Technic Beat

For whatever the reason, 2004 has become the year when all the cool Japanese games that you never expected to play finally come to America. Katamari Demacy, Donkey Konga, Taiko Drum Master. Even Rez is getting an official re-release, along with a new price tag of a measly $19.99 (a steal for such a stellar music game).

Another measly-priced game you never thought would come to the States is Technic Beat. Being a music game it makes sense that someone would want to release it in America, the land where more and more people are becoming obsessed with Dance Dance Revolution. This isn't your average music game though. The music is hyper and at times obnoxious; the characters are silly and look like they came out of some cheesy anime; and the gameplay is unlike any music game any of us have ever played before. That goes for both American and Japanese gamers, as well as those in Europe and the rest of the world. It will be the reason you can't stop playing it – or the reason you can't wait to stop.

Describing this game without an animated visual and a controller to pass around is not the easiest thing in the world. Imagine a square playing field. You control a male or female character (or something that's not even human), moving he/she/it around the field as if it were an action/adventure. Colored circles appear once the music starts playing, and your goal is to be touching the circles and press the correct music button at precisely the right moment. This keeps the music going, which increases your meter, keeping you alive until the end of the song.

These circles (which are more or less music notes) may be big, small or somewhere in between and appear on the screen at any time and from any location. Your job is to come up with the most effective way to get from circle A to circle B, C, and D without letting the music stop.

It would be next to impossible for anyone but a music composer to know exactly when the notes should be hit. That's why the circles are on a pre-set time limit. A smaller circle forms within each circle, getting larger and larger until the inside circle touches the outer circle. Once this happens, it as at that point when you must press the button. Choose not to or fail to press the button quickly enough and you lose that note, messing up the song.

The cool thing about Technic Beat is that it's not just about running around and hitting circles. If it were, the game would be no more than a three-dimensional version of Konami's Bemani music games.

Technic Beat goes beyond the copycat status by throwing in several different twists, like combos and circle traveling. Circle traveling isn't the technical term, but that's what I like to call it because you travel with a circle. This is the game's most fun feature. Press the triangle button while standing inside any circle and it will be lifted into the air. Move over to any other circle, make the two circles touch and hit the note before the time is up. Look at what happened – both circles disappeared! The second circle's time wasn't even up yet, but because the main circle (the one attached to your body) was hit at the appropriate time, both were eliminated.

There are lots of opportunities to do this in the game. Some notes require that you do it! One circle appears on the screen. When it's half-way through, two more circles appear. The second two are apart from each other, and their time limit is exactly the same. You can't possibly hit 'em both. That's where circle traveling comes in. Pick up the first circle and stand in between the other two, making sure that all three are touching. Activate the middle note as its interior circle peaks and all three will disappear.

As far as the gameplay goes, Technic Beat is a winner. There are two sides to every game though. Most games are winners no matter what if the gameplay is worth your time. RPGs differ because they need a good story to keep the magic alive. Music games differ because they need good.

Technic Beat's semi-obnoxious, over-the-top soundtrack is comprised of classic Namco tunes and new tracks composed specifically for the game. Neither selection is particularly satisfying. Namco could've used the music of Tekken or Soul Calibur to keep us jigging, but instead chose a more obscure selection. Most of the songs you won't even remember, partially because a lot of the games that the songs came from were never released in North America.

I am a huge fan of Asian music and am thankful for what videogame composers have done for me. Their work has inspired me more than I could have ever imagined.

But like I said, Technic Beat's soundtrack is semi-obnoxious. The only inspiration you'll find is in the gameplay. And for a game where the experience is driven by music, inspirational gameplay just isn't enough.

Gameplay: 8
Innovation doesn't come from sequels or annual sports games, it comes in the form of new franchises that break new ground or do something that no one else has ever done before. Technic Beat isn't groundbreaking, but it certainly fits in the 'doing something that no one else has done before' category. The three-dimensional controls put a new spin on the genre. I love the ring system and how it can be messed around with to link numerous chains and combos.

Graphics: 6
Music games aren't a good source for next-gen graphics. Technic Beat's visuals are clear and efficient – they score points for that. But they don't score points for looking like a high-resolution PSone game.

Sound: 7
Music from many of Namco's past releases, including several that American gamers never got to play. They're as quirky as you can get. You'll either love 'em or hate 'em.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 8
A musical action/adventure stuck in a box. No item collection or world-exploration necessary. Run around and jump in the box, hit the circles and keep the beat – beat – beat. As Yoda might put it, "Very Japanese-y, Technic Beat is."

Multiplayer: 7.5
Pump up the jam in this hectic, hit-the-notes-as-fast-as-you-can multiplayer mode. (For two players only.)

Overall: 7.5
Technic Beat was a good idea executed with great care. Had the music selection been better, this would have been worth more than the low price tag ($19.99 or less). Since that's not the case, Technic Beat is a music game that only a select few will fully enjoy. Anyone who likes music games can get into the gameplay, but the music itself is not easy to absorb. As a player I want to get into the game. I want my friends to walk by and laugh when they see me bopping to the game's killer sounds. Technic Beat's eccentric soundtrack prevents that from happening.