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Guitar Hero II

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Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II box art
Developer(s)Harmonix Music Systems
Publisher(s)RedOctane
Designer(s)Harmonix Music Systems
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox 360
ReleaseUnited States November 7, 2006 (PS2)
Australia November 15, 2006 (PS2)
United Kingdom November 24, 2006 (PS2)
Europe November 30, 2006 (PS2)
United States 2007 (Xbox 360)
Genre(s)Music video game
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Guitar Hero II is a music video game and sequel to the original Guitar Hero, released for the Sony PlayStation 2[1] video game console and pending release for the Xbox 360.[2]

History

Guitar Hero II was released for the PlayStation 2 on November 7 2006 in North America, November 15 2006 in Australia [3], November 24 2006 in the United Kingdom [4], and is scheduled for release on November 30 2006 in Europe, while the Xbox 360 version is currently scheduled for release in 2007. Guitar Hero Gibson SG controllers are compatible with the PS2 version of Guitar Hero II; the Xbox 360 version will have its own exclusive Mini Gibson X-Plorer guitar. Pre-ordered copies of Guitar Hero II came with a classic red SG Guitar (different from cherry red), a Guitar Hero II shirt, and stickers.[5]

On October 5, 2006, in issue #110 of Official Playstation Magazine, a demo of Guitar Hero II was released to the public.[6] It features four playable songs on all four difficulty levels, in both single player and co-op modes. The demo does not feature the ability to flip the notes for left-handed players, however. The demo features the songs "Shout at the Devil", "You Really Got Me", "Strutter" and "YYZ".

RedOctane recently revealed they will be releasing a wireless guitar controller for the PS2 Guitar Hero titles. It will be available in a glossy white finish and go on sale November 17.[7][8] North American television commercials for Guitar Hero II started airing no later than November 14, 2006, and prominently feature both the classic red SG and white wireless SG controllers.

Gameplay

The game features 64 songs, 40 of which are licensed tracks, and while most of these are covered in-studio as in the previous Guitar Hero title, certain tracks such as Jane's Addiction's "Stop", Primus' "John The Fisherman" and all 24 bonus tracks are the original recordings. The gameplay is based on the successful formula created in the original Guitar Hero; the player must use the guitar peripheral to play scrolling notes by holding the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and pressing the strum bar simultaneously.

Several changes have been made to the gameplay mechanics of Guitar Hero II:

File:Gh2-screenshot.jpg
A screenshot of the Co-op mode from the PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II.
  • Three-button chords, requiring three fret buttons to be held down for the note to successfully be played.
  • Pull-offs no longer require the lower note to be held down, and the window for strumming hammer-ons and pull-offs has been increased, making both techniques easier to utilize. Although these techniques have become easier, the overall difficulty seems to have been increased to compensate and more rapid-fire note sequences are seen in this iteration.
  • The fretboard will now shake when the player breaks a note streak, the severity of which depends on the length of the streak. In multiplayer modes, the fretboard will shake only on the player's side who broke the streak.
  • Lefty flip is now an available option that can be toggled from the pause menu while playing a song. The player no longer needs to quit to the main menu to change this option every time.
  • After the song is completed, the player can view a More Stats screen, detailing the percentage of notes played for each section of the song, the average multiplier the player had throughout the song, the number of star power phrases completed as well as the total number of notes played.
  • High scores achieved during "Career Mode" are now included on the high score lists viewed in "Quick Play" mode (rather than keeping two separate high score lists, as in the previous game).

Career

In career mode, a player creates a band name and selects one guitarist from the available characters. Only the lead guitar is available to be played in this mode. Over the course of the career mode, the band plays at the eight different venues available in the game. After completing the required number of songs (three or four depending on the difficulty), the fans in the crowd will chant for an encore (except on Easy); passing the encore song will unlock the next tier of songs.

As the player completes the songs, the band will earn money towards their purchases at The Store, which include bonus songs, new guitars with new finishes, three unlockable characters, unlockable alternate outfits and behind the scenes videos. Eight guitars are unlocked for purchase in The Store by completing each difficulty and then receiving a review of five stars in each of the forty main songs. Purchases in The Store carry over to each difficulty in career mode and every game mode.

Multiplayer

There are three different multiplayer modes available in the game:

  • Cooperative mode: Depending on the song, one player can play the lead guitar while the other can play bass or rhythm guitar. In co-op mode, both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter and streak multiplier. Co-op mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. In order to activate star power, both players must tilt the guitar or press the select button in unison. There are 5 bass guitars unlockable in cooperative mode.
  • Faceoff mode: This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, but both players can individually select their difficulty to play on. The scores are weighted, so therefore, a player who hits more notes on the Easy difficulty than the player's opponent on Expert will win the round.
  • Pro-Faceoff mode: In this mode, both players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. This mode is only available after beating the game on any difficulty (except easy).

