The premise of Guitar Hero II remains the same as its predecessor. Using a custom five-button guitar controller (we’ll cover the various bundles later in this review), you imitate strumming and fretting guitar patterns as they scroll down the screen, racking up points as you play in time with the music. On the Easy setting, you’ll only need to use three buttons; on Medium, you’ll stretch out to four, and on Hard and Expert, you’ll need to juggle all five; don’t be surprised if you find your wrist in need of a rest after attempting a few Expert solos.

With its easy-to-learn, tough-to-master gameplay that deftly simulated the act of playing guitar like a rock-and-roll god, and its incredibly good soundtrack, Guitar Hero easily put itself in the company of the best rhythm games of all time upon its release last year. Now a sequel has arrived in Guitar Hero II. If you think about the features you wished that the original Guitar Hero had, Guitar Hero II probably delivers on the bulk of them. New mode additions like cooperative play (with rhythm guitar and bass tracks to play), as well as a fantastic practice mode to help you break down and learn some of the toughest solos in the game, give the game a great deal of longevity past its lengthy and addictive career mode. On top of everything else, the game is a whole lot harder than its predecessor, with a greater emphasis on speedier songs and thicker, more ludicrous solos. This does ultimately make Guitar Hero II less immediately accessible to newcomers, but odds are that even a steeper level of challenge won’t stop novices or veterans from getting their rock on.

There’s also a meter that shows how well you’re doing with the audience. Play well and you’ll keep the needle in the green, but miss notes and you’ll start driving it down through yellow and then into the red, where you’re at risk of having the song grind to a halt and you branded as a failure.

Successfully playing notes builds your score, and chaining notes also raises your bonus multiplier. Combos of certain star-shaped notes increase your “Star Power” gauge (and build even faster if you use your “whammy bar” during sustained notes) . Once you’ve earned enough, you can unleash Star Power by tilting your guitar upward (imagine any guitarist rocking out during a solo…though contorting your face doesn’t earn you extra points) or hitting the Back Button, which quadruples your bonus multiplier and boosts the crowd’s enjoyment of the performance.