Jam Sessions

by UBI Soft

Product Features

• Use the Nintendo DS to make music just as you would with a real guitar, while experiencing authentic, remastered sound modeled after an actual acoustic guitar.
• Free-play design allows users to learn and play ANY song ever played using an acoustic guitar. What you play is entirely up to you.
• Play and sing songs from some of today and yesterday's most popular artists with accompanying chords and lyrics actually built into the title in Performance Mode.
• Not a musician? No problem. Advanced tutorial modes allow novice musicians to learn how to play guitar without paying for lessons! Additional modes will help users understand chord progressions and train them to recognize chords by ear.
• Use Jam Sessions as a virtual notepad - write, play AND save original music anytime.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000MTF04U
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 5 x 0.8 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 30, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,652 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Jam Sessions is a ground-breaking music experience that transforms the Nintendo DS system into a portable guitar. Players will literally strum the guitar via the Touch Screen and select chords with the Control Pad. Now even the most ?non-musical? person to become an instant rock star! The portability of the DS system makes Jam Sessions a concert-on-the-go, perfect for parties, commuting to school/work and anywhere people can enjoy music.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A $30 Pocket Guitar? Sure, why not?, September 14, 2007

By 

Cale E. Reneau "audiooverflow.com" (Conroe, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Jam Sessions (Video Game)

I'm an amateur musician on my good days, but my music has always been synth and electronics-based. Despite all my attempts, I have never really been able to play guitar. I can play a chord here and there or figure out a riff or two, but putting everything together and making an actual song has always been a challenge I've been unable to overcome. I picked up Jam Sessions with the intention of adding a guitar sound to my music that sounds somewhat authentic.

Anyone expecting a Guitar Hero-like experience on their DS should turn away. Jam Sessions features no cover songs or mater recordings that you play along with like you would in Guitar Hero. Instead, Jam Sessions aims to teach you how to actually play the guitar (albeit on your DS) to your favorite songs, while giving you all the tools you need to create your own.

The game controls rather simply. You strum up and down by moving the stylus in the same way. Chord changes are performed by pressing the D-pad in different directions. For a single song, you can program up to 16 different chords, so you're not really limited there. The game is also rich with extras like effects (distortion, delay, low cut, high cut, etc.) and palm muting. Plato have gone to great lengths not to limit your options when creating songs, and it does not go unappreciated.

Included in the game are 17 songs (with 3 bonus songs if you enter up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right in Free Play Mode). Essentially it's a chord chart that tells you when to strum up, down, or palm mute. There are midi demos of the song included, so if you get stuck on a certain part you can actually hear how it's supposed to sound.

Of course, the real meat and potatoes of Jam Sessions is the Free Play mode, in which you are able to write and record your own songs. Granted, you won't be able to record the whole thing unless it's 30 seconds long, but if you came up with a really cool riff that you need to remember, the feature is a blessing! All you have to do is select a few chords from a selection of hundreds and start playing. Microphone support is also added, but don't expect it to sound like anything more than the DS' built-in mic.

Another thing not to expect is miracles. I could never play an instrument and sing at the same time, my brain just doesn't work that way, and it's no different with Jam Sessions. But the fact that I can play an entire song on guitar without messing up is a feat in and of itself! The default acoustic guitar sound that the game presents doesn't sound entirely real, but still more realistic than any other guitar simulator I've ever heard. If you have the time and equipment, I'd recommend buying an adapter to hook your DS into a guitar amp or external effects processor. I've already done so, and I'm impressed with the quality and variety of sounds that can be produced!

In the end, Jam Sessions is a pretty terrible game. There's really no gaming to be found here at all. What it is though, is an incredibly handy tool for musicians and aspiring musicians to have at their disposal. The developers have put a lot of work and thought into Jam Sessions, and I am grateful for that. I can't even begin to list the times that I've had inspiration for a song pop into my head, only to have it evaporate before I could write it out. Jam Sessions gives me everything I need to make sure that never happens again.

8 out of 10 Stars

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Guitar Sim", September 13, 2007

By 

ShutterBug (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Jam Sessions (Video Game)

Ok, this isn't a game, but rather an acustic guitar simulator. Still it is fun, and there are certain game aspects (unlocking content by playing songs). I picked this up when it was released yesterday, so my time with it is limited, but I'm already satisfied that I will get my moneys worth. You strum the strings using the touch-screen and select chords using the D-pad (or can be configured to use the buttons if you are a leftie). Obviously, you aren't going to learn proper fretting from this simulator, but if (like me) you've never learned to play guitar, this will allow you to get some of the satisfaction of playing your favorite songs. Within an hour, I was playing a recognizable version of the Marley classic "No Woman, No Cry" (at least I recognized it).

I'm giving the game 5 stars, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. The main downsides I see so far is that they only included 17 songs (plus 3 more you can unlock with a simple code). Not all of the songs will be recognized by most people, but everyone should know at least some of them. I can't imagine that they songs take up much space on the game card (just the lyrics, chords, and strumming patterns), so it is dissapointing that they didn't include more, but I guess they were constrained by licensing costs. It would also be great if they would let you download or enter your own lyrics and chords, but those features don't appear to be present either. Maybe version 2 :)

Update: After playing with the game a little more, I would probably change my score to 4 stars if I could. For some reason, they only included a playback mode on less than half the songs. The playback mode is useful when trying to learn an unfamiliar song. Again, I can't see that this would add tremendous amounts of data so it seems to me that this product was rushed out the door a little bit. Still, it's fun for what it is.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars feels more like a cheap tech demo than an actual game.., February 6, 2008

By 

Raul Duke "Gonzo HST" (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Jam Sessions (Video Game)

its sad. this game had a lot of potential, and a lot of potential for sales. a lot more care should have went into making this.

basically you play the ds as if you were playing a guitar. kind of. you can select chords from a huge variety of chords and assign them to the different directional buttons. there is a bar across the touch screen and you strum across that with the stylus as if it were a pick. you can save songs and you can use to mic to record your voice along with the guitar stuff. theres also a few effects that sound awful. its best to leave them alone.

there is no career mode to speak of. theres just a set list of under 20 songs. no difficulty settings either.

theres pretty much nothing to speak of graphically either. you can change the color of the bar in the middle of the screen and you can change the background color.

a career mode, slightly higher quality sound, and more songs just might have been enough to save this title. as it is now, i wouldnt even say its worth renting. just get a real guitar. (dont get me wrong, i love GH and Rock Band)

5/10