Practice mode

Another new addition to the game is practice mode. This feature allows the player to practice certain sections of a song ("Verse 1," "Chorus," "Bridge 1," etc.) on different difficulties and instruments, and also affords the player the ability to toggle the speed of the notes (Full Speed, Slow, Slower and Slowest). After completing the section, a screen will show the number of notes hit. Although the player can view their multiplier streak in practice mode, they are not able to see star power phrases, the rock meter, or their score.

Soundtrack

File:Guitarhero2-xplorer.jpg
The Xbox 360-exclusive Mini Gibson X-Plorer r controller.

Guitar Hero II features 64 playable songs. The majority of the songs are cover versions, with the exception of "Stop!", "John the Fisherman", and all of the bonus songs. The remainder of the soundtrack is credited on screen with the phrase "as made famous by" (e.g. "Surrender, as made famous by Cheap Trick").

The following is the complete list of songs as confirmed in the final build of Guitar Hero II:[9][10]

† - denotes rhythm guitar as alternate instrument for song in co-op mode (all other songs feature bass)

Main setlist

1. Opening Licks

2. Amp-Warmers

3. String-Snappers

4. Thrash and Burn

5. Return of the Shred

6. Relentless Riffs

7. Furious Fretwork

8. Face-Melters

Bonus tracks

Venues

The venue system in the game has been altered slightly. Every venue will be represented in a different city, as the career mode will have the band traveling from town to town in order to find the next arena.

The venues are:

The venues now have lighting that moves in sync with the music, and the band themselves plays with Orange amps and DW drum kits, along with more in-game endorsements. When the player passes each set, their band is rewarded with money and equipment endorsements, including Boss effects, Line6 Guitar Amplifiers and Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. These products then appear on stage while the band plays the ensuing setlists. [12]

Characters

According to the official Guitar Hero II website, these are the descriptions of the 8 returning and 3 new "Guitar Heroes" of the game.[13] 8 characters are available from the start of the game. Each of them has a new look, a new outfit, and in addition, a second new outfit that may be unlocked.

  • Axel Steel - Famous for his driving riffs and up-front attitude, Axel Steel first picked up a guitar in an attempt to quell his boredom during his first suspension from elementary school. The rest is history. Metal history.
  • Lars Ümlaüt - Lock the doors and board the windows, Lars Ümlaüt is soon to storm a town near you. An intimidating presence, the Norwegian-born Ümlaüt describes himself as a force for you to be doing the reckoning with!
  • Izzy Sparks - A real crowd pleaser, Izzy thrills audiences with his energetic on stage showmanship while delighting the media with his offstage debauchery. Despised by managers everywhere, Izzy's fan base is even bigger than his hair.
  • Judy Nails - A fan of distorted feedback and roller derby, Judy Nails has been a pioneer of alternative rock since her first tour at age 17. Known for her diverse collection of vinyls, Nails always brings a smile, and a lot of pedals.
  • Eddie Knox - When he's not cruisin' in his '55 Chevy, Knox brings his hard-working rock to any stage he sets foot on. A real road dog, Knox claims that as long as he's got his hollow body and his pomade, he ain't too far from home.
  • Johnny Napalm - He embodies the true spirit of punk rock with his signature swagger and skills. Released from lockup for almost tolerable behaviour, Johnny lurches back into the spotlight, rough and ready for action.
  • Pandora - Pandora's youth is shrouded in mystery. Some say she was born in a dimension of pure darkness. Others say she was raised in a duplex near Boise. With her blazing solos and chaotic melodies, Pandora is the true Dark Princess of Rock.
  • Casey Lynch - A veteran of the tour circuit, Lynch's dirty, bass-driven sound and ultra-heavy riffs have influenced budding shredders from Maine to Alaska. She's tough, she's brash, and she'll break your heart faster than an E string.

In addition, there are 3 unlockable characters.

  • Clive Winston - Having abandoned his fascination with the sitar, an interest developed during a 3-year, court-ordered "meditation retreat", Winston sashays boldly back to the forefront of classic rock with his guitar wizardry and iconic status.
  • Xavier Stone - Raised in suburban Connecticut, Xavier Stone broke from his pampered upbringing after realizing he preferred rock clubs to country clubs. Weaving slick '70s style with chunky grooves, Xavier does it right every time.
  • Grim Ripper - This rock star is bad to the bone. Grim's riffs are so huge, fans are lucky just to leave the show with their souls intact. At his latest killer performance, an awe-struck fan gushed, the curtains flew, then he appeared!

