Battle Beat merges music and tower defense on your Xbox 360
Outside of innovative titles such as Rez, few music games have attempted to be more than simple “press the button when the icon is in the right position” rhythm games. That formula was the basis of Parappa the Rapper, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band, and has proved highly successful with wannabe music mavens. Fortunately, developer Stegersaurus Games attempts to elevate the genre.
Battle Beat (available for 400 MSP) is a new game available in the Xbox 360 Indie Games channel that eschews pseudo rockstar status by placing gamers in the role of space commander that must save his home world from hostile alien forces. Using instrument or standard Xbox 360 controllers, players command a squad of troops to launch attacks in this music-meets-tower-defense title.
Really, it’s an intriguing use of the plastic axes that populate our homes, but all it really does is Beg for a kick ass Macross 7 game to be created. LISTEN TO MY SONG!
Best 2D Music Game 2009: Lego Rock Band
An argument can be made that music games didn’t push the envelope in 2010 and I would not disagree. Still, Lego Rock Band dared to be slightly different by combing Harmonix’ familiar mechanics with TT Fusion’s whimsical aesthetic. Aimed at letting everyone from junior to grandpa get in on the virtual jam sessions, Lego Rock Band features a Super Easy mode for budding musician, customizable characters, Rock Challenges that enable you to use the power of rock and roll to demolish buildings or take down raging sea creatures.
B-Boy Brawl Brings Breaking To Your iPhone/iPod Touch
My biggest gripe against the rhythm game genre as a whole is the heavy reliance and focus of the guitar as the central gameplay element. Certainly, it would be insane for me to expect games /platforms entitled Guitar Hero and Rock Band to have a killer tuba peripheral and accompanying songs, but would a Tuba Hero be too outrageous? Today’s youth could use a solid dose of glee from a low pitched brass instrument.
DJ Hero made strides to add some hip to the hop, but really it was the next obvious extension of the music game genre rather than a radical reimagining. Enter B-Boy Brawl. The product of a partnership between Scottish iPhone/iPod touch publisher/developer Tag Games and Mobile Pie (a development studio based in the UK’s hip hop heartland of Bristo), this music game focus on breaking. Think of it as Dance Dance Revolution S, but with (hopefully) far better tunes.
…B-Boy Brawl promises to make a mockery of other weak wristed iPhone music games. Aiming to own the streets (and of course the App Store) the game features a unique control method that allows players to ‘finger break’ for the first time, awesome street style visuals, various crews to ‘battle’ and loads of great hip hop.
Opponents get served in late January.
Metallica And Tapulous Team Up For Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica
When Harmonix released Rock Band for iPhone earlier this month, many pundits deemed that Tapulous and its successful Tap Tap Revenge series was doomed to be crushed by the face of virtual music games. Even if that knee-jerk response happens to prove correct, Tapulous ain’t going out without tossing roundhouses; the company announced that Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica has just crashed the iPhone and iPhone touch.
Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica features the fun music-tapping gameplay you’ve come to expect from other series’ entries (Arcade Mode, Career Mode), but also a new Bluetooth-based Battle Mode where players challenge friends to a point-by-point battle where they can deploy bombs and other special items to shake up foes and claim victory. The game employs a live action theme that incorporates a Metallica news feed, challenge updates, and a public battle board.
Of course, it’s all about the music; Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica includes the following songs:
- Enter Sandman
- Sad But True
- King Nothing
- All Nightmare Long
- Some Kind of Monster
- Master of Puppets
- Seek & Destroy
- Fuel
- One
- For Whom The Bell Tolls
The game’s available now for a solid $5 (half the price of Rock Band for iPhone), and judging by Tapulous’ past creations, will most likely be worth the Lincoln. Expect hands-on impressions shortly.
Lego Rock Band: Drumming and Strumming For Everyone
Lego’s push into the video game world has resulted in the creation of several fun, family-friendly titles that have deftly balanced lighthearted, comical gameplay and the quirky, colorful quality associated with the plastic bricks. Even the most diehard fans would confess that the games leaned a tad kidde in respect to challenge, but that changes with the release of Harmonix/TT Games/Warner Bros. Interactive’s Lego Rock Band, a game that caters not only to the young and young at heart, but to the most hardcore virtual rocker as well.
Virtual Vox Pop: What Are Some Of Your Favorite Musical Scores In 2D Games?
