DS Daily: A less-than-perfect solution?
For so long, the prospect of a Guitar Hero game on the DS was a source of intrigue to this blogger. During long, sleepless nights, I would ponder how such a game could reproduce the magic of the home console versions with just two screens, the DS's tinny speakers, and no guitar peripheral.
Yesterday, Activision revealed its solution to these conundrums: the "Guitar Grip." The idea seems straightforward enough: plug the above accessory into the GBA slot of your DS, grab your guitar pick stylus, and strum away on your touchscreen while pressing buttons to coincide with cascading on-screen notes. Fair enough. Considering the limitations of the DS, this isn't a terrible idea.
But here's what irks me: a considerable -- no, a huge -- part of Guitar Hero's appeal is the guitar controller itself. When I'm (cough) "rocking out" on one of the home console versions of Guitar Hero, I'm Brian May on stage at Live Aid, at least in my head. In reality, of course, I'm a deluded cretin, but the point still stands: Guitar Hero is at its best when it's letting us live out our rock star fantasies, and that's fun. Yours truly is going to struggle to get the same sensation of being a total rock god just by plugging in the Guitar Grip.
I hate to say this but ... perhaps Guitar Hero should have stayed on home consoles, if the Guitar Grip truly is the best solution. Is that too harsh?
