Guitar Hero II

Thanks to Bill Harris over at Dubious Quality I was able to snag me a copy of Guitar Hero II for the 360 this past Saturday, a full four days before the game's release. First time I've ever been one of those lucky bastards that gets a game early and begins to post pictures on message boards and bragging about it. Of course, I was too busy playing the game to do such a thing myself.

For fans of this series, the 360 is a MUCH better looking version of the game you know and love. Seriously, I did not think the jump to 360 would make that big of a difference visually, since Guitar Hero does not really rely on graphics much, but wow. I urge anyone to play the 360 version for a few days and then go back to the PS2 version. I tried this and could not believe how utterly AWFUL the PS2 version looked in comparison.

The second big difference is the guitar controller. The new X-plorer 360 controller felt a bit odd to me at first, after playing with the SG on the PS2 for so long. My first day resulted in a lot of errors from me misjudging the fret button distances, etc. Now, after three days with it, the controller feels fantastic. Much better and "sturdier" than the SG one on the PS2.

The other new additions you'll immediately notice on the 360 are achievements and the online leader boards. The achievement list appears to be pretty well implemented. Some are going to be insanely tough, like getting 5 stars on all songs on Expert. Just thinking about Free Bird on Expert makes me think that achievement is going to be downright impossible for me.

The leader board is probably my favorite feature for the 360 version (aside from future downloadable songs that is). It is great to be able to check how you rank with other players. As of this writing, my best ranking was in Sweet Child of Mine, in which I was ranked 15th out of over 1000 gamers. I'm sure by the time I check again, I would have dropped down significantly. I only wish you would be able to view a replay of the top 10 or so players. PGR 3 lets you watch full lap replays of the best times. Even the Gran Turismo PS3 demo lets you view replays of the top lap times. I gotta think that allowing players to see a bunch of colored notes on a screen is easier to do than full race replays. I hope Red Octane adds this in the future.

I still have a lot more playing to go, since I just started a new Career on Hard. Expert is where the game really shines though, so I can't wait to tackle that and see how I rank. Here's to hoping we see Downloadable Guitar Hero 1 songs soon!!!

Now, if you have not yet done so, go out and buy this game now!