Puzzling Beats
The world hardly needs another falling-block game, or another rhythm game. Over the years, Tetris and Guitar Hero have spawned so many imitators and sequels and re-imaginings that there’s not a whole lot left to do; But what about a game that combines the two genres? That’s something else entirely, and while 0-D Beat Drop (yes, for some reason, the first figure is a zero) is far from the best title you’ll play this holiday season, it’s a decent buy for puzzle fans who have at least some musical ability.
The rules of the game are somewhat convoluted, so please bear with us while we explain them. The basics are nothing new: L-shaped pieces made of three blocks apiece fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to make the blocks land next to other blocks of the same color. It’s possible to make three adjacent like-colored blocks disappear, but only by performing a “Beat Drop.” That is, instead of letting the block fall on its own, you have to press the X button in time with a beat from the song. There’s a meter on the right side of the screen that fills and depletes as the music throbs, giving you a visual indicator of when to hit the button.
When you perform a Beat Drop that completes a match of three blocks, things get interesting. For one thing, a meter on the left side of your screen fills a little. This means that you’ll get a better multiplier on your next Beat Drop, but also that you’ll need to have more precise timing to get that Drop. When you try to do a Beat Drop and miss the timing, this meter returns to zero. Also, the pieces you eliminated (plus the multiplier effect) get stored at the top of your opponent’s screen. He can keep those pieces from falling by performing Beat Drops that eliminate pieces on every turn, but if he fails a Beat Drop, performs a Beat Drop that doesn’t match three blocks, or lets a piece fall on its own, the pieces get dropped on his side. The pieces remain inactive until he does something to switch them back (such as performing a Beat Drop and/or eliminating pieces nearby). The game ends, of course, when the blocks reach the top.
Once you take the time to get the feel of the gameplay, it’s compelling and addictive. As is the case with all the best falling-block games, you’ll always want to top your previous high score, a situation that can lead to some very late nights (and very red eyes). The beat mechanic can feel a little bit gimmicky, but it does add a new dimension to a tired genre. It’s especially challenging to perform Beat Drop on some of the more frantic songs; high tempos and syncopated rhythms are your enemies, because they make the beat harder to hit. When your left-hand-side meter gets full, you have to be almost perfect to get a Drop. Those with very little musical ability might have trouble here, though the beat meter is quite helpful.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this game, however, is the sheer amount of content. By default, the game’s presentation is nice, if a little clichéd; it’s the standard, modern arcade appearance, with black backgrounds, bright colors, and hectic Japanese techno music. However, if you don’t like that, you can choose between more than 20 different themes that cover just about any look you could desire.
You can also add your own music with Beat-O-Matic, a feature that’s amazing but a bit too time-consuming. To use it, you have push the Guide button, play music from either your hard drive or a USB device, and wait through the whole song while the game analyzes it (you can push a button in time with the song to help the process along). You can use your songs at any time during the game, but to do so, you have to hit the Guide button in the middle of a match and pick a track manually. The game’s analyzer worked on our songs for the most part, but we found the beat didn’t sync quite as well as it did with the built-in songs. The freedom the feature allows you is remarkable, but one wonders if it’s really worth the time. If you do use it, try to pick songs with strong beats and steady tempos.
In addition, there are many different ways to play. You can increase the difficulty, which also increases the number of different colors you have to deal with, and work your way through more than 100 stages. You can choose between three different game modes: standard matches with AI competitors (one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-one), Task Mode (in which you have to accomplish various feats), and the self-explanatory Time Attack Mode. There’s even local and online multiplayer, allowing you to duke it out with friends and family this holiday season. We didn’t have much luck finding other gamers online, but our local matches ran smoothly.
0-D Beat Drop isn’t a revolutionary game, but it is a clever and fun one. The learning curve is steep for the first hour or so as you figure out the rules, but from there it’s a matter of getting just a little better with each playthrough. With addictive gameplay and lots of different ways to play, 0-D Beat Drop makes itself a worthwhile buy for puzzle fans with a sense of rhythm.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.4 Graphics
The default look is a little cliché, but you can choose between a bunch of different themes. 4.5 Control
When you add in your own music, sometimes the beat doesn’t seem to sync up quite right, but otherwise, no complaints. 4.7 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The default techno tracks are acceptable, and the ability to add your own music is great (even if the process is a little too time-consuming). 4.1 Play Value
Four difficulty levels, 100 stages, several modes, local and online multiplayer… sure, the basic puzzle gameplay isn’t all that groundbreaking, but people who get addicted to these kinds of games won’t leave this alone for days. 4.2 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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