Guitar Hero DS feat. The Cramps

I’ve never been a huge Guitar Hero fan mostly because I try to limit the amount of clutter I keep in my house, and a fake guitar that only works with one game qualifies. I do enjoy playing when I visit my sister, whose kids do have Guitar Hero 2 and 3 so when the DS version was released and the initial reviews were good I splurged.

The package includes the game card, a “guitar grip” controller with 4 color-coded strum buttons and pick, an adapter for the original DS, and a stack of stickers. The controller fits into the GameBoy Advance game slot. If you have an original DS, not the lite, you’ll need to use the included adapter. I have a lite so the adapter stayed in the box. With intense play the guitar grip has a habit of trying to pop out. It’s not enough to interrupt game play but can be annoying none-the-less.

Basic game play is similar to the console version. When the note comes up you simultaneously use the pick on the virtual guitar strings on the DS’s screen while pressing the note on the guitar grip. There is a practice mode as well as the ability to choose different skill levels. Like the full version, the DS version is no less a hoot to play. OK, maybe just a tad less fun because you don’t get to hold the guitar. For a portable version though Activision did a good job, especially in integrating the DS’s touch screen.

Even still Guitar Hero DS doesn’t play 100% perfect notes. It’s shrunken size, both physical and memory leads to a few shortcomings. I can completely see a news report in a few months about “Guitar Hero DS Wrist,” or some other malady. Let’s just say playing GH DS “hurts so good,” to paraphrase the 80’s rocker John Cougar Mellencamp. It only takes a few strums to start experiencing wrist pain and finger cramps. You know you should stop but the show must go on! Perhaps this isn’t a bad thing as it’s nearly impossible to play GH DS for any length of time. So it becomes a quick diversion rather than a time consuming obsession.

DS games by design are prevented to any great depth of detail by modern gaming standards. For GH DS that means it comes with a somewhat limited play set – about 26 songs in all ranging from 70s Top 40 to early 㢤s Alternative. The list reads like a K-Tel Mix CD and for the most part you’ve probably heard all the songs in commercials if not on the radio or the ballpark. I’m nowhere near having played all of the songs, but I can imagine for the accomplished GH player 26 songs isn’t that many. Given the higher than normal $49 price it would have been nice if a 2nd card was included with “bonus” songs.

And about the price -- I’ve heard a lot of people saying $49 isn’t a bad price considering it comes with the guitar grip. I guess I think a bit different. The guitar grip isn’t a peripheral that can be used with any other game, so what is the value in it? The most expensive DS games are $35, which means the guitar grip retails for $15. Honestly I don’t see how it’s worth that, but you have to pay to play. Still, don’t be deluded into thinking you are getting any value because the grip is included.

So here is my bottom-line: if you are crazy for GH and want some portable action it will certainly give you a quick fix. For anyone else it’s a mere curiosity. A fun one, but because of the cramping I doubt it will hold most people’s attention in the same way the console version do. And because of that you should really ask yourself once, twice, three times if you really want this game. If there is any doubt, leave it out.