Guitar Hero II

Written by Jason Young  on July 20, 2006

First Impressions: Grab your ice packs, lock your door, and prepare to lose hours of your life. Guitar Hero is back.

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Prior to 2005, Red Octane existed in the back of people's minds as a small video game developer, whose claim to fame was developing a crappy third-party DDR pad. Fast-forward several months and one game later, Red Octane's Guitar Hero has made them one of most renowned game companies in America.

For those of you who've been living in a nice comfy soundproof rock for the past couple months, Guitar Hero is a simple rhythm-music game that simulates the experience of being a rock star. Starting from being a simple garage band, the player progresses through legendary tunes from Hendrix, Ozzy, to Megadeth. With the game's controls being based off of Сreal' guitar chords, players use five separate fret buttons in combination with a strum button in order to riff off tunes. As notes are displayed on-screen, players are required to press the fret along with the strum bar as they approach the bottom of the screen. While playing through forty-five songs in Guitar Hero I provided players with a bountiful of opportunities to show off their skills, Red Octane upped the ante this time around and included ten more (40 licensed, and 15 indie or bonus tunes).

Up to date, only eight tunes have been confirmed for in-studio recording: Arterial Black (Drist), Psychobilly Freakout (The Reverend Hornet Heat), Strutter (KISS), War Pigs (Black Sabbath), Who Was in My Room Last Night (Butthole Surfers), You Really Got Me (Van Halen), YYZ (Rush), and John the Fisherman (Primus). While the game's mechanics have remained mostly intact, the new multiplayer modes, as well as the all-new Сpractice mode', will have players rocking till the break of dawn.

For players who had trouble trying to riff off guitar solos in УBark at the MoonФ or УCowboys From HellФ, practice mode is your new best friend. Listening to the cries of millions of fans, practice mode allows players to play through predetermined sections of a song, even slowing them down in order to get fingering correct. That's right folks, no more having to play through an entire four-minute song multiple times just to take a crack at failing at the same section again and againЕ.and again.

While single-player mode was great, multiplayer mode left a lot to be desired. The only thing players were able to do was face each other head-to-head, meaning that your tune-deaf friends who weren't on the same level as you couldn't possibly hope to play alongside you if you were shredding at a higher level. Red Octane has answered these concerns and has included a heavier emphasis on multiplayer gaming with five new modes.

With a heavier focus on multiplayer gaming, Guitar Hero II will be featuring one player on lead guitar with the other on bass giving players a more Сauthenticated' band experience. Just don't expect an easy time shredding if you decide to be bass. Contrary to what one might believe though, bass/rhythm players may actually have just as hard if not a harder time than the lead. So don't go in expecting your friend to complete all of the hard parts, unless your playing on an easier level. Also returning is last years' competitive mode with a slight difference this time around. Players can now be simultaneously playing through an entire song while playing entirely different parts.

The revamped co-op mode plays like a mixture between the original's single and multiplayer mode as both players are tied to the same rock meter, a single star power, and a single combo meter. Meaning that your friend could mess up your entire perfect combo by strumming just a single wrong note. Perfectionists beware.