Review: Guitar Hero On Tour

Better Stock Up On Screen Protectors

When it was first announced that Activision was bringing Guitar Hero to the DS, there was a lot of speculation as to how it might work. Would they make a mini guitar, make it touch screen only, maybe even change the game up a bit? Well the solution that is presented in Guitar Hero On Tour is actually quite elegant and shows that the developer, Vicarious Visions, really put a lot of though into making this a faithful recreation of Guitar Hero to take with you on the go.

The game comes bundled with the aptly named "Guitar Grip" which has four fret buttons instead of the usual five found on the standard Guitar Hero controller. The grip itself is comfortable, but should only be used in about 30 minute increments with breaks in between (unless you would like your hand to cramp up.) The grip plugs into the GBA slot on the DS Lite, and is compatible with the old DS using an included adapter.

The game itself is surprisingly good. The setlist sounds a little offputting at first thanks to the inclusion of bands such as Maroon 5, Smashmouth, and OK Go. Even though they don't exactly scream Guitar Hero, the songs themselves are very fun to play thanks to so good decisions by the charting team. Thankfully there are harder songs though, my favorite being "I Don't Wanna Stop" by Ozzy, which has a crazy solo and will take even seasoned Guitar Hero players a couple of tries to pass the song.

Visually, the game is surprisingly crisp for a DS title. The characters and venues are impressive and the note highway itself is easily readable. Since sound is easily one of the most important parts of the game, it is a huge relief that the music sounds phenomenal for a DS game. It is a bit compressed, but not so much that the music is unrecognizable.

All in all, Vicarious Vision did a great job of doing the unthinkable and bringing Guitar Hero over to the DS. It captures the look and feel of playing Guitar Hero, has a good setlist, and is a technical feat on the DS. I do recommend buying some screen protectors, since the touch screen is used for stumming. Even if you are a diehard GH fan, I recommend giving this a shot. You might end up liking more than you though.

Verdict: B

by Nicolas Perez

PS: Stay tuned next week for the review of GH: On Tour's big brother, Guitar Hero Aerosmith.

Another Update

I haven't really gotten around to writing anything lately, but I have been playing stuff. I have already finished Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, but I am waiting until I can get my hands on a PS3 copy because the PS2 one is not what I would call an amazing port. I am also getting Guitar Hero: On Tour and will have a video of that up soon. I still don't know what I want to write about MGS4 so I am holding off on that for a while. If all goes well then GH: A will also have a video review with it.

A small update

I know I haven't posted in a while, I really haven't done a whole lot gaming wise lately. I DID finish MGS 4 but I am giving myself some time to go back and play more and give myself some time to really think about what I want to write in the review. Finally, I sent Neversoft an email about the prospect of a Guitar Hero: Aerosmith demo on PSN and XBLM, so when I get a response I will put it up here.

Two Quick Impressions

Lost Planet: Colonies and The Club

So, I haven't really got a whole lot accomplished game wise in the last couple of days (you can thank Rock Band for that). But, I do have a couple of games I played over the week that I can do some rapid fire impressions on. Keep in mind that I have probably only put about an 1 to 1 1/2 hours into each of these.

First up, Lost Planet: Colonies. I had missed the game when it came out back in 2007 so I thought I would catch up and play it now with Colonies. Colonies is a re-release of the original game with some more multiplayer stuff and a couple new single player modes. I haven't played multiplayer yet so this will be a single player focused impression and it also I would like to say that I am playing this on PC (and my PC ain't really a powerhouse by any means but I will keep technical issues out of this impression). The first thing I noticed, is that even on my lousy PC the game still looks pretty good, and I imagine that the 360 version looks better seeing as how is was mostly made for that system. The storyline is easily forgettable and I skipped the cutscenes due to some really terrible voice acting. The game itself plays fine but I am not seeing a whole lot here to keep me interested over a while. Full review will probably be coming soon once I finish it.

Second, The Club. I have the PS3 version of this one and am a little late to the party here seeing as how it came out in February. The premise of the game is basically that you are killing guys and are trying to do that as fast and accurately as you can so you can keep a combo. The rudimentary story has each of the characters in the game having a reason to join The Club and that is really about it, that is the premise. The gameplay more than makes up for the almost non-existent story. The game is incredibly addictive and all the modes are score based and focused on racking up points, almost like Geometry Wars but with more guns. You keep your combo by killing guys quickly and in fast succession and you get bonuses by using more stylish moves such as killing someone after rolling across the ground. I think this one will probably get a full review before Lost Planet.

Hopefully, I will get full reviews up for both games soon. I am expecting to the review for The Club up first just because I am not enjoying Lost Planet as much.

by Nicolas Perez