Jam Sessions

Ubisoft has turned the Nintendo DS into a guitar. Frankly, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Jam Sessions will inevitably draw comparisons to the Guitar Heroes, Rock Bands and Elite Beat Agents of this world, but those comparisons will be unfair. Rather than being another rhythm game, Jam Sessions is as close a simulation of a real guitar as the DS will allow.

The set-up is fairly simple. Notes pass across the top screen, while the DS's touch screen is used for strumming. Simultaneously the D-pad can be used to play chords, with the L button working as a shift button to further open up the range of chords.

The game comes with an extensive tutorial, so non-musical DS owners can effectively learn the principles of the guitar straight from their DS. Bundled in is a range of guitar pop for players to strum along to, while others might prefer to use it to put together their own arrangements on the fly.

A virtual tool set provides even greater depth, with players being able to pre-set and customise a range of different effects. It all comes with a wide range of visual options, too. There are 60 different background and colour templates as well as eight different strum animations.