Red Octane has officially announced that Guitar Hero II will ge hitting the U.S. this fall.

The game will feature new tracks, new venues and extra play modes, including the ability to use the original guitar as a rhythm, lead or bass guitar.

"Guitar Hero has proved phenomenally successful! Guitar Hero veterans will be able to plug in their Guitar Hero SG Controllers and rock GH II straight out of the box," said Kelly Sumner, CEO of RedOctane. "We will really push the envelope with Guitar Hero II. Despite the fact there are many months until release, we're already implementing exciting features and innovations. This fall we're going to rock everyone's world all over again."

The song list is still being kept under lock and key, but it will remain "firmly in the rock domain, pulling from a mix of classic rock, "hair" metal, heavy metal, modern rock and alternative titles," according to the release. The game will feature 55 songs.

One of the new modes include a multiplayer co-op which will allow players to collaborate to beat songs, with each guitarist playing a seperate track.

I heard that the Harmonix folks had initially planned a customizable guitar body for their last game. The idea was that they were going to let you guy pieces to snap on and off the plastic guitar so you could have different models. It would be fantastic if they could work that in this time around.

The game will be on display at E3, we're told.

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