Back in 2001, a company called Harmonix released a game called Frequency. It was a fun rhythm game that required you to push buttons to music. It was an acquired taste but a enjoyable game. Next was Amplitude which brought new songs and a new take on the rhythm genre. I still remember button mashing to Weezer.
In 2005, Guitar Hero came out and I have to admit, I was not interested. I had zero interest in buying a game which included yet another accessory that only worked with one or two games (i.e.: Dreamcast fishing controller, Light Guns, PS2 Hard Drives, etc). However the buzz started on various gamer blogs, then You Tube videos were posted and the word of mouth was so huge I finally broke down and made my first PS2 game purchase in quite some time this summer. What can I say; as soon as I started playing the game I was hooked. It is truly a joy to play and probably the best $70 spent on a PS2 game ever.
Thankfully because of my late entry into the game, the sequel wasn't as much of an agonizing wait as it was for everyone else. The sequel is here and it really improves off the original.
The first thing you'll notice is the increase in the number of songs. The original had over 30 songs and the new one has 64 songs…and most are familiar to anyone with a passing interest in music. Some of the songs seem a little out of place (Message In A Bottle), some seem like they were made for this game (Crazy On You), and some I have never heard of before but give me a whole new respect for the artists that made them (Hangar 18, I'm talking about you).
The main gist of the game hasn't changed: you are a guitar player for a band and your goal is to cover the songs note for note. The notes come at you at the speed they should be played in the song. You have five fret buttons you have to press while strumming the guitar….there are chords (where you press multiple fret buttons while strumming) and a whammy bar to bend the notes. Just like before there's a rock meter and the more notes you hit, the higher the meter goes. There is also star power available which you obtain by hitting the "star" notes. If you keep missing your rock meter goes to red and you'll get the dreaded "song failed" message.
When you first fire the game up, you're offered to start career mode or you can quick play where you can just go right to a full song that you've unlocked…or you can practice. There's also a multiplayer mode, but more on that later.
The stats in the single player mode have been enhanced so instead of just one percentage score for the entire round, you can see right where you made the flubs - perhaps it was in the intro or the chorus. Once you know where the problem lies, you can go back into practice mode and take care of it. In practice mode you can either go through specific tutorials or practice individual songs. Not only that, you can practice individual song segments AND adjust the speed of the song so you can learn the notes!
You still have a points score and you are rated on a scale from one to five starts (five being best). The idea behind career mode hasn't changed, however the venues and the numbers of songs for each round have changed. Instead of just hanging around Boston, you are now moving across the country. There are more characters to play with but there's still not much interacting with the other band members. You are only there to play guitar.
It is my opinion that while the career mode is good, it could have been improved over the last game- for example; shouldn't the overall band morale affect your guitar playing? What if you have to play a show after a 20 hour bender of girls and drugs? Shouldn't that make things more difficult rather than just the chords coming at you faster? Instead of doing just one song, why not try to go all out and play a simulated concert with multiple songs - I bet you'll be very tired after song 5! Would playing the song while drunk hurt or help your accuracy? Why not really make the game into a rock and roll experience?
Playing in career mode earns you money which then allows you to purchase other items, such as guitars in the shop. You can customize your guitar here and purchase a new one. The actual guitar you purchase doesn't affect the playability - they are all the same - it's just for show.
As far as control goes, don't even think of playing this without the guitar controller. You can buy or rent just the game without it, but you will not enjoy the game nearly as much unless you have the guitar controller. It feels great in your hands and can be adapted for righties or if you are more like Paul McCartney, you can also play lefty.
The multiplayer gives you plenty of replay options - co-op mode so you can play as band mates (one player is on bass while the other plays lead), or Face Off mode where you play competitively. Unfortunately there is no online multiplayer..although with timing so vital in this game, it may be too hard to implement. Again, it's only fair that both players have guitars and they aren't cheap -- $40 each - although that is cheaper than a 'real' guitar.
Graphics are somewhat improved, but you'll barely notice this because you are concentrating on the fret board. The sound in this game is just fantastic. The vocals aren't note for note perfect of the originals, but they are close enough to live with.
I realize I'm in the minority here, although I love this game, I was expecting even more - downloadable songs (okay, this might be difficult on the PS2 but I recall Harmonix did this for Amplitude), an online leaderboard, a more in-depth career mode that has a Behind the Music sort of vibe to it..something along those lines.
Regardless of my petty complaints, Guitar Hero II is the reason why I'm keeping my PlayStation 2 in my office. The replay value is immense, the multiplayer superb and the game has that "just one more game" quality because you know you want to master Expert mode. It just would have been nice to be able to see some sort of online rankings to see how you rate with the rest of the gamers. If you loved the original, purchasing this game is a no-brainer. Guitar Hero II is insanely addictive and belongs in every PS2 owner's library.
