Rocking out

Besides the Career mode, there is the Rock Out mode, which is the more casual part of the game. It allows the gamer to play any of the unlocked tracks. This is good if you have got just a short amount of time to spare and want to rock out with your favourite tune. If you are having trouble with a certain instrument, there is also the Music School. The music school gives instruction on how to play each of the instruments and the chance to practise before performing at the next big gig.

One of the fun game options is the multiplayer. With multiplayer, the game can either team up with or compete against friends. Teaming up to create a band is actually quite fun. Each band member (maximum of four) chooses an instrument to play and jams with their mates. The competition can really heat up when rocking out against a friend in the Battle mode.

There is also the Media Player. This is a nice little touch that enables the gamer to listen to the available tracks. More become available once the gamer unlocks them in the career mode. This certainly helps if you are unfamiliar with one of the tracks, as it gives you the chance to learn the tune and the lyrics. Once all the available songs are unlocked, you could in theory use your DS as a portable media player with the 20 songs available.

Having said that, in much the same way as the Nintendo DS version of Guitar Hero suffered audibly, so too does Rock Revolution. The use of headphones certainly makes the audio clearer, but even then, the quality is not quite up to scratch. With 20 songs (down from the home console version which have around 40 songs) to cram into the small DS cartridge, it was inevitable that there would be considerable quality issues. With games of this genre though, the choice of track listing is what could make or break the game. Rock Revolution has a decent spread of Rock genres. There is some classic rock (Kiss - Detroit Rock City), some modern rock (Foo Fighters - All My Life), some soft rock (Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi) and even some pop rock (Fallout Boy - Dance Dance). With that sort of line-up, there is something for everyone, and no doubt there will be some titles that aren't everyone's cup of tea.

Looking the part

Cartoon style characters in the mould of those from a Gorillaz film clip.
There are 8 avatars from which to choose. Each of the four available instruments has both a male and female character with their own look. Whilst playing a gig, the stage show is pretty good, with the whole band on show. There is not a whole lot happening on stage, except when you decide to use the combo feature. A graphic of your chosen musician flashes on screen in some typical rock pose.

The game has a certain amount of replayability. But as with games of this genre, once you have completed the career mode at the highest difficulty, it is effectively over. Sure you can try and beat your scores, but other than that, there is not much need to play through again. Having said that, with four instruments to choose from, it effectively gives the option of playing through four times, once for each instrument. Since each is played quite differently, this is a genuine option.

Revolutionary?

Rock Revolution is simple enough for beginners to pick up especially with the help of the music school section, but will definitely be a challenge for those used to rhythm style games on the harder levels. The graphics are OK, but could be improved, whilst the audio does well with the limited capability of the DS. The option of playing a variety of instruments certainly gives this title a bit more playing time, as does the multiplayer aspects of the game. Overall though, if you purely want to play guitar, then stick with Guitar Hero on Tour. But if you want a bit of variety, then Rock Revolution may be just your thing.