The first Guitar Hero was a dream come true for me. I had always loved
the Konami series Guitar Freaks in the arcade, and I was hoping for a
US version which of course never came to be. I followed Guitar Hero
from it's E3 showing until release and loved every minute of it.
Naturally a sequel was announced and again I was excited. Now that the
game is out the reality sets in. After one year what else could I
expect, but more of the same?
Guitar Hero II is a solid game. Better than the original in many
respects. But sadly it just isn't as big of a leap as one would hope.
You still have the single player venue to venue cross country mode.
This time with even crazier venues and a great sense of presentation.
The graphics have been pumped up, and the animations are some of the
out there, but really it's just all pretty pictures. There is no depth
in to the single player which makes the fun in the game fall solely on
the shoulders of the track list. On the whole GH2's songs just aren't
as good as the originals. Going through the single player to unlock the
songs becomes a lesson in disappointment. You play your heart out
hoping for a great new song only to get something average. That's not
to say there aren't some good ones. There are in fact some amazing
songs.
One of the best new features in the game is the practice mode. For the
people out there like me who go crazy when they get to the end of a
perfect run only to miss one note in the only tricky part of the song
there is a Practice Mode. In this mode you can select the section of
the song and even the speed at which you want to play it. It's a very
nice addition that makes the game less frustrating then it could be.
Naturally there is the multiplayer mode which made the first game so
popular. On paper GH2 has some great new multiplayer modes. There is
the traditional dueling guitars play, and a new co-op mode which allows
for someone to play guitar and someone to play bass or rhythm. This new
mode is a great idea, but most of the songs bass parts are uneventful.
However when you do play the songs that take full advantage it's a hell
of a time. The best new mode is the most simple of them all. The
Pro-Duel mode is just both players playing the same notes at the same
time. Which should have been in the original.
It may sound like I dislike GHII. It's just that playing the same game
not even a year later isn't something I wanted to do. If you loved
Guitar Hero you may end up loving GH2. It's a quality game that just
trys to be a little too safe for its own good.
PROS
+ Practice Mode
+ Fun sense of style and presentation
+ Very nice graphics and animations
+ Same great gameplay
CONS
- Track List is love it or hate it
- Single Player needs something new
- Same gameplay
