In terms of storyline this game could be said to have some of the barest story modes around, there is really no plot line. From what I could gather you are an up and coming guitar player who has a band that starts off at a high school “battle of the bands” and moves all the way up to a huge sold out amphitheater. There is no contract signing or building up funds to get new band mates, although you can earn money to spend on things like new guitars, paint jobs, songs, and playable characters. The lack of storyline does not impact the game much but I am looking forward to a meatier career mode from Guitar Hero 3, it is just something that I think will add some re-playability and juiciness to an already amazing title. Like I said before the career mode that is in GH2 is fun but besides beating 4/5 songs, moving on to the next venue, and playing some down right awesome encores; there is nothing else too it. Once you beat easy mode move on to medium, then to hard; that’s all there is to career mode. You can earn achievement points and other unlockables by beating all the songs on any given mode with 5 stars but that is just for your own bragging rights.
Speaking of achievements, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 has some doozys; these 1000 available points make purchasing this version over the PS2 version by itself (not to mention the HD graphics, new guitar, and future song list) a no brainer. Having put in a weeks worth of playtime I have still only hit around 500 of the achievement points, some examples are beating easy mode, getting 5 stars on all songs in easy mode; and then there are some multiplayer only achievements such as hitting a 200 note streak or breaking 100,000 points on co-op mode. Once you have completed single-player mode it is time to break out GH2 with a buddy, you can do this with either two guitars or having one person use a standard 360 controller for jam sessions. Personally I would never make myself, or a friend, play a game like GH2 without the guitar but if you want to try out the multiplayer modes it is a nice option. Basically there are two separate multiplayer modes; one being co-op and the other being head-to-head competition. The first mode (co-op) is my favorite because it feels nothing like the single player career mode.
One of you will be the lead guitar and the other will play either the bass or rhythm guitar depending on the song of choice. You never play the same notes nor the same sounding chords which is awesome because if one of you messes up the song does not sound right, thus putting a lot of pressure on both you and your friend to play successfully. The other mode, head-to-head is way too much like single player and really all it is, is career mode with 2 guitars. You and your competition will play the same notes on one screen and the guitar hero with the highest score at the end of a song wins. Personally I am in love with co-op mode and so have been willing all my friends to come over and jam out, working together to complete some of the more difficult tunes. Other than these two modes that must be played locally there is nothing you can do over Xbox Live other than compare scores via the in game menu. Although this is a nice addition to an already packed game it would have been fantastic to have the ability to co-op or compete over the Xbox Live service. I guess this gives us something to look forward to in Guitar Hero III.
The song list includes some really awesome tracks by some of the most popular bands out there but also includes a good number of tunes that you probably have never heard of. The one thing they all have in common is awesome guitar playing, thus the reason for their inclusion in Guitar Hero II. Some of the better ones are by bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Van Halen, and my favorite song on the game, Rage Against the Machine. Playing the notes in GH2 is not like lip-synching; you are actually playing the guitar music alongside your band’s other instruments and attached singing. If you miss some notes the song does not go on, the singing will continue, but there is no guitar and it sounds horrible.
