The game was so popular and did so well, that later in the year, Guitar Hero II was very quickly spawned. Despite the low turnaround time, we were among the masses who adored this rockin’ music game. In fact, the game itself has gone onto inspire a number of younger musical aficionados to go and learn how to play a real guitar. Being a PS2 exclusive, Microsoft wanted to get in on the action, so Guitar Hero II will be soon appearing on a Xbox 360 near you. Recently, we had the chance for a hands-on, as well as free pizza and beer.
A bit of a freaky bunch.
As far as the Xbox 360 version will go, it will essentially be an enhanced port of the PS2 version of Guitar Hero II. Aside from ten new songs to play to, the main new features will mainly concern the online side of things. That is, there will be online play, downloadable content, leaderboards and other features that are not yet disclosed. Furthermore, Xbox 360 players will be able to get their hands on wireless guitars once the game is released. For the purposes of this preview, we were confined to the wired guitars throughout our session.
In terms of the core gameplay, it’s pretty much identical to how you played the game on the PS2, which is far from a bad thing. For the uninformed, the game is played in such a manner: the screen displays a series of nodes that come scrolling form the top of the screen. Each node corresponds with a button at the top of the guitar controller. Press the button and “strum” the button on the guitar to play the notes. When played properly, you’ll be playing the guitar sections from the song and there is a bit of depth as you go up the difficulty levels. While professional guitar players may scoff at this setup, it’s a good way for noobs and wannabes to get into the music.
It’s just as well that the game is for noobs and wannabes, because some us here definitely fall into that category. In fact, we had the ignominy of failing a song on easy, which happened to trigger an achievement (another feature of the Xbox 360 version). However, once you understood the basics, the gameplay became quite alluring and addictive. While it was essentially no different to the PS2 version, it still managed to bring out the rocker in everyone that was in the room at the time.
Co-op and Vs modes are back.
In terms of the audiovisual presentation, the game isn’t that much of a leap either. Graphically, while the game was obviously enhanced in terms of definition, there was a consensus among us that the game seemed to have lost a little bit of its edge. To be fair to the audio department, the setup didn’t allow for optimal output but from what we heard, it was damn good. Whether or not the new songs will add much, remains to be seen.
Overall, Guitar Hero II is essentially bringing the same addictive and enthralling gameplay from the PS2 game to the Xbox 360, with some added songs and primarily online features. If you didn’t like it, this isn’t going to change your mind. However, if you don’t own a PS2 or haven’t yet had a chance to try this phenomenon, the HD version will be out in the very near future. Be on the look for our review, coming very soon.
The 360 guitar looks pretty spiffy too. 
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