Guitar Hero surprised a lot of people last year when it was released for Playstation 2. For those in the dark, it was hard to explain a game where you played a guitar as anything better than whimsical. But 100% of the people I was able to physically put behind the guitar were hooked, and developed a mad case of Guitar Hero Fever.

So now it’s no surprise at all that Guitar Hero 2 is being received extremely well, especially after a year for the craze of the first to set in. It’s out now for the PS2 in two different flavors: with or without the guitar controller. Those of you who purchased the first Guitar Hero don’t need a new controller, but Guitar Hero 2 has a totally redesigned and revamped multiplayer. So if you think you don’t need another guitar, maybe you should think again. Plus it’s red!

The point of Guitar Hero 2 is to have fun, and to do that by playing along with popular music using your plastic guitar. The layout of Guitar Hero resembles closely the playing field of Amplitude or Frequency. A path is laid out in front of you, in a perspective so that it is moving closer to you from a distance. Along this path come notes. The notes layout corresponds to the color and position of the buttons on the fret of your plastic guitar. The notes will also follow closely with the music, making progress in Guitar Hero reliant on both your reflexes and your rhythm.

As these notes reach a line at the bottom of the screen, the player must prepare by pressing down that particular note. This alone does not make a sound; you have to actually strum the guitar as the note passes through the cue line. There is a very in depth tutorial built into the game, and the easy mode is very easy. Guitar Hero 2 is a very beginner-friendly game. That doesn’t mean it’s very nice to experienced players though...

Scoring is pretty typical for a rhythm game, but in Guitar Hero 2 you accumulate Star Power by hitting certain star notes correctly. Once you have enough Star Power, you can activate it by tilting your guitar controller upward. Star Power gives you a nice boost in points per note, but also dramatically increases the amount of your rock meter you get back. The rock meter is what keeps you “alive” and if it spends too much time in the red you are booed off stage. A well-placed Star Power can get you right back in the game, though, so never give up!

Many people will think that Guitar Hero 2 is just a bunch of new songs under the same candy coating. In fact, that’s exactly what I was expecting. While the biggest draw to Guitar Hero 2 is most likely the all-new soundtrack, it is definitely not the only thing that has changed.

The menu layout is pretty close to the first game, so veterans will feel right at home surfing the menus. However, all the artwork is new, and just as metal as before. The menu artwork is all in the same style is in the first Guitar Hero, but feels a lot more detailed and involved. The presentation of the game’s menus in general is done very well and makes something as simple as changing options a joy.

Your two main ways to play solo are through Career and Quick Play. Career is your sort of adventure mode, showing how your cover band goes from playing in a high school gymnasium to playing a sold-out show in a major concert hall. Career mode is made up of “tiers” each containing 4 songs and an encore performance.

After playing through the four songs of a tier, you are asked to perform an encore, which makes up the fifth song of that tier. A very clever way to complete a tier and it actually gets you kind of pumped up as the player. Each venue changes a bit for its encore, and it’s just one of those added bonuses that improve the overall feel of the gameplay. This “fluff” just makes the game a little more enjoyable to play. Another example is the after-show score sheets that displays how much money you made. It starts with a really big amount, but then deducts for things like “cars burned” and “amp replacement” to leave you with the typical amount you earn for the rating you received.

Quick Play lets you go back and play the game by song. Like the name implies, it really is a quicker way to play, since you choose your difficulty at the beginning of every song. This is the mode to play if you have a room full of variable skill levels and you plan on taking turns each song.

Guitar Hero 2 now actually keeps track of your top five scores for each song whether you play in Career or Quick Play. It also auto saves even if you don’t beat your highest score.

There were some nice additions to gameplay to expand the experience of Guitar Hero and really take it to the next level. One is the addition of 3-button chords. Sometimes in the first Guitar Hero you had to hit two notes at the same time to represent a chord. The chords were never more than two buttons at once. Guitar Hero 2 now has 3-button chords in the more difficult songs, and while that doesn’t seem so bad in writing, they will trip you up when you first encounter them. The difficulty has been ramped up since the first game, as well. Bark at the Moon was the final song on Guitar Hero, and on expert it took a lot of people serious practice to finish it. On my journey through expert on Guitar Hero 2 I’ve encountered songs harder than Bark at the Moon in the 5^th and 6^th tiers (out of the 8 total).

Luckily, to help players get better than they ever imagined, a practice mode has been added. Practice mode breaks down each song into tiny pieces, and lets you practice any one or group of pieces at a time. You can try the song at regular speed, and just play the section you’re having trouble with, or you can slow it down and get to know the notes intimately. It’s a great way to truly learn where the notes are rather than just mashing buttons as they fly at you.

The final, and probably largest improvement, is the expansion of the multiplayer modes. You have the option of playing against your friend, or with them in a Co-op jam session. In Versus, you both play the same song as the same guitar, sort of like a dueling banjos thing, and you fight for the popularity meter. In this mode you can’t fail a song, but the better player is awarded winner. In Co-op you both play the same song, but as different guitars. Some songs have a Guitar and Bass, while others are Lead Guitar and Rhythm Guitar. This mode is a blast, and you can actually fail if you don’t both perform. If one guitarist fails, the whole band goes down with them. Your score, rock meter, and star power are all shared in Co-op, so you have to work together to play that perfect tune. You even have to tilt your guitars at the same time to activate star power together.

A lot of work went into the replay value of this one as well. The real replay value of rhythm games has always been the pure enjoyment in playing them, as well as trying to improve your skills. Guitar Hero 2 went a little further, and gave players more incentive to try and get better. There are various unlockables that can be acquired after completing certain tasks. Each character also has a second purchasable costume, and there are hidden characters that can be bought for a pretty high price. Also, the large list of bonus tracks written and performed by talented independent groups gives a lot for players to look forward to.          

Gameplay: 9.6
Guitar Hero 2 sells itself on gameplay alone, and everyone I’ve ever seen play it loves it. The gameplay is fun enough that even after playing a song 20 times, you want to play it 20 more times. No other game makes you feel like you are accurately rocking like Guitar Hero 2.  

Graphics: 8.4
The character models have been improved a lot, and all the stages look great. Some venues will even have all kinds of stuff going on in the background, or have really cool camera angles and paths during the show.

Sound: 9.0
Guitar Hero 2 is a guitar-based game, so as you can probably guess all the music is going to be heavy on the guitar. This doesn’t mean it’s all rock, though. You’ll find blues, pop, oldies, punk, and metal in Guitar Hero 2’s soundtrack. Some of the tracks are even performed by the original artists, while most of the tracks are covers.

Difficulty: Easy-Hard
Guitar Hero 2’s easy mode is very forgiving, and allows newcomers to enjoy the game at a very comfortable pace. Each difficulty level ramps up nice and evenly, allowing players to progress at the speed they can handle. Once you hit the last few tiers of expert though, things get crazy.

Concept: 9.0 
Here’s another sequel that went above and beyond to improve the next in line more than needed. Not only did we get a great soundtrack and improved difficulty, but an all new multiplayer mode, unlockable rewards for playing well, and a huge design facelift.

Multiplayer: 9.7
Guitar Hero 2’s Co-op is the perfect mode for this game. Now you can jam with a friend, and actually work together to create the song. Not only that, but you aren’t forced to play the same difficulty level, so you can play with anybody.

Overall: 9.6
Guitar Hero 2 is likely to make a bigger splash than the first, because with this new multiplayer mode and advanced difficulty people won’t be able to keep their hands off. The only people I have yet to run into that dislike this game are the ones that haven’t played a Guitar Hero yet. This is truly a game anyone can enjoy, gamer or not.