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Jam Sessions: Reviews

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Game Score: 10/10

One of the most frequent criticism (OK: insult) hurled by commenters on YouTube videos of Guitar Hero players is, "learn to play real guitar". As I've been spurred by Guitar Hero to actually approach real guitar playing, I have a few ideas of the difference between the two - and I'm ready to admit that while the learning curve for real guitar is as steeper as the ultimate rewards are higher, the two are not really comparable. Guitar Hero has most of the fun of playing real guitar at a skill level I might never reach, and a lot faster. So I'm dismissing those "play real guitar" comments as worthless insults from people who are envious or just outright rude.

I cannot be so kind to Jam Sessions.

Unlike Guitar Hero, Jam Sessions does not have an actual game to it. You're given a "palette" of chords, that you select by holding down the d-pad (or the buttons), and strum using the stylus on the touch screen. There are a dozen or so songs, with chord changes and strumming hints - but you don't get scores or penalties for doing them right or wrong. They're mostly there as a guide, or as a hint of what's possible with Jam Sessions.

And there's the problem I find: Jam Sessions is, at best, a simulation of an acoustic guitar. Instead of fretting the notes, you just hold down a button, and strum. The best part of the game would then be the ability to choose which chords to put on your palette, and make up your own songs - with a very accurate reproduction of a guitar's sound, what comes out of the speakers (or the supplied amplifier, if you bought the bundle) is actually pretty good.

Unfortunately, the limitations of this product slammed me in the face harder than if I beat myself with my Strat clone - you need to know about music to do even consider making songs. Unless you have musical education, and most certainly training with at least one instrument, that portion of the game will be beyond your understanding. If you can't tell an E minor 7 chord from an E suspended 4, you'll be in over your head immediately.

You're also limited to chords: if you want to make a solo, you're out of luck. Pretty much any sort of advanced strumming, beating your hands on the guitar for some percussive rythm, basic guitar exercises or anything that makes guitar playing fun in itself is not represented here. You don't even get to climb on the stage and pretend to be a rock star, as the interface here could run on the original GameBoy it's so basic.

I'd also like to add that holding down the d-pad never felt sufficiently accurate, and I kept switching to chords against my will. Also, strumming just never felt natural not even once. (Though using a pick instead of a stylus helped very slightly.)

With such limitations in place, I simply don't know who the target for this game would be. Maybe acoustic guitar players who want to practice a chord progression on the go without carrying a guitar or annoying the people around them? Seriously, every time I look at this game I imagine myself carrying an amp and the DS by a campfire and starting to strum. There's no end to how dorky I'd look.

Most importantly, all those limitations create a game that you can surpass in a relatively short time with a cheap guitar. No need to even get lessons - you can learn all basic chords looking around the Internet, and switching between them is just a question of practicing. That I would reccomend not above Guitar Hero, but definitely above Jam Sessions.

And if you've just tuned in to know if this is some Guitar Hero clone: it isn't, so don't bother.