expert difficulty. It's still offers a hell of a lot of fun nonetheless. Additionally, there are a healthy number of bonus tracks to purchase from money earned by performing at the different venues. Unlockable characters, guitars, guitar finishes and costumes can also be purchased. There's a multiplayer co-op mode as well, in which you and a buddy can rock out together, finishing with a supreme overall score. Unfortunately, no online play is included this time around, but worldwide leaderboards are implemented over Xbox Live. The 360 version of GHII incorporates a long and very fun list of achievements to unlock as well, which extends the games longetivity.
In summation, Guitar Hero II is an excellent game. I don't remember having so much fun playing a music game since PaRappa The Rapper. This game accomplishes what many other games cannot. It allows the rockstar in all of us to break out. And that is definitely a huge accomplishment for Harmonix. They have created music games for many years now. Cheers to their triumph of making gamers RAWK all night and day.