Virtual Vox Pop is a weekly open mic in which we ask you, the reader, to sound off on a particular topic. This week, it’s music.
Music and videogames have been kissy kissy bedfellows almost since the hobby’s inception. Pong-era titles were typically sound effects-laden games that lacked any discernible melody, but by the time the arcade scene began to explode with the introduction of Pac-Man tunes had become integral elements of the gameplay experience.
It was the NES where I first took notice of game music. Contra, for example, had adrenaline-pumping compositions (the pseudo-3D base stages, in particular) that got you riled up to blast alien soldiers back to their homeworld; Super Mario Bros.‘ loopy 1-1 and moody 1-2 tracks didn’t so much get you hyped to play, but pulled you into the Mushroom Kingdom with their extremely hummable tunes.
Chiptunes Dance Party: Fat Beatz and Digital Boogeying
I’m not one to judge (lord, knows that I’ve participated in my fair share of geeky activities), but this chiptunes dance party held in Brooklyn, New York showcases rhythmically-challenged nerds who pretty much define the geek stereotype. Still, you have to admire the lack of care as arms flail and dance steps fail. Like Marvin said, you got to give it up.
DJ Jazzy Jeff Joins The DJ Hero Line-Up
DJ Jazzy Jeff may be best known for being tossed on his ass by Uncle Phil every week, but the part-time TV star is actually an accomplished, Grammy Award winning producer, and famous turntablist. As such, it’s only fitting that he’s joining the legendary Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, DJ AM, and other wax-masters in Activision’s DJ Hero.
DJ Hero is much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, except that you look far less dorkier playing alone. By scratching, blending, sampling, and cross fading, you get to drop fat beats as colored rhythm icons make their way across the screen. So what does the DJ Jazzy Jeff bring to the table (get it?) besides his image? Two exclusive mixes that he handcrafted himself: Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.” Pretty righteous.
So how much will it cost to use Jazz in DJ Hero? Pre-orders for the October release is currently set at $120 from the major outlets. Ouch. I know that the cost of creating the game/turntable has to be recouped, and royalties paid for the music licenses, but $120 seems a tad steep. You can cop a Stanton for that kind of chedda.
Harmonix Unveils 15 New Beatles Rock Band Tracks
Harmonix and MTV games have done a stellar job of torturing music-sim fans desperate to don mop-tops and skinny suits. After revealing snippets of the 45 on-disc songs at E3, the two companies have decided to toss us dogs a bone by revealing 15 tracks from The Beatles: Rock Band. The songs span the Fab Four’s illustrious career as performed in the various locations that have become forever intertwined with The Beatles’ legend. The songs and venues include:
• Twist And Shout / Cavern Club
• Do You Want To Know A Secret / Cavern Club
• Can’t Buy Me Love / Ed Sullivan Theater
• I Wanna Be Your Man / Ed Sullivan Theater
• Eight Days A Week / Shea Stadium
• Paperback Writer / Budokan
• And Your Bird Can Sing / Budokan
• Yellow Submarine / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band* / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• With a Little Help from My Friends* / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• Revolution / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• Birthday / Abbey Road Dreamscape
• Dig A Pony / Rooftop Concert
• I’ve Got A Feeling / Rooftop Concert
Are you ready to rock?
Retro/Grade, The Time Hopping Music Game With A Shooter Skin
Imagine you’re Rick Rocket, ace star pilot, who’s just saved the known universe from destruction at the hands of invading alien forces. What would you expect upon the completion of your mission? Accolades? Fanfare? Wealth? How about doing the whole damn over again due to a rift in the time-space continuum – - but in reverse! That’s probably not high on your list, but that’s exactly what cruel fate has decided would be the ultimate interstellar Punk’d move.
In Retro/Grade, the sheer awesomeness of Rick Rocket’s alien asskicking has screwed up time, so you must repair the damage left in his wake by retracing Rick’s battle…backwards. So how exactly does developer 24 Carat Games implement a reverse shmup? My utilizing rhythm game mechanics. It’s up to you to guide Rick’s ship to the appropriate “space lane” from which his weapon was shot in his original mission and press the fire button simultaneously. Plus, you have to make certain that you avoid the enemy attacks as they return to their gun torrents. After all, dropping the ball here creates the bane of time travel, the paradox, which ends the mission.
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