Strap on your “Guitar Hero” SG controller and limber your fingers ‘cause “Guitar Hero 2” for the PlayStation 2 is out, and it’s ready to rock your socks right off.
With their enormous guitar-sized controller — which comes in red this time — you use the five colored fret buttons with the white strum key and play notes as they appear on screen.
Like most rhythm games, the gameplay is simple and repetitive. But, unlike other genres, that’s exactly how it should be.
Sitting down to a game of “GH2” is like entering your own rock video. The crowd cheers louder the better you do, every note you hit can be heard in the music and when you really start rocking … you feel it.
The main content, as in the first “Guitar Hero,” is the campaign mode. You create a band, choose a character and a guitar, and set out to impress the crowds at a list of different venues including the Vans Warped Tour.
As you progress, you get cash from completing shows and getting sponsorship deals. You can spend your money to unlock new characters, guitars and playable songs like homestarrunner.com’s “Trogdor the Burninator” theme.
A new feature to “GH2” is the encore. When you complete your set list at a venue, the crowd will demand an encore, and you’ve gotta give it to ‘em. A hidden song for each venue will begin and you have to jump right in.
There’s also a new co-op mode where two players (with two guitar controllers) play through a song taking different parts. There are lead guitar, rhythm guitar and bass sections. The great thing about this feature is, since players tend to be amazing or awful at these types of games, each person can scale the difficulty for an enjoyable two-player experience.
As Harmonix, the game’s developer, did with its earlier titles “Frequency” and its sequel “Amplitude,” they’ve rewarded the fans by making their new title really, really hard. The Expert difficulty has three-note chords and tightly packed notes, showing those that mastered the last game that they’ve still got a lot to learn in the ways of rock.
‘Guitar Hero 2’
Publisher: Activision
Rated: Teen
Price: $49.99
