Beat The Game

[h1]Short version: 50%[/h1] Beat the Game is more of an animated music video that lasts shorter than it took to write this review, but it has astonishing animation and a player-controlled techno soundtrack. [h1]Long version:[/h1] I would almost call the title of ‘Beat the Game’ misleading, since this product hardly classifies as a game. It is more like a long and dialogue-free music video with stellar animation and an endless French style house/techno soundtrack (which is funny, since the creator is Turkish, the studio is American, and the music is Canadian). Technically, there is gameplay, since we must hunt for music clips. Most of them only require us to scan distant scenery elements, but we also have to find some random items lying in the sand and bring them to other objects to complete the collection. We use these clips for two things: creating our own soundtrack on the fly, which I consider the real main feature; and beating the final challenge, a short live show. The only issue with this setup is that the playfield is extremely small and it is possible to do everything under 25 minutes. If you do not mind playing the price for this extended music clip though, then Beat the Game will not disappoint in its goals.

Emmm, i just can't recommend game at this state to buying. Beat this Game less a hour, and i have a feeling more like a demo play, that a real game. One small level with two state, no story, no "music maker", high pile of unused items, couple of bugs, seems like unfinished EA. All "game" it self it's just collect sounds and in last part press highlighted buttons on mixer. If review this like a demo, it's very promising, nice art and music, but not sure about more content or DLC later. So just wait for discount or some kind of bundle with it. P.S. I hoped for something like Fract OST meets Jazzpunk... This one also not bad at all, but tooo short.

Beat The Game doesn't have enough in it to warrant playing. You’ll finish it in well under an hour and there is no reason to replay. Finding music in a tiny game space wasn't fun or involving, and watching a few well-animated cutscenes has extremely limited value. At best the experience feels like a tutorial or tech demo, rather than a full game, and it desperately needed something more involving. This abstract adventure might be worth trying for the musically inclined at its low price. Although people with actual music talent probably already have their own music-creation suite that is infinitely more powerful, and you won't have to walk across a desert just to unlock the samples. [url=http://www.newgamenetwork.com/article/1770/beat-the-game-review/]Read full review[/url]

As far as I can tell [b] Beat the game [/b] is not a finished product or at the very least, not a smooth experience. So the unique mechanic in the game is finding sounds for 8 step sequencer (basically you can play the game to your own soundtrack created from those sounds) Was the mechanic utilized intuitively? Not really. It is just kind of there as a sandbox tool and it did not create any worthwhile gameplay elements. Although I really enjoyed the aesthetic there are noticeable issues with camera lag and the flickering world. For $7 I expected a more refined experience considering 60-90 minute length. [b] 8 Step Sequencer & Sound problems [/b] If you ever tried composing music on PC you will find a familiar 8 step sequencer as the focus of this game (like a beat VST) Which is a really cool concept but the game does not incorporate it well into gameplay.For a game that is meant to be all about sound, there are significant audio problems. You can turn your own music on/off but there are other sounds around you. So music ends up overlapping and being annoying as a result. Maybe the music in the world should stop if you using the sequencer? Who listens to 2 songs at the same time. On top of that, some of the loops have a rather irritating sound quality. Also, most of the game has no voice acting except a useless menu announcer that only breaks the immersion of the game. [b] Aeshteics [/b] I really like the design in general. There are some amusing animated moments and the only stage has a very cool surreal environment. Now the problem is that I expected more stages. The game even tells you in the "Help" that completing a DJ part takes you to next stage (it takes you to the credits) Unfortunately, there are some visual glitches and frankly, the movement feels a bit bumpy. You can control the game with Point&Click, WASD or Analog. So at least they provided enough control options. It looks fine but if I was to justify the price based on animation quality alone it would have to be longer. [b] Poorly paced experience & Lack of intuitive puzzles [/b] The game throws you into the level with too much going on at the same time. Things are happening and I am not sure why they are happening. You can find different items that automatically interact with objects around the level ( which is technically not a puzzle at that point ) I am not even sure if every item had a purpose. So I guess this game is closer to the interactive cartoon which would be fine if it was paced better. You meet few characters and there is not much interaction. The game has virtually no dialogue so I had no idea what is going on. [h1] Final Thoughts 5/10 [/h1] [i] Beat the Game [/i] feels like a great game that is half way done. It has enjoyable aesthetic and good ideas that are not very realized. Loose visual narrative and distracting pace did not create a very immersive experience. The anticlimactic ending with the unexplained story was not satisfying. Maybe if they make more levels it could be sufficient game ( if it really took them 3 years to make one level I would not count on it ) Unless they make a patch that adds more levels it is not worth $7. [code]Review By: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

