Jam Sessions on your DS

Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 17 April 2007 12:01

Opinion and Analysis

Guitar games are all the rage, now Ubisoft jump on board the band wagon with the stylis strumming Jam Sessions.

Grab your Nintendo DS and start making music this winter.

Seemingly in response to Red Octane’s success with Guitar Hero, and subsequent announcement that GH may be coming to the DS, Ubisoft have attempted to gazump Red Octane with Jam Sessions.

"Jam Sessions is an amazing title with limitless potential to entertain
and engage a wide audience of people who love music, guitar and singing," said John Parkes, EMEA Marketing Director. "Basically, it's a guitar in your pocket but that's just the beginning.  It's a chance forpeople who have never thought of themselves as 'musically inclined' to jump right in and play through entire songs, compose their own music and sing along with friends."

From the press release; Players will rock out, or smoothly strum, on the lower screen of the Nintendo DS system, producing an authentic sound digitally remastered from an actual acoustic guitar. The simple interface will guide players into the various easy-to-play modes which include:  Performance Mode, allowing users to sing and play along both yesterday and today's hottest artists; Free-Play Mode, where people can play anything they chose; and Tutorial Mode where novice musicians will learn to play guitar without paying for lessons.

One of the most compelling features is the ability to record what youplay and play it back, therefore making Jam Sessions virtual notepad for players to write, play and save their original music anytime, anywhere. The portability of the DS system makes Jam Sessions a complete concert-on-the-go entertainment system, perfect for parties and other social gatherings - simply hook up some external speakers via the headphone jack and you're a rock star!