The guitar grip in all its carpal tunnel inducing glory
Dressing like this while playing is optional
Good luck with those, buddy
Note the highly inventive use of the GBA slot
But we didn't start it!
Nice package
Now that's what i call a block party!
Star Power saves another poor soul
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Hitchin' a Ride Is your iPod becoming uninteresting? Does your radio not rock radically like it used to? Do you really need to shred some tunes away from the comfort of your home consoles? Well look no further than Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS.
Who Did You Think I Was? The first thing you'll notice about On Tour is that, though it is a Guitar Hero game, there's no actual guitar involved. Weird, right? Well, think about it: the fact that it's on the DS means it has to be somewhat portable, and lugging around a hunk of plastic and wires doesn't exactly scream convenience, now does it?
Now, I know! - knocking the guitar out of Guitar Hero sounds a little far-fetched. But while it is strange at first not having your friendly plastic Gibson or Fender by your side, the folks at Activision and Vicarious Visions really did the best they could with what they were given, and the result is a surprisingly fun, albeit limited, rocking experience.
I Want To Rock!
To truly understand On Tour, you need to know how it functions. The "included" guitar grip (I love it how they stuff a box full of "included" and "free" stuff, and then still charge you an extra $20 for it) fits into that little port thingy on the bottom of your DS, below the touch screen. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. There's probably a little cap there unless you misplaced that already. Didn't I read something about being able to play GBA games with that spot? Ah, who knows.
Anyway, that's where the guitar grip goes, and you hold the DS book-style a la Brain Age and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (the action is far closer to the stylus-mashing of the latter). You then take the "free" guitar pick-shaped stylus and strum away on the touch screen whilst holding the properly-colored buttons (of which there are only 4 for the DS version) on the guitar grip as notes pass by on the "upper" screen (which will be on either your left or right, depending on if you're normal or backwards). The scrolling notes and timing are exactly the same as on the console counterparts, and bring some much-welcome familiarity to the game. On the higher difficulties, once you get your fingers flying back and forth among the keys, the action becomes a little more like the other versions of the game, and it's a little easier to imagine that you really are playing a guitar (albeit a very oddly shaped one). It's difficult to play for extended periods of time, however, and the game even recommends that you take frequent breaks. Of course, Wii Sports suggested that, too, but that didn't stop any three hour tennis marathon sessions. That's right - real gamers don't rest! Rest is for dead people.
One feature that is a bit more difficult to adapt to on the DS version is strumming fast for shorter notes. While on the console guitars you can tweak the strum bar up and down rapidly, on the DS you have to make the touch screen aware that you're either changing direction or lifting and replacing your stylus real quick-like. It's a bit harder than it should be, and tends to become quite a nuisance on the higher difficulties, and can lead to several frustrating missed notes even on Medium.
This Is a Call Now that you know how to hold and strum with your newfangled pseudo-guitar, you're ready to get the crowd pumped like the true rockstar you are. And how do you do that? No, you CAN'T just spray clouds of crack cocaine in the air! Why, it's by yelling "Rock out!" into the DS microphone, of course! Yelling (or blowing, which is a lot easier and much more subtle in a crowded room) will activate Star Power, giving you double multipliers for your score and possibly saving you from the major suckage that comes with being booed off stage. You still acquire Star Power time by hitting the star-shaped notes, as in the console games, and to rack up the power even quicker, if you hit a star-shaped held note you can scratch the DS touch screen like an old lady with lottery tickets to boost the meter for as long as the note is held.
I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) Think about your favorite tunes from the console Guitar Heroes: flying through Strutter, grooving to My Name is Jonas, or fighting your way to the end of Freebird. Great memories, eh? Now forget all the fun you had with those songs, because none of the songs on On Tour's set list comes close to the epic rock-ocity of the console cousins. Sure, there are some good songs, and even some previously missed favorites. Spiderwebs by No Doubt is a pretty good time, and What I Want by Daughtry kicks some serious ass (most likely, as I later found out, because Slash provides the guitar work on the track). Then there are some retreads, like Pride and Joy and Black Magic Woman, and some totally random stuff, such as Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl. You know, because when I think hard-core rocking guitar riffs, I think Jessie's Girl. I don't even play real guitar and I'm pretty sure there's only two chords that make up that entire song (someone with more experience please back me up or correct me if I'm wrong). Overall, it won't rock your socks off, but it won't leave you high and dry either. You take what you can get.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps One of the cooler features that was transferred from the game's console brethren is the Guitar Duels mode. This option allows you to challenge either the computer or a friend - via local wireless (though he or she will need a copy of the game and a guitar grip, for obvious reasons) - to find out who reigns supreme when it comes to handheld rocking (as opposed to handheld papering or scissoring... anyone?).
There are several DS-specific attacks to use on your opponent: there are no weeping guitars, sadly, but they can be set on fire, forcing you to blow into the mic to stop the blaze. Another new addition is the autograph sheet, which forces your opponent to sign a paper that appears on his or her touch screen before being able to continue playing. A bomb attack adds some fun to the mix, actually requiring that you miss notes that have bombs sitting on them to avoid incurring damage to your crowd meter. Unfortunately, all my friends either are cheap or don't own a DS, so I wasn't able to try out the wireless dueling, but you can certainly have a good time against the computer, and it gives you something else to do once all of the songs have been unlocked.
If You Could Only See The DS is not a graphical powerhouse. This is a widely-known fact. That said, On Tour looks pretty damn good for a handheld. Sure, the people are a bit blocky, and they got rid of the bassist who looked like Chewbacca after a six-month coke binge - you're part of a trio in this version, with the lead singer playing bass/backup guitar - but the game looks like a true Guitar Hero. Plus, it's kinda hard to screw up little circle-thingies with white dots on them.
Sound quality, on the other hand, is something that Activision and Vicarious Visions had little control over. The DS's built-in speakers are just too weak to let the music in this game shine, so it's best served with a heaping helping of headphones. Besides, no one in the lunchroom wants to hear Are You Gonna Be My Girl for the nine hundredth time, so be a little courteous.
Where Do We Go From Here That's about all there is to Guitar Hero: On Tour. Once you get through the game's 25 songs, you can go back and play them on harder difficulties to unlock new outfits and songs, or just take the rock to your friends with the wireless battle mode. There's a decent amount of replay value compared to other DS titles, but it probably won't hold much interest once you get back to the comfort and familiarity of your console Guitar Heroes. It's definitely a worthy effort by the GH folks, and worth a try for any fans of the series who (shudder!) actually spend some time away from the comfort of their gaming couch.
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Darthziggy
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