Guitar Hero II review

This review was supposed to go live this morning, but my typing speed is not what it could be today. This is due to cramp in my left hand caused by a marathon Guitar Hero II session last night. I played through the entire career on Medium in one sitting (without failing a single song I may add) and then played around with some of the songs on the higher difficulty. So it's no wonder that my fingers are a little achy today.

The appeal of Guitar Hero and its sequel is plain. I've been playing rock guitar for half my life. I've a six-string electric, plenty of effects/recording software and a gorgeous 12-string semi-acoustic. And I reckon I'm pretty handy with them. So why did spend hours messing around with Guitar Hero II last night?

Prizing rent from the local Hebrews

I think a lot of the appeal of Guitar Hero II is down to the fantasy of being a rock star. By the time you get to the big gig at Stonehenge in the game you're constantly bombarded with cheers from the crowd, shouts of encore and clapping along to your playing. This is all more noticeable than the first game in the series and really does draw you in.

The other appealing element is getting to play along with some famous tracks with the illusion of actually showing off some musical skill. There's quite some irony in that, because on the harder difficulty levels many of the tracks featured in GHII are harder to play here than on a real guitar. Certainly many of the fast bluesy licks in Freebird are relatively easy to pull off on a real guitar but devilishly finger crunching in the game.

Goes up to 11

That's not to say that guitar skill won't help you play the game, or that musical knowledge or ability is conferred by playing the game. A sense of rhythm really helps you play and will serve you well compared to just trying to time button presses by watching events onscreen. Thankfully Red Octane has worked some magic with the gameplay this time round, the changes are subtle but you will appreciate them.

The real changes come in the way that hammer-ons and pull-offs are performed. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what has changed. But playing several notes with one press of the strum switch feels so much smoother and natural now. And this means you can play faster sections much more quickly.

Are we playing Stonehenge again tonight?

The actual structure of the single player game remains very much the same as the first in the series. You take your band on the road, complete three of a choice of four songs at each gig to earn the right to move to the next event. Each gig features more difficult songs and a bigger audience culminating in a massive open-air gig at Stonehenge.

The visuals of the various gigs are excellent, with notable features such as massive sets on the later gigs including Iron Maiden style mascots and huge Pink Floyd like glitter balls. Not that you'll often notice much of this with your eyes glued to the fretboard indicator.

It's a shame though that the developer hasn't been more adventurous with the single-player mode. Some form of story linked with mini-games such as playing off against rival AI guitar heroes would have added depth and life to the single player game. That said there's a great selection of 40 songs to tackle that vary from the softer tones of Heart to the heavier riffing of Lamb of God. And it's great to see some Megadeth in there in the form of the very tricky Hanger 18.

The patron saint of quality footwear

There more depth this time around in terms of multiplayer action. A co-op mode lets two players form a band and while one has lead duties the other can take on bass or rythm guitar. This mode works very well and is perhaps the most welcome addition in this version.

There's also a head to head mode that you can unlock allowing both players to play the same tune note for note to see who is really the best shredder. This should have been unlocked from the start though and not something that requires single-player endeavours.

Despite that Guitar Hero II is another great addition to the series. While there are no songs that give the same sense of glory that More Than A Feeling had in the first game, it offers plenty of fun for the non-musician and musician alike and is one of the better party games available for PlayStation 2. And the inclusion of a track by Spinal Tap is a work of genius.

My wife also tells me that I keep trying to add vibrato to the notes with my left hand, which shows how much it often feels like playing the songs for real.