In case you tire of always playing lead guitar, the new co-op mode offers the chance to play rhythm guitar or bass. It's a nice bit of variety and actually feels like you're working together rather than simply playing side by side. Needless to say, this one's going to be a big hit at parties - especially after a few drinks have been passed around.

Not too much has changed visually, though there have been some minor upgrades. The on-screen fret bar now shakes when you biff a chord, new characters have been added and the performance spots feature more background detail. If you have a fancy HDTV, Guitar Hero II sports native support 🐓for both widescreen and progressive scan. There's even a calibration option in case your LCD or plasma suffers from disp♔lay lag.

An evolutionary step forward, Guitar Hero II improves on its predecessor in ne🐲arly every way. If music games are yo🌠ur thing, this one should be on your watch list.