Guitar Hero II

Also known as: Guitar Hero 2, GH2

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Guitar Hero II - Six-string Showdown

We played every GH II controller out there 'til our fingers bled - wanna know which one shredded the most?

Words: GamesRadar US

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Guitar Hero Wireless Guitar
$59.99 at www.redoctane.com

It's about time Red Octane - Guitar Hero II's publisher - got into the wireless act. And when we got our hands on this baby, we knew it had been worth the wait.

The angular body style of this white-with-black guitar is radically different from... well, just about anything. It also rocks a spiky headstock as well as "upside-down" buttons that have the curves pointing upward, just like the Shredder. Honestly? We're not really into the look. And we do wish Start was recessed - that's a really nice thing to have.

But it plays and feels almost exactly like the original SG - which is to say, it's lightweight, but solid and comfortable. Plus, it's cord-free, baby. But this doesn't lead to any lag or loss of signal - the only thing that clues you in to the fact that you're wireless is that you don't strangle yourself or yank your PS2 to the floor if you do a spin. Go ahead - you know you want to.

With three AAA batteries and a rear-mounted power switch (which we're only slightly less likely to leave on than the Freedom V's), the Red Octane would appear to be more energy efficient than the other wireless guitars. However, we didn't actually run the batteries all the way down, so we can't actually comment upon battery life versus the competition.

Interestingly, the Red Octane wireless also had a tilt switch that was, to us, a tad too easy to trigger, though it was a bit more tolerant than that of the Freedom V.

You want sturdy and reliable? None the guitars we tested have broken down yet, but this one is from the company that invented the game. Our money's on this horse staying in the race at least as long as everyone else.