Guitar Hero: On Tour - Decades Review for Nintendo DS

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Vicarious Visions	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Activision	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Nov. 16, 2008	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2; 2 Versus; 2 Co-op	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Decades has gamers play through the Career mode in three ways: Lead Guitar, Bass/Rhythm Guitar, and Guitar Duel. Lead Guitar and Bass/Rhythm Guitar settings are similar to the console versions in that the same song is divided up into its constituent parts. As such, players essentially get two different gameplay experiences with the same song.

Guitar Hero: On Tour - Decades screenshot

Additionally, a third experience is thrown into the mix with Guitar Duels, where players battle it out against an A.I. combatant using the Duel mechanics established in Guitar Hero III and refined for portable consumption in the original On Tour. After completely going through each of the three components in Career, players will be rewarded with a new secret song each time (“We are the Champions” – Queen; “Satch Boogie” – Joe Satriani; “Smooth Criminal” – Alien Ant Farm). This kind of reward is substantially more motivating than the various guitars and skins you’ll open up for purchase along the way.

Other than Career, you’ll find the Multiplayer, Practice, and Quick Play features from the original On Tour that round out the title. For those out of the know, co-op and competitive modes are available and will have you battling it out and/or strumming in harmony with friends over local Wi-Fi. Best of all, Guitar Hero: On Tour - Decades amps up the Wi-Fi features by unlocking a sharing feature that allows you to stream songs wirelessly between both versions of On Tour in co-op and competitive modes. We were amazed at how well battling and co-op worked over Wi-Fi in the original, but the seamless way in which songs are streamed between two DS this time around is downright amazing.

Background visuals in Decades, like On Tour, are poor; band members, guitars, stages, crowds, and scenery all look awfully pixelated. However, foreground features are all that anyone really looks at, and they are clearly drawn, allowing for perfect execution. Like foreground visuals, sound is quite good. I was amazed at just how clear tunes are reproduced. However, quality earphones are a must, as the tiny DS speakers are practically worthless. This is especially so if you are travelling in a car, train, plane, boat…or mo-ped; the drone of the engine will completely cancel out the music. Besides, much of the garbled sound transmitted through the handheld’s speakers is reduced with headphones.

Guitar Hero: On Tour – Decades is a great choice for anyone that wants to take a virtual axe on the go. As competent as the original, Decades brings another 28 quality songs to the mix that can be streamed between two DS. On the downside, I do wish the “Decades” theme was further enriched by a greater selection of older jams, though Activision does have a demographic to think about. Regardless, if your hands aren’t still screaming out in pain from On Tour, grab a DS and a friend, but be sure and grab Decades. It is well worth the price of admission.

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.0

Graphics
Visuals are just good enough to keep the game perfectly functional.

4.0

Control
The Guitar Grip and tuch-screen controls work perfectly, though incessant hand cramping is just a part of the experience.

4.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The 28 songs are of high quality and admirably compressed. However, the Decades theme doesn’t quite shine through, as most of the songs were recorded very recently.

4.2

Play Value
The Career offering is a great solo mode, and the multiplayer features, especially the ability to stream songs for co-op and competitive modes, are very valuable indeed.

4.0

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Rock out anytime, anywhere: Fans can take the Guitar Hero experience wherever they go with Guitar Hero: On Tour: Decades. The Guitar Hero Guitar Grip™ is an ergonomic extension that mimics a guitar fret board and fits seamlessly in people’s hands to deliver the same core gameplay that defines Guitar Hero.

Host epic jam sessions: Unprecedented song streaming features allow players of Guitar Hero: On Tour: Decades and the smash hit Guitar Hero: On Tour to share songs and rock out together in multiplayer modes playing tracks from either version of the game.

Travel back through time: Shred to classic songs from the 㣪s, 㣴s, 㣾s and today. Rock out in brand new venues set through the course of rock history, inspired by the most important trends from the last 40 years.

Choose your path: Play through any one of three different career paths, each with their own story: Lead Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Guitar Duel.

Mastering the tracks: Rock out to one of the biggest selections of music ever assembled for the DS featuring all master tracks from the defining artists of their era including Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, REM, Queen, and many more.

Match your threads to your shreds: Customize outfits from throughout the decades of rock, defining the best and most outrageous clothing trends in rock history.

Jam with friends: On a local wireless network, friends can join together to play in co-op mode, or challenge one another in a Guitar Duel using new battle items unique to the DS platform.

Become a rock legend: Players can blow into the microphone to extinguish a pyrotechnics effects gone wrong, or use the touch screen to autograph a fan’s shirt in the middle of their set.