Hands on with DS Guitar Hero: On Tour

Guitar Hero has been rocking home console kasbahs for a while now, but it won't be until this summer that the franchise will be rocking out on the move.

Marking the series' handheld debut, Guitar Hero: On Tour comes to Nintendo DS with a new axe to grind. Literally. Boasting a slew of new features and an intriguing game-specific peripheral, Guitar Hero: On Tour could revolutionise portable music-making. Rock on for our first impressions from our meeting with Activision this week.

"There have been a lot of really challenging aspects to designing this game," executive producer David Nathanielsz told us. "We went through nearly 20 different prototypes before ending up with the game in its current state."

The result is an innovative new peripheral that takes advantage of the handheld's secondary slot to provide four coloured 'fret' buttons, while still allowing unfettered access to the touchscreen. You probably already know that holding down the coloured buttons with your fingers and then sliding along the touchscreen enables you to strum notes on the game's virtual guitar.

Whammies, meanwhile, are pulled off by scribbling on the screen and activating 'Star Power' is done by hitting any of the face buttons or D-pad. In short, On Tour takes the core Guitar Hero experience and tailors it specifically to the DS with touch-enabled strumming and use of a new handset.

"Throughout the entire process, we worked closely with RedOctane to get the peripheral right," said Nathanielsz. It feels that way initially, certainly. An adjustable wrist strap enables you to comfortably cradle the handheld in your palm and, adding to the experience, the game comes packed with a special stylus designed to look like a guitar pick.

As if that weren't enough, customisable face plates make it possible to cater the design to your liking and even the wrist strap can be swapped for a personal touch. As Nathanielsz put it, the ability to customize the peripheral goes hand-in-hand with the maverick nature of being a rock star.

For all the promise the peripheral shows, though, there are justifiable concerns. A few of them on show failed to fit snugly into the GBA slot, instead only loosely connecting with the handheld. While the peripheral never fell out of the slot, it did rock slightly back and forth like a wonky table.

Nathanielsz assured us that the design isn't final, with minor revisions to this core concept coming before release. In other words, small issues like this are more than likely to be resolved. One such issue has already been addressed: compatibility with first generation Nintendo DS handhelds. Included in the box will be instructions on how to modify the peripheral to fit properly with the original bulky system.

Of greater interest is the peripheral's potential lack of appeal. As an input device, it performs smashingly, however the concept of adding more mass to your DS may not be attractive for gamers on the go. The peripheral isn't subtle and carrying it with you in addition to your DS doesn't seem practical. It's difficult enough fitting a 'naked' DS into a pocket, let alone another piece of plastic. This isn't to take away from the fun to be had with the game, but to some people its practicality will appear questionable.

As for how Guitar Hero: On Tour plays, there's absolutely no question: it rocks. The various ways in which the game takes advantage of the touchscreen and microphone, not to mention the fundamental design, all come together for a unique and highly entertaining experience.

Three modes – Career, Quick Play and Guitar Duel – make up the single-player game. Working through Career makes it possible to unlock new guitars, clothing, and other extras by completing sets at various venues. Any of the songs you've unlocked can of course be played at will in Quick Play mode.

Stealing the spotlight is Guitar Duel, though. Built specifically for Guitar Hero: On Tour, this competitive mode tasks you with outperforming a computer-controller rocker. Local head-to-head multiplayer duels play out in similar fashion, having you earn more points than your opponent by nailing notes and utilizing battle items. Star-shaped notes signify battle gems that when hit in sequence award you a battle item. Up to three can be held at any given time and activated with a tap of the touchscreen.

Battle items range from pyrotechnic attacks to broken strings to flipping your opponent's screens, all of which make some use of the handheld's unique qualities.

"A lot of special consideration went into designing handheld-specific features," said Nathanielsz. Recovering from a fiery pyrotechnic attack, for example, requires blowing out the flames via the microphone. Repairing a broken string has you 'pulling' a new one into place by sliding the stylus along the guitar. Our favorite is having to sign t-shirts to get rid of crazy fans that randomly interrupt your set.

Nathanielsz claimed over two dozen songs will make it into the final game, only a handful of which have been revealed to date.

"We know our audience spans a lot of different ages and styles, so we want to put in some variety. There are 25 songs in total, 20 of which are exclusive to DS." The short-list of playable tracks ranges from Pat Benatar's 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' to 'Rock And Roll All Nite' by KISS to modern hits like Jet's 'Are you Gonna Be My Girl'. There's bound to be a few standout tracks to suit every taste, then.

Figuring out exactly what those will be won't take long at all as Activision is preparing to ship Guitar Hero: On Tour in less than a month in North America on June 22nd (and July 18th in the UK).