Widely considered to be one of the greatest rhythm games ever made, 2006’s Guitar Hero II is a beloved entry in the franchise. The first sequel to Guitar Hero, we’d still be a little bit away from the peak of the franchise in both sales and pop culture penetration. Guitar Hero II was also notable for being the first game in the series released on Xbox 360, where a few extra songs, as well as DLC was also introduced (a feature that would remain a constant in the genre for years to come).

The setlist was still predominantly made up of cover versions, but a few of the main setlist songs were now the original master versions. Spanning the early 60s all the way through to 2006, if you were to poll rhythm game fans on what the best setlist of all time was, you’d likely find this right at the top of the list.

Of the 48 song main setlist, 27 are currently available in Rocksmith, or 56%. In addition, the original Kinks version of You Really Got Me is part of Rocksmith 2014’s setlist. Of the 26 bonus songs, 2 are available in Rocksmith. This means that of the total 74 song setlist, 29 are playable for 39% total completion. This makes for a slight increase over Guitar Hero 1’s 35%.

Artist Song Date in Rocksmith The Acro-Brats Laughtrack N/A Aerosmith Last Child * N/A Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies * 12/4/2018 Alice in Chains Them Bones * 11/12/2013 All That Remains Six 05/12/2015 The Allman Brothers Band Jessica * 11/15/2011 The Amazing Crowns Mr. Fix It N/A Anarchy Club Collide N/A Anthrax Madhouse * 03/24/2015 Avenged Sevenfold Beast and the Harlot * 10/22/2013 Bang Camaro Push Push (Lady Lightning) N/A Black Sabbath War Pigs * N/A Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow N/A Brian Kahanek Gemini N/A Buckethead Jordan N/A The Butthole Surfers Who Was in My Room Last Night? * N/A Cheap Trick Surrender * 01/29/2013 Count Zero Radium Eyes N/A Danzig Mother * N/A Deep Purple Hush * 02/27/2018 Dethklok Thunderhorse 04/28/2015 Dick Dale Misrilou * 06/24/2014 ** Drist Arterial Black N/A Every Time I Die The New Black N/A Foo Fighters Monkey Wrench * 11/18/2014 Freezepop Less Talk More Rokk N/A Guns N' Roses Sweet Child o' Mine * N/A Heart Crazy on You * 03/11/2014 Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives Soy Bomb N/A Iggy Pop and the Stooges Search and Destroy * 11/01/2016 Iron Maiden The Trooper * 10/22/2013 Jane's Addiction Stop! N/A Kansas Carry on Wayward Son * 02/18/2013 KISS Strutter * 10/13/2015 Lamb of God Laid to Rest * 07/29/2014 The Last Vegas Raw Dog N/A The Living End Carry Me Home * N/A Lynyrd Skynyrd Free Bird * 11/01/2011 Made in Mexico Yes We Can N/A Matthew Sweet Girlfriend * N/A Megadeth Hangar 18 * 12/13/2011 Megasus Red Lottery N/A Mötley Crüe Shout at the Devil * 12/15/2015 My Chemical Romance Dead! 02/23/2016 The Neighborhoods Parasite N/A Nirvana Heart-Shaped Box * 10/22/2013 Noble Rot Kicked to the Curb N/A Ounce of Self Drink Up N/A Pearl Jam Life Wasted * N/A The Police Message in a Bottle * 03/01/2012 The Pretenders Tattooed Love Boys * N/A Primus John the Fisherman N/A Rage Against the Machine Killing in the Name * 12/09/2014 Rancid Salvation * N/A The Reverend Horton Heat Psychobilly Freakout * N/A Rick Derringer Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo * 01/20/2015 The Rolling Stones Can't You Hear Me Knocking * N/A Rush YYZ * 11/13/2012 Shadows Fail The Light That Blinds N/A Spinal Tap Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight * 03/31/2015 Stone Temple Pilots Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart * 02/05/2019 Stray Cats Rock This Town * 06/09/2015 *** Strong Bad Trogdor N/A Suicidal Tendencies Institutionalized * N/A The Sword Freya * N/A That Handsome Devil Elephant Bones N/A Thin Lizzy Bad Reputation * N/A Toadies Possum Kingdom 07/21/2015 VAGIANT FTK N/A Valient Thorr Fall of Pangea N/A Van Halen You Really Got Me * N/A Voivod The X-Stream N/A Warrant Cherry Pie * 01/20/2015 Wolfmother Woman * 01/05/2016

* Denotes a cover version of the track

** Denotes the single version of the track

*** Denotes a re-recorded version of the track

In addition, there was the aforementioned DLC, a first for rhythm gaming. While most of it was just repeats of the first Guitar Hero’s setlist (a foreshadowing to exports, perhaps?), there was also a decent array of indie and major acts.

