The franchise that has rocked the video game industry is set to go on another highly-anticipated world tour this spring, and fans will now enjoy sharply remodeled HD visuals for the next-gen platform, and be able to shred their new Gibson-shaped X-Plorer axes to impressively pulsating audio sweetness on the Xbox 360.

Providing exciting rock venues, characters, guitars, and play modes, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 allows players the opportunity to unlock achievement points, download themes, picture packs, and most importantly, new songs through Xbox Live Marketplace. An intuitive online leaderboard feature will also be utilized through Xbox Live, allowing competitive Guitar Heroes to track their high scores and share bragging rights with their friends and other top rock gods.

Featuring a fresh and expanded set list of over 70 finger-melting fret burners, including 10 exclusive tracks for the Xbox 360, Guitar Hero II turns it up with a variety of deafening rock venues, HD remodeled characters, unlockable guitars, and different gameplay modes.

Also, for the first time in the Guitar Hero franchise, competitive rockthusiasts will be able to go online to compare their scores and view how they rank through an intuitive online leaderboard, as well as download exciting content on Xbox Live Marketplace such as gamer themes, picture packs, and most importantly, a consistent stream of new tracks.

“With all the new content and features we’re adding for our initial launch onto next-gen systems, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 is definitely going to rock harder than ever,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. “Our online initiative is going to provide an incredible opportunity for our fans to extend the gameplay experience, and we have ambitious ideas to continue to fully support these efforts.”

Included on the 360 version of Guitar Hero II will be an additional 10 songs, and the initial list of tracks includes:

• Billion Dollar Babies (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
• Hush (as made famous by Deep Purple)
• Dead! (by My Chemical Romance)
• Life Wasted (as made famous by Pearl Jam)
• Rock N Roll Hoochie Koo (as made famous by Rick Derringer)
• Possum Kingdom (Toadies)
• Salvation (Rancid)
• The Trooper (Iron Maiden)

The two other, yet unannounced songs, will have to be unlocked during gameplay.

Guitar Hero II for the X360 will launch on April 3, 2007, bundled with the all-new Xplorer Guitar for $89.99, or the controller on its own for $59.99.