Guitar Hero II is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to 2005's Guitar Hero. It was first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006, and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007, with additional content not originally in the PlayStation 2 version.

Like in the original Guitar Hero, the player uses a peripheral in the shape of a solid-body electric guitar to simulate playing rock music as notes scroll towards the player. Most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact, and provides new modes and note combinations. The game features more than 40 popular licensed songs, many of them cover versions recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s). The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II can be purchased individually or in a bundle that packages the game with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. The Xbox 360 version of the game is offered in a bundle that packages the game with a white Gibson Explorer guitar controller.

Since its release, Guitar Hero II has been met with both critical and commercial success, helping the Guitar Hero series become a cultural phenomenon.[1] As of December 1, 2007, the game has sold 3.1 million copies. It has spawned the "expansion" title Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2. A sequel, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, was released in 2007.[2]

Gameplay is based on the successful formula created for the first Guitar Hero game; the player may use the guitar peripheral to play scrolling notes by holding the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and simultaneously pressing the strum bar. Alternatively, one can play with the DualShock 2 or Xbox 360 controller by using four shoulder buttons and a face button, mapped to specific fret keys.[19][20]

Several changes have been made to the gameplay mechanics for Guitar Hero II: hammer-on and pull-off functionality has been improved, and three note chords have been introduced, scored as triple points if played correctly. There are additional statistics available for a song upon completion, and the scores achieved in either Quick Play or Career mode are saved to the same in-game high-score list.[21] The handedness of the guitar can now be toggled from the Pause menu when playing a song (previously, this was only available from the game's main menu). For the Xbox 360 version, scores can also be compared with other players through Xbox Live via the Leaderboard feature, and there are 50 Achievements that can be earned in the game.[22][23]

Career mode

Xbox 360 version of the game displaying the scoring meter (left), the guitar fretboard (middle), and the Rock and Star Power Meters (right).

In Career mode, players create a band name and select a guitarist from among the available characters. Eight characters, each representing a unique genre of rock music - are available from the start of the game: Eddie Knox (rockabilly), Axel Steel (heavy metal), Casey Lynch (hard rock), Lars Ümlaüt (extreme metal), Izzy Sparks (glam), Judy Nails (alternative), Johnny Napalm (punk), and Pandora (gothic). Additional characters can also be purchased, allowing them to be used in later sessions.[24]

Only the lead guitar is available to be played in the Career mode. Over the course of the Career mode the band plays at eight available venues. The venue system from the original game has been altered slightly and has the band traveling geographically from town to town in order to play at the next arena. The venues are Nilbog High School, The Rat Cellar Pub, The Blackout Bar, The RedOctane Club, the Rock City Theater, the Vans Warped Tour, Harmonix Arena and Stonehenge.[25] The venues feature lighting and pyrotechnics that are synchronized with the music.[26]

Not all songs in the main setlist are available from the start. Once a song is unlocked for play within Career Mode, it becomes available for play in all other modes. When working through Career Mode at a specific difficulty level, the next tier of songs is unlocked once the required number of songs on the current tier (3-5, depending on difficulty and console) are completed. Additionally, the encore song for a particular tier is only made available once its requirements are completed. On the Easy difficulty setting, there are no encores available, but the next tier will be unlocked immediately after completing the required songs in the previous tier.[21]

Successful completion of a song on Medium or higher difficulty during Career mode will earn the player in-game cash. Higher difficulty levels and better scoring performances are rewarded with more cash. In-game money can be used at The Store to buy various items. Some items are available only after completing all songs at higher difficulty levels or 5-star performances.[27] Within The Store, the player can purchase new Gibson guitars, guitar finishes, three additional characters, alternate outfits for the eight characters available from the start, bonus songs, and videos.[28] For unknown reasons, the bonus videos are absent from the PAL version of the game. Within the Xbox 360 version, there is also an option to access the Guitar Hero II content on the Xbox Live Marketplace.[22]

Multiplayer

In cooperative multiplayer, the two players share their score, Rock Meter, and Star Power. Screenshot from the PlayStation 2 version.

There are three different multiplayer modes available:[22][29]

Cooperative

One player plays lead guitar while another plays either bass guitar or rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter, and streak multiplier. Cooperative mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. Star power can only be activated by both players simultaneously.

Face-Off

This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, though in Guitar Hero II both players can select their own level of difficulty. In this mode, players alternate between playing sections of the selected song. The scores are weighted so that a player who hits fewer notes on Easy difficulty may not necessarily lose against an opponent on Expert difficulty who hits more notes.

Pro Face-Off

Players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. For the PlayStation 2 mode, this is available upon completion of any career level,[30] while for the Xbox 360 version, the mode is unlocked after completing the career mode at Easy level or higher.[31] The score system is identical as the song could be played alone, but songs cannot be failed in this mode.

Although, online multiplayer was not available at the release of Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, RedOctane has stated that they hope to be able provide this later once they are able to work out the technical issues.[32]

Practice mode

Practice mode is a new addition to the game, allowing a player to practice certain sections of a song ("Verse 2," "Chorus," "Bridge 3," "Gtr Solo 4," etc.) on different difficulties and instruments.[33] Practice mode gives the player the ability to toggle the speed of the notes (Full Speed, Slow, Slower and Slowest) and does not stop a song no matter how many mistakes are made. Players can play the bass guitar lines on most songs. On others, a rhythm guitar line is available instead.[31]