E3 06: Guitar Hero encore announced

Sex and drugs noticeably absent, but Harmonix sequel promises plenty more rock and roll later this year.

Guitar Hero II

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If there's one lesson to take away from the Rolling Stones' four-decade-long career, it's that rock and roll will never, ever die. As such, when RedOctane and Harmonix Music's runaway hit Guitar Hero stormed stores last year and established a groupie-like fan base of virtual Vais, pseudo Satrianis, and make-believe Malmsteens, a sequel was as inevitable as another aborted Van Halen reunion.

RedOctane today confirmed the band was indeed getting back together, as it announced that Guitar Hero II would arrive on the PlayStation 2 this November. While the song list hasn't been announced yet, the publisher confirmed that there would be more than 55 tracks in dire need of shredding. There's also a multiplayer co-op mode that will let players collaborate, each playing lead, rhythm, or bass guitar portions.

And in case devoted fans feared that the series would stray too far from the musical genre that spawned it, RedOctane has promised that the tracks would be the same mix of classic, alternative, and modern rock, with additional entries from hair metal and heavy metal.

RedOctane has confirmed that the sequel will be compatible with the original game's guitar peripheral, and that it will give the world its first glimpse of the game at next month's Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

238 Comments

  • DEATH775

    Posted May 25, 2006 12:21 am PT

    How cool!

  • QuantumFireball

    Posted May 3, 2006 1:52 pm PT

    GUITAR HERO SEQUEL!!! SWEETNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    it would be awesome if they had Rammstein in it.

  • jjmoek

    Posted Apr 24, 2006 4:54 pm PT

    plz e-mail me KILL57 at jjmoek@comcast.net plz tell me how to use mods

  • Dafdiego777

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 4:57 pm PT

    Whohoo, can't wait.

  • eddyissa

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 10:13 am PT

    gabrielnhbnyc had a raelly good idea with his pro hero.. nyways why do peopl keep askin whether they have to buy a guitar again..??? it says that the original guitar will work.. and im sure RED will sell the guitar as well though i doubt itll come as a discount package.. maybe they will have guitar hero 1 and two with the guitar at some awesomely low price.. who knows.. now to sit back and hope..

  • kobybrian114

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 4:14 pm PT

    I just bought the first 1 and I think is the most entertaining game I ever played !!!
    I can't wait for the 2nd game!

  • pipinx

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 4:40 am PT

    need a lot training

  • pipinx

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 4:30 am PT

    awesome, i love this game...and the music was great

  • KLamping

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 5:24 pm PT

    hell yeah that co op sounds badass. hopefully they got some hardcore bands like avenged sevenfold or atreyu!

  • Dragonmaster82

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 12:21 pm PT

    Yes, definitely can't wait for this one. Still playing the first one alot.

  • paulmanebyrne

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 9:14 am PT

    I wish it was on Xbox

  • Jammaren

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 8:44 am PT

    why is it on the ps2 not the ps3?

  • steveosaysyes

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 7:16 am PT

    i play bass, an i carnt wait to hit those bass songs, thatll be ace, coz thats all tha was missin from number 1!! ROCK ON!!

  • zdiddy85

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 6:18 am PT

    I wonder if this game makes you better at guitar? I feel like my finger and rhythm recognition have increased dramatically since I've been playing the "Hard" Difficulty!

  • satya324

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 4:15 am PT

    that's cool, I can't wait to play it. I just hope there are more character.

  • ryosakasaki

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 11:01 pm PT

    this is the greatest thing i´ve heard in quite a while !!!!! ................... PRACTICE MODE PLEASE!!!!!!!

  • gridkid

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 9:50 pm PT

    Really hope to see some Lamb of God stuff !! will be awesome!!

  • Hitman3357

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:34 pm PT

    As long as it has Blur's "Song 2" I'm good!

  • Evil_Krypt

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:49 pm PT

    I can't wait for this game to come out! With 55+ songs, it is going to be great.

  • MikeLirette

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:29 pm PT

    I can't wait for it

  • T00HuMaN

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:20 pm PT

    haha i played the first at my friedns house! and it was sweet even though i sucked!!! so i might get this one

  • maenda

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:20 pm PT

    Cant wait to try the bass probly aint nothing like actually playin it tho

  • GabrielNHBnyc

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 4:32 pm PT

    There should be a guitar hero PRO. Where real electronic guitarist can plug in REAL electric guitars, and Really play along with the track, and the game scores them how well they did, and let them save their recording to a Hard Drive. But I guess that would be a XBOX 360 guitar Hero.

  • sabru8

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 4:24 pm PT

    cannot wait.

  • Infamous-One

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 4:10 pm PT

    Hell yes. Guitar Hero 2! The only downside is that long wait until November when it comes out. Other than that its all good. More heavy metal this time would be good.

  • the619tu

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 3:28 pm PT

    the first guitar hero is awesome, and I can't wait the game come out.

  • Stars05

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    The first game DOES have practice mode. Which rocks.

  • rety5

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 11:40 am PT

    first one was rubbish! WHY ANOTHER ONE!

