Guitar Hero DS

Rock out with your DS out!

Posted 4 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

At first, I was very sceptical about a handheld version of Guitar Hero since the cell phone version was a total disaster. But I have to admit, this DS version of Guitar Hero took me by surprise and will make me think twice before doubting the guys at RedOctane & Vicarious Visions again. Here’s our review for Guitar Hero On Tour.


While the gameplay itself has remained the same from the other Guitar Hero games, Vicarious Visions has adapted the gameplay to the Nintendo DS with a special peripheral called the "Guitar Grip", that fits into the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot of your DS unit. For those who still have an older version of the DS, a small adapter has been packed with the game just for you.

So how do you play Guitar Hero On Tour?

Once your Guitar Grip is attached to the 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. Guitar Hero console players, rookies and even experts, will find the DS experience quite challenging at first but once we get used to it, it’s very enjoyable. But patience will be required. Lefties will be pleased to hear that the game will adapt to your needs as well.

On Tour features a single player Career Mode, allowing the player to select from six different characters, four that return from the other games in the series and two unique to On Tour. As usual, completing career mode tiers will unlock more venues and options for the selected character’s appearance. The game also uses the local wireless abilities of the DS to support both 2-player co-operative play and competitive play. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock’s "Battle Mode" also making an appearance in the game under the name of “Guitar Duel” mode.


Visually, On Tour looks good for a DS 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. The character animations are also well executed. But the biggest surprise comes in the music selection and the sound design. As you know, the DS isn’t able to reproduce the same sound quality as the PSP but Vicarious Visions has done a terrific job in making the songs very distinctive and the ambient sound effects very noticeable. The track selection (25 songs in total) is also very good. While some of the songs in Guitar Hero On Tour are also found in other console versions of the game, the development team has managed to acquire and release some exclusive songs for the DS version including Smash Mouth’s All Star and my favourite Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It. How about making them available on consoles as well? Come on Activision! Now, I know you’re probably saying to yourself that 25 songs isn’t much but remember, we’re talking about a DS game here. Everything holds in a single cartridge: the animations, the sound quality of the game and the music tracks, the modes, the save feature…I mean, you can’t ask for more!

One little detail: if you suffer from Arthritis or have the “big hand syndrome”, you’ll have to forget this game because after a couple of minutes, the game can turn uncomfortable. So much that little breaks are necessary. Even the game reminds you at the beginning to do so. I’m wondering if Activision or even third party hardware companies like Mad Catz or Nyko will create a more comfortable Guitar Grip in the future… Still, Vicarious Visions has managed to capture the essence of the game and keep it fun. Maybe another little detail that you must know about the Guitar Grip: since it’s a piece of hardware that attaches itself to the GBA expansion slot, it can sometimes disconnect itself and completely stop your gaming session. So my advice is to set your straps correctly and practice yourself to hold the DS and Guitar Grip before start playing seriously. You don’t want to loose your progress while you rock like a rock star! Consider yourself warned!


Guitar Hero On Tour 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. Some players might think twice before shedding 50$ for it. But then again, if you don’t play on home consoles and you play most of your games on the DS, don’t hesitate to pick this one up. It’s a must have in your DS collection.

The whole development team behind Guitar Hero On Tour has managed to recreate many aspects of the original game and make it on the DS and frankly, I don’t see other handhelds offer the same gameplay quality as this DS version does. 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. So remember: find a comfortable way to hold the DS and grip before playing and rock the hell out of it.

Verdict: 100% DS players, a buy for you! For the others…if ready to make up your mind and take it as it is without comparing it to the other versions of the game then yes it’s a BUY as well! But you’ve been warned!

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