Guitar Hero II is the follow-up to the PS2-only game Guitar Hero, expanding upon its gameplay and features. As a wannabe rockstar, you play songs by pressing combinations of five fret buttons on a guitar-shaped controller, working the strum bar, along with an optional whammy bar for distortion. The sequel contains 64 songs, of which 40 have been licensed, including one discovered through a contest at beaguitarhero.com , where unlicensed bands could send in a demo to be included in the game.
The career mode has been revamped as a high school battle where you need to make your way to the top. Every venue is now represented by a different city, and encore performances are available, along with unlockables that can still be bought in the shop. A new addition is the practice mode ( Shred School ). When you're stuck on a track, you can train in this mode, choosing a specific section to practice and selecting from four speeds.
In multiplayer mode, you can play the traditional mode, trade off sections between players, or try the new co-op mode. In co-op, both players play the same song at the same time, with one player given lead guitar duties and the other handling bass or rhythm guitar. You can fail together and share the score, rock meter, and multiplier in this mode. The different sections are available in single-player practice mode.
The final multiplayer mode is Face-Off, where both players play every single note at the same time. In Face-Off, each player can choose an individual difficulty level. Upon completing Face-Off, Pro Face-Off becomes available, requiring both players to use the same difficulty level.
Other additions include three-button chords and smoother hammer-ons and pull-offs. The screen shakes if you break a note streak in multiplayer mode, specifically on the side of the player who made the mistake.