Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades
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Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades
New songs, same game
After reviewing the first Guitar Hero: On Tour game back in July, I was surprised to see Activision and Red Octane release a new version so quick. And by new version, I mean new tracks and a cool new functionality, nothing more. Still, the game keeps its Guitar Hero appeal and will please early adopters of the DS series.
Here’s our review for Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades.
Gameplay itself has remained the same: you attach the Guitar Grip to the GBA slot of your DS, you strap it around your hand so you can press the four coloured fret buttons when prompted on the left side of the vertically positioned touch screen while the other hand holds the pick-shaped stylus and use it to strum virtual guitar strings on the right side of the touch screen. Whammy effects can be applied by moving the stylus across the virtual chords and once the “Star Power” meter is filled, you can either blow or yell into the DS microphone to unleash your fury for multipliers.
Not only the game features a few more songs compared to the original game but also far more diversified and interesting. The developers have managed to add a few DS-exclusive songs like "We Are The Champions", “You Give Love A Bad Name” and "Smooth Criminal" which is very cool but most of the songs are already available on most of the Guitar Hero console versions. So for people who play on consoles, this tracklist won’t be so surprising.
Here’s the complete track list:
• Alien Ant Farm - “Smooth Criminal”
• The All-American Rejects - "Dirty Little Secret"
• Blind Melon - “No Rain”
• Blondie - “One Way Or Another”
• Bon Jovi - “You Give Love A Bad Name”
• Boston - “Rock and Roll Band”
• The Darkness - “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”
• Edgar Winter Group - “Free Ride”
• Fall Out Boy - "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"
• Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"
• Free - “All Right Now”
• Jimmy Eat World - “The Middle"
• Joe Satriani - “Satch Boogie”
• Journey - “Any Way You Want It”
• Lenny Kravitz - “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
• Linkin Park - "One Step Closer"
• Los Lobos - “La Bamba"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - “Sweet Home Alabama (live)”
• Paramore - "Crushcrushcrush"
• Queen - “We Are The Champions”
• R.E.M. - “The One I Love”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Can’t Stop"
• Sammy Hagar - “I Can’t Drive 55”
• Seether - "Remedy"
• Smashing Pumpkins - "Tarantula"
• Stone Temple Pilots - “Down”
• Veruca Salt - “Volcano Girls”
• Weezer - “Buddy Holly”
Just like On Tour, Decades features a single player Career Mode, allowing the player to select from new and returning Guitar Hero characters. As usual, completing career mode tiers will unlock more venues, tracks and options for the selected character’s appearance. The game once again uses the local wireless abilities of the DS to support both 2-player co-operative play and competitive play. Surprisingly, the developers have added a few interesting improvements that will expand your experience. Among them, the most interesting comes in the form of an "expanded track list" option that unlocks itself through wireless play between Decades and the original On Tour game. After linking both versions together, you will be increasing the number of tracks to choose from in cooperative and competitive two-player modes.
In terms of visuals, animations and sounds effects, Decades delivers just as the first game. You’ll still see your character take the stage with his or her band, playing along with the song while you read incoming notes. But the game’s biggest drawbacks remains the Guitar Grip comfort level and stability once connected into the GBA port. If you suffer from arthritis or have the “big hand syndrome”, you will once again have some issues playing the game; little breaks are necessary. Back in July, I asked either Activision or another third party company to step up and make a more comfortable grip. Unfortunately, no one has answered the call, yet. If Guitar Hero is making a comeback on the DS in 2009, this needs to be fixed or changed. Knowing that Nintendo is set to release the DSi (remember, there’s no GBA slot in there...) in North America sometime next year, this is a good reason to redesigned the Guitar Grip. As for stability, the frustrating disconnection of the Grip from the GBA slot keeps happening. So my advice remains the same: set your straps correctly and practice yourself to hold the DS and Guitar Grip before start playing seriously.
Decades might not be a good choice for those who already own a Guitar Hero game for either the Xbox 360, Wii or both Playstations 2 and 3 and expect the same experience. Then again, if you don’t play on home consoles and you play most of your games on the DS but never bought the first Guitar Hero DS game, don’t hesitate to pick this one up. Of course, you can’t match the exact same rock n’ roll experience of holding a guitar in your hands but it comes very close.
Conclusion
If you can accept the fact that this version is a track pack a few improvements more than a totally new, re-thinked and re-worked game, then shedding 50$ won’t stop you from getting it. Still, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades is an interesting addition to your DS collection not only for the new tracks but especially for the extended tracklist via wireless link with the original game.
Pros
+ Visual and sound quality remains excellent
+ More interesting and expanded tracklist
+ Ability to stream songs from the original game
Cons
- Guitar Grip remains uncomfortable
- Experienced players will finish the game very quickly
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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