Review: Guitar Hero II (X360)

Guitar Hero 2 is an instant classic and pure gaming magic!

Pros: Fantastic gameplay; brilliant Guitar peripheral; well chosen songs (that even non-rock dudes like me enjoy); fair achievements; large song list with downloads to come

Cons: No XBL multiplayer, only Leaderboards

Achievements: Fair-to-Hard

Although GH2 has been out for the PS2 for a while, I hung-on to make the Xbox 360 version the first I owned and played. I have been looking forward to getting that “Axe” in my hands for a long time, and I have to say it was well worth the wait.

GH2 is a rhythm action game that combines puzzle, rhythm and simulation elements to create a simple, but incredibly rewarding experience. The basic premise of the game is to play the notes that scroll vertically down the screen to complete the lead guitar (or bass guitar on multiplayer) components of a rock song.

The Guitar peripheral is a slightly downscaled facsimile of a Gibson Xplorer Guitar (a 50’s design classic) that has been a favourite of rock bands for 30 years –even Spinal Tap have one (I watched ‘Tap again to check!). The strings are replaced by a Strum Bar and there are 5 coloured Fret keys on the neck that correspond to the notes to be played; a Whammy Bar is provided to add that little extra bit of rocktastic magic to the long notes.

Playing songs is fairly straight forward. After you have selected a song, the coloured notes required appear on a scrolling Fret board, and you simply hold the Fret buttons(s) and strum as the notes reach the line at the bottom of the screen. On the easiest difficulty you only have to worry about the first three Fret buttons, whist the super tough Hard and Expert require some finger Olympics (and advanced techniques) to hit all five buttons in time to the music. Playing the Guitar is very satisfying and close to the feeling of playing the real thing, whilst strutting around your lounge only adds to the experience.

The object of each song is to obtain the best possible score. Each correct note earns 50 points, whilst stringing together sets of consecutive notes earns multipliers all the way up to x4. Periodically, Star Notes appear which will earn you Star Power.

Star Power can be used to double the multiplier (up to x8), but is limited by the number of Star Notes a song contains. The Star Notes are often attached to the more difficult riffs so building up your score relies on getting these sections correct. Star Power is activated by lifting the Guitar vertically, which is quite tricky to do, and maintaining your rhythm. Star Power also removes the colours from the notes to ensure that there is extra challenge in earning your doubled multiplier. The Star Power feature offers a clever risk and reward mechanism and also introduces some strategy as to when in the song you enable it.

The Career mode allows you to select one of the eight characteristic rock stars, a guitar and a difficulty, to progress through a prescribed set-list and work your way up from high school wannabe to full stadium rock god. Each song is graded, out-of 5, based on your score, where the higher the grade the more cash you have to spend on extras in the Career mode store (except on easy where you can’t earn money). Higher difficulties earn more game dollars.

The Store contains 40 additional tracks, characters, outfits, guitars, and videos to unlock. Many of the games 50 achievements are linked to completing store purchases. All scores contribute to an overall Career Score which is used to show your progress on the XBL leaderboard.

The Multiplayer component of the game features co-op (lead and bass guitar) and vs. Both use the same mechanism as the single player game, and work best when both players have a guitar each (you can play with the controller but it is not the same). There is no XBL play due to lag issues, but there is a rumour of an XBL variant of the co-op in the future.

GH2 graphics are very good. Obviously, coloured notes scrolling down the screen is not the height of graphical elegance, but GH2 features some excellent and humorous stage performances in the background with neat character animation and an appropriate cartoon like style. The scrolling notes sit on a textured guitar fret board that features a design that varies based on character or guitars used. The overall presentation of the game is a quite brilliant combination of Spinal Tap (there are numerous references) and School of Rock.

Now I am not a rock expert, so I had to seek the advice of my 60 year old father who is (among others) a Megadeth, Iron Maiden, SOTD, and Avenged Sevenfold fan. Thus, I can say there is a mixed bag of tracks, with some classics (The Trooper & Free Bird) and some middling efforts from the likes of Pearl Jam. My personal favourite is Tattooed Love Boys, by the Pretenders, but I have to say that ALL the songs (whether critically successful) work brilliantly in the context of the game.

Many of the songs are covers, but you have to be impressed by the production quality as they features some fantastic vocal and guitar work. A handful of the songs are “genuine” band recorded tracks, but unless you knew you’d be hard pressed to spot them.

At £70 for both the Guitar and the game, the asking price may seems a little steep, but Guitar Hero 2 does represent fantastic value for money as the quality and size of the game (70+ tracks), and the excellent guitar puts many other £50 titles to shame. The prospect of a further 36 songs being released over the next few weeks means that you will never be stuck for a song to play. Combine the games quality and scope with the perfect gameplay and endless challenge and you have got a real winner.

You might not believe me, but Guitar Hero 2 is the best game to come out on the 360 since Oblivion. You don’t have to like rock music to really enjoy this game but rock fans will get a massive kick out of it. The 360 has been criticised for having too many inaccessible shooting games, well GH2 is the ultimate antidote to that. Who needs a motion sensitive controller when you can wield an axe! Own a 360? Then you MUST buy this game (or get someone to buy it for you!).

5/5