THE FACTS: Guitar Hero On Tour - Guitar Grip Controller
DS | Red Octane | Out Now | RRP £39.99 (Packaged with Guitar Hero On Tour game)Included: Guitar Hero On Tour DS game; Guitar Grip skin; plectrum stylus; two sticker sheets; adjustable hand strap (attached to Grip controller); small DS game protector case; original DS (non-lite) GBA adapter 
When the DS version of popular music sim Guitar Hero was announced, the game wasn't the main talking point, but instead it was the controller that got fans and critics attention. This was understandable, especially since it was such a change to the traditional Guitar controller. What wasn't understandable though, was whether or not the new controller would work and function properly. By viewing the thoughts of many critics across the internet, many initial opinions after having a go on the new game seemed to be that it was uncomfortable to play. After playing the game myself, I felt the same. I couldn't play more than 2 or 3 songs at once for a while until I got used to the controller because of the pain I got in my hand and wrist. Once I did get used to the controller though, I started to really enjoy the game and forget about the controller altogether because it began to feel a lot more natural.
 That was when I forgot that the controller was actually plugged into my DS's Game Boy slot at the bottom, and all of a sudden it popped out just slightly. This meant I had to restart the whole system so it could register the controller again. This is a very big annoyance when it happens (although to be fair it doesn't happen that often), especially when you're at the end of a song and you then have to go through it again.
One final annoyance is that the buttons are smaller than those of the full sized Guitar Hero controllers and so if you have quite big fingers then you may have difficulty pressing the buttons during songs. This will be a rare occurrence though, and so I shan't worry about it too much.
With all the complaints I have made so far, you'd think I was going to rate the game at something like a 15/30, yet I haven't. "Why is this", I hear you ask. To be fair, you do get used to the controls after about half an hour and often begin to check that it isn't about to pop out of its slot after a few times of it happening, after which you do get used to it. It really does start to work, and at £30-£40, it isn't a bad piece of kit - now it's just the game length that's letting the grip down.
Final Score
23/30
Good Control / functionality 7 It certainly works, but is hard to use because of the hand position Build / look 8 Very strong and well made, but could have been improved if it slotted in the GBA slot better Life 4 There is already a sequel planned for this Christmas so we shouldn't be left with no more songs for long Value 4 For £30 (if you shop around) this is great value to say many standalone games are the same price |
Review - Guitar Hero On Tour Guitar Grip Controller |
