I am a Guitar Hero...so much for my Rock Band!

My first experience with the newest gaming genre, music games, came in the form of Rock Band. Working backwards, I've since acquired Guitar Hero II which is nearly without peer in the gaming world. The only thing like Guitar Hero II that I've seen is Rock Band and the other members of the Guitar Hero series (Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero III, and Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's).

What makes guitar hero different? To play it you disconnect your standard Playstation controller and replace it with a controller shaped like a guitar. To play you'll "strum" a simulated string by working a bar up and down while pressing buttons that are meant to emulate the frets. The object of the game is to play a collection of songs perfectly while earning cash to upgrade your character.

This PS2 guitar isn't as large as a real guitar but it is close. You can either buy Guitar Hero II with a guitar or without. I chose the without version and then purchased a React Legacy guitar from eBay which has turned out to be a good purchase...it even came with foot pedals that work in the game!

The songs
That's a huge topic, isn't it? Given that there are 64 total tracks on the game it'd be a daunting task to list them all! I'll start by saying that 40 of the songs are stuff you've heard of if you listen to rock or metal music. The other 24 are original compositions assembled for the Guitar Hero game and those seem to me to be the most challenging!

I should point out that the 40 songs by popular artists aren't performed by the original bands on the game. The sound is very close but you can tell a difference in the vocals on most tracks. A minor thing, but it's still noticeable to a purist.

I've got 10 songs that are easily my favorites on the game and they give you a good flavor of what you can expect. These are:
Mother - Danzig
Freebird - Lynyrd Skynryd
War Pigs - Black Sabbath
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
Rock This Town - Stray Cats
Hangar 18 - Megadeth
John the Fisherman - Primus
Cherry Pie - Warrant
Heart-Shaped Box - Nirvana
Shout at the Devil - Motley Crue

You can find the full track list on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Guitar_Hero_II

Taken as a whole, the songs on the album aren't overly sinister or objectionable for most listeners. This isn't nearly as heavy a listen as Guitar Hero III for instance, and I think nearly all parents will accept this one. That said, there are some bands and songs here that don't go well with every belief system and parents should listen along with their kids a few times to get a feel for what's being performed.

Does it look like a star?
Because this game was meant for PS2 it really capitalizes on everything the system has to give. Clearly you won't be getting photo realistic graphics but you won't miss them. You see, while playing the game most users will find their concentration focused on the streams of notes flowing by that they need to hit. You can choose to be any one of around 10 guitarists but you'll forget who you chose and which guitar they are using (you can change that as well) because you just don't look at them much.

Even though the graphics aren't a focal point Harmonix, the game's maker, didn't short change us. Guitars look like their real world counterparts and the finishes available are nice touches to get the axe you are really hoping to play. Each character available looks like a real world stereotype of someone from the rock scene with the exception of the Grim Ripper...you can guess who he looks like!

Fun factor
I rate this a very fun game, 8 out of 10. If you buy a second guitar there is also a two player mode (but no online that I'm aware of) which pushes the fun factor to a 9. The only thing that could have made it better for me would've been if I'd picked the songs out myself!

Actually, there is one thing that could've made this game better for me. You see, my Rock Band guitar won't work with Guitar Hero. That means I have to have two guitars in my living room and that's a large number for a guy who only plays guitar on video games! You have to be sure you pick up the right axe for the game and that can be frustrating if you aren't familiar with which is which.

A plus to this game's fun is that it's more challenging that it's cousin Rock Band. After working through these challenges that game becomes one you can play to simply show off your new skills by blowing away the tracks!

Overall
Because of varying difficulty levels and unlockables that can be purchased with cash won from good performances this game is replayable for a good while. Set the difficulty up and work through the songs for a maximum enjoyment. Picking up a copy of this game and a guitar will provide you hours of fun.