I spent a whole lot of time yesterday with Guitar Hero II on my Xbox 360. Enough time that the 360 was crying, and my fiance was yelling to make it stop. I have to say, I absolutely love this game!

The graphics aren’t the strong suit here. And let’s face it, they don’t need to be. They do look worlds better than the PS2 version, but you honestly hardly ever look at the graphics when you’re playing. You just don’t have the time. You’re one focus is that fretboard in the middle scrolling your notes to play.

The sound is fantastic. Having the game in 5.1 Surround Sound is great too, with the crowd cheering behind you and such. The soundtrack is terrific. I’ve unlocked a good portion of the songs and can’t wait to play some of the others.

What else can you say about the gameplay… it’s spot on. The guitar controller feels great in your hands. There have been some reports of bad whammy bars on the guitars, but I don’t see that on the one I have. I also played a bit with the standard Xbox 360 controller so I could rock out to some co-op gameplay. I can’t justify spending another $60 on a guitar for the occasions when friends are over. I can deal with the controller. Surprisingly, the controller is very easy to use. The notes are mapped to the shoulder buttons, triggers, and A button, with no strumming required. I think the no strumming part is what makes it easier. Not sure I would recommend using the controller for lead guitar on Medium difficulty or higher. Hitting the notes fast might be tough, since you can’t use any hammer-ons or pull-offs.

Overall, I give the game a 9.5 out of 10. One of my favorites so far this year. I still semi-suck at this game, but I’ve gotten a lot better. I average 95% or more on Medium difficulty now. I thought it would come easier, since I’ve been playing guitar for over 10 years, but no