Metareview - Guitar Hero II (PS2)

Let's face it; Red Octane would have had to sabotage (please add that song on version III) the first Guitar Hero to not get this sequel right. The original was already a blast to play. Add a new playlist (Freebird!), refine the graphics, increase game modes, and voila! Insta-hit. With a current average review score of 96/100 thanks in part to two perfect scores, here's what early critics are saying:

Gamebrink (91/100) on improvements: "With a better song list, high quality audio for the most part, expanded and improved modes, and all the fun of the original, Guitar Hero 2 is one of this busy holiday season's best games."
IGN (95/100) on being a great sequel: "Guitar Hero II takes everything that made the original game great and cranks it up to 11, maybe even 12...This is the nearly-perfect sequel to one of our favorite games in basically forever, and it's an absolute must-buy."
Gamespy (100/100) on being addictive: "It's everything good about videogames in one package, forever encouraging you to play 'one more song!' until it's 3AM and the neighbors are yelling for you to turn down that racket."
GameDaily (100/100) on being perfect: "The sequel improves greatly on an already superb product with an in-depth training mode, a song list that holds up just as well as the original, and multiplayer that includes cooperative play. Everyone should rock out to Guitar Hero II -- it's one of the best games of 2006."