Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)

[Nerdy Knight]

Yesterday, after gathering up about 10 games and getting in the car with my dad, we drove to GameStop to buy a game that I've been anticipating since the beginning of the year. I exchanged them all for enough store credits to buy this game. There has been quite a bit of speculation as to if this game would do well enough or not. I guess you'll just have to find out in my review of:

Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)



Welcome to Guitar Hero: On Tour! Are you ready to start your life as a rock legend on the go? Now's your chance! Travel through venue to venue in Career Mode and play some of the best rock songs of all time, all on the two screens of your DS! Are you ready to ROCK?!
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Storyline/Plot...8/10
I bet many of you are wondering how I can possibly give a game that doesn't really have much of a plot a score for the storyline. Technically, I can't, but I'm gonna do it anyway! On Tour starts you off playing at a local subway and ends by playing some final songs on a battleship. Crazy, no? The game includes the following songs:

Do What You Want by OK Go
All the Small Things by blink-182
Spiderwebs by No Doubt
Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet
We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister
All Star by Smash Mouth
Breed by Nirvana
Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
This Love by Maroon 5
Heaven by Los Lonely Boys
Helicopter by Bloc Party
China Grove by The Doobie Brothers
Rock and Roll All Nite by KISS
What I Want by Daughtry
Jet Airliner by Steve Miller Band
Black Magic Woman by Santana
Stray Cat Strut by Stray Cats
La Grange by ZZ Top
Youth Gone Wild by Skid Row
I Don't Wanna Stop by Ozzy Osbourne
Anna Molly by Incubus
Knock Me Down by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan
I Know a Little by Lynyrd Skynyrd

As you play through these songs and go to new venues, you will be awarded new band merchandise such as new cymbals and mics by your band manager. As far as storyline goes, that's about it.
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Graphics...9/10
As many of you have probably seen from screenshots of the game, On Tour provides an amazing graphical breakthrough for the DS. The characters look almost exactly like their console counterparts. There are several changes to the looks of the band, however. The drummer now almost looks like Vulcan Raven from Metal Gear Solid , and the singer now also plays the bass guitar. Besides that, there are also many neat special effects packed along with it that go off during your performance. Flashy, eh? Here's some screenshots:








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Gameplay...7.5/10
The most interesting part of playing On Tour is playing it with the brand new Guitar Grip peripheral. As you can see from the screenshot above, you plug it into the Game Boy cartridge slot and slide your hand into the strap, and then you're ready to rock! Another new feature is the new method of activating Star Power. Instead of tilting the DS like you think you would, they replaced this method by using the DS's mic function. Just yell something into the mic when you have enough Star Power and viola! You activated your Star Power! The DS's touch screen is also used in this game. As the buttons come down the fretboard, you hold down the corresponding fret button, and then strum the guitar on the DS's touch screen with the guitar pick stylus. Of course, these new features are somewhat...buggy. While playing the game, it is somewhat difficult to determine where you are strumming on the touch screen while looking at the notes coming down the fretboard. Therefor, you may miss quite a few notes. This doesn't occur very often, however. With the mic, it is very sensitive to surrounding noise. If you are playing in a moving car, Star Power will be activated automatically due to the sounds around you. Make sure you are in a somewhat quiet environment while playing, or you won't be able to use your Star Power effectively. The Guitar Grip also tends to slide out slightly on its own. Make sure it's pushed all the way in the Game Boy slot after each song. Otherwise, it may fall out during gameplay, and it will tell you to turn of the game and reinsert the Guitar Grip. Besides these minor flaws, the game holds up well on its own. Some new in-game features include the addition of 2 new characters alongside Axel Steel, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm, and Pandora. Gunner Jaxon and Memphis Rose make their first appearances in the game. All the old features of the previous Guitar Hero games are present as well, such as selecting your guitar, going to the store to purchase merchandise, and the Lefty Flip option for you lefties out there. There is also the Guitar Duels mode which is similar to the Battle mode in GHIII. Using power-ups to attack your opponent while playing, Guitar Duel mode has several new power-ups exclusive to On Tour. These power-ups include lighting your opponents guitar on fire, forcing them to blow into the mic to put it out and continue playing, and getting an autograph pushed onto the touch screen which they must quickly sign in order to continue playing.
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Overall...24.5/30
Guitar Hero: On Tour is a great leap forward for the guys at RedOctane, and they all deserve a great job well-done for this amazing addition to the DS. With great graphics, creative gameplay, and a whole bunch of classic songs to choose from, On Tour should keep you rocking out for a while. I hope you all enjoyed my review.

[diablo]

wow for the ds? weird and cool looking fret board on the side lol, its pretty cool they made it portable lol, very interesting too, using the touch screen feature of ds to take advantage of how to play the game

[LiNuX]

i like the idea of a whole portable GH game lol, but not a fan of DS - and i dont think this will be a very good game to play while on the subway going to work lol, cuz it needs your full attention

good review btw

[rukisuto]

From the first time I saw it I definitely had doubts about it.
Glad to see it's something you enjoy.

Good review :]

[EpsilonX]

i like the idea of a whole portable GH game lol, but not a fan of PS3 - and i dont think this will be a very good game to play while on the subway going to work lol, cuz it needs your full attention

good review btw

What does PS3 have to do with guitar hero ds?

[LiNuX]

What does PS3 have to do with guitar hero ds?

lol, i have had a headache all day

i meant DS - not a fan of the DS lol

[Iceskater101]

I am not a fan of the D.S either just like what linux said but from what I had heard I thought this game was going to be released in early 09 but thats good it wasnt held back

[xcarbon]

lol at this , that looks kinda weird.

[LemonRising]

lol at this , that looks kinda weird.

Feels weird too.
Hard on the wrist.

And the songs get old fast.

[Choke On Candy]

wow for the ds? weird and cool looking fret board on the side lol, its pretty cool they made it portable lol, very interesting too, using the touch screen feature of ds to take advantage of how to play the game

Nah I think it's garbage. Only play it when I go to walmart then I get pissed on how small it is you gotta squint to look at it and its too easy.