Don't purchase Jam Sessions expecting the handheld equivalent of Guitar Hero. This guitar simulation works in a completely different manner than Activision's fast-paced music series. Sessions is a perfect alternative to spending cash on a real instrument, saving that much needed dough for hiring roadies and pending alcoholic habits.

The gameplay follows a fairly simple format, although its execution is anything but. The bottom screen consists of a solid line, operating as the strum bar. Players stroke the line back and forth, like they would a real set of strings, with their stylus acting like a guitar pick. Meanwhile, the other hand presses specific directions on the D-pad, with pre-set chords you can adjust at any time. Holding down the left or right shoulder buttons reveals a new set of chords, expanding the immediately available selection from nine to eighteen. Considering that 120 chords are interchangeable, the mix-and-match portion of Jam Sessions seems almost endless.

Twenty popular songs are available to play along with, such as Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry", Coldplay's "Yellow" and Blind Melon's "No Rain". You can check out demos for most of them, but only in the form of guitar solos. Jam Sessions works with a very forgiving format, with tabs to follow at the top of the screen while playing along. It might be a bit difficult to see if you hold the system like a real guitar (at waist level), however. It also provides the ability to let you create your own rhythmic pieces, providing there's enough room to save five compositions for later play. Unfortunately, Ubisoft failed to include any kind of voice support for the game.

Jam Sessions' biggest problem is its failure to move potential guitar players forward. Yes, it has tabs for players to follow along with and a few "demo plays" available for select songs. However, without any kind of grading system to rate performances, users won't gauge their progress -- it's up to them (or their friends and family) to be the judge. Furthermore, while the presentation has a lot of customization options on hand, the confusing menu system slows things down. At some points, it forces you to turn the system completely off and on just to get back to the main screen.

For more or less, Jam Sessions conveys the feeling of playing an actual instrument, making it one of the best music games available on the market. If you desire a creative tool for your Nintendo DS or something to simply jam out with, get in on these Sessions.