We don't know what to make of Konami's DS version of Rock Revolution. The PS3/360 version is pretty easily summed up: it's Rock Band + a ridiculous drum - a functional GUI. While Rock Revolution screams "me too" on the home consoles, it's a rather innovative concept for Nintendo DS. Shouldn't that be commended?

Perhaps, but the ambitious concept is marred by lackluster execution. Rock Revolution DS gives players different ways of playing for the drums, guitars and yes, vocals. For better or worse, Konami has opted not to include a Guitar Hero-esque peripheral with its game, relying exclusively on touch-screen controls for the guitar sections of the game. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a rather uninvolved process. Icons appear from the top left and right of the screen, with arrows pointing in the direction the player should swipe their stylus. That's it. Even in the more challenging difficulties, swiping the stylus up and down gets plain ol' tiresome after a while.

The drums in Rock Revolution DS also mimic the console game's six-pad setup ... right down to the relentless difficulty. In this mode, color coded icons appear on the top screen, and players must hit the appropriate drum on the bottom screen. Unfortunately, this mode has inherited the console game's lackluster GUI, with an amateurish virtual drum design and illegible icons that make gameplay more difficult than it should be. The incredible disparity between easy and medium difficulties must also be noted: while the easy difficulty is borderline catatonic, the medium difficult sends a flurry of almost indecipherable notes that led us to near instant failure. Where's the middle ground? How will players make the transition from these wildly differing modes?