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Guitar Hero II was released, purchased, played, and questioned. I’ve been waiting for this since the day after I bought the original Guitar Hero game. I’m crazy for the game. I honestly think it’s one of the greatest games ever created. So now that I’ve got it, you got to be wondering, ‘Did the game deliver?’. Yes, with a hint of no. The game itself has matured and evolved into an even more rockin’ beast. The new co-op and pro face-off modes are a huge breath of fresh air, especially the co-op mode. As icing on the cake, the graphics are sharper, the audio is crisper, and the gameplay is more responsive. The art is great as always and the game overall looks more polished. Now comes the part where my blind loyalty and devotion to the game is challenged.

First, the tracklist. I understand that no one will be familiar with every track in the game, nor be satisfied with the choices made. At first, I was rather hesitant with the first installation of the game. However, after a few plays, I learned to love all the tracks. Songs that I thought would be terrible turned out to be an absolute blast. The same should hold up for the second round right? After 3 days of playing, I still haven’t totally warmed up to the tracklist. Maybe I just need more time. There are some absolute gems on the disc - ‘Monkey Wrench’, ‘Laid To Rest’, ‘Hangar 18′, ‘YYZ’, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ to name a few. However, there are some questionable choices, such as ‘Tattooed Love Boys’ by The Pretenders or ‘Freya’ by The Sword. While I love Anthrax, I wished they put another one of their songs on the disc - maybe something from Sound of White Noise. The same goes with Van Halen. While ‘You Really Got Me’ is a great song, I feel they could have made a better choice. VH has infinitely better songs (DLR and Sammy) than an overplayed cover. Anyways, I’m sure after a while, I’ll warm up to the new tracks, but part of me thinks that with such precious few tracks that make it in the game, they sometimes waste huge opportunities. Where’s AC/DC? Where’s Maiden? I guess I’m just being picky. I’m sure there is some douchebag out there with a big ole stiffy for The Sword, all the while bemoaning the inclusion of Lamb of God.

Secondly, the price. The price of the standalone game and the bundle was increased by $10 this time around. I understand that the game probably has more overheard than a regular title. You’ve got song rights to buy and studio musicians to pay. However, since Red Octance was bought by Activision and Harmonix by MTV, I have this nagging feeling that the greedy corporate pricks knew they could sell the game for whatever they wanted because people would buy it no matter what. You know what? They’re absolutely right. And they are royal prick-assholes for doing so.

Lastly, the co-op mode. This isn’t a dig at the new gameplay, which succeeds in every way possible of kicking your poor, unsuspecting asshole in. If anything, it’s the opposite - the byproduct of the genius and achievements made by the game. Co-op mode is so damn fun, you are left lusting after it in the original game. Every track you play in Guitar Hero is now accompanied by thoughts of what could have been and what should be. An unfortunate and tragic result from being too fun and too innovative.

Overall, these minor, petty grievances shouldn’t overshadow an unbelievable game, let alone an unbelievable follow-up title. Now if the guys at Harmonix can just pump out new discs every month, I’ll be snug as a bug. If you haven’t played the game yet, you haven’t lived. It rocks.