Guitar Hero II
More features, more songs, more players... so why isn't there more rocking?
Published: November 30, 2006
They call it the Sophomore Slump. Bands that release an absolutely awesome first album, under pressure from the label, from their fans, and from the desire to just duplicate the success of their first outing, try to bottle lightning twice and ultimately fail. Often the fundamentals are improved over the first effort, but the stress of just trying to meet all that demand ultimately dooms the sequel. Fitting, then, that a game about playing music would have the same issues.
It pains me to write this -- hell, it pains me to even think this, but Guitar Hero II is not the hard-rocking killer app that I'd hoped it would be. Oh, it's good -- better than just about any music game that's come before it (not counting Harmonix's previous efforts, of course), but the key thing about the game, the music, is lacking a little when compared to the first Guitar Hero.
It all comes down to music. The track list of Guitar Hero was so damned good that it's hard to think of a better one. Actually, no, that's not true. Plenty of folks have offered up dream lists of what they wanted in the second GH, but there's a little think called licensing that sort of gets in the way -- even though the music in the game is covers of the original tunes. Whether because of time constraints or because of the sheer amount of money that would have been required to duplicate some of those lists, the track list of GHII just doesn't hold up on repeat plays.
It's a shame, too, because it's obvious that Harmonix was going for games that were fun to play more than trying to fulfill all those nerd rock fantasies. The technical level of the songs in GHII are indeed improved over the first game. You'll work more of the neck, you'll bust off three, button chords, you'll play songs on Hard and Expert difficulties that feel even more like you're actually playing those songs due to the fact that there are more hammer-ons and pull-offs with a wider window for both that makes playing them more fun.
And yet... there's still the issue of feeling like some of the songs are almost like the b-sides to some of the bands that they got. "Smells Like Teen Spirit," while a quintessential crank-it and rock-out song, isn't terribly complex, and I think that exemplifies the issue with the game. "Heart-Shaped Box" is certainly a more complex song, but the rock factor isn't really there (even though the cover is surprisingly good given that seemingly nobody can replicate Curt Kobain's gravelly screams). It's not just that; a lot of the songs lack some of the metal energy from the first game, and others just aren't all that fun to play.
There is one saving grace, however: you can now play with a friend. Yes, you could do it in the first game, but you were just sort of strumming along to the same parts. With GHII, it's clear that there was attention paid to picking songs that were fun to play on multiple levels. It's not universal; even on Expert difficulty, some bass parts are just too easy to satisfy lick-hungry GH vets, but I would say the majority of songs offer enough finger fodder for both players, and that's key to nudging up the party game aspect of the sequel.
And to give Harmonix credit, they did try to really add to the experience, not just in terms of two players, but in helping newcomers get into things -- not to mention helping vets really stick those harder parts. I'm speaking of course about the Practice Mode, which is handled fantastically. Each song is now broken down into individual verses, choruses and bridges, allowing you to drill down to a single part of the song and concentrate on that. Variable speeds let you start out at a snails pace and slowly ratchet things up so you can build muscle memory. It's a wonderful (and much-needed) addition to the game -- particularly given that some of the Expert difficulty songs are truly representative of the word (it taking me as long as it did to get through the single-player game and kick up this review is a solid testament to that fact).
It pains me to write this -- hell, it pains me to even think this, but Guitar Hero II is not the hard-rocking killer app that I'd hoped it would be. Oh, it's good -- better than just about any music game that's come before it (not counting Harmonix's previous efforts, of course), but the key thing about the game, the music, is lacking a little when compared to the first Guitar Hero.
It all comes down to music. The track list of Guitar Hero was so damned good that it's hard to think of a better one. Actually, no, that's not true. Plenty of folks have offered up dream lists of what they wanted in the second GH, but there's a little think called licensing that sort of gets in the way -- even though the music in the game is covers of the original tunes. Whether because of time constraints or because of the sheer amount of money that would have been required to duplicate some of those lists, the track list of GHII just doesn't hold up on repeat plays.
It's a shame, too, because it's obvious that Harmonix was going for games that were fun to play more than trying to fulfill all those nerd rock fantasies. The technical level of the songs in GHII are indeed improved over the first game. You'll work more of the neck, you'll bust off three, button chords, you'll play songs on Hard and Expert difficulties that feel even more like you're actually playing those songs due to the fact that there are more hammer-ons and pull-offs with a wider window for both that makes playing them more fun.
And yet... there's still the issue of feeling like some of the songs are almost like the b-sides to some of the bands that they got. "Smells Like Teen Spirit," while a quintessential crank-it and rock-out song, isn't terribly complex, and I think that exemplifies the issue with the game. "Heart-Shaped Box" is certainly a more complex song, but the rock factor isn't really there (even though the cover is surprisingly good given that seemingly nobody can replicate Curt Kobain's gravelly screams). It's not just that; a lot of the songs lack some of the metal energy from the first game, and others just aren't all that fun to play.
There is one saving grace, however: you can now play with a friend. Yes, you could do it in the first game, but you were just sort of strumming along to the same parts. With GHII, it's clear that there was attention paid to picking songs that were fun to play on multiple levels. It's not universal; even on Expert difficulty, some bass parts are just too easy to satisfy lick-hungry GH vets, but I would say the majority of songs offer enough finger fodder for both players, and that's key to nudging up the party game aspect of the sequel.
And to give Harmonix credit, they did try to really add to the experience, not just in terms of two players, but in helping newcomers get into things -- not to mention helping vets really stick those harder parts. I'm speaking of course about the Practice Mode, which is handled fantastically. Each song is now broken down into individual verses, choruses and bridges, allowing you to drill down to a single part of the song and concentrate on that. Variable speeds let you start out at a snails pace and slowly ratchet things up so you can build muscle memory. It's a wonderful (and much-needed) addition to the game -- particularly given that some of the Expert difficulty songs are truly representative of the word (it taking me as long as it did to get through the single-player game and kick up this review is a solid testament to that fact).
