
	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Music / Rhythm Publisher Mastiff Developer Arika ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q4 2004

- Easy to pick up and play - Decent assortment of game modes - Decent multiplayer

- Gameplay wears thin rather quickly - There are a lot better music action games out there. - Music probably won’t appeal to an older audience

Review: Mad Maestro (PS2) Review: Parappa the Rapper 2 (PS2) Review: Donkey Konga (GC)
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Technic Beat

Score: 6.0 / 10

Music action games have become quite popular since the release of the next generation consoles. Games like Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), Frequency and its sequel Amplitude have changed the way we play video games. When a game like Technic Beat (TB) comes along, it’s hard not to draw comparison’s to other great games in the same genre that have set the bar for what a music action title should play at. TB sticks to the basics and doesn’t try to do anything too special, which really makes it stand out as a sub-par game.

The premise of TB is rather simple. You control a selected character that’s placed on a flat platform. Your job is to move your character into a series of circles which appear on the platform. Each of the circles, has an identical circle(s) in the center which expands outwards towards the edge of the circle and you job is to time the button press for when both of the circles join each other. The purpose of doing this is to form different notes and beats of the song to which you are playing to. It can get overwhelming at times as multiple markers can appear at the same time and you must react quickly. You can also pick up individual circles and move your character around the platform with them as well.

There is a nice tutorial mode in the game to get you started if you’re unfamiliar with the game. The tutorial runs you through the tools of the trade and familiarizes you with everything you can do in the game.

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TB doesn’t feature any licensed tracks from any musical artists, instead it features songs from classic Namco titles. It may have made TB a lot stronger of a game had it featured licensed tracks from various artists, but unfortunately that is not the case. A lot of the music is childish and can get annoying at times.

One area where TB really stands out is the amount of game modes available. There are a total of ten available game modes. If you have a friend with you, then you can both play through the games cooperative or competitive modes, which can prove to be quite fun at times.

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Before each song, there are a number of characters you can choose from. Each character controls and moves differently from one another so this can cause some nice shifts in game play.

The visuals aren’t outstanding in any particular way. There really isn’t much competition visually in this genre so TB looks decent enough. The game’s developers really wanted a bright look for the game and it shows in all of the color schemes.

Technic Beat isn’t a terrible game, but there are a lot better music action titles out there. TB will probably more enjoyed by a younger audience. If you’re curious about this title, then it’s probably worth more of a rental than a purchase at best.

- Siddharth Masand

(February 17, 2005)