Is the humble, plucky little Nintendo DS capable of withstanding the power of Rock?  Just barely it seems.  The venerable Guitar Hero franchise has now made its debut on a portable system.  While the DS does appear to be the obvious choice what with the strumming and all, Guitar Hero: On Tour isn’t quite the natural fit you might think, even with the goofy controller that ships with the game.

Pet Rock

First, let's get the basics out of the way.  On Tour is pretty much what you've come to expect from the Guitar Hero game.  All the basics are here.  You pick your favorite rocker and shred your way through a series of progressively difficult set lists.  Take the money you've earned playing the game and buy new outfits and instruments for your character.

In addition to the 25 song career mode, the much unloved boss battles from GHIII have returned.  However, Vicarious Visions did the right thing by moving them out of the career and into a special mode called Guitar Duels.  That's good.  Yet the Duels remain painfully unfun despite much retooling to take advantage of the DS. That's bad.

The Show Must Go On

As for the main game?  The song list is pretty good with some real standout tunes.  Rick Springfield?  Come on.  Who doesn't love Jesse's Girl?  Stevie Ray Vaughn?  Thank you sir! May I have another?  Oh sure there are some low points.  As fun as it may appear, Twisted Sister just isn't that great from a gameplay perspective.  Song-wise, On Tour is a solid effort.  Too bad those dinky DS speakers aren't built for rocking out.

To somehow make the game playable on the DS, On Tour ships with a special controller (complete with a "pick" shaped stylus) that fits into the GBA slot on your DS.  This gives you four fret buttons as well as intense hand cramps if you play for more than 15 minutes.  The game urges you to find a grip that comfortable.  I'm still looking.

Studio Musician

The four buttons work quite well and to compensate for the missing fifth fret, the note charts in On Tour tend to include lots of 3-button power chords, especially at the harder difficulty levels.  It's a fair trade-off, as the expert level is as brutally difficult as anything you've experienced in other Guitar Hero games. What makes the whole game particularly tough is the strumming control.  Because dragging the stylus across a virtual set of strings offers no tactile feedback, it's very difficult to accurately strum to the rhythm.  You do get better with practice, but you'll still miss a lot of notes through no fault of your own.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Technically this is Guitar Hero, but a huge piece of the puzzle is missing.  Clutching your teeny tiny DS, squinting at a teeny tiny screen, and listen to tinny audio does nothing to enhance the illusion that you're a rock god.  And playing this in the company of others will make you look like an even bigger idiot than regular Guitar Hero.  On Tour is a technically proficient, yet strangely joyless experience.

Review by: Greg Bemis