  • rock_of_ages

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 11:37 am PT

    lets get some iron maiden in there this time

  • jacash3492

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 7:36 am PT

    Bearnicity is right that they should make an XBOX version. It should also be online on both XBOX and PS2.

  • DeathWClass

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:53 am PT

    ''not to soundlike a jerk, but playing a real guitar is much more fun and you can pick up the ladies, IMO save your money and get a real guitar and practice, this game is a joke, save you money''

    ...one had to say it,cant blame you but,i beated bark at the moon at hard and other songs and let me tell you that,afther aving played with guitar hero for a week,(dont play anymore,to busy with my real guitar) my hand moved better on the guitar,guitar hero is like a big warm up and you kinda get a feel like" oh yeah,its kinda the same patern on a real guitar".

  • Bearnicity

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 4:22 am PT

    An X-Box version would be nice...

  • Gatchan2

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 12:06 am PT

    The all time best (even though I KNOW for some reason its not in it) would be "play with me" by Extreme (The Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure classical rock song). That had one of the best solos (I learned it the other day on my guitar) and would be a great song to be in this game. Prolly under 'hard mode' or something...

  • Dark-Messenger

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 4:55 pm PT

    It's time to practice on my stumming again.

  • Zagers

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 4:50 pm PT

    Awesome!! I knew they'd make a sequel. It'd be a sin not to.
    I hope it has Green Day and Weezer on it. And Avenged Sevenfold's Bat County. That song is in dire need of shredding!

  • Digger

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 4:09 pm PT

    I emailed the RedOctane about 2 weeks ago and I asked them to put Steve Vai- For the Love of God and Eric Johnson- Cliffs of Dover. They e-mailed me back and said that those were some kick ass songs and they were going to send my email to the developer. So if you find those songs on there thank me for suggesting them!

  • xtHeUseD225x

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:19 pm PT

    hell yea!

  • olli-lawson

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:15 pm PT

    it looks so cool.but its got to get a better selection of music.

  • olli-lawson

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:15 pm PT

    it looks so cool.but its got to get a better selection of music.

  • sigma8

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 1:59 pm PT

    Hey didn't you see the sign? "No Stairway to Heaven" Honestly, I don't care what they put in. There are a lot of songs that I like, but the real win is when they put in songs that interesting guitar solos and parts.

  • jon1233

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 1:40 pm PT

    I won't buy it unless if they have *Insert band name here* because I have bad taste in music.

  • shaneaw

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    Well i know my opinion on this game means nothing to anybody whatsoever, but i do believe that a game called guitar hero should try to include songs by as many real life guitar heroes as possible, as a gamer who spends 50 hours every week playing various games, i can honestly say that i havent had as much fun playing any other game than this in years

    But what would make this sequel so much better is if the track listings borrowed heavily from the various air guitar albums that are out

    cmon harmonix do all the rockers out there a big favour and recreate the classic air guitar anthems we all love, heres a few of my personal favourites in case your out of ideas lol

    Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
    Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
    Whole Lotta Rosie - AC DC
    Im so Afraid - Fleetwood Mac
    Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
    Sweet Child of Mine - Guns n Roses
    Layla - Derek and the Dominoes
    Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
    Hotel Calafornia - The Eagles
    Still in Love with You - Thin Lizzy
    Parisienne Walkways - Gary Moore
    Surfing with the Alien - Joe Satriani
    All Right Now - Free

    Well it could be argued that most of those arent guitar anthems but nevertheless i dont think it could be argued by anyone that they wouldn't have a place on the sequel, but does anyone else have any ideas as to what might or might not have a place on the sequel to such a gem of a game?

  • sigma8

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:27 am PT

    YES

  • Ronald2588

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:10 am PT

    There is some more info over at ign.com (in the form of an interview). Operantly there will be a practice mode where you can loop different portions of a song. Of course there is more to the interview but every one should check it out for themselves.

  • sam_tosh

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:05 am PT

    oh, and a virtual mosh pit would be awesome. the better you play, the more metalheads injure themselves. scores on metal songs are based on how many people break bones in the mosh! haha

  • sam_tosh

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:04 am PT

    Maybe they'll put Freebird in it instead of just talking about it... what teases...

  • lageasy311

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:26 am PT

    RedDragoon I have been playing guitar for 14 years of my life, and i have to say, i would still play guitar hero!!!! It's a fun game. it's not supposed to be some guitar simulation game, just a fun mock up of ddr. It is surprisingly fun!!!!!

  • Gailen_1

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:16 am PT

    november is way, WAY too far away now.

  • spurs2k

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 9:55 am PT

    I never knew there was such a demand for fake guitar simulations. I still think the whole rhythm game genre is hokey. But in this day and age anything that's "different" from the standard fare gets it's share of attention (eye toy anyone?). And besides it is good, clean fun...until they add a virtual mosh pit or something.

  • RedDragoon

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 9:53 am PT

    not to soundlike a jerk, but playing a real guitar is much more fun and you can pick up the ladies, IMO save your money and get a real guitar and practice, this game is a joke, save you money

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