Rockstar lays down the Beaterator on iPhone

Rockstar's music-mixing game Beaterator is now available for iPhone and iPod touch.

Originally released on PSP in October, the game was developed with direction from famed hip hop producer Timbaland who helped craft its identifiable style.

It's less a game than digital musical instrument that lets you craft tunes by combining any of dozens of looping beats. There's everything from bongo drums and snares to whispering vocals and weird synthetic sounds.

This iPhone version comes without a lot of the features offered in the more expensive PSP version due to the lower price tag. The nitty-gritty Studio mode has been dropped, leaving Loops and Song mode for laying down beats.

Rockstar Social Club integration is also here, enabling you to record songs and upload them online. Support for it has resulted in the game requiring firmware 3.0 to play.