[h1]Lovely artwork and sound but basic gameplay and very short.[/h1] You play as an unnamed character in stripey pyjamas. You wander around a limited area collecting items and using your sound recorder to point at things and record the noises. There's a mini-map which is entirely unnecessary because within 10 minutes you already know the whole area like the back of your hand. Once you've collected all the items and sounds you can then head over to the sound desk where small colourful peeps are dancing under the marquee. You play a mini-game where you have to click and un-click the purple squares to keep the music going. Then shortly after that the game ends. [h1]Sound & Vision[/h1] The graphics and (perhaps) music are the redeeming factors of what can only be loosely referred to as a game. The developer, by his own admission, is an artist who decided to dabble at game design. The artwork can best be described as "trippy" with all kinds of weirdness going on such as flying pigs and giant skateboarding clay men. You can mix your own electronic music while you play, using the sounds you record. There are only a couple of dozen of them but you can do something with them at least. Electro music is not for me, I prefer a nice bit of classic rock, but it's interesting nevertheless. Every time you interact with anything there's a nice little cutscene. I couldn't fathom any story, I'm not sure if there was supposed to be one, but you encounter three interesting characters along the way and in general it's certainly pleasant to look at for as long as it lasts. [h1]Difficulty[/h1] There is no challenge at all, it's very easy. Suitable for a child. [h1]Value[/h1] I saw Steam reviews talking about one hour of gameplay and I thought they were exaggerating as usual, but I was surprised to find that it is indeed an hour. The gameplay is very basic too. There's no way I would pay full price but I might be tempted with a heavy discount just for the artwork. [h1]Verdict[/h1] This is a short review for a short game. It's not a bad game. It runs smoothly, no bugs, Linux support and nice graphics, but I just wish there was more of it. It was a pleasant hour spent anyway. At the end of the game it says "to be continued..." whatever that means. Perhaps he's planning to add more content to the existing game? If so, better get on with it. [quote]More reviews at SaveOrQuit.com[/quote]

The game is very good audio-visually. The design of the protagonist is very cool and the cinematics are very entertaining and eye-catching. It is a very short game, less than an hour if you go straight, although part of the fun and its approach is that you stay playing and [b]making your musical mixes[/b]. The game itself doesn't have much; you move around a small map where you scan and capture new sounds and then make your mixes. The main enjoyment is based, on one hand, triggering and watching all those [b]video sequences[/b] that appear when you find or interact with new objects. And on the other hand, having a good time delighting yourself with the mixing console. The aesthetics, saving the distance, have a surrealism style that reminds me of [b]Tim Burton, Dalí[/b], or even steampunk somehow. If you don't know what to play and you want to spend some time in an easy game that offers a spectacle, it is a good option to activate your senses. And if you like to play with music, here you can feel like you are [b]Mr Oizo[/b]. [ESP] El juego está muy bien audio-visualmente. El diseño del protagonista es muy chulo y las cinemáticas son muy entretenidas y llamativas. Es un juego muy corto, no más de una hora si no te entretienes mucho, aunque parte de la gracia y de su enfoque, es que te quedes jugando a hacer tus mezclas musicales. El juego en sí no tiene mucho, te mueves en un mapa pequeño por el que vas escaneando y capturando nuevos sonidos para luego hacer tus mezclas. El disfrute en sí se basa por un lado en ir desencadenando y ver todas esas [b]secuencias de vídeo[/b] que saltan al encontrar o interactuar con nuevos objetos. Y por otro lado, pasarlo bien deleitándote con la [b]mesa de mezclas[/b]. La estética, salvando las distancias, tiene un estilo surrealista que me recuerda al de [b]Tim Burton, Dalí[/b], o incluso algún pequeño toque steampunk. Si no sabes a que jugar y te apetece pasar un rato en un juego fácil y que ofrece espectáculo, es buena opción, activa tus sentidos. Y si te gusta jugar con la música, aquí puedes sentir que eres [b]Mr Oizo[/b].

It's barely over an hour long including a lunch break, and the "gameplay" is just wandering until you can play a very handholding "live show" at the end. The setting looks interesting, but there's nothing behind it. The point of videogames is for things to be interactive, instead of just being looked at. There's no characterization, no story, no real gameplay, nothing. All you get is a mixer with predetermined bits of music, eg drums, hi-hats, droning wails, cowbells and that sort of stuff that you can play on top of each other 6 sounds at a time. Works as an interesting demo for something bigger and complete, but as a standalone it's hardly worth your money.

That was *horrible*. Everybody seems to rave about the music and art, but appear to be fine with the fact that *there's nothing here*! It appears to be one level, you spend most of your time wandering around wondering what to do. At least a third of of the sounds are collected by pointing at things in the sky circling the playing area. There's almost a dozen items to find and pick up, except *they don't do anything*! Oh, and the camera does a terrible job of following, which is particularly bad for an explore-style game. Seemed like lots of potential, but I feel like I just played the demo.

The trailer says: Adventure game meets music making, and neither is really true. Visually, the whole thing isn't bad at all, so the character and the environment look pretty good. The idea of collecting sounds and then mixing them as you like would have had potential if it had been thought through a little more, it almost seems as if the ideas ran out in the middle of development, or there was no more acid, I don't know. Although I really don't like this style of music, I just wanted to check it out, not rant about the music. And I don't have to, because there's far too much to criticize here. Every now and then the collected sound is all over the place and junbled up , like a bad DJ who can't do transitions, and it's annoying. Speaking of annoying, the camera is annoying AF. The movements of the character really don't look nice or smooth and sometimes he can walk through rocks, but then again not over flat cables, or whatever that is. The controls aren't that great either. My Conclusion: Meh!

Beat The Game has a ton of style but is unfortunately incredibly short and somewhat barebones. Upon initially booting up the game I was hoping for a surreal narrative experience, however what came to follow was more of a visualizer and mixer with an accompanying desert area than much else. Yes, only ONE area. Look at the screenshots and trailers for the game, they all take place in one desert locale. That is the game's biggest shortcoming. You pick up a variety of items and have to interact with certain sections of the game's one world, but the fact that you are navigating the same somewhat desolate desert landscape and repeating the same task (point at things in the environment to sample musical clips from..) makes for a pretty short, experimental experience. Beat The Game is by no means unappealing, it has a cool visual style, good animation, and the sound design is well-done, it just feels more like a proof of concept or demo-length ordeal than a fleshed-out game. The ideas in what is on offer are cool and could make for a more captivating experience in a longer endeavor, but I found the game's repetitive nature and mostly bland environment to be a bit meandering.