The middle group of songs from our Guitar Hero II preview build ramped up in difficulty a bit, although I was still able to get through all of them on Expert mode. None of the songs fall into the "impossible" category (with the possible exception of Crazy on You, with its complicated acoustic intro), so if you've never heard any of these songs before, you'll just need to listen to them a few times to get a feel for them.
Tattooed Love Boys (The Pretenders)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 94%, 185980 (773/819 notes hit)
A dead-on Chrissy Hynde soundalike and a rockabilly chorus make this Pretenders tune entertaining to play through, but it's the pre-solo break, filled with quick, complicated chord changes, that will require some practice to get through. If you can build up your Star Power and kick it in before each chorus, expect to rack up some huge scores.
War Pigs (Black Sabbath)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 95%, 252227 (1067/1117 notes hit)
To be honest, I could do without this tune. It's a great Ozzy Osborne impression, but it's a long, plodding song without much to do early on. The middle sections are a little more fun to play, and the solo is a little frenetic, but if you've got a great Ozzy soundalike, there are plenty of tunes I'd much rather play than this one.
Who Was In My Room Last Night? (Butthole Surfers)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 98%, 274570 (855/868 notes hit)
This is easily one of my favorite songs to play on Guitar Hero II. It opens with a long 3-note chord, perfect for building up Star Power, and then it just rocks out the rest of the way, with a relentless riff that's so fun to play I couldn't help but play it a few extra times.
Can't You Hear Me Knockin' (Rolling Stones)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 97%, 193319 (717/737 notes hit)
I didn't really care for this tune. It's basically two songs in one -- the main body of the song has an interesting rhythm riff and lots of little fills, and then there's an extended solo at the end that's not too tough. Hey, they can't all be Bark At The Moon.
Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns 'N Roses)
Best Score: 4/5 stars, 93%, 157298 (938/998 notes hit)
I'm sure I could have gotten 5 stars on this if I'd kept at it (it's not particularly difficult if you can get down the opening riff), but the song's just too damn long. This was a concern I had with several songs in this preview version: these songs are meant to be played over and over, so six-minute epics (and there are a few of them) are a bit hard to take. Or maybe I just didn't take my Ritalin today.
John the Fisherman (Primus)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 94%, 120160 (397/420 notes hit)
This relatively simple tune has the distinction of not being a remake; it's the original Primus track in all its glory. It's quirky, but it's got a fun rhythm section and doesn't have any crazy solos to master.
Crazy On You (Heart)
Best Score: 4/5 stars, 89%, 173369 (973/1082 notes hit)
The difficulty cranks way up on the Wilson sisters' classic, from the complex, off-time acoustic intro to its jangling rhythm sections. I came perilously close to failing the song several times, and wouldn't be surprised if this became a big hurdle for many players on Expert. Time for Practice mode!
Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart (Stone Temple Pilots)
Best Score: 5/5 stars, 95%, 213950 (688/721 notes hit)
Even though it's not the best cover version (which seems to be a trend with the grunge songs in GH2), this is an inspired choice from the STP catalog. It's loaded with huge sequences of three-note chords chugging away from start to finish, and a long solo that isn't necessarily fast but hops all over the place, which gives it a unique feel among the rest of the songs in GH2 so far.
