System: DS
Dev: Plato
Pub: Ubisoft
Release: Sept. 11, 2007
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
Review by Nathan Meunier

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

Another excellent way to use Jam Sessions is for live performance. There are 30 available slots for saving chord palettes. Each slot will hold two complete sets of 16 different chords. This basically makes it possible to save enough chords for about 60 different songs. Each save slot can be custom-named with a song title as well. This feature alone greatly expands the possibilities of using Jam Session in a live setting, as you could easily create a complete set lists worth of tunes to play.

A handful of other features also open up a greater range of possibilities for players. The high-quality, clean acoustic guitar sound is amazingly realistic, but players also have the option of throwing on combinations of different built-in effects to spice things up with distortion, delay, EQ, chorus, flange, and tremolo. Up to two different effects can be assigned to a single channel and there are six channels to work with. The specific settings of each unique effect can also be adjusted manually using a sub-menu which mimics the dials of a pedal. Jam Sessions works well as a quick on-the-go songwriting tool. At any time in free-play mode you can tap a record button and capture a brief jam session, which can be saved and replayed later on. It appears your playing speed affects the length of the recording time available, but at an average strumming tempo you have about a minute and a half to record. Up to five recorded tracks can be saved at a time, which should be plenty of space to capture a quick song idea for later development.

Players who are willing to dig deeply into the game's various menus will find an enormous amount of customizability. All kinds of minor adjustments can be made to the game settings including mute-picking, strum direction, velocity response, audio output settings, and more. Even extremely minute adjustments can be made to the overall tuning in order to match up while playing along to a CD or another recorded instrument. The visual experience can be tailored to your personal taste as well. There are a total of 60 colorful background images and eight string variations to choose from. There are so many options available that it takes quite a while to explore everything the program has to offer.

Jam Sessions is an amazing, versatile program that is perfectly suited for a handheld system. You can plug in headphones and silently rock out on the bus, or you can plug it into an amplifier, crank it up, and play for an audience. This is a must-have for any musician or music-lover. Are you a musician, but don't have a Nintendo DS? Here's your reason to buy one. When combined with the portability of the DS, Jam Sessions is set to spawn a whole new breed of troubadours. For those about to rock... we salute you.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Freelance Writer

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