Guitar Hero II: Karaoke Evolution
by GrahamDJ

Give developers RedOctane a couple more years, and their addicting rhythm-based party game will be a staple at clubs all over the country. Guitar Hero is the natural successor to karaoke; it provides the same escapism and wild hilarity, while also requiring a certain degree of talent and concentration that makes the virtual guitarist feel like a true rock hero.

            The Xbox360 port of Guitar Hero II is essentially the same game you played for the PS2; the controller differs aesthetically and ten songs have been added to the playable list, but the game remains the same. Players hold the controller like an actual guitar, and as one of about 80 different metal and rock songs plays, colored notes move down the fretboard, requiring the player to press the corresponding colored button on the neck of the guitar. The gameplay is exceedingly similar to the granddaddy of rhythm games, Dance Dance Revolution (though much deeper), and even influenced one of the better Xbox Live Arcade titles, Boom Boom Rocket.

            The obligatory career mode plays out as a series of gigs, and the player takes the role of the borderline-clichéd “rags to riches” musician. There are about a dozen different characters to play as, but none offer any advantages over another; they are just for show (you’ll be so busy watching notes scroll by, you won’t even notice your virtual self). The visuals, while upgraded to the Microsoft HD standard, are nothing exceptional, because they don’t need to be; the stage is won with gameplay alone. Each gig is staged as 5 or 6 songs in a particular venue (from a high school battle of the bands to Stonehenge!); once you master a certain number of those songs, the next venue opens up. The difficulty is self-adjusting; after a few practice rounds, anyone will be able to riff through the easy difficulty. Medium Hard, and Expert career modes await, however, and the interaction ramps up right along with the difficulty. The harder the song, the more notes and chords you will play. The more notes you are playing, the closer the experience gets to actually playing a real guitar; your fingers will be sliding up and down the neck, hammering solos, bass lines, and power chords alike.

            In addition to the career modes, the game offers an inimitable and unmatched two-player cooperative (and competitive) feature that has one player jamming out the lead guitar part, while his partner-in-rock supports him with the rhythm guitar or bass section with either an additional guitar, or a standard controller with face buttons replacing fret buttons. This styling turns the event into a virtual garage band; and offers the most satisfying co-op mode yet on the 360.