Guitar Hero: On Tour keeps the popularity of everyone’s favorite guitar game burning in an unlikely place. Yes the unthinkable has happen; Guitar Hero has expanded to a portable system. The Nintendo DS seems to be the perfect platform for a portable Guitar Hero (GH) game because of the dual screens and touch screen. On Tour even includes a pint size fret board with the now familiar color fret board Guitar Hero fans have become familiar with. Instead of just pressing buttons on the DS in a feeble attempt to replicate the full game that you might expect, Guitar Hero: On Tour comes very close in replicating the full experience.

On Tour continues the same format you’re by now comfortable with in Guitar Hero. You select your character and then work your way up the music industry ladder by playing gigs at various locations across the country. Each gig is considered a different level that is completed by finishing a certain number of songs. Once you’ve mastered/finished all of the listed songs for the stage the crowd will ask for an encore which is the last song for the gig. Once you’ve mastered that song then you move on to the next gig. No big surprise here for GH fans and earning money to spend on upgrades is included as well.

Really you are getting the same type of Guitar Hero game you’ve been playing on your home console for the past couple of years. The big difference is how you play the game this time since you’re missing the guitar. What you get is a miniature fret board that plugs into the GameBoy Advance cartridge slot on the DS. This attachment includes a hand strap to keep you from dropping the fret board while playing the game. The Velcro strap can be adjusted to fit the hands of various size gamers. The attachment also includes a nifty holder for the special guitar pick stylus that comes included with the game. Once adjusted the fret board (called Guitar Grip) fits nicely on the DS and all of the frets were easily accessible.

However the initial warm and fuzzy wore off as soon as I started playing the game. Immediately I felt my hand was in an awkward position by holding the DS with my left hand. Instead of your wrist being straight you will probably keep your wrist at a slight right angle in order to see the screens properly. After the first song my left wrist was sore and I had to straighten my wrist out for a few seconds. I tried playing the game by keeping my wrist straight but that did not create the best viewing angle for the game and for using the guitar pick stylus.

The game even includes a warning message to take a break after a few minutes for your wrist. The clock on the warning shows 15 minutes, which felt about right each time I played the game. I found taking a few seconds break after each song helped but then taking several minutes between each stage was the best balance between soreness and gameplay. This could be either a minor inconvenience or a big problem for some gamers depending on any past conditions you might have with your wrist. If you have to take a break every 15 minutes when playing any portable games then just be prepared for the Guitar Hero Guitar Grip. It works great but it will leave you with some discomfort after some long playing sessions.

What I did enjoy the most about the changes for On Tour was the guitar pick stylus. I’ve been playing guitar for a long time and I always had some issues with the guitar pick setup in the regular GH games. Now with a pick in my hand picking/strumming just felt more natural than trying to push a slab of plastic up and down. I know that might sound strange, especially for a portable version of GH, but the guitar pick stylus really felt almost perfect for me. Now almost is the key because I did notice some occasional notes where the touch screen didn’t respond to the pick. This wasn’t a constant issue but it did happen from time to time, usually with just single note sequences.

Another new addition to On Tour is the Guitar Duel mode which lets you battle it out with other GH characters. The premise is simple; score more points than your opponent to win the duel. However this isn’t just a co-op contest to see who can play the song the best. Instead Guitar Duel unleashes an assortment of power-ups that you can use against your opponent to keep you in the lead. The star power notes are replaced with the power up notes which will award you with a power-up item once you hit the series of notes. Then a power-up icon will appear on the touch screen that you can activate by simply tapping it.

There are some very interesting power-ups that will surely raise your blood pressure temporarily. Screen Flip will temporarily flip the touch screen with the regular screen to keep you from playing for a few seconds. Pyrotechnics causes your guitar to catch on fire which you have to put out by blowing into the DS microphone. Signature is when a fan demands an autograph from you during your Duel. Simple scribble away on the swag until it disappears. Broken String requires you to restring your guitar during the song in order to keep playing. The big drawback of these power-ups is they require you to take your eyes off of the fret board screen in order to tap a power-up to activate it. During some heavy battles that could cost you some precious notes and points.

It really is hard to believe but Guitar Here: On Tour does work well in replicating the GH experience on the DS. Sure, you’re cramming everything into a small portable package but the overall vibe is still in place. The Guitar Grip does a solid job of mimicking the fret board of the guitars from GH. The touch-screen guitar pick stylus felt more natural than any of the previous Guitar Hero games, even with a few missed strums. If only the overall setup was not a borderline OSHA hazard with your wrist being bent uncomfortably in order to get a presentable gaming viewpoint. But as hardcore Guitar Hero fans and musicians know; no pain no gain when it comes to your music.

Gameplay: 8.2
Nothing much has changed from the standard gameplay you’ve played before with other Guitar Hero games. Strumming does feel easier with the stylus pick and the fretting action is very responsive regardless of the action on screen.  Using and reacting to the power-ups in the Guitar Duel mode does require you to momentarily look at the touch which might cost you a few notes. Activating star power can be done by pressing the Select, A, B, X, Y Button or the Control Pad. You can also activate star power by yelling “Rock On!” into the DS microphone, but I found just blowing into the microphone did the same thing. Just make sure to take some breaks every few minutes to let your wrists and hands relax.

Graphics: 7.5
Visually the game still looks like a Guitar Hero game, except now for the DS. You just get less animation than the console versions, especially when it comes to the lip synching. Just don’t expect Xbox 360 version graphics and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Sound: 7.9
The songs in On Tour are definitely more pop rock oriented than previous versions. Check out this link for a sample listing of the tracks included in the game. I didn’t notice any compression issues with the songs sounding like a bad EQ setting that went wild. The songs listed on the Web site are the original versions and there are additional songs in the game that are cover versions.  As a guitar player I still believe Guitar Hero should focus on the wild and elaborate solos of guitar players from the past and today. Usually those are hard rock/metal songs which are lacking in On Tour.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Ok, if you haven’t figured out by now that a Guitar Hero game can quickly reduce you to a crying baby once you get to the hard and expert settings, considered yourself warned.

Concept: 8.1
I never imagined that a portable Guitar Hero game would work so well. Yet here we are with a game that packs an almost complete GH experience in the palm of your hands. It might not be the most comfortable experience but it still “feels” like a Guitar Hero game. Lefty’s don’t have to worry about being forgotten because the game includes a Lefty Flip which allows left-handed gamers to keep on rockin.

Multiplayer: 7.6
The game includes a robust online modes that are only limited for one reason. The game includes four modes: Face-Off, Pro Face-Off, Co-Op and Guitar Duel. Face-Off and Pro Face-Off let two players compete against each other in a head to head battle. The only difference is Pro Face-Off requires both players to play using the same difficulty level. Co-Op allows two players to jam together, with one playing lead while the other plays Rhythm Guitar or Bass (which if you really want to be in a band learn how to play Bass). Guitar Duel is the same as the single player version except your playing against a live person. The one limitation of the Multiplayer? No true online play, only head to head multi-card gameplay.

Overall: 7.9
Guitar Hero: On Tour continues the Guitar Hero legacy by expanding its wing’s to the Nintendo DS. While some might have expected On Tour to crash and burn like other rock legends, On Tour stays on course. While the flight does get bumpy at times due to some wrist issues and limited song choices the overall experience is still intact.