Guitar Hero 2 still rockin’

Ever since the first “Guitar Hero” was released in 2005, the game has spawned a successful sequel, “Guitar Hero 2,” on the Playstation 2 and the series recently made the jump to next generation console gaming platforms. Not long ago, “Guitar Hero 2” was released for the Xbox 360 but don’t be fooled – this isn’t the same game that was put out on the PS2. “GH2” for the 360 has a plethora of new features, updated graphics and a completely new controller that makes rocking out easier than ever.

First up, the most notably different aspect of the 360 version of “GH2” is it’s brand new, Gibson Explorer guitar controller. But a sleeker look isn’t the only upgrade the Explorer has on the old, PS2 Gibson SG guitar controller. The neck of the Explorer is different than that of the SG controller in a few ways – one being that the overall build of the neck is much smaller and easier to grasp. On top of that, the fret buttons on the neck are also shaped slightly differently and set closer together than on the SG, making nailing solos easier than ever. At first I found the redesigned neck to be a little too undersized but after only a few songs, I was rocking like I had been using the Explorer all along.

In addition to the changes made to the neck of the controller, a headphone jack as well as an accessory port has been added to the Explorer. It was also revealed that certain models of the Explorer controller had technical issues with the whammy bar but as of Saturday the 14^th, an update which fixes this problem has been released on Xbox Live free for anyone to download. As of Sunday the 15^th, however, it has come to my attention that the update which fixes the whammy bar problem has caused more than a few people’s 360s to frequently freeze after installing the update. I can only hope that my luck continues through this debacle and my Explorer and 360 continue to work without a hitch, even though I unknowingly bought a supposedly defective controller.

Thankfully, “GH2” sports some new tunes which should take your mind off controller troubles because what would a new “Guitar Hero” game be without new music, right? In the new 360 version of “GH2,” RedOctane added ten brand new songs to the various playlists throughout the game. These newest additions include well known 90s alt-rock hit “Possum Kingdom” by The Toadies, classic rock innovator Alice Cooper’s “Billion Dollar Babies,” and, my personal favorite, heavy metal classic “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden.

But perhaps the most exciting addition to the song list of “GH2” isn’t any one song in particular, but for the first time ever, “GH2” introduces the availability of downloadable songs via Xbox Live Marketplace. Originally, it was thought that songs would be released individually at a price around 80-100 Microsoft points. Unfortunately, the method in which these songs have been released so far is less than ideal.

Thus far, only a few songs have been released for download, all of which were songs from the original “GH.” These songs have only been made available in groups of three songs at a price of 500 Microsoft points, which is equivalent to $6.25 per three-pack. Though this price might not seem very high, one must consider that at this cost, buying every song from the original “GH” over Marketplace would cost nearly $100, which is an outrageous price to charge for songs that most fans of the series have already played. Hopefully, Microsoft will come to their senses and price future songs more reasonably.

“GH2” on the 360 also offers improved visuals as well as new in game features to keep any hard rocker satisfied. Every character, guitar and venue has been graphically overhauled for the 360 version and they all look spectacular. My only complaint about these slick new looks are that I never have time to admire them during shred sessions as all my attention is on nailing notes.

Also new in this version of “GH2” are online score leaderboards, which keep track of your current career score as well as the highest score you received on any single song for ultimate bragging rights about who among your friends is a true guitar hero. Online multiplayer would have also been a great addition to this game and it has been alluded to by RedOctane that online multiplayer will most likely be available sometime in the future in the form of a Marketplace download.

Fortunately for fans of the series, this is only the beginning for RedOctane and “Guitar Hero.” An expansion pack of songs for PS2 “GH2” owners, entitled “Guitar Hero 2: 80s Edition,” will be available in June 2007 as well as the recent announcement that “Guitar Hero 3” would be hitting stores sometime in late 2007 or early 2008 and would available on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.

As far as the 360 version of “GH2” is concerned, I would definitely recommend this game to any fan of the series - even if you already own the game on PS2.