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What should have been.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 12
Date: June 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It was a great idea, however the track list is small and includes songs we've seen before. The least they could have done if including songs they're used before is to throw us some GH1 songs we haven't played in a while. Even the new songs aren't a huge draw for me, so if you like the songs on it your mileage may vary.
The controller is a great idea but I find the buttons too close, so I have to squeeze my fingers over the buttons. Playing the game was fairly uncomfortable. I hardly have big hands, I would hate to see someone like that try this game.
Even with these problems I had the game wasn't too challenging to pick up and play. While I'm hardly good- In GH3 I sometimes struggle on Expert, I had no problem beating songs on expert here. I suppose they pulled the difficulty down to make up for 4 buttons on a portable system, but I think it came down a bit too much.

nice thought, bad result

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: July 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was looking into this game for a long time and when i decided to buy it, I was pretty disappointed with it. first of, if YOU HAVE AN ORIGINAL DS you have to unscrew 2 bolts to switch the part that goes in the GBA slot. the bolts are a pain to unscrew and are nearly impossible to screw back in, then comes the gameplay, the graphics are great for the system, but there are only 25 songs. some from previous GH games. to activate star power you have to blow/say something in the mic which means leaning over to the touch pad and blowing into it or stretching a finger to press a or b which pretty uch means you'll miss a couple notes. the grip is uncomfortable and will hurt wrist I would not recommend buying this if you are right handed

Small Hands

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: July 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Love the game....one thing though.....if your left handed like me the game is hard to hold and the buttons are so close together it would take midget hands to play it right.
Very uncomfortable.

Same game with unexcusable annoyances

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game has the same addicting gameplay that you'd expect from guitar hero but there are some major problems with it. First of all, the game is very short. Only 25 songs, it took less than 24 hours from purchasing it beat it on expert and I only failed about 10 times throughout the entire career. Not only that but there are at least 5 repeats from Guitar Hero III. Also, If you beat Guitar Hero III on expert you will find this game to be extremely easy,and that the only challenging part is because of a technical flaw and not technical skill, considering a touch screen isn't as reliable as a strum bar and the buttons are too small. Second, the buttons are really small and the positioning is extremely uncomfortable. My fingers hurt after just 2 songs the first time I played, it also hurt my wrist after a little while longer. For people who complain about pain and the possibilities of carpal tunnel from playing other Guitar Hero's, they're not even going to want to touch this one. It's bad. Oh, yeah and as a musician (though I believe even a casual listener could tell) it sounds like total crap, even with head phones on. Beyond all this it's still addictive, but it doesn't make it worth buying it full price. Heroins addictive too, what keeps you from buying that, its drawbacks. There is some innovation here though. The guitar duels are pretty fun and there is 12 or 13 different attacks if i'm not mistaken. When a string is broken you move the string from the bridge up the neck of the guitar with the stylus, your guitar can get set on fire and you blow on the mic to put it out. When your attacked with amp overload, the sound actually drops out. If you are truly an addict to this game, though unhealthy, that'd be the only way I could suggest this to you, even then, you probably won't like it as much. Either try it, buy it in a year when it's like 20 dollars used, or skip it altogether.

Not quite there

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Kinda painful on the wrist and fingers, very limited soundtrack. I think they should have put a little more thought into it.

tiny effing buttons

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm sorry I thought the grip was going to be bigger. I mean I knew it was four buttons, but they had the room on the ds to make those buttons slightly bigger.
But once you learn your way around those tiny buttons, the game is full of fun songs (but seriously why Smashmouth and stop with Kiss!!) I'm a fan of the venues nothing like playing on giant octopus.

so so

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

So I surprised that It has good technology,good sound and good idea. But I think that when I play,I'll choose Wii's one.

Good Game, But The Little Things Take It...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was really hesistant to buy this game, personally. A Guitar Hero on the DS seems, I don't know, out of place. I played it (rented), and I loved it! It's really good, to tell you the truth, but there are a few hangups.

the Guitar grip peripheal doesn't fit that well into the DS. It slides out at points and just kind of feels unnatural. The strumming is unresponsive and the whammy system could cause extra notes to be strummed towards the end of the sustained note. The song list does seem to lean to newer songs, but there is a lot of older songs that Guitar Hero devotees will like. I say that if you are a die hard guitar hero nut, go get this. If not, just wait untill Guitar Hero: World Tour for some new freshness.

Finally! A way to get your fix no matter where you are!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: June 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The Guitar Hero series has been selling in mass quantities for years now, captivating gamers and non-gamers alike. It's intuitive and addictive gameplay has always been its stongest feature. Who hasn't spent at least some part of their lives wishing they were a rock star? Guitar Hero gives everyone the opportunity to live out their rock 'n' roll fantasies in the comfort of their own living rooms. With Guitar Hero On Tour, Activision is branching out into the handheld market with a unique experience that still maintains the look and feel of the console versions of the series. The result is something that has a few quirks and inconveniences, but still manages to please even the most die hard Guitar Hero fan.

Of course, the most intriguing part of Guitar Hero On Tour is the newly-designed guitar grip, a clever peripheral that recreates the feel of the Guitar Hero fret buttons in a relatively compact package. The peripheral plugs into the GBA slot of your Nintendo DS and has a strap that allows you to strap in while playing. The fret buttons themselves are about half the size of your standard Guitar Hero controller, and Red Octane and Vicarious Visions have smartly chosen to shrink the number of buttons down from 5 to 4. Because of the relatively small size of the bottons, it can be tough to get your fingers to hit the buttons that you want them to sometimes. My fingers are in no way fat, yet I still find that I could hit two buttons with one finger easily. A lot of missed notes ensue if I don't stay on my game.

