Guitar Hero 2 Roxxorz

I'm assuming by now most everyone has heard about a little game that came out last year that took the industry by storm called Guitar Hero. If you haven't you should have cause it's fun as hell. Anyhow, I'm here to give you the scoop on the second version of the game not surprisingly titled "Guitar Hero 2".

If you haven't played the game before it's a rhythm game that you play using a controller shaped as a small guitar (pictured above) that has a strum device and 4 or 5 fret buttons, each a different color. As you play a song, circles that have a color corresponding to one of the fret buttons scroll down the screen and as they hit a line you have to hold down that color fret button and strum at the same time to hit the note. It's kind of tough to explain but really intuitive if you pick it up to play. It's super fun and really gives you the feeling that you are playing guitar. On the expert difficulty I think actually playing the real guitar might be a tad easier.

I thought the first one was totally unique and a whole lot of fun and so did the rest of the video game buying public, hence guitar hero 2. This new one improves on the first in a few key ways. Most notably is the expansion of the multiplayer. The first GH had the potential for some really fun multiplayer but didn't quite hit it on the head. If you wanted to play two at a time the song would be played in alternating sections by each player, never both players at the same time. Fun but not ideal. GH 2 has changed this for the better by included seperate tracks for the other player to play such as bass line or rhythm guitar while the other person plays the lead guitar part. You can also choose your difficulty individually when choosing the part you want to play making it still a blast for a novice to play alongside of someone who has a lot of experience.

The second key improvement is the addition of a practice mode, something the first one totally left out. As anyone who has played this game knows, on the higher difficulty levels it gets really hard. I'm talking so hard you might as well spend the time to learn how to play the real guitar. I don't know how people got these songs down in the first one but in GH 2 the option is there to practice whole songs or you can work on specific problem sections such as the solo or intro. While practicing you have the option to slow down the song so it is easy to figure out the fingering. It's a simple addition but it's well implemented and will make a world of difference for players.

The only minor gripe about the second one is the song selection which I don't feel is as strong as the first. Don't get me wrong as there are some top notch songs to play but for some reason the selection in the first one just felt a little better to me. There are still some notable omitions like Iron Maiden and Metallica but they need to leave something for GH 3 right?

In summary I would urge any of you who haven't played this game and own a ps2 to go out at get GH 2 right away. Xbox 360 owners will also get their chance at it when it comes out for that system on 4/15/07. Get a few beers, a couple good friends and Guitar Hero 2 and that should be all you need for a very entertaining evening.