PixlBit

Jam Sessions released on the DS roughly two years ago as a musical tool instead of an actual video game. As a guitarist, I had a natural interest in the title, and from pre-release information, it seemed like a competent product had been created. After some time with the game, it was obvious that the simulator had some interesting potential, but didn't amount to much more than a fun toy to play around with from time-to-time. Of course, when I saw that Ubisoft had made a sequel, I was interested to see what they could have possibly done to enhance the game further. After a short play session, it was clear that Plato vastly improved the two main modes found in the original game.

Similar to the original game, Jam Sessions 2 is broken into two modes. The first is a sound studio that allows players to simply fool with the guitar mechanic, and create their own tracks with an advanced set of editing tools. The options are vast and far more in-depth than anything found in the prior game. It wouldn't be beyond reason for players to actually assemble an entire song from beginning to end using the tools found in this mode.

Being that the title incorporates the ability to strum each string individually, players can arrange fairly complex songs that are played, and sound, very similar to work done with the real instrument. The six string mechanic provides for a much more fulfilling experience than what was found in the previous game. Originally only straight chords could be played, whereas now players can pick individual notes or even strum certain strings to produce a different sound than if all of the strings were played at once.

This new mechanic carries into the other half of the game, which has also been upgraded significantly from the original title. This mode once allowed players to merely strum along to the roughly synthesized beat of a song with no real feedback or scoring. With Jam Sessions 2, players are treated to a different experience, one that mimics the popular Guitar Hero series.

As with the Guitar Hero series, notes will stream towards the screen and players must strum along with the song when the notes reach a specific location on the track. Jam Sessions 2 differs in the sense that players must hold a particular note by pressing a direction on the D-Pad and possibly holding the L Button to access the secondary chord set. Players will also need to strum the strings up or down depending on the note which is shown on the screen. As mentioned earlier, each individual note can be plucked giving players a wide variety of actions to perform on the note track.

The most interesting part of this mode is that players would still actually be playing the song if the music in the background stopped. Every note played is producing the actual guitar sound associated. This makes for a fulfilling experience that comes much closer to real guitar playing than even the popular Guitar Hero series. As you might expect due to the functionality of the game, the tracks featured are not master tracks and are typically simpler tracks to accomodate the control style.

The mode is rounded out by having multiple difficulty settings for players to explore as they become more proficient with the control input. Unfortunately, the harder modes will force players to struggle more with the control setup than the actual note chart, providing for a sometimes frustrating experience.

Overall, Jam Sessions 2 is an enjoyable experience but one that won't blow anyone away. For guitar and music enthusiasists, this is the closest gaming experience to the real deal. Players looking to compose their own music but don't want to learn how to play real guitar, Jam Sessions 2 will provide a venue to do so with a real game experience to accompany it.