Artist Song Date in Rocksmith Atreyu Ex's and Oh's N/A Bad Religion Infected * 08/09/2016 The Bled You Should Be Ashamed of Myself N/A Deep Purple Smoke on the Water * 11/15/2011 The Donnas Take It Off * 03/08/2016 Dropkick Murphys The State of Massachusetts N/A The Edgar Winter Group Frankenstein * 06/16/2015 The Exies Hey You * N/A Incubus Stellar * 06/21/2016 Judas Priest You've Got Another Thing Comin' * 02/18/2013 Los Rodríguez Sin documentos N/A Maylene and the Sons of Disaster Memories of the Grove N/A Motörhead Ace of Spades * 01/20/2015 ** My Chemical Romance Famous Last Words 02/23/2016 My Chemical Romance Teenagers 02/23/2016 My Chemical Romance This Is How I Disappear N/A Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon * N/A Pleymo Sept N/A Protest the Hero Bury the Hatchet N/A Queen Killer Queen * 06/13/2012 Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated * N/A Red Hot Chili Peppers Higher Ground * 10/18/2011 Soilwork Exile N/A Trivium Detonation N/A

* Denotes a cover version of the track

** Denotes a re-recorded version of the track

It was incredibly difficult to narrow the GH2 list down to just ten songs we wanted, but here’s what we came up with.

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies

How have we only gotten the one Alice Cooper song? I was sure that in the early RS2014 days of getting packs for the major on-disc acts that an Alice pack was coming, but alas it never happened. One of the iconic hits of the 70s, this song would provide great guitar work for the game.

Buckethead – Jordan

The first “impossible” song in franchise history, Jordan has become almost synonymous with Guitar Hero II, and the early score chasing scene as a whole. Just imagine the challenge of getting this on real guitar. The techniques you could be taught as well would be incredible. I mean, the tones alone would make this a dream.

Deep Purple – Hush

If you don’t recognize this one by name, you’ll almost certainly know it to hear it. We have a couple good Deep Purple songs already in the game, sure, but more would always be welcome. Especially the under-appreciated pre-Machine Head stuff that rhythm games seem to always ignore.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges – Search and Destroy

Iggy Pop has appeared in countless rhythm games and is an absolute legend in the punk world. It’s only a matter of time before we get to see him come to Rocksmith, and I can’t think of a better place to start than with one of his most well known songs.

Jane’s Addition – Stop!

I know I was disappointed that the recent Jane’s Addiction pack didn’t feature this song. One of the greatest songs Jane’s Addiction ever performed, it’s about time we see this pop up in games again.

Primus – John the Fisherman

How has this song never appeared in a game after this? Especially considering we know there’s no master issue. The first Primus pack showed just how great Primus’ basslines are to play, so more of that certainly wouldn’t go amiss. This song, along with Too Many Puppies and My Name is Mud, would be welcome additions to the library.

The Reverend Horton Heat – Psychobilly Freakout

A great high-level guitar showcase, this song would fit in nicely with the player-base who are looking for more of a challenge. Hopefully next time we get a rockabilly pack, we see this make an appearance!

Stone Temple Pilots – Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart

Yet another case of “I can’t believe this didn’t make the pack”, this is one of Stone Temple Pilots’ most well known and beloved songs. While recent events may complicate licensing, one can only hope we get more STP in the game, and that this is the first song we get.

Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized

Anyone who’s been following these articles where we wish for songs knows that I’m a massive hardcore punk fan, and I think that Rocksmith is sorely lacking in that field. Come on, Ubisoft! All I want is a Peps-er, uh, Suicidal Tendencies DLC!

Thin Lizzy – Bad Reputation

Give me this, Whiskey in the Jar, Call the Police, Cowboy Song, and Saga of the Ageing Orphan and you’ve got all my money, Ubisoft. Thin Lizzy are a fantastic band, and while the three pack we got was great, I’ll never turn down getting even more from them!

There’s our picks, what songs would you like to see from Guitar Hero II end up in Rocksmith 2014? Besides Guns n’ Roses that is…

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