Although it may not be as innovative or revolutionary as Guitar Hero I, as is the case with most sequels, Guitar Hero II is one of those rare occasions where the sequel is just as good as the first game, if not better. There are more songs, more playing modes, and more of pretty much everything else!
With a huge set list of songs, filled with rock classics and new gems (similar to the song selections of the first game) there is something for everybody. There are even rare songs that many people have probably never heard before such as the Thin Lizzy Classic "Bad Reputation" and also surprising tracks such as The Police's "Message in a Bottle" and Cheap Trick's "Surrender."
But, the most surprising (and most enjoyable) track on the game is The Rolling Stones' underrated classic of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" where the two players (Rhythm and Lead guitars) get to weave in between each other just like Keith Richards (Rhythm) and Ronnie Wood (Lead) of the Stones. Although it admittedly did bother me that they cut out a chunk of the sweet instrumental portion of the song and changed the lyrics from "y'all got Cocaine Eyes" to "y'all got Smoky Eyes."
Although the vocals vary greatly, for the worse, from the original version of the song, the game's finale, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" was still great to see on the list and proves to be very challenging on the last "dueling guitars" section of the rock classic. Also this song is one of the few to have the newly featured three-button chords.
Now a little about the new features... In this game you can play against someone as you can in the first game, but each player can pick their own difficulty level, unlike the first game where an experienced player and a novice player have to play each other at the same level. Also, unlike GH I, two players can play versus mode by playing the same exact song all of the way through, not just in sections where some players end up with harder parts than others.
But, the coolest new playing option is the Cooperative Mode where one player can play bass and the other can play guitar, or one player can play lead guitar and the other can play rhythm (options vary from song to song). In this mode, you have a mutual score, so if one person messes up, the other has to hold them up so that "the band" doesn't get booed off the stage. You also share star power and have to lift the neck of the guitars in sync to activate it. This mode takes away the competitive edge of multiplayer mode and is made purely for fun.
In short, the developers at Red Octane have done it again.
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