Preview: Guitar Hero II (PS2)

Guitar Hero is one of Gamestyle's most cherished games of recent times - our aching mangled fingers can testify that much - but we want more. More songs, more chords, more rocking out in multiplayer duels... Guitar Hero II is coming, and it's right at the top of our shopping list.

Harmonix know what the fans want, and they're busily addressing some of the issues with the first game. For starters, a practice mode has been announced that should alleviate the sort of difficulty spike that occurred when you suddenly hit a complex solo that you couldn't seem to beat. The practice mode will be available with any song that you've unlocked in the career mode, and will be broken up into sections such as intro, chorus, solo, and so on. You will be able to choose any of these sections to practice over and over again without having to play the whole song. Further, you will be able to adjust the speed to slow even the most convoluted solo down to a snail's pace, incrementally speeding it up once you can handle it, until you can beat it at full speed. It's the most perfect solution Gamestyle can think of, and what with the announcement of three-button chords this time, something we may be making extensive use of!

Single-player aside, what's in store for the multiplayer side of things? Well, rather than simply duelling against an opponent, you will be able to work together on the same song in a co-operative mode that sees one player tackling the lead, the other handling the bass, for example. Yes, it seems each song will be split into more than just one guitar track. Quite how it will differ from song to song is unclear, but it's a design choice leaning towards Harmonix's previous games, Frequency and Amplitude, which also featured songs broken down into their different instrumental components. It's very exciting, at any rate.

Most of the track-list remains under wraps, but we do know of the following nine songs so far announced out of the 50 or so in total (at least 40 of which are well-known, fully licensed tracks):

Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night?
KISS - Strutter
Rush - YYZ
Reverend Horton Heat - Psychobilly Freakout
Van Halen - You Really Got Me
Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Anthrax - Madhouse
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil

Certainly, there's a lot more to be revealed and a lot to look forward to. Guitar Hero II is scheduled for release in November in the US; a European release date is as of yet unannounced.

Words by Daniel James