If you've ever played a Guitar Hero game before, then you'll know what to expect here. Pound away at multi-colored buttons as they're displayed on a virtual fret board on screen, and strum away as the notes hit the bar at the bottom. All the basic controls have been brought over to the DS, if slightly altered. The button layout has been slimmed down to 4, strumming is handled by sliding the stylus across the touch screen (which looks like a guitar), and you can activate star power via the microphone, or by tapping on the star power meter.

The biggest addition is the new peripheral designed to emulate the guitar controls found on the home systems. A small handheld grip plugs into your DS GBA slot (an adapter comes with the game to fit older "fat" style DS systems), and you have a small strap to hold your hand in place while you play the game. You'll have the DS positioned on the side (think Brain Age), and while the design works well enough, you'll want to balance your hand against your body or desk for maximum stability. The game does a great job of picking up on notes, but you'll have to get used to not just tapping the screen for the faster beats, instead you'll want to master being able to slide the stylus quickly back and forth across the touch screen, and find the right pattern to match the notes. It's definitely hard to get used to when you start playing on Hard or Expert, but you'll find out that it does work really well. I personally had no issues with my hand being uncomfortable or cramping up, but I could definitely see children having an issue with their hands not being quite big enough to keep on the buttons and stretch across the entire backside of the DS, so if you can find a demo unit to try out I definitely suggest doing so.

Guitar Hero: On Tour has a music selection that spans 25 tracks (and 1 unlockable), some of which has been culled from previous GH titles. The majority of the tracks are master tracks though, which is nice. The track list isn't what I could call rock heavy though, with a variety of more pop sounding tracks spread about, including some less than stellar choices. Tiers and venues divide the tracks, with 5 tracks per venue. Like previous titles, you'll earn money based on how well you perform (3, 4, or 5 stars) and you can then use that cash to buy new guitars and outfits for whichever character you select. The onscreen visuals have obviously taken a hit when being brought to the DS, and since the screen is so small the fret board already takes up a large portion of what you can see. This isn't particularly aggravating though, since you won't be paying a great deal of attention to what the background is doing anyways.

I'd also suggest picking up a pair of headphones for the game (and the game suggests this as well), since the volume on the DS is limited at best. If you really want to enjoy the music you're playing, headphones are really the only way to go.

Besides the main career mode is a vs. mode that you can play against the game, where you'll face off with another rocker in something akin to the boss fights from Guitar Hero 3. As you play you'll gain attacks that you can launch against your opponent, such as assaulting them with fans requiring an autograph, or causing a series of camera flashes to temporarily blind them from being able to see the notes. You can play thru every venue and song in this mode, and it provides a decent enough distraction for those that get bored of the main game. However, if you try playing on the higher difficulties, the AI can start to get pretty damn annoying, especially since some of the attacks automatically make you miss notes, which can obviously knock you out the game fairly quick on Expert. You can also play against other players in a similar fashion via the local wireless connection, or you can opt to play some co-op as well.

Guitar Hero: On Tour does a solid job of bringing the popular franchise to the small screen, but it's definitely missing some of the appeal the home console versions have. While I've always considered Guitar Hero to be one of the best party games out there, On Tour is definitely more of a personal experience, not something that people are going to want to watch by looking over your shoulder constantly. Also, there's not a real "Hey I'm kind of playing a Guitar" feeling to the game, just the constant button tapping that somewhat emulates the feeling you get from the home versions. The track list is short, and doesn't consist of a lot of songs I can stand to hear over and over again, and the difficulty on Hard felt a tad bit easy to me, and I'm not what I would consider a hardcore Guitar Hero player.

If you feel like you really need more Guitar Hero in your life, then you're probably already planning on picking this up, if you haven't already. For music game fans there is enough going on with this game to warrant a purchase, but definitely research it a bit before you buy, just to make sure the grip is comfortable for you, and that the track list is something you could enjoy. Personally, I enjoy the idea and most of the execution, but it doesn't live up to the previous titles (except maybe Rock the 80's), and it still has a way to go before it completely impresses me. .