Hands-on with Guitar Hero II

At least a couple times a week, I wander the isles of my neighborhood electronics stores, looking for the latest and greatest in tech, and for the past few months, I couldn't help but notice that over by the gaming consoles, there were always a couple of young (or often, not-so-young) kids jamming on toy guitars by the PlayStation 2 kiosk. My curiosity finally got the better of me, and as I sidled up next to the virtual rockers, I got my first dose of one of the hottest new gaming phenoms: Guitar Hero II, which is just now making its way to the Xbox 360.

Actually, Guitar Hero isn't all that new: the original game came out in 2005, and Hero part deux arrived in stores last year. But GH fever is in full force with this month's release of the Xbox 360 version of the game; indeed, infamous KISS front man Gene Simmons is coming to Times Square tomorrow for a launch event at the Virgin Megastore.

So, what's the deal with Guitar Hero II? Basically, the game is similar to those dancing games you may have seen the kids playing in arcades; using a guitar accessory attached to the console, you do your best to press multicolored buttons and flick a plastic strum bar in time to the music. An on-screen guitar neck with scrolling blobs representing the notes that are coming up, while a goofy animated band sings along. The more notes you hit, the higher your score.

Sounds pretty basic, right? That's what I thought too, until I visited a Best Buy last night to try the game with my faithful assistant (and fiancée). We arrived near closing time, and while the store was nearly deserted, there were still a couple of guys in back, ensconced in—you guessed it—the 360 version of Guitar Hero II. Finally, it was our turn.

As it turns out, trying Guitar Hero II in an empty store is a good thing; on our first couple of songs, my assistant and I hit so many sour notes that the lone employee watching us just shook his head sadly. Finally, our blue-shirted friend had mercy on us and demonstrated the basics; just hold down a button on the guitar neck, flick the strut bar, and "feel" the music. We queued up "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies (about 50 songs are available), set the game to easy mode, and tried again.

About 30 minutes later, the Best Buy guy practically had to kick us out of the store. Once my fingers figured out what they was doing and I was pouring on the chords, I felt like a rock star. And playing along with my better half was a blast; yes, you're competing for a high score, but strumming along in unison was, in a word, sublime. Mind you, the graphics in Guitar Hero II are no great shakes, but frankly, I didn't care. We were hooked.

Now, one thing that Guitar Hero II isn't is cheap: $90 for the game and the guitar accessory, plus $60 for a second guitar. If you told me a few days ago that I'd drop $150 for a guitar game, I would have laughed in your face; not anymore.