Reception

Guitar Hero II was welcomed with very positive reviews. It received a 10 out of 10 in the December issue of Official PlayStation Magazine and was rewarded with the Game of the Month award. It was given a 9.5 from IGN [14], ranking higher than the original game in the series and amongst IGN's highest rated PS2 games ever. Both GamePro [15] and 1UP.com [16] gave the game scores of 90%. GameSpot[17] gave the game a score of 8.7, slightly lower than its predecessor. According to Game Rankings[18], the average score of the game is 94%.

Future games

Activision, which agreed to acquire RedOctane in May 2006, has announced that a 3rd installment of the Guitar Hero series is set to launch sometime next year, most likely during the 4th quarter of 2007 or the 1st quarter of 2008.[19] Activision has also confirmed that the Guitar Hero franchise will be making appearances on other gaming consoles by next year. The only new version confirmed so far is one for the Xbox 360.[2] It has yet to be revealed if any other system(s) will receive Guitar Hero II or its sequels, as each version would require its own special controller. [20] The multiplatform version(s) will not be released until 2007. [21]

Awards

At E3 2006, the game won the following Game Critics Awards: Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game.[22]

Trivia

  • The loading screen message, "Remember: No Stairway," refers to Wayne's World, when Wayne attempts to play "Stairway to Heaven" at a store and the clerk stops him, pointing to the 'no stairway' sign.
  • Some of the loading screens prior to a song are jokes and references specific to that song; for example, before "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" tells the player to never jam when the audience wants an encore (a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap), while prior to "Jordan", the player is told that wearing a bucket on one's head won't improve one's performance, a direct reference to the song's artist, Buckethead.
  • The drummer spontaneously combusting at the end of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" is a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap.
  • In the Rat Cellar, the beer bottles being thrown at the fence are a reference to The Blues Brothers.
  • The scrolling text on the walls of the school venue contains various lyrics to Alice Cooper's "School's Out".
  • The chalkboard in the loading screen has a drawing of a cherry next to the Greek letter pi, a reference to the featured song by Warrant.
  • The game's first venue, Nilbog High School, is a reference to the film Troll 2, as Nilbog is Goblin backwards.
  • Prior to playing "Free Bird", the loading screen may say, "Okay, so they aren't heckling you", a reference to a loading screen in the original Guitar Hero that read, "They don't really want you to play "Freebird", they're just heckling you."
  • As a tribute to the game for using their song in the game, the Metalocalypse episode, "Dethkids", featured a dying young girl in a wheelchair playing a Guitar Hero 2 controller. She was using this for her video to submit to Toki Wartooth, one of the Dethklok band members, whom she wanted to meet before she died.
  • The loading screen "Throw your undies on the stage, no wait your underage." displayed whenever playing "Less Talk More Rokk" by Freezepop, is a reference to the song "Super Sprøde", which is a bonus song by Freezepop in the Harmonix PS2 rhythm game Amplitude. The quote is part of the song's lyrics.

References

  1. ^ IGN: Guitar Hero II Interview
  2. ^ a b "X06: Guitar Hero 2 Announced for 360". IGN.
  3. ^ PALGN Updated Australian release list, 13/11/06
  4. ^ Spong confirm release UK date
  5. ^ "Guitar Hero II Single Player Bundle (Game+Guitar)".
  6. ^ "Playstation.com - OPM - Issue 110".
  7. ^ "RedOctane Unveils Guitar Hero Wireless Guitar Controller".
  8. ^ "Guitar Hero cuts the cords".
  9. ^ "IGN: Guitar Hero II Final Tracklist Revealed".
  10. ^ "Guitar Hero II IGN Set List".
  11. ^ a b "BestBuy.com".
  12. ^ "A Day Spent in the Presence of the Mighty Guitar Hero 2".
  13. ^ "Guitar Hero II character descriptions".
  14. ^ http://ps2.ign.com/articles/743/743905p1.html
  15. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/guitarhero2
  16. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3154996
  17. ^ "Guitar Hero II for Playstation 2".
  18. ^ "Guitar Hero II Reviews". Game Rankings.
  19. ^ "New Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and 007 coming in 2007-8 69". Gamespot.
  20. ^ "IGN: Guitar Hero to Rock All Consoles".
  21. ^ "Gamespot: Guitar Hero going multiplatform".
  22. ^ "2006 Winners". gamecriticsawards.com.
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