On Review - Guitar Hero: On Tour

Before Harmonix and MTV delivered the music juggernaut that we all know as Rock Band, I was frankly mystified by the success of Activision and RedOctane’s Guitar Hero franchise - I played a little here and there, and while fun, it astounded me as to how fast the popularity of the game has grown. It is ironic then, that the first game to truly captivate me enough to finally go on and purchase a Nintendo DS is Activision and Vicarious Visions’ offering of Guitar Hero : On Tour.

Countless other iterations of the franchise aside (see: GH Aerosmith), the thing that made On Tour stand out from the rest of its brethren is the inclusion of the Guitar Grip - a peripheral that plugs into the GB/GBA slot on the DS lite (also included is an adapter for those that have the original DS). Manufacturer RedOctane has successfully managed to capture the tactile feel of the game on a considerably smaller scale, and for that they should be applauded. Depending on whether you’re left or right handed, one hand will be strapped to the Grip while the other is strumming along to the touch screen - preferably using the included guitar pick stylus. At first, it felt slightly jarring, and even uncomfortable, to play with the Grip; but once you get going and find a suitable position to play in, you’ll see that the spirit of Guitar Hero has been kept pretty much intact.

Series veterans may be a bit miffed at the inclusion of only 4 buttons - compared to the 5 on the console releases - but believe me, you’ll find plenty of challenge here. Whether it’s trying to navigate your pinky to hit the blue notes fast enough or finding a comfortable position to play the game at long sets at a time, it takes some serious practice if want to hang with the big boys on Expert. I’m frankly frightened how those with much larger hands than mine will even manage to play the game…

While On Tour offers your standard fare of game modes - Quickplay, Career, Practice, Tutorial - the new mode, Guitar Duel, is served up a little bit different. In a tug-of-war style battle with either the computer or another player via Multi-Card Play, Guitar Duel is focused on causing the most havoc to your opponent as much as possible. This is done through the use of power-ups that can be obtained through “Battle Gems”, which replace the usual Star Gem note sequences that are used to gain star power, with up to 3 that can be stored at a time. These power-ups range from the practical to the hilarious: cut guitar strings; t-shirt autographs; pyrotechnics that must be blown off through the DS microphone; and even a screen flip icon that can cause unwanted confusion during the heat of battle. Other multiplayer modes are the usual co-op and face-off options, but Guitar Duel is the one that’ll keep you playing with your friends.

Now the dealbreaker for any GH game is the track list, and this is one of On Tour’s greatest strengths and yet its most detracting weakness. Many may turn their nose at the inclusion of Smash Mouth, Daughtry, or Maroon 5, but rest assured, their is much more variety than what you may expect; further songs to be unlocked include Santana, Osbourne, and Twisted Sister. Personally I don’t have any real dislike to the songs included, but as always, musical taste is largely subjective so it is up to you if the track list will be worth your while. The reason these songs are a weakness, however, is its disappointingly short number of songs that you’ll find - 25 in all. While I don’t have any significant insight to whether this was due to technical limitations or simply holding back for future releases on the DS, it is a rather questionable decision on the developers part to include such a short list.

If you’re still wondering whether Guitar Hero: On Tour is right for you, then consider this: if you liked/loved the franchise before, then you’ll have no problem embracing its portable cousin - now, you can rock out to Guitar Hero wherever and whenever you want. If you could care less about the series, then On Tour won’t do much to dissuade you. However, if you are as interested as I was to see how the successful console franchise was translated to the Nintendo DS, don’t hesitate to at least try it out - it certainly is remarkable how much of what makes GH successful is contained in this portable package.