Yeah, pretty lame title, but I picked up my pre-order of Guitar Hero II today. I’m up to the 7th set on medium, cruising through to get a feel for the tracks. I love the Encores, a slick way to expose the 5th song from each set without knowing in advance what it is (well, unless you memorized the set listing from the Wikipedia notes).

The graphics are great, support for 480p/Widescreen via component out is a huge bonus, and the controller is sweet looking compared to the turd-brown neck on the previous iteration. I was seriously bummed that the Red Octane wireless controller was delayed, but once it comes out I’m sure it will rock as well.

The game modes are excellent, graphics are improved over the previous version, hammering-on and pulling-off are indeed easier to nail as well. Not to mention the kick ass songs in the second release. Medium is a cakewalk so far, but I’m only doing it to unlock the tracks and get them fresh in my head before jumping into hard/expert modes.

“She’s my Cherry Pie! Cool drink o’ water such a sweet surprise!”