SUPERBEAT:XONiC Review (PS Vita)

You wait for one rhythm action game to come along and then a whole load arrive at once. We hadn’t really been following SUPERBEAT particularly closely but we really should have. While Persona 4: Dancing All Night was great fun and offered plenty of fan service this is one of the best rhythm action games we’ve ever played.

There’s no plot here just buckets of rhythm action goodness with presentation of the highest quality. As soon as you start the game up the screen pulses and fizzes with music and excitement that lets you know this is something good. There’s a sharp and edgy design to it which is not unlike the Wipeout games and it fits perfectly.

The game itself has notes flying out at you from the middle of the screen. You need to hit the corresponding top, middle or bottom button on the left or right of the screen or you can also use the touch controls. There are notes that need to be held and the L and R buttons come into play as well. You even have to use the analogue sticks for certain notes that snake up and down (again, you can use touch controls if you prefer). It’s full on and certainly keeps you on your toes.

There are 4 trax and 6 trax variations which let you use different amounts of notes in each song (with the 4 trax variant only putting notes at the top and bottom of the play area for instance). Here you have to complete three songs in a row to try and achieve the best score. As you level up by completing songs you unlock more difficulties which adds more note variants and also opens up missions in the world tour mode.

The World Tour mode has you travel around famous clubs taking on specific song based missions. Normally these consist of not missing at certain number of notes or keeping your combo at a certain number. They also ramp up the intensity even more by doing things like moving you much closer into the play area so you need almost instant reactions to hit the notes. World tour is not for the casual player and even the second set of club missions had us beaten for longer than we feel comfortable admitting.

As you level up from completing songs and missions you will unlock a host of new sounds, tracks and icons. The sounds can be set as the noise which comes in when you hit a note while the DJ icons add special powers like extra health or experience. The only criticism we have comes from the striking notes sound. Some of the songs really don’t sound right when you’ve got the sound set on things like a snare drum. It’s a rare miss step and we found setting the sound to hand claps pretty much worked with everything. You can also turn the sounds off completely.

The musical selection on offer is also excellent. There aren’t any hits as such but just about every genre of music is represented and we can’t think of another game where Hardcore sits next to Latin Samba. Most of the songs are very good as well and there’s a host of music from games like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue thrown in for good measure.

Overall, SUPERBEAT:XONiC is a stunning rhythm action game. It’s tough, but for fans of the genre this is up there with the best of them. It’s perfect for the Vita as well and you just keep unlocking new things every time you play and tt left us with an excited grin on our face every time. It’s a breath of fresh air and an amazing injection of adrenaline for Vita owners that in our mind is an essential purchase.

Overall 9/10

Colour Blind issues No

Review Code - Yes

Inside My Radio Review (PC)

Written by Thomas GJ Sharpe

Music games have never been a favourite of mine, but I don't think this is necessarily the developers fault or mine. I guess we just don't meet in the middle. The fondly remembered PaRappa the Rapper seems to be the one that critics pull out, putting the 2D hip-hop dog on a pedastal, for some reason. Sure, it was fun, but it exists still due to the design, characters and, importantly, the music, rather than the gameplay. I have no joyful memories of the gameplay, but the music and lyrics have stuck with me since my younger-youth. The strains of PaRappa have evolved into the wallet-hoover Guitar Hero and it's ilk.

Another form of the music game that was crystalised in my mind perfectly by 2000's Vib Ribbon, is the music platformer. And so, Inside My Radio is the latest in a line of this somewhat less prominent branch of the music video game tree.

Inside My Radio has been developed up from a Ludum Dare entry that hit a good number of ratings. I've spoken before about my love of LD games brought up to a fully fledged title, mainly due to the root passion and simplicity of them. Inside My Radio, however, jumps on a shakey fence, in my opinion. On one side is the patio of platforming, and the other the greenhouse of music. I had hoped that due to the recent success of the Bit. Trip Runner series, that other heads could pop up on the fence, but it would appear to be a hard one to balance. Inside My Radio, falls slightly short of either camp.

The game world is set inside a radio that has been afflicted by a dark power. You learn this story through the perspective of various coloured blocks that look like hyperactive Jenga. In fact, the whole world of Inside My Radio suggests what the town areas of Limbo might've looked in their glory-kitsch days. The first little square is a green, rather “cool” character who is symbolised by an edgy, dance-electro sound pallette. The next is a funky purple square with a quiff and soul-funk music. The next is an orange dub-reggae block... you get the idea. The whole set up is charming and fun, in a detailed, yet stylised setting. Lots of little elements react to the music as you pass, pulling a very kinetic, lively situation out of what is a simple gameplay set up.

As a character in the radio, you have to jump and perform your actions to the beat, or else the move fails. An orbiting circle can help you visualise the timing, but this is actually less helpful than it seems. Focussing on the music is the best way to “feel” where you should jump a gap, climb a wall or perform a dash. To this end, the game does well, but it can't escape this simplicity. The platforming, controls and mechanics seem to suggest that you bounce, dash and bash along to the beat in a fluid way, in an uninterrupted stream of good looking moves. I felt like I always do when I dance. Stuttering and useless. I found it hard to tap into this higher place that I felt the game actually could shine. My fault or the devs? Hard to say. Also, the music didn't grab me. It is polished, well constructed and arranged. It paces next to the play, reflecting the flow of the levels. It just felt a tad by-the-book for each genre approached.

The last music game that hooked me was Beat Hazard, but that was because I could put my own music in. In other non-music centric games, I am very affected by the music and how it works with the other elements. I am suggesting with these two comments that I perhaps turned off when I directly had to respond to music I wasn't engaging in. Inside My Radio is by no means a poor title, but it generated neither platformer nor music sparks in me, despite the production being largely solid.

Overall 6/10