Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades, a fantastically fun musical journey through various generations of rock and roll tunes.
First off, it's definitely worth noting that Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades isn't just an expansion, but an entirely new game from its predecessor. Decade sports five innovative new venues, each representing a different period in music history, not to mention a beefy track-list of 28 era-specific tunes -- all original master tracks, to boot. Fan favorite characters from Pandora to Midori all return in handheld style, sporting customizable new clothes and a wide array of unlockable guitars - my personal favorite being the pixilated 8-bit axe.
Decades uses the same four-button controller as On Tour, and ultimately suffers from the same issues. Extended playing is bound to cause cramps, and it's very easy for your fingers to slide off of certain frets in Expert mode, but these are minor complaints when you take into account everything that Decades does right. Decades' interface is virtually identical to On Tour for the most part, with the player using their stylus-pick to strum on the touch-pad as they meet the designated notes on screen. One of Decades' most notable new features is the ability to choose how you progress through career mode: playing lead guitar, grooving on the bass/rhythm guitar, or taking the rock-world by storm with various Guitar Duels. While the Duels play identical to the head-to-head multiplayer featured in On Tour, it's still a treat to be able to go up against the CPU on any song from across the ages.
Doing the Time Warp
While Decades isn't revolutionary by any means, it's still an absolute blast to play. With a stellar track-list ranging over five decades to a fantastic amount of character customization, Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades is an improvement over the original in every aspect, and I can't help but recommend it to any and every on-the-go rocker.
Overall
The Good: Great track-list; Innovative venues and character designs.
The Bad: Controls can take a toll on your wrist and hands; A bit short at 28 songs.