Xbox 360 owners, are you ready to rockfi

You can, now that the video-game sensation "Guitar Hero II" -- once the exclusive domain of PlayStation 2 head-bangers -- is available for your system. And it is sweet!

For Xbox 360 mavens who turned up their noses at something that wasn't theirs and for the adult-contemporary masses, "Guitar Hero II" is the latest in a hugely popular series of rock-music games in which the player gets to be an ax god (or goddess). To further sell the concept, gamers wield a guitar-shaped controller that comes bundled with the premium version of the game.

It is possible to play "Guitar Hero II" with a standard video-game controller. It's also possible to pluck "Stairway to Heaven" on a ukulele, but no one would like how that turns out, either.

The guitar controller has five fret buttons, a whammy bar and a strum bar, whose up-and-down action mimics a strumming motion. During a selected song, the player is prompted to hold down one or more fret buttons while pressing the strum bar to make the notes sound in sync with the music.

For sustained notes, tugging on the whammy bar adds style and points.

Anyone can play, and the game is loads of fun, especially at parties. The "Guitar Hero" games are electrifying not only rocker wannabes in family rooms and basements, but also on college campuses and in nightclubs, where "Guitar Hero" Night is all the rage.

That reach should extend even further now that "Guitar Hero II" is out for the Xbox 360, one of the newer video-game systems. The game mechanics are unchanged from the version for the venerable PS2 -- which makes the new release, like its predecessor, one of the best video games going.

The Xbox 360 version has all of the PS2 version's 64 songs -- some of which have to be earned or "purchased" in the game's career-mode store -- including Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil," Rush's "YYZ" and Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine." The new release adds 10 tracks, including Pearl Jam's "Life Wasted," Deep Purple's "Hush" and Rick Derringer's "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo."

The new release sports a guitar controller that replicates the swank Gibson X-plorer vs. the PS2's faux Gibson SG. Unfortunately, each system's controllers are incompatible with the other. The Xbox 360 controller also adds an input for an apparently planned effects pedal.

Most importantly, the Xbox 360 version offers online content via Xbox Live, such as a leader board to compare scores with other players and downloads. Xbox Live players eventually should be able to purchase (for real) even more songs online and go head to head in virtual battles of the band.

Lest anyone feel left out, Activision/Red Octane reportedly is working on "Guitar Hero" games for the Nintendo Wii and DS and another PS2 version.

Rock on, dudes! 4 stars.

"Guitar Hero II"; Activision/Red Octane, Xbox 360; $90 (includes guitar controller); Rating: Teen