Review: Phase (iPod)

First off, i want to say that Phase is the third iPod game i've downloaded, however, i felt the need to explain that, the final score in this review is not based on a mindset like: "well, its good for an iPod game" but rather as, "this is a good, solid concept that is fun to play". now, thats out of the way, we can start the review. Phase is a music game, a good music game. when i first saw a screenshot i thought "its developed by Harmonix, And looks like a mini version of Guitar Hero" and, i was right about one thing, the basic playing mechanics are similar to that of Guitar Hero but, their not the same. in a game like Guitar Hero you're playing a lead instrument that stands out from everything else in the song, but in Phase its more about playing along to the beat. you're not playing a particular instrument, but rather just "feeling" the song.


now, onto the controls. their pretty much what you expect: the rewind button on the wheel activates the left button on screen, the select button activates the middle button on screen and the fast forward button does the same for the right on screen button. and for "sweeping" (a game play mechanic that refers to catching all the on screen notes) you slide your thumb across the wheel. overall the controls feel tight. now, onto the music. the game includes seven tracks:

• Bang Camaro - Nightlife Commando
• Dealership - Dots And Dashes
• Freezepop - Pop Music Is Not A Crime
• Inter:sect - Midnight Gamma
• Kodomo - Spira Mirabilis
  
• Speck - The Theme Of The Awesome
• Universal Hall Pass - Dragonfly Remix

A fairly impressive soundtrack from a five doller game. now, heres the best part, when you download Phase from the iTunes music store, iTunes automatically makes a blank playlist called Phase you then put up to a thousand songs in the playlist. the next time you sync up your iPod, iTunes "gathers game information" and then finishes the sync. then, the next time you play Phase you can play all the tracks you put in the playlist! presumably, iTunes gathers info on the tempo of the song, and then puts that information into the game. every song i've tried works good, but some songs work better then others. now, time for the final scores:



Gameplay:
similar to that of guitar hero, but not the same. goes with the beat and tempo rather then with a particular instrument. still, very fun.

Graphics:
pretty sharp. nothing amazing.

Music:
you may not love all the bands and songs that make up the games unique soundtrack, but for such an affordable game, its very difficult to complain.

Replay Value:
add up to one thousand songs at a time to the game from iTunes. now thats replay value!

Final Score:
90
the first must have game for you're iPod.