Since it debuted on the DS not even
a year ago, the Guitar Hero On Tour series has been a hugely successful one,
posting huge sales numbers for a DS game and winning over legions of fans with
its portable gameplay that allows gamers to take their Guitar Hero rocking on
the go. Utilizing a proprietary peripheral that closely emulates the experience
of the console game, Guitar Hero On Tour has been a huge hit among rhythm game
fans. Therefore, it’s really no surprise that the series is already on its third
iteration, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits.
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits
offers up some nice gameplay updates over its two predecessors, including a
whole new setlist, and a new Fan Request mode that allows you to play through
some mission-based songs for more fans. The game does a pretty good job of
carrying the series’ development philosophy, but doesn’t really bring a lot new
to the formula. The game’s mechanics haven’t been changed, and depending on how
much you enjoy the series, that can be a good thing or a really bad thing.
The Fan Request feature is the
biggest new addition to the On Tour formula. Once a player has completed a song
in the career mode, they are then able to complete a series of difficult
challenges in order to further gain more fans and prestige. Each song has three
different Fan Request missions, a Guitar one, a Bass (or Rhythm Guitar) one, and
a Duel one. Each one has its own victory requirements that get more difficult as
you progress, requiring you to get a certain note streak, percentage, and so on
in order to win.
The game’s set list is as follows:
-
12 Stones – “Adrenalin”
-
AFI – “Miss Murder”
-
Angels & Airwaves – “Call to Arms”
-
Atreyu – “Falling Down”
-
Black Tide – “Shockwave”
-
Coldplay – “Violet Hill”
-
Endeverafter – “I Wanna Be Your
Man” -
Evanescence – “Sweet Sacrifice”
-
Fall Out Boy – “This Ain’t A
Scene, It’s An Arms Race” -
Finger Eleven – “Paralyzer”
-
Foo Fighters – “All My Life”
-
Franz Ferdinand – “The Fallen”
-
Kaiser Chiefs – “Ruby”
-
Lenny Kravitz – “Where Are We
Runnin’?” -
Modest Mouse – “Dashboard”
-
Phantom Planet – “Do The Panic”
-
Sum 41 – “Still Waiting”
-
Tenacious D – “The Metal”
-
The Bravery – “Unconditional”
-
The Donnas – “What Do I Have to
Do” -
The Duke Spirit – “Lassoo”
-
The Fratellis – “Chelsea Dagger”
-
The Kooks – “Always Where I Need
to Be” -
The Offspring – “Half-Truism”
-
The Strokes – “Reptilia”
-
Weezer – “Everybody Get Dangerous”
-
Wolfmother – “Dimension”
-
Yellowcard – “Lights and Sounds”
Presenting a varied blend of recent
tracks from a variety of genres, including metal, rock, pop, and punk, the
game’s tracklist may be set in the modern era, but still offers a compelling
blend of tracks that any Guitar Hero fan should be able to enjoy. Additionally,
one of the coolest features from the previous Guitar Hero On Tour game Decades,
the ability to jam to songs from other On Tour game’s setlist with your friends
is back, essentially allowing you to play with other On Tour games and have all
of the tracks from both games available.
Unfortunately, the problems that
plagued the first two games also rear their ugly heads this time around. The
grip peripheral is still slightly unwieldy, meaning that gamers with banana
fingers (like myself) will find themselves cramping up during even short play
sessions. Additionally, the strumming mechanic isn’t as responsive as it should
be, and players will find themselves missing notes or even bombing entire
sections that would otherwise be easy to nail, which can be very frustrating.
If you’ve played Guitar Hero On Tour
before, then you know what to expect from the graphics. The game’s characters
and presentation look on par with the other iterations of the series, and the
note highways move solidly without any slowdown mucking up tracks.
Soundwise, the game has a varied
list of tracks, but unfortunately has the same sound problems that plagued the
first two games. The tracks have a compressed tinny sound to them, even when
running through a pair of headphones.
Ultimately, if you are already a fan
of the Guitar Hero On Tour and its mechanics and want to check out more songs
from the modern music era, then Modern Hits is a game for you. However, if you
haven’t quite been won over by the DS franchise’s gameplay, then Modern Hits
isn’t likely to win you over.
|
Review |
Gameplay: 7.0
The basics of the gameplay haven’t been changed, as the title has simply
received a new gameplay feature and new songs. The Fan Request mode is a welcome
addition to change up the career mode a bit, but the problems that plagued the
previous two games are still around.
Graphics: 8.0
The graphics look mostly the same as previous titles, and still fairly
solid.
Sound: 7.0
While the varied soundtrack is pretty good, the sound quality isn’t great,
sounding tinny and compressed.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.0
Aside from the new Fan Request feature, this is basically a pretty modest
expansion of the first two games, without much in the way of improvements.
Multiplayer: 8.0
Same multiplayer features as before, including the great song exchange
element of the previous game.
Overall: 7.0
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits offers an interesting new gameplay feature
with Fan Requests and a new tracklist. However, the game’s fundamentals are
still exactly the same, meaning that if you aren’t a fan of the On Tour
mechanics yet, then this one won’t change your mind.
