Guitar Hero II [With Guitar Controller] [PS2]

When we played Guitar Hero this time last year, we came up with a solid wishlist of features that would make the game just about perfect. A practice mode, better multiplayer, progressive scan, a wireless controller and of course, more songs. Guess what? All those things are in the sequel, though the wireless controller is sold separately. The result? Guitar Hero 2 is as close to perfect as a rhythm game has ever been.

The basics don't deviate much from the basic rhythm game setup: a pathway of 'notes' scrolls by on screen in time to re-recorded versions of popular rock songs. Using the bundled guitar controller (or -- not recommended -- a standard PS2 controller) you've got to strum and fret the notes, occasionally deplying 'star power' by turning the guitar upward like a true rock god.

Those who blew through the first game too fast will be encouraged to learn that there's a much better difficulty spread this year. The Easy mode truly is easy, but very quickly things get a lot harder. Well-practiced veterans will nail five star ratings until they hit expert, at which point you're playing basically every note of the song, inasmuch as the five-fret controller allows.

Not that the increased difficulty makes progress impossible. For one, hammer ons and pull-offs, a difficult technique to master in the original, are more forgiving this year. That makes solos and trilling melodies more playable, and much more satisfying. Harmonix has taken the polished technique as license to include a lot more HO/PO segments, making the note patterns closer to the real song than before.

In fact, while the original game featured a few tracks that seemed quite abstracted from the actual tune (cough - 'No One Knows' - cough!) this time you'll find that Harmonix has done a stellar job mapping the onscreen notes to what you hear.

Also contributing to the difficulty level is the average song length. While tracks that make up the first few tiers are generally a radio and novice-friendly three to four minutes long, as the game progresses the average length ramps up to six minutes or more. Think 'War Pigs' is difficult? Wait until the Lamb of God track is punishing you with solos, not to mention 'Hangar 18' or 'Free Bird'. Oh, lord, 'Free Bird'. It's the game's crowning jewel, the Boston Marathon of video game guitar solos. And it's beautiful.