Guitar Hero II Review (X360)

What Makes It So Special?

The reason why Guitar Hero II is such an amazing game is because of the sense of accomplishment you feel when you move up the ranks and unlock new songs to play. When you first start, it is very intimidating, but the more you play, the more fun the game gets because you really do get better at it. And even if you aren’t comfortable moving to hard or expert for a while (I remember I played the first GH on PS2 on medium for several months before I moved on …) you can still have a ton of fun with the game. Guitar Hero II is a game for anyone and everyone, whether you are an experienced guitar player or not. It is an absolute blast no matter what difficulty level you play on but, like I said, when you do move up and beat a new difficulty level, the game becomes immensely satisfying and rewarding. Even when you beat all of the songs on the various difficulty levels, you can still go back and earn high scores, which is another area where Guitar Hero II really shines. You constantly get better at it. Even after playing the first game on PS2 for 18 months now, I still set new high scores and surprise myself at how much better I am each and every time I play. The Xbox 360 version takes this one step further thanks to online leaderboards. Now you can see how you compare to the rest of the world, which motivates you to play even more. This is why the $90 price tag is completely justified. You will be playing it for years to come, not just days or weeks like most games.

Minor Issues

I do have some issues with the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II, though. The lack of online play is disappointing, certainly, but I do understand why it wasn’t included. This is a game that is based completely on timing and rhythm, and when someone is lagging, the game is going to be nearly impossible to play. It is the same reason why Dead or Alive 4 is so hit or miss on Xbox Live. Timing is everything, and when someone is laggy it completely ruins the gameplay.

My other issue, and the only one that really bothers me, to be honest, is the new guitar itself. The PS2 games used a controller shaped like the Gibson SG. It was nice and round and symmetrical and was very easy to play. The Xbox 360 version uses a Gibson X-Plorer which, if you aren’t familiar with it, is all strange angles and pointy edges. As I have mentioned, I’m a long time Guitar Hero veteran, but I have had the hardest time getting used to the new guitar. One problem is that the strum bar is closer to the whammy bar than on the SG, which makes it hard to find a comfortable place to put your hand while you play. The shape of the guitar also takes a lot of getting used to as you learn just what to do with the pointy top end of the guitar. One thing that I have found is that the new shape makes it much easier to sit down and play than the SG, which is a benefit, but at the same time, the hard and expert difficulties are too fast and frantic to comfortably play sitting down so standing up is the only way to go. Which just makes the problems I have with the shape rear their ugly head.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 looks quite a bit better than the PS2 version. The characters and backgrounds are all silky smooth now. A nice touch is the added lighting that really makes everything in the game pop much more than on the PS2.

Sound is the most important aspect of the presentation, and Guitar Hero II sounds amazing. Most of the songs are covers rather than the original recordings, but they sound good for the most part. Some of them sound a bit off, but you get used to it after you hear it a few times.

Bottom Line

Overall, Guitar Hero II is a fantastic game that I can 100% recommend to anyone and everyone. It does pretty much everything right and is one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences out there. It is a game that you will be playing and setting new high scores on years from now, which makes the $90 price tag much easier to swallow. You absolutely get your money’s worth with Guitar Hero. Even though I do have a couple of complaints, mostly about the guitar controller itself, you do get used to it so it isn’t a huge issue. All in all, Guitar Hero II is an amazing game and the Xbox 360 version is the one to own.