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At long last, Guitar Hero is coming to the Xbox 360. Sure, it’s been out on the PlayStation 2 for a while now, but good things really do come to those who wait. (If you're not familiar with the Guitar Hero formula, check out our previous coverage.) The 360 version sports spiffy new visuals, 10 new tracks, downloadable content and, most noticeably, a new controller based on the classic Gibson X-Plorer guitar.
Ah yes, those 10 new songs. In keeping with the rest of the track list, the majority of the new songs are covers, or songs “as made famous by” in Guitar Hero speak. Eight of the new songs appear during career mode, and the remaining two are unlockables, which can be purchased from the in-game store with “money” earned through performances. The songs cover a variety of musical terrain, from sloppy punk thrashers to melodic power metal. Most importantly, they’re all a blast to play. Seriously.
Here are the exclusive tracks for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II (* denotes a song performed by the original band):
Possum Kingdom—Toadies*
Salvation—Rancid
Life Wasted—Pearl Jam
Billion Dollar Babies—Alice Cooper
Hush—Deep Purple
Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo—Rick Derringer
Dead!—My Chemical Romance*
The Trooper—Iron Maiden
Bonus unlockable songs
Drink Up—Ounce of Self
Kicked to the Curb—Noble Rot
There was one downloadable title available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Rotgort, though it was likely just a placeholder. Rotgort (“Trogdor” backward) played and sounded exactly like the unlockable Strong Bad ditty. RedOctane says downloadable content is planned for launch, and more songs should be available throughout the game’s lifespan.
As expected there are 50 unlockable achievements, which are earned through a variety of methods. Here are a few of my favorites:
Eddie Van Halen Award—Get a 500 note streak
Life of the Party—Bought all characters
Record Collector—Bought all songs
Big Spender—Spent $10,000 at store
Perfectionist—Get 100% on a song
200k Club—Get 200,000 points in a song
Rock Snob Award—Refused to play an encore
Scoremonger—Got an 8x multiplier
There are also achievements for completing the various difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard and expert) and for playing through the game’s two-player modes. The game doesn’t support online multiplayer, though it does feature an online leaderboard. Players can connect to Xbox Live and see how their shredding stacks up against the rest of the world. Scores are sorted by individual songs and career modes. All difficulties are lumped together, meaning people who play on easy won’t have much of a chance against experts.
The 360’s guitar controller is based upon the classic Gibson X-Plorer. The distance from the strum bar to the fret buttons is a bit closer (about 5/8”, for you obsessive-compulsive types), though it doesn’t have any real effect on gameplay. The fret buttons are changed slightly yet again, this time in rectangular form. In previous incarnations, they were rounded at one end. The buttons are as firm and responsive as ever. The strap is a bit longer, too, giving players the ability to sling it a few inches lower than before. The strap also connects to the center of the back of the controller’s neck, which is more friendly to left-handed guitar players than previous Guitar Hero controllers.
Despite rampant speculation, the controller is wired. The cord is a foot longer than before, including a standard Xbox breakaway section, giving players even more room for rocking. The guitar’s face also hosts a variety of new controls. Where the first controller only had Select and Start buttons, the X-Plorer has Back and Start buttons, as well as a 360 Guide button and a fully functioning D-pad. There’s also a port for the Xbox’s wireless headset and another mysterious jack. While RedOctane wouldn’t elaborate on that port’s function other than saying it will be “gnarly,” it’s the same port that’s used to connect the pedals to the base station on Microsoft’s steering wheel. Let’s just call that a coincidence for now… RedOctane says they designed the new controller from scratch with support for as-of-yet undisclosed new features in mind.
If you have an Xbox 360 and have been holding out for a port of Guitar Hero 2 to call your very own, you’re in luck. Everything that made the PlayStation 2 version a blast is here, and there’s even more to keep you occupied. If you already own Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2, the 360 version is still worth checking out. The additional tracks, as well as the downloadable content, make it a worthy purchase.
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