While the ominous thumping of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" intro has been pumping from Red Octane's E3 booth all day, neither Ozzy Osbourne nor his relic band members are in the house. A bleeping bummer for some, sure, but the good news for everyone else is that the classic rock track is part of Guitar Hero II, sequel to one of the biggest surprise hits of 2005, a bizarre game of rock/action with a replica electric guitar as its controller. Think air-guitar game minus the air, or plus a guitar.

Based on what is being shown at E3, Guitar Hero II will be a more-of-the-same follow-up with an expanded list of 55 way-cool classic rock tracks. In addition to "Iron Man," Red Octane is featuring covers of other legendary tunes like Rush's Alex Lifeson's showcase instrumental "YYZ," Reverend Horton Heat's frenetic "Psychobilly Freakout," Van Halen's crunch-a-sonic "You Really Got Me," and KISS's glammed-up "Strutter."

Another big addition is co-op play. You'll need another one of those funky Gibson SG controllers that shipped with the original game to rock out with a friend, but it should be worthwhile to shell out the extra cash if you don't already have one from the first game purchase.

Anyway, different parts of each tune will now be playable, so you'll be able to buddy-up and tackle the rhythm guitar sections while your pal plays lead, or vice versa. On some songs, you'll even be able to noodle along with the bass lines as your friend wails out or strums along to the beat.

Difficulty settings will be available for each part, too, so if you're a virtual Eddie Van Halen and your friend is a bit of a schlub, you can set one player at expert and the other at beginner and still make beautiful music together.

Speaking of difficulty, Red Octane is upping the skill needed to pull off average moves in the game by adding routine three-button chords. While the original Guitar Hero saved the three-button stuff for crescendos and harder tunes like Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon," the E3 demo seems to showcase them on a regular basis. So you might want to start out with the first game before moving on to the sequel.

Of course, that's not a bad idea, as the first game was one of the best, most original releases of 2005. It shouldn't be missed, and neither should its sequel, if its final form is as least as good as the unfinished version now showing at E3--an easy feat. Plus, you'll then have a spare guitar controller for buddy the schlub.

And speaking of the final form, publisher RedOctane recently launched the "Be a Guitar Hero" II competition which offers independent musicians the opportunity to have their song featured in the actual game.

Independent artists are eligible to submit original music for inclusion. RedOctane is accepting music entries as uploaded mp3 files through their community website www.beaguitarhero.com (also the place for contest rules and submission guidelines).

The grand prize winner will have their song featured in the top-secret track list for Guitar Hero II and is eligible for additional publicity through game launch promotions.

Better than fleeting fame, the winner will also receive swack of sweet swag, including an Epiphone G-400 Electric Guitar, an EMG Zakk Wylde pickup set, a Krank Distortus Maximus distortion pedal, a Pacific Drums and Percussion CX Drumset, a Morley Pedal Steve Vai Bad Horsie Wah pedal and, naturally, copies of both Guitar Hero games. Yay winner.

And speaking of those, Graveyard BBQ, the winner of the first "Be a Guitar Hero" competition, is currently appearing on and off at the RedOctane booth (Kentia Hall #6521). Their song, Cheat on the Church, is featured as an unlockable song in the original Guitar Hero game.