Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades

New songs, same game

Posted 4 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

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.



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.

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