Thursday, April 12, 2007

Game Review ( Guitar Hero 2 Track Pack 1,2,3 - 360 )

( Note: These "Track Packs" were just released on April 11th )

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Track Pack 1:
"Bark at the Moon" Ozzy Osbourne
"Hey You" The Exies
"Ace of Spades" Motorhead

Track Pack 2:
"Killer Queen" Queen
"Take it Off" The Donnas
"Frankenstein" The Edgar Winter Group

Track Pack 3:
"Higher Ground" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Infected" Bad Religion
"Stellar" Incubus

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The first thing I thought when I saw these packs was why they picked such random songs and threw them in random packs, and why they put some of the not-so-good songs for DLC ( downloadable content ) before some other better ones. Songs that I don't particularilly care for of these 9 songs are "Stellar" and "Hey You", followed by "Higher Ground". They just are some of the weaker songs from Guitar Hero I. I was also surprised at how the songs are to play even on expert. I've 100% "Stellar", "Infected", "Killer Queen", and "Hey You", and almost "Take it Off". Not to say that's a bad thing. I'd say the best pack of the three overall is probably Track Pack 2. All three of the songs are fun to play. "Take it Off" is downright catchy, "Frankenstein" is a classic, and "Killer Queen" isn't too bad, though easy. The best thing about these packs though, byfar, is that the hammer-ons and pull-offs actually work. People who played Guitar Hero I on the PS2 would know what I'm talking about. Even when you got the hammer-on right at the exact time, it sometimes wouldn't count, ending your combo, which was frustrating. This has been fixed in these packs, and "Frankenstein" is a great example. Here's my review for each song and pack overall.

"Bark at the Moon" 5/5: Fun and challenging on Hard and Expert.
"Hey You" 4.25/5: Repetetive and easy, but a pretty surprisingly fun song to play.
"Ace of Spades" 4.25/5: A pretty good rock song.

"Killer Queen" 4/5: Not a bad song, but annoying to play more than one or two times over in a short period.
"Take it Off" 5/5: One of my top 3 favorite songs of the 9. Catchy song from the movie Dodgeball.
"Frankenstein" 5/5: Another great song. Really fun to play, and a good song for hammer-on practice.

"Higher Ground" 4/5: Very redundant, and easy after a few tries.
"Infected" 5/5: This may be my favorite song of the 9. Although extremely easy on any difficulty, the rhythm is mesmerizing.
"Stellar: 4/5: Pretty repetetive, not too exciting to play, and very easy.

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DIFFICULTY: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall difficulty. 1 being easiest, 5 being hardest.

Track Pack 1: 4.25/5 I can only say one thing - "Bark at the Moon". Toughest song of the 9, easily, and "Ace of Spades" is also a decent challenge to get a good score on.

Track Pack 2: 2/5 I'd say this is the easiest pack, but not by much next to number 3. "Frankenstein" may be hard for some, but once you learn hammer-ons, it's an easy song.

Track Pack 3: 1.75/5 Very easy. "Stellar" is an easy 100% every single time, "Infected" is about a 98%-99% every time, and "Higher Ground" really isn't challenging either. Easily the easiest of the three.

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BEST VALUE: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall best value. 1 being worst, 5 being best.

Track Pack 1: 4/5 I'm rating this higher than I initially thought I would. "Bark at the Moon" is as good as ever, but "Hey You" is surprisingly fun this time around for whatever reason. "Ace of Spades" is also a pretty good song.

Track Pack 2: 4.5/5 Another solid pack. "Frankenstein" and "Take if Off" are awesome songs, but "Killer Queen" isn't the best song around. Still a great pack just for the other two, though.

Track Pack 3: 4/5 Not quite as good as Track Pack 2. "Infected" is just about my favorite song to play out of the 9, but "Higher Ground" is nothing special, and "Stellar" is boring. Like I've said, "Infected" is easy, but freakishly catchy.

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OVERALL BEST TO BUY:

It's a tough call, but if you only have enough money to get one Track Pack, as of now I would have to say Track Pack 2, but not by much. If you are obsessed with"Bark at the Moon", get Track Pack 1 - it still has two other good songs, and if you like a song in Track Pack 3 ( likely "Infected" ) the other two probably won't suit your style. So in a hard decision, the best pack to get by pretty much default is:

Track Pack 2

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Now overall overall, ( that makes no sense) all of the packs are pretty impressive. The hammer-ons work now, ( thank god ) and the sound seems to have improved in the songs. All three of these packs are definitely worth buying for the hardcore Guitar Hero fan. Even though not the best of songs have been released yet, it's highly likely that they will be soon.

4.5/5

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