So you wanna be a rock superstar? Live large? Big house? Five cars? Rent charged? We all do, buddy. From emo kids who haven’t so much as picked up an instrument since they were forced to learn the recorder in school to desperate wannabes still kicking a beaten-up old van all over the country just waiting for the big break, that’s always two steps ahead of them, more or less everyone has at some point dreamed of making it big.

The Guitar Hero developer, Harmonix, may not be offering you the champagne lifestyle with this hugely daring and all-encompassing, next-gen follow-up, but what is on hand is a chance to experience the elation, the pride and the massive sense of accomplishment felt by musicians following a stellar performance.

Forget about touch screens, waving remotes around and all that nonsense - this is the one new kind of gameplay that really matters and you need to be a part of it. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Rock Band, where killer riffs, high fives and flamboyant performances are the tip of the iceberg.

Rock Band is the spiritual successor to the Guitar Hero legacy and if you’re one of the few people who hasn’t yet encountered the majesty of rock or the mystery of roll, allow us to sum it up for you. Guitar Hero II is more or less the most satisfying videogame on the PlayStation 2 and possibly of all time.

Catering for all abilities and all tastes (within the boundaries of guitar-led music, naturally), no feeling in gaming comes close to nailing a tricky solo on Expert mode (or even the long and arduous journey towards this tough-as-nails top difficulty setting) or excelling off-screen with some co-operative showboating.

There just aren’t enough positive words in the English language to truly do Guitar Hero justice and all it takes is one song to draw you in and never let you go. You feel like a rock god, even though you’ve got what is effectively a toy guitar slung around your neck. It’s a monumental achievement.