 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Guitar Hero on Tour: Decades
- Nintendo DS
- Price: $34.99, or $49.99 with accessory
- Genre: Music
Common Sense Media says
Sequel delivers similar fun for rockers on the go.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents needs to know that this is a music game that plays on the Nintendo DS. It is rated E+10 because some song lyrics contain references to sex and violence.
What's it about?
Gamers whose thumbs aren't throbbing yet from all the music video games these days might want to wrap their hands around GUITAR HERO ON TOUR: DECADES. It's the second Guitar Hero game on the Nintendo DS title that ships with a "Guitar Grip" peripheral, which snaps inside the Game Boy Advance slot underneath the portable game system; players then hold the game system like a guitar and strum along using a guitar pick-stylus hybrid (also included) on the bottom touch-screen. If you already have the Guitar Grip from the first Guitar Hero: On Tour game then you can pick up the less expensive game-only option.
Just like the game's predecessor, players assume the role of an up-and-coming rock band and must work their way up from playing grungy clubs to packed arenas. While listening to the 28 songs, you watch notes sail down the neck of a guitar and then press the corresponding color at the right time, while also strumming.
Is it any good?
This sequel offers the same concept but includes all new songs, divided into "decades," as the name suggests: the '70s (e.g. Edgar Winter Group's "Free Ride"), the '80s (Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name"), the '90s (Blind Melon's "No Rain" and today's hits (Fall Out Boy's "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"). But the game also adds a couple of new features such as the ability to stream songs with the original Guitar Hero: On Tour and playing through one of three different solo career paths, each with their own story: Lead Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Guitar Duel.
These new additions are welcomed, especially the former, as it essentially doubles the number of songs in the game so long as you have a friend nearby with the original Guitar Hero: On Tour. If you liked the original and didn't have a hard time pressing the relatively small buttons on the Guitar Grip accessory, then this sequel will deliver more fun for rockers on the go. It does feel like more of an add-on than a completely new game (available less than six months after the original!), but it still proves to be a good time.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about if music games work on a portable system such as the Nintendo DS, with snap-in accessories, or is it like trying to shove a square peg into a round hole? Are companies jumping onboard the music bandwagon too heavily without thinking of the medium they're being played on? Or on the flipside, does a Nintendo DS "Guitar Hero" make perfect sense for mobile gamers?
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Kid, 11 years old
June 25, 2009
AGE
good music game
this is great for road trips and stuff like that
What other families should know:
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Adult
February 7, 2009
AGE
Very Fun
It's not for little kids, but for older kids and up, this is a great game! The songs are good, for the most part, and it is very challenging. The controls are a little hard to get used to at first, but after a while you get the hang of it.
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Kid, 9 years old
November 25, 2008
AGE
its good
well i first i was HORRIBLE until i got the hang of it
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Kid, 11 years old
November 30, 2009
AGE
Good at first
The game is fun at first then gets slow
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Adult
August 18, 2009
AGE
Typical "Guitar Hero" fare
A lot of fun. Most of the songs are really good - it even includes Weezer's "Buddy Holly"!!!
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| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Available online |
| Genre: | Music |
| Developer: | Activision |
| Release date: | November 21, 2008 |
| Price: | $34.99, or $49.99 with accessory |
| ESRB rating: | E10+ for Lyrics (Nintendo DS) |
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