Game Review: Guitar Hero On Tour
Gieson Cacho - Contra Costa Times
Jul 03, 2008
Guitar Hero: On Tour -- ***
Nintendo DS
I have to apologize to Activision. "Guitar Hero: On Tour" is better than I thought it would be.
When I first heard about the franchise's move to the Nintendo DS, my response was, "Why?" I said it was a mistake. There's no reason to bring a game that's reliant on a plastic guitar to a hand-held. It just wouldn't work.
Then I discovered the developer, Vicarious Visions, had made a peripheral -- and it looked awful. It piggy-backed behind the system and didn't even resemble a guitar. Seeing it with the plastic add-on made me want to dance the polka; can you say "Accordion Hero"?
But when I plugged in "On Tour" and its peripheral, it felt all right, and after playing through a couple of songs I was sold -- to a point.
Vicarious Vision has successfully brought the essence of the "Guitar Hero" franchise to the portable screen. It's good. The gameplay is familiar. But after the first hour my hand started to ache, and when I increased the challenge, strumming and keeping an eye on the notes became difficult on the shaking screen.
The problems that prevent "On Tour" from being a faithful translation are the physical and technological limitations of the system itself. The hand-held doesn't offer the ergonomics for a game like this, nor does the cartridge support high-fidelity sound.
But if fans can get over the pain of playing and the tinny music, then "On Tour" is the perfect title to take on a trip. It is "Guitar Hero" on the road, and despite some of the drawbacks, Vicarious Visions overcomes it by working toward the strength of the Nintendo DS.
Players press the four fret-buttons on the accordion peripheral and strum on the touch-screen. To deploy Star Power, they have to yell into the system's microphone.
But the real fun in "On Tour" comes from the Guitar Duel mode, which is a modified version of the battle feature in "Guitar Hero III." In this mode, players have to rock against franchise regulars such as Judy Nails. By playing certain notes, they can obtain weapons and shields.
One item sets a foe's guitar on fire (she'll have to blow it out using the microphone). Another power-up will cut opponents' strings, forcing them to restring a guitar by drawing a line on the screen.
With these items and the constant competition, the title has the quirky quality of "Mario Kart." As the ultimate test, I took the game on a ride down Highway 24. I strummed through a couple of songs as the Civic bobbed on the road, and I have to say that through it all, "On Tour" played like a champ.
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Copyright 2008 by Contra Costa Times
