The soundtrack is all that may keep you from fully enjoying the game, and even then it's still completely exhilirating.
Very little has changed from Guitar Hero to Guitar Hero II, save for the improved hammer-ons and increased difficulty. How has the game gotten harder you ask? Well, the difficulty of each song isn’t so easy to master as before. Basically, the difficulty of a song on Medium in Guitar Hero II is about equivalent to a song in Guitar Hero on the Hard or Expert difficulty. Then there’s the three-chord notes, which are mostly used to throw the player off-track, but they can be rewarding if hit. These notes don’t tend to come up too often, but certain songs use them more than others. Beyond that, there isn’t much, if not anything that separates Guitar Hero II’s gamplay from its predecessors'.
On the note of increased difficulty, it goes without saying that Guitar Hero veterans will at first be challenged by this sequel. But if enough time is given, five-starring each song will become second-nature. Also, since the difficulty isn’t so easy this time around, the learning curve for newcomers has definitely been increased. Not that it’s impossible for a Guitar Hero virgin to adapt to the game, just it will take a lot more time for them to get used to it. Fortunately, there’s a new Practice mode for those that need to nail those tougher songs or get used to the way the game plays. But the Practice mode is more of a means to memorize the pattern of a song than adapting to that song’s speed. So, while it may not be the most effective way to improving your skill, it works well enough to help you pass those truly insane songs.
Before I focus on the more important issue of the game, let me get the not-so vital information out of the way. Anyone who’s played the original Guitar Hero knows that it wasn’t the best-looking game on the PS2. And guess what? It’s the same case with Guitar Hero II, but there’s some improved detail and lighting here and there. The returning characters look almost unchanged from their predecessors, although Johnny Napalm has a new outfit. Also, the Grim Reaper looks like he’s wearing a skirt more than a cape or robe, so he’s not so much a “cool” character anymore. The animations are largely unchanged, although there are some nice new ones that are worth a chuckle or two.
Now that I’ve got that done and over with, it’s time to focus on what’s really important: the soundtrack. If you played the first Guitar Hero, then you know that part of what made it such a great game was its memorable soundtrack. It’s hard to beat a soundtrack with songs from bands like Judas Priest, Pantera, Black Sabbath and Jimmy Hendrix. This time around, the soundtrack is far more extensive and there’s a lot more variety, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your taste. So, you may be wondering if Guitar Hero II’s soundtrack is as good as the first, which is a tough question to answer. The soundtrack isn’t quite as memorable per say, and whether you’ll like a song is questionable. For instance, I could say that Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” is the cheesiest song on Earth when my dad thinks it’s a great classic. In a nutshell, Guitar Hero II’s soundtrack is good, but your taste in music will ultimately decide how much you like it.
Speaking of the game's soundtrack, let's talk about the song covers. Like its predecessor, Guitar Hero II's covers are either surprisingly great, decent, or just flat-out blow. Certain songs sound quite good for a cover, like the cover for "Message In a Bottle" and "Trippin' On a Hole In a Paper Heart". But then there are the covers that just fail to do anything but make your ears bleed. For instance, the Rage Against the Machine and Lamb of God covers aren't just bad, they're atrocious in the most God-awful way. There are a couple of master covers in the game, but they're mostly for the less substantial tracks like "The Light that Blinds". Thankfully though, most of the covers are tolerable and aside from a select few, they shouldn't really distract you from playing the game.
The game’s single-player Career mode is fairly short and, depending on the difficulty, can be beaten in about three to five hours. But the fun doesn’t stop after five hours; it only grows with the multiplayer. Unlike the first Guitar Hero where the multiplayer was just a Face-Off, you can play a song with your friend via co-op. The same rules in the single-player apply for co-op, so if one of you screws up then there goes your score multiplier. But since there are two people playing, you have the opportunity to obtain twice as many points. Also, you’ll both need to tilt your controllers up at the same time to activate Star Power, so co-op can lead to some tense moments. The Face-Off remains basically unchanged other than the fact that you can choose your own difficulty. But if you want to play the Face-Off mode, then beating the game on Expert will unlock Pro Face-Off or old-school Guitar Hero multiplayer if you will. The multiplayer is still fun as fun as ever since you and your friends will keep on playing trying to out-do the other; so there’s plenty of replay value.
Ultimately, Guitar Hero is a great sequel that manages to take everything that was good about the first and improve upon it. About the only real issue with the game is that the soundtrack is more of an acquired taste. But if you can look past the soundtrack if you don’t enjoy it so much, then you’ll find Guitar Hero every bit as solid as its predecessor, maybe even more. So if you enjoyed the original Guitar Hero, then it’s more than likely you’ll deeply enjoy this sequel and in your best interest to pick it up if you haven’t already.