Guitar Hero 3
Preview
Take your rock and roll fantasies on the road
by Keaton Arksey
previewed on NDS
Getting a grip (cntd)
Guitar Hero On Tour doesn’t feature a strum bar so you use the touch screen to strum on a virtual guitar. This is accomplished by swiping the stylus across the screen. To use the whammy bar, players just wiggle the stylus on the screen. Along with the guitar, the touch screen also shows your score, star power gauge, and performance meter. The other screen is used for displaying the selected character and the upcoming notes.
Songs
Much like in previous Guitar Hero games, players can select one of six available characters to represent them in the game. Returning characters include Axel Steel and someone who appears to be Pandora from Guitar Hero II. Of course, characters mean nothing if the songs aren’t fun to play. Song taste is a matter of opinion, but so far the song list hasn’t impressed me. The game includes over 25 songs, 20 of those being exclusive to the game.
The new songs seem to be targeting a different audience than before and include hits like “All Star” by Smash Mouth, “Do What You Want” by OK Go, and “This Love” by Maroon Five. The hardest (rock wise) songs so far are “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister and “Breed” by Nirvana. So you can see that if you are into Hard Rock or Metal you might want to consider skipping this game. Songs from previous games that make a return include “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, and “Helicopter” by Bloc Party.
Since the DS uses cartridges instead of discs, audio quality is a concern. While the game does sound a little compressed, the game has nothing to be ashamed about and will -unlike Guitar Hero games on cellular devices- play the full song.
Autograph frenzy
Christened ‘Guitar Duel’, On Tour has a mode similar to the battle mode from Guitar Hero III. Players gain power-ups that are used to distract opponents to achieve the highest score. Here is where the game really takes advantage of the DS’s unique strengths. Guitars are set on fire and can only be put out by blowing into the microphone, and flash bulbs are set off in the players face, making it difficult to see the upcoming notes. In what may be one of the most fun uses of the DS touch screen ever, one power-up causes your opponent’s screen to get filled with autograph hungry fans. To get rid of them, the player must autograph T-shirts and pieces of paper as quickly as possible.
Guitar Hero On Tour will come equipped with the game and guitar grip and is expected to be released on June 22nd. While the soundtrack might be a little light, this game is highly recommended to anyone who has the itch to rock on the road.
