I just got a copy of Guitar Hero: On tour for my Nintendo DS and I got a bit of time to try some of the songs and the peripherals. The game comes with a hand strap/grip, guitar pick (stylus), stickers and the game. The hand grip has four buttons on it, which correspond to different notes similar to the console versions of Guitar Hero with one button missing. One major difference in gameplay is the usage of Star Power is easier on the DS version, all you have to do is scream into the microphone to activate, if your in public you can also hit the D-pad.

After playing around with the DS version of Guitar Hero a few things jump out at you very quickly: you will need good pair of head phones to hear the music in order to enjoy this properly, you will need to get used to the timing on a small screen as the notes scroll down and you will need to take breaks every so often to stretch your hand. The grip of the game and getting to the buttons is awkward at best, I have bigger hands so getting to all four buttons is not optimal. Also the more you play the more your hands will inevitably cramp up since they will be stuck in the same position for a few minutes at a time, the game actually begins with a warning and tells you to try different positions to help with this.

So far the concept of Guitar Hero DS is great but the implementation although solid just does not translate well. I think the biggest problem for the game will not be the gameplay itself but the awkward grip and people being displeased with how it feels over time. Look for a full review of this bad boy quite soon.