Guitar Hero: On Tour

"All things considered, brilliant execution"

Guitar Hero. One of the biggest crazes of the new millennium. As technology evolves, we find video games transcending boundaries that had been unthinkable in the early-to-mid eighties, when video games were first becoming the popular media items they are today. See that sports star? New technology allows you to golf and bowl with the best of them. Those action movie heroes? Tote heavy weaponry and save the world just like they do. That rock star on the stage? Grab your guitar controller and shred with the band in front of virtual millions, as well as your friends and family.

Portable gaming is something Nintendo has down to a T. Since the development of the Game Boy in the late eighties, they've ruled the portable video game market. Sega tried and failed with their competitive Game Gear, and now Sony puts up a challenge with their PlayStation Portable handheld. Sure, Nintendo doesn't have the best sales, or the best graphics, and often comes in third to Microsoft and Sony. However, Nintendo's strategy that, in my humble opinion, puts them ahead of their competition is centered around one simple word: innovation. By mastering motion sensing on their Wii console, and touch screen and microphone technologies on their DS handheld, they truly are looking at the future of gaming, instead of building on what we already have.

Guitar Hero: On Tour is a grand experiment in amalgamation of the console experience of Guitar Hero and the innovative portable experience that is the Nintendo DS. Does it work? Mostly. There are some universal gripes with the overall execution of the idea, but it does pave the way for even further innovation on the parts of both Nintendo and RedOctane, the creators of Guitar Hero: On Tour.

Gameplay: 7/10
From what I understand, RedOctane underwent this project with a "trial and error" mentality. Various sources say that several different types of guitar controllers were in development before RedOctane finally finished the "Guitar Grip" controller.

For those who don't know, the Guitar Grip is a wrap, of sorts, that fits into the GBA slot of the DS. By holding the DS "book-style" (horizontally), the player can manipulate the pick-shaped stylus across their virtual guitar while pressing the fret buttons with the opposite hand. Like the console Guitar Hero games, a "lefty flip" option is available for our south-pawed friends. Also, there is an adapter for those of you who haven't caught up and still own an original DS instead of the "Lite" model.

My evaluation of the Guitar Grip is simple: it's not perfect, but it's about as good as it could possibly be. After extended use, the wrist and hand begin to feel the pain. You will experience discomfort during play, and the game cheerfully reminds you of this at the title screen, and recommends you take frequent breaks. My response to this is that you should definitely obey! After playing about two songs, a break sounds like a grand idea.

The orange fret from the guitar controllers is gone, lowering the difficulty by a considerable degree. Even Hard and Extreme modes with have the same number of frets as Medium mode. The game throws more notes at you, and chords become far more prominent at higher levels. With a large number of chords on such a small screen, at times you may develop what I like to call "DDR syndrome", where it seems like there's too many notes on the screen and it feels impossible to jump in.

While playing, all of the gameplay mechanics from the console games return. Star Power can be gained from the using the whammy bar (which is on-screen now, manipulated by the stylus), and can be activated by shouting "Rock On!" (or "Cat Litter!", or blowing into the DS microphone, or any other action that registers the mic) or by pressing the D-Pad or any of the face buttons (except Start, which pauses the game), or tapping on the Star Power meter on the touch screen. Hammer-ons and pull-offs return and work surprisingly well. A new feature that I don't really enjoy is that upon pausing and unpausing the game, the game will wait for you to get situated again before it throws more notes at you. At first I enjoyed this feature, but after a while it just becomes a hindrance.

The career mode remains virtually unchanged from the console versions. You'll go through a number of tiers, with 4 songs in each "setlist" for each tier, along with an encore song. My only gripe with the "new" career mode is that you must complete all songs on each setlist; I enjoyed having a "freebie", or skipping a song I didn't particularly enjoy.

Also, due to limited space, the career mode (and in turn, the songlist in general) is much shorter, having only 26 songs compared to the 50+ songs of the previous titles. This is expected, and, in my opinion, is a welcome sacrifice.

Battle mode also returns from Guitar Hero III, and it's bigger than ever. I haven't gotten to play this yet, but it seems to be virtually the same in execution from the previous installment. There are new weapons that utilize features of the DS, like blowing into the mic to extinguish flames on your guitar, or signing autographs with the touchscreen.

My main complaints of the gameplay are the somewhat-unpleasant Guitar Grip, and the touch screen. Although the pick stylus is a brilliant idea that feels more natural and realistic than the strum bar, it could have been made a lot better. The touch screen feels too cluttered, and sometimes it's hard to use the whammy bar without inadvertently strumming, killing a carefully planned Star Power combo.

Graphics: 8/10

Of course, they're nowhere near the console versions. However, they're pretty damned good, considering the relatively low polygon count for the DS. The characters resemble low-res versions of their Guitar Hero III counterparts. The sets look decent and the touch screen looks beautiful, with detailed pictures of the guitar you've selected.

Sound: 7/10

The only reason this gets such a high score is because the sound quality is very good. The DS has very weak sound compared to the PSP, but this isn't too bad, considering what they had to work with. Unless you're in an absolutely silent room, you'll have a bit of trouble hearing the game, so bust out your headphones (again, the game helpfully suggests this) and you'll see how truly surprising the sound quality is.

The main problem is with the songs themselves. The songlist is very lacking, featuring mainly pop songs from artists like Smash Mouth, OK Go, and Daughtry. The range of genres it covers simply isn't wide enough, and there are a number of songs from previous games in the series. There are a few decent songs, however, and veterans of the series will recognize series staples like Nirvana, Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Ozzy, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Newcomers like blink-182, No Doubt, and Incubus make welcome new additions, but somehow it still feels...lacking.

Story: 2/10

There is a story to Career mode, trying to give it some direction, but it ends up feeling tacked on and obligatory. You probably won't even notice it. It basically details your "rise to fame" like every other Guitar Hero story. Don't worry, you won't feel like you're being ripped off in this aspect. It never mattered before, it doesn't matter now.

Replay Value: 6/10

You'll be hard-pressed to find someone that has a Grip and the game, but if you have a buddy or a sibling that has their own copy of the game, you're likely to get a bit more mileage out of this one than the rest of us, since head-to-head on the console versions is the most fun you can possibly have with those games. Those of you who don't can still undertake the challenge of getting 5-stars, and later 100% on all the songs. There are guitars, skins, and character costumes for you to buy with money earned in Career, but that's about it. There are no unlockable characters to purchase, or bonus songs to earn with the exception of the last one.

Overall, it's a definite GH experience. If you have a DS and are a fan of Guitar Hero games, I recommend at least checking it out, although some minor problems with the control will put a lot of people off, as well as the subpar track list. The somewhat steep price for a DS game might also deter some buyers, and a decent pair of headphones will up the game's quality considerably, so this might involve another purchase.

I definitely wouldn't jump up and buy a DS just for this game, but it's a fun, solid experience for those times when you don't have your PlayStation or Xbox in front of you. It's probably the best music game for a handheld console.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/08

Game Release: Guitar Hero: On Tour (US, 06/22/08)