Been a while since I posted anything in here, but as today looks like it will be a quiet one in work I may end up posting several things today. First on the menu though – Guitar Hero 2.
I got the game on day of release after trading in my PS2 version + guitar, and started going through it. One thing I noticed right away is that the achievements can give you some extra incentive to do certain things (like go through on Easy, something I wouldn’t usually bother with), but can also put you under extra pressure. After having the PS2 version for some time I was already fairly skilled at the game (but by no means brilliant), so my first port of call was to knock off some of the simple achievements, like getting an 8x multiplier, 100 note streak, and perfecting a song. The last one actually took me 3 attempts, despite starting on Easy to make sure I got it. As I was doing it solely for the achievement I just wanted to get it so I could go through the Medium career, but ended up missing a note on my first two songs. When I finally did it, I went straight on to Medium.
Medium career is good fun. It uses 4 buttons instead of Easy’s 3, so you either need to use your pinky finger as well (which is what I do), or get used to moving your hand up and down the neck. I’d always recommend getting used to using your pinky, as you simply cannot go through the harder difficulty songs without it. More on that in a moment though. I found the Medium career to be great fun as already mentioned, but pretty easy. After all the time I spent on GH1+2 on the PS2, I was getting 5* scores first time on every single song, with no real difficulty. So, confidence soaring I decided to make the jump to the Hard career.
Now, Hard is exactly that. It adds in the fifth and final button, meaning you have to move up and down the neck at some point in the songs. The speed is also increases and it throws a lot more notes at you. Still, I managed to 5* my first 6 songs, and I was thinking it was quite easy until the second tier of songs decided to open a can of whoop-ass on me. I didn’t fail any of the songs (though in some cases only well timed Star Power saved me), but I went from getting 95%+ and 5* to 80%-ish and 3*. I was quite shocked by how quickly the difficulty had ramped up.
Undaunted though I carried on, slowly getting better with every song, my hammer-ons and pull-offs improving all the time (essential to be good at these for good scores). At one point, things just seemed to click, my mind switched off and my hands simply played the notes that were coming at me. I wasn’t getting 5*’s on songs (mainly as I was always saving Star Power in case some unforseen stream of notes came at me and I needed help), but things seemed much clearer as my mind got out of the way and allowed my fingers to do what they had been learning to do.
Things were going great, I still hadn’t failed a song, and I was on the second to last tier. Then came the song that has proven to be the bane of many a Guitar Hero. Psychobilly Freakout. Oh how I loathe thee. It starts off with a fast off-beat intro that is really hard to nail, eases off slightly in the middle, then has another stupidly fast off-beat solo near the end. On my first attempt I managed to get through to near the end (81% through) before failing, but on my second go I didn’t get the intro properly and lost it early on. Practise mode beckons I think, I’m going to need to practise the intro and solo at slower speeds so my fingers know what they’re meant to be doing, as the note progression is different to anything in earlier songs. What’s even more annoying is that I know I can play the encore song (YYZ) on Hard as I’ve already tried it. Getting past Psychobilly Freakout and the encore will put me on the last tier. Then I’d only have Institutionalised and Free Bird to worry about!
I’m not too bothered that I can’t do it though. To be honest I never thought I’d get this far in Hard considering how hard I found some of the earlier songs. I love playing the songs and nailing a difficult section, there’s not many better feelings in gaming than that. As per the title though, if you play too much you could find yourself with a sore hand! My left hand has become quite sore after playing the Hard career so much, the sheer speed you need at times can be enough for an injury!
Back to work for now anyway. More to come later perhaps! 
