"Guitar Hero: On Tour" for the Nintendo DS, shown in this photo taken Monday, June 23, 2008, in Sioux Falls, S.D., marks the popular music series' first jump onto a handheld gaming platform. The game comes with a glove-like guitar grip and a pick stylus. (AP Photo/Dirk Lammers)

Harmonix Music Systems This screen grab shows the Wii version of the game "Rock Band."

Nintendo enthusiasts have hit the musical jackpot with two new games to release their inner rock stars. "Guitar Hero: On Tour" ($49.99, Activision, HHHH out of four) for the Nintendo DS marks the popular series' first venture onto a portable platform, while "Rock Band" ($169.99, MTV Games, HHH1/2) finally reaches the Wii so drummers and vocalists can join the band.

Taking a game built around a full-sized guitar peripheral and adapting it for a hand-held is no easy task, but "Guitar Hero: On Tour" aces this solo.

Substituting for the ax is a glove-like guitar grip that plugs into the DS's seldom used GamePak slot. It features four colored buttons instead of the standard "Guitar Hero" five and includes a nifty guitar pick stylus so players can strum the touch screen while notes scroll down the secondary screen.

The game's 25 tracks include a mix of newer hits ("This Love" by Maroon 5, "All the Small Things" by Blink-182) and older titles ("Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar).

Earphones are a must, as the DS's internal speakers don't provide enough volume to truly rock out.

Single-player career mode can kill plenty of hours, but the game really shines in multi-player mode, although both players must have their own cartridge and grip. The game offers co-op and face-off modes, but duels provide the most fun with creative new battle attacks that take advantage of the DS touch screen.

Hit your opponents with pyrotechnics to force them to blow into the internal mic and put out the flames. Annoying fans pop in demanding players give an autograph before getting back to the show.

And instead of just repeatedly hitting a button to fix a broken string, players must use the stylus to attach the end of the string and drag it up the neck to get that note back up and running. Very clever.

Wii owners have been clamoring for their version of "Rock Band" ever since the title debuted on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in November.

Sure, the Wii edition lacks some of the online features on those other consoles, but developer Harmonix made sure that it got the game play right with this port. The "Rock Band" package includes a drum kit and microphone, which plug into an included USB hub, and a wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar controller that transmits to a USB dongle. Add in an additional guitar controller as a bass ($59.99) and you've got a four-piece band.

Players can choose to rock out on a collection of 63 songs such as "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica and "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer.

The big draw is the drum set. You get to use real sticks to pound on four colored touch pads while interspersing some pedal stomps on the kick drum. The drums are clearly the most challenging of the instruments as notes can come at you fast, but it gets easier once you get a feel of the rhythm.

Singing works just like a "Karaoke Revolution" game, with lyrics horizontally scrolling on a staff at the top of the screen. Keep the flying triangle on each scrolling tube by singing on key and you'll be rewarded with points.

"Rock Band" really shows its stuff with two or more players.

Players in cooperative mode are scored as a group.