"ROCK OUT!" Yes, we've all seen the incredibly cheesy trailer for Guitar Hero: On Tour by now. Hey, it got people talking (for better or worse), right? As the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

Well, GH:OT hit store shelves several weeks ago, and it broke Nintendo DS sales records. For some of you, however, the question still remains… is the game actually worth taking on a plane, on the train, or even on the pot? RockGamer.com is on the scene to drop some knowledge on you with a full review.

What You Get For $50

Upon opening the package, you will find the Guitar Hero: On Tour DS cartridge with instruction manual, a few assorted stickers, and the gadget that will either make or break the game: the Guitar Hero Guitar Grip.

The Guitar Grip is a peripheral invented by Vicarious Visions and Activision for the sole purpose of giving GH:OT the genuine Guitar Hero feel. The plastic device (pictured to the right), which connects to the Game Boy Advance slot of the DS, includes a velcro strap that allows you to easily hold the DS in its sideways, or "book", configuration. Please note that "easily" does not necessary mean "comfortably", as you will likely suffer mild wrist cramps after a few minutes of play. Some players have complained about the Guitar Grip disconnecting mid-song, forcing you to reset the game, but personally I didn't experience this problem.

Guitar Hero veterans will notice one glaring difference right off the bat: the grip only has four fret buttons instead of usual five. Initially, this struck me as odd, but as I held the Guitar Grip and played the game, it became obvious why Vicarious took this road. It would not be ergonomic at all to allow you to slide your fingers while your hand is firmly strapped into the device. Does this make the game easier? No, not at all… but more on gameplay later.

The Guitar Grip also includes a plastic pick-shaped stylus, which you use to "strum" a virtual axe by stroking the touch-sensitive screen in a plucking motion. Good idea on their part, if only to support the illusion that you're playing a guitar.

The Setlist

We at RockGamer know full well that a music game cannot be great without a superb soundtrack. This is particularly true when a game doesn't support DLC. So, is this setlist worth the price of admission?

Yes and no.

GH:OT hits you with a few pleasant surprises never before seen on Guitar Hero, including All Star by Smashmouth, Twisted Sister's anthem We're Not Gonna Take It,  and Spiderwebs by No Doubt. Activision obviously went out of its way to offer at least a handful of new, high-profile tunes. My guess (and hope) is that we'll see the four-part flavor of these tracks on Guitar Hero: World Tour later in 2008. Aside from these few "headliners", the rest of the 25-track lineup is filled with recycled tracks and mostly forgettable tunes.

The sound quality of the tracks is extremely high, considering the limited memory space of a DS cartridge. Quick tip: The game sounds way better on your headphones than it does through the DS speakers.
 
For the full Guitar Hero: On Tour setlist, click here.

Graphics and Presentation

This is a music game (on the Nintendo DS no less), so we won't spend much time breaking down graphics. The 3D characters are a sight to behold compared to most other DS games. They are crisp and well-detailed. Other than that, there's not much here to praise. The fonts are blocky, the note highway looks like something out of a SNES game, and it feels like what little graphics budget Vicarious had was spent pushing polygons on characters you'll never look at. Not a big deal… the stars of the show are the music and the gameplay and they probably knew it all along.

The interface and presentation are extremely bare bones. We understand there are memory constraints in a DS cartridge, but it's hard to justify the fact that the entire story mode consists of a block of text (that's IT) followed by a setlist… lather, rinse, repeat four times.

Everyone who has played Guitar Hero or Rock Band before will agree that players need instant access to a few vital pieces of information at all times: the note highway, the star power meter, the performance meter and the combo indicator. If this is the case, why would you place most of these elements on the screen opposite the note highway? Try shifting your eyes back and forth between the two screens while playing on Expert. Personally I couldn't get the hang of it… maybe you'll have better luck than me.

On a more personal gripe, the seven-letter limit for a band name drove me nuts. SEVEN LETTERS? Seriously? I couldn't even call my band "Rocktopus"… much less "Doctor Rocktopus". I mean come on! How am I supposed to live the dream with a band named "Bob"? (no offense to all you Roberts reading this… you get my point)

Gameplay

Guitar Hero: On Tour tries valiantly to be a Guitar Hero game. The Guitar Grip is as close as you’ll come to playing Guitar Hero on a DS. The multiplayer guitar duels (similar to the boss battles in Guitar Hero III) have innovative attacks and can be pretty addictive.

Unfortunately, the technical limitations overshadow the high points. Some strums fail to register, others trigger a phantom extra note. Both of these problems will break your combo multiplier and can frustrate even the most patient of guitar heroes. Other times, tapping on the touch screen will generate enough sound to set off the microphone-sensitive Star Power switch.

Maybe that’s not a big deal to players looking for a more casual, fun Guitar Hero experience they can take on the road. So what does Guitar Hero: On Tour have to offer to you road warriors?

Mostly embarrassment.

If you don’t believe me, try playing one of the harder songs on Expert, let alone screaming “ROCK OUT!” into the microphone, without getting strange looks from everyone around you. I personally wouldn’t play this game outside of a controlled environment (read: in the bathroom with the door closed).

Jen sums it up best in this video:

Overall Score: 5/10

Jen’s Take:

“Don’t play this game. You’ll get carpal tunnel. And you’ll get stupider.”

Guitar Hero: On Tour (published by Activision, developed by Vicarious Visions) is available now for the Nintendo DS ($49.99).