In addition to this complaint, I've also had a tough time getting used to the grip. My hands are slighly larger than normal and try as I might, I just can't find a "normal" way to hold the grip that doesn't result in a painful hand cramp. Personally, I've started playing with a 1-inch rubber ball in my palm to complement the natural curviture of my hand. I've also learned that if I don't have the bottom of the DS pressed up against my abdomen, that my accuracy drops due to furious shaking of the DS that can occur when tackling a particularly rockin' part of a song. It's definitely not the most convenient way to play a video game, but I've learned to make it work. On a positive note, Guitar Hero On Tour also comes with a special pick-shaped stylus that works perfectly. I literally could not imagine playing this game with a regular DS stylus.

The song list on the game is not my favorite collection of tunes, but for the casual crowd that the Ninendo DS seems to attract, I can see how it would be a smart move for the developers. The better tracks on the game include "Anna Molly" by Incubus, "Helicopter" by Bloc Party, and Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy." The balance things out (or cater to the casual folks), there's also Smash Mouth's "Rock Star" and Blink 182's "All the Small Things." It's not a terrible collection of songs by any means, but not nearly as challenging as its console brethren. Of course, this is also probably related to the guitar grip, which limits your ability to "rock out" as fluidly as you would normally. In addition, the songs have been compressed to fit them all on the DS cartridge. That results in less than stellar sound quality obviously, and headphones don't really fix the problem at all. Still, with 25 songs (most of them master tracks, most of them unique to this version of Guitar Hero), there's not a whole lot to complain about with the songs.

Looking at Vicarious Visions' past games, I was a little skeptical of how the development team could do with the Guitar Hero franchise on a handheld. But they have far surpassed my expectations with this game! Over a year of development, testing, and tweaking have resulted in a handheld game that truly does feel like Guitar Hero! All the staple features of the game are there: career mode, the shop, quickplay, and co-op multiplayer via local wireless. This version also introduces the guitar duel feature which is similar to battle mode on Guitar Hero 3. Players can play in this mode against the CPU or against other players using local wireless connection. Unfortunately, there is no option for online play, but that's not entirely surprising considering the lag problems with Nintendo's Wif-Fi Connect service.

The strumming motion that players are required to make over the DS touch screen feels entirely natural, and really adds a new level of excitement to the franchise. To whammy, players simply hold out the note with the fret keys and move the pick back and forth over the screen. I've run into the problem a few times where the note will end in mid-whammy, which then turns my fast whammy into a frantic strum and a whole lot of missed notes. A small oversight, but players should be able to adapt and correct themselves in no time! I was also a bit disappointed that the game doesn't come with its own standard-sized DS box, only a small case about the size of the cartridge itself. Considering how often I lose things, and how small the cartridge is, this can't bode well.

But for the most part, Guitar Hero On Tour is still a fun handheld version of an incredibly addictive game. The console versions of Guitar Hero focus on recreating the feel of playing a guitar. This version focuses more on recreating the feel of playing Guitar Hero, rather than the guitar. There is a bit of a learning curve, even for seasoned Gutar Heroes. Personally, I hopped right into Expert and was able to get 4 or 5 star scores by the the 5th song or so. There are a few hurdles to jump over, and a few quirks to deal with, but Guitar Hero On Tour is a great way to get your Guitar Hero fix no matter where you are! For me, it was totally worth the purchase!

7 out of 10 Stars

DS GH brings innovation to the strum action and battle system

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: June 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Track List
ALL STAR
ALL THE SMALL THINGS
ANNA MOLLY
ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL?
BLACK MAGIC WOMAN
BREED
CHINA GROVE
DO WHAT YOU WANT
HEAVEN
HELICOPTER
HIT ME W/ YOUR BEST SHOT
I DON'T WANNA STOP
I KNOW A LITTLE
JESSIES GIRL
JET AIRLINER
KNOCK ME DOWN
YOUTH GONE WILD
WHAT I WANT
WERE NOT GONNA TAKE IT
THIS LOVE
STRAY CAT STRUT
SPIDERWEBS
LA GRANGE
PRIDE AND JOY
ROCK N ROLL ALL NITE
The adapter for the DS PHAT works great possibly better as it goes deeper into the gameboy slot than the LITE adapter piece, I have noticed when using the strap that it is possible to dislodge the handpiece if you have it on tightly. I have better luck just putting my hand over the strap and way less hand cramping with this method. The song list is what it is with some choice cuts and some that we have had before and some we could do without, you be the judge of which ones could go.
On Tour for the DS really shines in its battle/duel mode for every song, where you have 12 different tricks to pull on your opponent. One of which involves blowing out a fire through the mic, and another which has you signing a fans tshirt. The touch screen pick action is also a welcome addition as it really feels like picking at notes, more so than the traditional rhythm bar of GH guitars. Even the touch screen whammy bar controls great, as do the standard hammer ons and pull offs. The mic driven star power is very responsive even with the phats mic in an awkward place under the pick hand (just turn up the sensitivity). On Tour DS is a welcome addititon to the GH franchise one that adds more than a few new tunes and characters with its touch screen use and battle system. My only complaint is the rehashed songs but at least they are some of the better ones from III.

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