Beats
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PSP
| Beats

A talent for rhythm is typically reserved for people popularly held to be 'cool'. You know, musicians, dancers and, er, other cool people with cool talents that require an innate sense of rhythm.

A group of individuals almost certainly not popularly held to be 'cool' is gamers (try as we might). And yet us gamers, square eyed and sun shy, have strangely become the new masters of beat via the booming rhythm-action game genre. Ironic, then, that these rhythm-action games, fun and refreshing though they are, could scarcely be described as cool. And this is where Beats trumps the competition.

Beats is a rhythm-action game that is uniquely aware of its own sense of style. Cookie Japanese male cheerleaders and cheesy caricatured rock avatars are nowhere to be seen here. In their place is some of the most elegant and stylish design you'll find, in a game that echoes the front-end stylistic perfection achieved by the likes of WipEout Pure.

But Beats has more going for it than just slick presentation. Though the progression structure in it is not nearly as sophisticated as some of its peers, the bare bones of the actual gameplay are as solid as you could hope for. But assuming you've never played a rhythm-action title, a short explanation on what you've been missing out on is in order.

When a round loads you're presented with a screen with a small circular icon in the middle. As the music plays, small icons that represent the face buttons on the PSP (X, Circle, Triangle and Square) move past the circular icon in time to the music and in sequence. The aim is to press the relevant button whenever its icon finds itself exactly in the middle of the central circle.

You're awarded points for how close to the icon you get for every button press and also how many in a row you press correctly. If you choose to increase the difficulty level then more icons are placed on the play area, with button presses coming in from varying directions and, on the harder settings, at kerrazy speeds.

As you play, you build up a meter on the left hand side by timing the press for special flashing buttons exactly right. When the gauge is full you can tap the L button for a temporary multiplier that affects every point you subsequently score during its effect.

Music-wise, there's a generous selection of tracks included with the game. They're mostly of the vaguely annoying and repetitive techno variety but they serve the action well and, if you really can't stand them, you can use any of the music stored on your Memory Stick, which is a very nice touch.

That sews up the My Music Challenge mode, which is the game's main course but there is another mode, Jamming, where you can mix together various sampled loops to create your own tracks. The feature is basic but the ability to play the tracks you've created in the main game, as well as share them online via wi-fi, adds incentive to try your hand at it.

Aside from this, there's an online mode that sadly has some pretty quiet servers but which works well with the solid rhythm-action backbone that runs throughout the game.

The overall feeling of Beats is one of customization and polish. With the subtle addition of various animated themes and visualizers available for decorating the main menu and in-game action, SCE London Studio has crafted a rhythm-action title that can appeal to head banging rockers and to stick-wielding techno heads alike. It sounds like an insignificant extra but in combination with the ability to use your own music stored on the Memory Stick, the overall experience feels compellingly personal.

Any downsides? Well, as mentioned, there's next to no progression structure. You can choose your own difficulty level from the start for each track and the chief driving force behind the gameplay is the incentive to beat your own high-score. As such, the inclusion of, at least, some rudimentary score targets would have rounded off the main section of the game suitably and couldn't have been difficult to implement.

Having said that, at a mere five pounds it is unfair to criticize Beats for such a minor foible because even at twice the price, this would be a must-play download for any PSP owner.

Beats

A triumphant launch title for the PSP Store and a cracking bargain. If you're looking for cheap PSP thrills, they don't come better than this
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