Guitar Hero II (game only) (PlayStation 2, 2006)

Jamming on Your PS2 Like Never Before
A Review of Guitar Hero II and Controller

Music games haven’t always been considered the cream of the crop with gaming. As a matter of fact, outside of Dance Dance Revolution, music games are basically laughed at! That all changed, however, when in 2005, Guitar Hero hit the PlayStation 2. Fun, fast, and frantic, Guitar Hero changed the way music games are played and was a massive success. That all followed up late last year with the release of Guitar Hero II, a game multitudes better than the original!

The Game

The game itself is a great time. Containing a grand total of 64 songs, with a few performed by the original artists, there is no shortage of songs to play in Guitar Hero II. You play the game by pressing a fret button at the same time as its corresponding color appears on screen, and flicking the strum bar at the same time. If you get a long note, you can distort it with the whammy pedal. And if you earn enough points on “star” notes, you can tilt your guitar upwards and multiply your points! The songs get progressively harder as the game goes on, and by the end you will be a certified guitar hero.

The game also contains an in-depth practice mode, where you can slow down and/or isolate parts of songs to really practice before you get into it. There’s also a multiplayer mode, where two friends can cooperate or go head to head on every single track of the game! For most songs, the second player will play bass, but on a few of the tracks, player two will be on rhythm guitar. With so many songs to play and master, alone or with a friend, Guitar Hero II is a game that should not be missed.

The Controller

The controller (usually bundled with the game) is a lot like that of the original game. Modeled after the Gibson SG guitar, the guitar controller looks and feels like a real guitar. Featuring the fret buttons, strum bar, and whammy bar, not to mention the tilt feature, the controller may seem a bit overwhelming at first. But once you get into the game there is no stopping it. The guitar also comes with a strap to prevent you from losing the guitar if you rock out too hard, and stickers for you to customize your guitar any way you like!

The guitar is undoubtedly a huge innovation. Since it looks and feels like a real guitar, you won’t feel like a fool playing this game. As a matter of fact, its style and look make people look like rock stars all on their own. And the best part? If the controller and game together seem like too much money, you can always just get the game and use your original Guitar Hero controller!

All in all, Guitar Hero II is a huge improvement over the already fantastic original, and not only that, but it is an amazingly fun time that anyone can pick up.

Just a note about the writer of this guide/review:

Thumbmonkey is a small company dedicated to providing its customers with a reliable, friendly and affordable source for their gaming fun! We carry a wide selection of video games and accessories for most of the major video game platforms.