guitar hero on tour hands on
Work on a Nintendo DS version was started in early 2007 according to Vicarious Visions CEO, Karthik Bala, though the game was not officially announced until September 7, 2007 at the Austin GDC '07. As notes scroll down on the top screen, the player must press the correct fret button and strum the touchscreen at the same time using a special pick shaped stylus to successfully score points. While holding a long note, the player can also use the touch screen to apply a whammy effect by moving the stylus across the on-screen whammy bar. After the player has successfully hit a selected series of notes, they will gain 'star power' which doubles their score until the meter has run out. This is activated by yelling or blowing into the DS microphone, by pressing any of the face buttons on the DS, or tapping the Star Power meter on the touch screen. To adapt the gameplay to the Nintendo DS, the game will ship with a special controller, the "Guitar Grip", that is slightly smaller than the Nintendo DS Lite and fits into the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot on the unit. The unit is designed for the DS Lite, but features a small adapter that can be removed for use in the older Nintendo DS models. Four fret buttons are located on the side of the unit near the cartridge slot. A wriststrap is attached to the underside to provide support while playing. The player holds the unit in a vertical book orientation (similar to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword or Hotel Dusk: Room 215), and uses a special guitar pick-shaped stylus to strum on the touchscreen of the DS with their free hand. Notes and the performance of the chosen character in the band are shown on the opposite screen.
There will be a single player Career Mode, allowing the player to select from six different characters, four that return from the other games in the series and two unique to On Tour. Completing Career Mode will unlock more venues and options for the selected character's appearance. The game will utilize the local wireless abilities of the Nintendo DS to support both 2-player co-operative play and competitive play. The competitive play introduces concepts found in Guitar Hero I: Legends of Rock's "Battle Mode" which is called "Guitar Duel". In Guitar Duel, one player can create a temporary distraction for the other player by successfully completing certain sections of the song. In On Tour, these distractions will require the affected player to utilize features of the DS to remove the distraction, including having to blow in the microphone to put out virtual flames on their guitar,having to rapidly sign autographs on the touchscreen if rushed by a group of in-game fans, or to fix a broken string by dragging the broken ends together.