****What is it?****
As most of you are aware Guitar Hero is a computer game that involves strumming along to different music tracks in a bid to earn cash (to personalise your characters etc.) and hit the 100% note streak. After buying and becoming addicted to the Wii version of the game I saw Guitar World Hero On Tour for the Nintendo DS and just had to give it a go. The thought of rocking out to a load of decent tracks whenever and wherever I wanted seemed a too good a chance to miss.
With the Wii version being so good and a real hard act to follow I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical when buying this game, although any concerns disappeared very, very quickly.
****Songs****
The Guitar Hero On Tour Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS contains 30 tracks, which is considerably less than that of the consoles. However, when you consider the size of a DS cartridge 30 songs is actually quite impressive, although I still think the producers should have created a special cartridge that would hold the full suite of tracks available on the Wii.
The tracks include songs like “Girl friend – by Avril Lavigne”, “Two Princes – Spin Doctors”, “Excuse Me Mr – No Doubt”, “So What – Pink”, “In Too Deep – Sum 41” amongst many others. The track list contains some absolute classics and, in my opinion this is one of the best track listings of any game of this genre I have played. It really is great and you’ll soon be toe tapping, nodding and humming away.
As identified by the above the tracks are spread across all genres and include pop, rock, indie and heavy meal. There really is something for everyone on this game. One thing that is noticeable about the track listing is that most people would have heard of most of the songs, or if you haven’t you will recognise them once the tune starts. It is a game of “all killers and no fillers”, unlike the console version where many of the tracks are actually not that mainstream or well known.
A full track listing is available from many websites and is easily found by inserting “GH5 DS Track Listing” (or something similar) in to Google.
****Controls****
This game is played using the touch screen and a special fret button controller and it is impossible to play this game without it. Whilst the fret button controller can be bought with the game as a bundle package it is worth noting that the game can be bought separately so if you are buying the game second hand off Ebay or some other similar site ensure you get a controller as well otherwise you are going to be very disappointed.
The fret controller consists of a black box that includes 4 different colour buttons and looks like the end of the “proper” guitar controller. I should point out that the DS version has 4 fret buttons, whereas full sized console versions have a fifth fret button that is used in expert mode. Whilst die hard gamers may see this as a disadvantage not having a fifth fret button doesn’t bother me that much as I still struggle with four.
The controller is used by simply sliding the DS unit on to the unit, with the GBA cartridge slot cover removed to allow the male connector on the unit to slide in to the GBA slot. It is then a case of securing the DS to your hand (using the handy strap built in to the controller), placing a finger over the fret buttons, grabbing the pick and getting ready to rock out to your favourite tunes.
****Game play****
The game play is the same as on all the other consoles in that you chose the song and as it plays coloured circles travel down the screen that represents the guitar note of the part of the song. To hit the note it is simply a matter of pressing the corresponding coloured button on the controller and strumming. The strumming is achieved by moving the pick (supplied with the controller) on the touch screen.
With this game you’d expect that many of the console features would have been lost, but that does not appear to be the case here and just like the console versions some of the notes contain that all important “star power” that is required to reach those high scores. There are also times when you have to whammy notes, which without a whammy bar you’d think would be impossible. This is not the case and the developers have devised a cunning way to whammy the notes, which simply involves scribbling on the touch screen during the long notes. I think this is easier than using the whammy bar on the guitar controller on the console version.
What is good about this game is the touch screen will pick up a strum regardless of the direction the pick is slid across the screen. In addition, multiple strums can be done without taking the pick off the screen which is very useful for those fast notes in expert mode. In fact, if you had to take the pick off the screen then I think the completing songs in expert mode would be unachievable.
As with everything in life there are some downsides to this game and one thing I should point out is that to begin with, this was the most uncomfortable game I had played on the DS, period. Being strapped to the controller and the DS you will find your hands are forced in to an unnatural position, which unfortunately is required to play the game. I have the same issues playing the console version using the guitar controller however using the guitar controller you can actually stretch and move your hands and fingers to alleviate the pain. This is not possible with this version as any vigorous movements or stretching is going to lead to the controller becoming dislodged from the DS which will temporarily render the controller useless and stop game play. If this does happen then you will need to turn the DS off, push the controller in properly and reboot the game. It is not possible just to push the controller back in and carry on playing, as Nintendo doesn’t allow “hot swapping” of peripheral items in the GBA slot, which is very frustrating.
With your hands forced in unnatural positions at first you’ll probably find that it won’t be long before your hand is cramping up in pain, forcing a recovery break. With a bit of perseverance you’ll soon find your playing sessions will get longer and longer between breaks so it is worth sticking with it.
****Graphics****
A game of this genre is all about the playability and the audio so, in the large scheme of things graphics shouldn’t really matter. Despite this the producers have developed some awesome graphics.
Whilst you’re concentrating on the notes coming down the screen the band members will be in the background singing, strumming their guitars or beating their drums. Whilst the movements aren’t in time to the music, nor are the mouth movements in time with the words but this is totally forgivable. The band members are 3D polygon rendered and look very good. Whilst I have never been a fan of customising computer characters I have to make an exception for this game and I admit it is kind of cool to see the band members with different instruments and accessories or dressed differently thanks to the cash you have managed to earn during the numerous hours of game play.
Whilst the graphics are superb I do think they are a bit of a waste of time in all honesty. Playing this game I find I get so engrossed in the music and focus solely on the notes flying down the screen so pretty much everything else becomes a bit of a blur.
****Audio****
As previously mentioned this game is in a genre where the audio needs to be top notch, and once again the producers have really pulled it off. I admit I am usually the first to slate the audio quality of most DS games but I can’t with this. Even with the DS’ pretty poor speakers and audio ability the tracks sound just great.
In public places or in noisy rooms in your own home headphones are an absolute must have to really get the most out of this game. In addition, you don’t really want to annoy general members of the public going about their daily business.
One thing I should point out when using headphones is that you need a controller with a headphone input jack since the controller covers the DS’ own headphone jack. If you buy the bundle, i.e. the game and controller together, then you won’t have any problems since you will be buying a “genuine” product. Care must be taken when you buy the game and the controller separately, like I did. The genuine controller is quite expensive and there are much cheaper alternatives available on Ebay for a fraction of the cost. I bought one of these cheap “knock-offs” from Ebay and whilst it worked perfectly it had no headphone input jack and I couldn’t use it with headphones, which was a bit of a pain. Therefore, I ended up buying a genuine controller and a third party controller and in a bid to save a few quid I ended up paying out more than I really needed to.
****Difficulty****
Like all the Guitar Hero games across all platforms this version starts off very easy and becomes ridiculously hard, so it is something for gamers of all ages and abilities. In my opinion, this wide reaching audience is what makes the Guitar Hero series so good as the market is simply massive and very diverse.
With the DS version missing a fret button it would be natural to think that this version is easier than the others. I am pleased, however, to say that it is still difficult and expert mode is exceptionally tricky. With the notes flying down the tiny DS screen at a fast pace, combined with small buttons and being strapped in to the cramped playing position this game is a real challenge.
****Longetivity****
Despite having only 30 tracks there is many, many hours (if not days) of game play in this game. It is very addictive and I find
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