If there's a hotter video-game genre than rock-and-roll, I didn't get the memo. By now, almost everyone has heard of Guitar Hero. This best-selling series lets players rock out using a guitar-shaped controller to strum along with alternative and classic rock hits. In 2007, MTV Games came along and one-upped Guitar Hero with Rock Band. The game outfitted virtual garage bands with a four-piece ensemble, including bass and rhythm guitars, drums and vocals.

The Guitar Hero team at Red Octane, however, is fighting back with Guitar Hero: On Tour. This handheld game for Nintendo DS is portable enough that would-be Mick Jaggers can take their dreams of rock-and-roll glory on the road.

I should preface my comments by saying I'm biased toward video games based on rhythm and music. I go way back with old-school titles like PaRappa the Rapper on the original PlayStation and Frequency on the PlayStation 2. Just as the first Guitar Hero broke the mold by introducing an oversize guitar controller, On Tour includes a "Guitar Grip" peripheral that snaps into the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot of the Nintendo DS. The system is then held lengthwise in the player's off hand, sort of like a small book.

Using the off hand, the player presses colored buttons on the peripheral in accordance with onscreen cues. With the strong hand, the player holds a guitar-pick-shaped stylus and "strums" by tapping the touch screen of the DS. When not in use, the stylus slips nicely into a slot on back of the well-designed Guitar Grip.

While its interface may be unique, Guitar Hero: On Tour plays very much like its console cousins.

But enough about the hardware - let's talk about the music! Guitar Hero: On Tour features more than 25 rock tunes, including mostly original versions by the likes of the Doobie Brothers, Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Smashmouth, Ozzy Osbourne, and blink-182. A few of the game's songs are performed by decent-sounding cover bands.

Several neat tricks make use of the Nintendo DS' unique characteristics. For example, players can blow into the handheld's microphone to extinguish animated onscreen pyrotechnics that have gone wrong. Players also can autograph a virtual fan's T-shirt using the stylus and the touch screen or use the wireless capabilities of the DS to play in cooperative or competition modes.

Ticket to Ride. Before I was addicted to video games, there was a multiyear bout with board-game dependency. Now, diabolically, Microsoft has made a computerized version of one of my favorite board games available for play on Xbox Live.

Ticket to Ride is a terrific strategy game in which players try to link U.S. cities by rail. Opponents draw different-colored train cards from a deck and try to assemble the proper number and color of railroad cars for each connection. Each completed link scores points, but players are penalized if they fail to make all of their city-to-city connections by game's end. Rail buffs and strategy fans will love this one. It can be played against the Xbox 360, but it's more fun to go up against live opponents online.

Gaming's big dance

I'll be heading out to Los Angeles next week for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3 is the video-game industry's big dance. Although the show has lost some of the glitz of years past, most game publishers will be on hand to show off their top forthcoming games. I'm eager to get a look at Will Wright's Spore and hoping Blizzard pulls back the curtain a bit on its recently announced Diablo 3. MTV Games will be showing off Rock Band 2, and Capcom has promised to reveal more of Resident Evil 5.

---

Power Up:

Rating: A+

Guitar Hero: On Tour

Activision. Nintendo DS.

$49.99

Rating: E-10 (10 and older)

On the Web: http://www.guitarhero.com

---

Power Up:

Grade: A

Ticket to Ride

Microsoft. Xbox 360. 800 Xbox.

Live points (about $10)

Unrated, but suitable for all ages.

On the Web: www.xbox.com

---

Contact Dennis McCauley at dmccauley@phillynews.com.