GUITAR HERO 2

Red Octane, PS2, $49.99

Last year’s Guitar Hero was probably the single most talked about title among gamers and non-nerds alike, quickly becoming the ultimate party-hearty game. It’s just way too irresistible (especially if you are wasted) to pass up clicking away at Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell” on a toy guitar while a virtual crowd bounces, or boos, to your performance. But honestly, the amount of songs available, while serviceable at the time, was really just enough to whet our appetites for destruction. As soon as we mastered the Face Melters the question quickly became ”what’s next?!”  There was really no doubt that there would be a sequel - that was a given.  But what we were really chomping at the bit for was a bevy of new tunes with which to grind our plastic axes. And after a year of waiting, Guitar Hero 2 has finally answered our call to rock with a bigger, better array of over fifty songs by artists including Guns N’ Roses, Rush, Motley Crüe, Nirvana, Danzig and most logically, Spïnal Tap. There are some extra modes this time around including the ability for two players to swap lead, rhythm or bass guitar duties along with fresh settings and new characters such as death metaller Lars Umlaut or rockabilly dude Eddie Knox. Does it all hold up to the first? Absolutely and then some. But new songs and co-op mode aside, if you’ve played the first GH you know what to expect and there honestly isn’t too much new about Guitar Hero 2. But does there need to be? Ryan Rayhill 

www.redoctane.com

Love: Shredding to YYZ

Hate: Waiting for the 360 version’s downloadable tracks

Score: 8.75/10