Got the game yesterday, and had a bit of a marathon with a buddy of mine, playing for what probably amounted to 7 hours or so.

I like that they ramped up the difficulty, which is quite obvious, but I'm afraid it will hurt newer players, who might be scared away. Of course, they've offset this (or vice versa) by giving you a bigger window to hit your notes, and by DRASTICALLY increasing the ease of doing (and recognizing) Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs, which can help tremendously if you can use them to your advantage.

I like the new venues and such, even though I didn't think it would make a difference. After playing through 1, 2, and 80's, it is nice to see something different than the same stupid shit. The graphics really are HORRIBLE though, at least on my PS2 version. It doesn't bother me, because I don't care. I'm not playing Guitar Hero for graphics, I'm playing it for the music and fun. But good lord, every time the Drummer comes on camera, looking like a muppett with Down's Syndrome, I usually break whatever kind of streak I'm on because I'm laughing so fucking hard.

My buddy and I started off playing Co-Op Career. To give you an idea of our abilities, we've beaten all the games on Hard, and usually get at least 3/4 on Expert before getting pwned. Good, but not great. And no cheats....ever. Cheats are for pussies.

Anyway, on Co-Op we started off on Medium. I have to say, there were periods of 3 or 4 songs in a row where I was just incredibly disapointed with the song selection. WAYYY too much nu-metal and shit for me from 2003-Present, which I feel is one of the worst Era's in music generally. We 5-starred everything on our first try, with the exception of Slayer's Raining Blood. Holy shit that song is a whore. We tried another 5 or so times, but couldn't get it above ****, on fucking Medium. I'm scared for the future, and that song owns my soul.

So then we moved on to Solo Career on Hard, trading the guitar off for each song. Like I said -- liking the ramped up difficulty. Wasn't killing each song, but we didn't fail one until well into the 7th tier or something. I think the boss battles are absolutely dumb as hell. Guitar Hero is awesome because you can suspend your disbelief and feel like you're really playing these songs, making the music. Well that dies when you have these gay ass power ups and shit, playing across from another muppett looking animation of Tom from Rage. The battles would've been MUCH cooler if they were just jam-offs, with you basically having to keep up with the Legend on the other side.

We actually failed the Slash battle, many times, and it gave us the option to Wuss-Out, which we graciously took. That shit is just lame, so we'll have to come back to it later. Anyway, I think we finished Stevie Ray Vaughan's Pride and Joy (which is awesome) and we're gonna pick it up somemore on Sunday after the football games.

Overall I love it. The Battle's are my main issue, but I'll get over it (until I can't fucking beat it). The fact that about 75% of the tracks are Original Mastertracks helps out SO much. I didn't think it would matter, but it really does. Even the covers seem alot better this time (Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and Rock You Like a Hurricane are both very good) and it makes for a better musical experience overall.

Favorite Song So Far: Welcome To the Jungle
Least Favorite: That gay ass Sonic Youth song. Seriously. Fuck that shit.
Song I didn't think I'd like, but did: Seeker by The Who, and also the Disturbed song, which escapes me now.

Anyone else here play?

Good write-up, rook.

I've played II one night at my buddy's place and apparently picked up enough of the game, if not the entire lingo. It's much more rewarding than actually playing a real guitar. You're in a band and making money. As an old 80's metalhead, I get a kick out of having fun with these tunes. But "Message in a Bottle" absolutely kicked our asses.

The "Level Boss" thing does sound kinda' lame. But is Steve Vai in it? If so, you could feel like you're in the climactic scene from the movie "Crossroads" (The one with the guy from Karate Kid. Not the one with Britney Spears).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idb2dUtTpuU

I've wanted to try one of these but I have no musical ability what so ever.

"Message In A Bottle" is also painfully boring.

So that doesn't help.