Guitar Hero: On Tour

Rating Everyone Genre music Publisher Activision External Links Official Guitar Hero Website

With so many music and rhythm games that have already found a home on the little handheld that could, Taiko Drum Master, Elite Beat Agents and Jam Sessions to name a few, it’s almost surprising that, until now, one of the home consoles’ most popular music genre title has yet to capitalize on the DS’s solid install base. But, this was inevitable and thus Guitar Hero: On Tour was born. Can the title hold its own amongst the aforementioned titles and also live up to the expectations of its big brothers? That answer, my friend, lies in the details.

It would seem the most logical place to start with any music game would be the setlist. After all, what would a rhythm game be without its songs? Guitar Hero: On Tour features twenty-five licensed songs and 1 bonus song. The licensed tunes range from ZZ Top to Maroon 5 to Pat Benatar. Although they feature tracks from various artists across several generations, the overall breadth of song library is nowhere near that of its console cousins. The majority of songs included are thankfully the artists’ master recordings; however the amount of compression used to fit everything on the DS game cart causes the overall audio quality to suffer. Be sure to pack some headphones to milk as much audibleness as you can. The DS’s built in speakers just don’t cut it in tandem with each songs sketchy quality. In standard single player mode, songs are divided up into 5 tiers of 4 songs along with 1 encore song, pretty much what you are used to from any of Guitar Hero’s console iterations. Gameplay also hasn’t changed much from what we are used to, albeit with a few exceptions.

What would a Guitar Hero game be without its peripherals? Well other than obviously cheaper, a whole lot less fun. On Tour comes with a guitar grip controller that plugs into the DS’s Game Boy Advance cartridge slot and features four of the five fret buttons we are used to. After having originally worried about this crucial disappearance, my worries changed to relief after having struggled with early finger placement on this version’s smaller fret buttons. Now, I don’t have some freakishly large hands, they’re pretty average for a 6” 2’ tall male, but I can see someone with huge hands or otherwise chubby fingers becoming frustrated after using On Tour’s fret board for a few minutes. The touchpad is used in tandem with the fret board to strum at the appropriate times.

In addition to the game’s tried and true career mode, single player guitar duels and some fun multiplayer modes are also present. By beating duel mode the games single bonus track can be unlocked. Multiplayer is limited to local 2-player wireless play but offers both competitive and cooperative play. Competitive mode is the same as single player duel mode and resembles that found in Guitar Hero III. Players throw rock themed hindrances at one another hoping to take the lead. These range from the annoying fan demanding your signature to the metal-esque flaming guitar prompting the player to blow into the DS’s built in mic to stifle the flames.

Guitar Hero: On Tour has made a solid jump from its original home on consoles. There are some shortcomings in the form of an awkward fret peripheral and a slightly questionable track list, but these are more than made up for in the game’s visual presentation, multiplayer mode, and sheer fun factor. I just wish there was a better option to activate star power as shouting into the mic may cause a scene playing on the subway or bus and hitting a button to activate it can become near impossible on some of the game’s more difficult songs.