So a few weeks ago I go to a friend’s house and they are playing GHII. I was instantly hooked. (ok it takes about 4-5 games to get the controller down, but after that it is like crack). You use a custom controller shaped like a guitar (Gibson SG for the playstation II, Gibson X-plorer for the Xbox 360) with a 5 “fret buttons” a whammy bar and a strum bar. It works for everyone, I have friends who are musicians that cant put the game down and then there is me, I greatly appreciate music but have zero ability in that department. There are multiple modes career (easy which uses 3 frets, medium using 4 frets, hard using all 5 frets and expert), two player (versus and cooperative, in this mode you can choose lead, rhythm or bass) as well as practice mode where you can slow down the song so you can hit the notes.
The game boasts over 55 tracks (I havent unlocked them all yet so I dont know how many there are) which are very diverse including the Allman Brothers, Rush, Anthrax, Heart, Motley Crue, Butthole Surfers, Reverend Horton Heat, Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains etc.
Play career mode to unlock stages and songs. In this mode you also earn money which you can use to buy new characters, new guitars, and new guitar finishes. A great game for you, your kids or you and your kids. In in VS mode each player is allowed to select their level of expertise (or lack their of).
Game play, if you have seen Dance Dance revolution or any similar game you will get the idea very quickly. Color coded “Notes” scroll down the screen towards the player, once they reach the bottom of the screen you hit the matching fret button while at the same time strumming the guitar. I know sounds stupid, but you gotta play it to understand. I am pretty sure most best buys have this game set up for display in their store. Go check it out.
here is a youtube video of Rush’s YYZ on Expert (granted the kid playing is kind of a tool at the beginning of the video, but he can play the game).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ua3hZXfNZOE
On a side note Guitar hero III is coming for the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360, but I am not sure when.