Your time to shine has finally come – while the guitar lessons mangled your fingers and the music teacher at school bored you to tears, Guitar Hero 2 arrives this week to prove that you can be a rock god.  In your living room, at least.

We’ve been playing the game in its early stages for months now and the Xbox team features a few bonafide rock legends – including Graeme “The Shredder” Boyd (Gamertag: AceyBongos).  Listening to albums loaded with classic rock anthems on his way to work each day has clearly helped elevate him to the top of our bunch, but I’m content to play co-op as I watch him flip out to Pearl Jam next to me!

Guitar Hero 2 marks the birth of next-generation air guitar – and we’re not just talking any old guitar here, but the Gibson X-Plorer, a meaty aural feast.  Just jack it in to your Xbox 360 and you’re away – tearing it up to some of the best music that ever rocked your socks off.  We’d strongly recommend popping over to YouTube and seeing just how crazy this game has become – you can see everything from fully made-up Alice Cooper fans taking on Billion Dollar Babies to 8 year-olds who have mastered every track on the hardest difficulty.

The Xbox 360 version even includes extra, exclusive tracks and the promise of regular downloadable updates.  We caught up with the game’s Associate Producer last month to find out about the achievements and the inspiration behind their chosen track list.

Also out in the last week was the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer! It’s been six years now since the last generational leap for the GTA series with GTA III and GTA IV looks incredible.  The cities look far more detailed than ever before and a new story means a fresh start for GTA in the next-generation.  We can’t wait to get our hands on this one – you can download a high definition version of the trailer right now from Xbox Live Marketplace!

Don’t forget to check out the highlights from last month’s snowboard design competition run exclusively from the Xbox Newsletter. The quality of entries was incredibly high in this competition and the winner should now be tearing down the slopes on their new, one-of-a-kind Xbox custom board.

By Mark Eveleigh, Xbox.com Editor. Gamertag: Making Sparks