Beats (video game)
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''Beats'' is a rhythm-based video game for the
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
PlayStation Portable handheld gaming system. It was released in 2007 at the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...
.


Description

In addition to downloading music from the Internet, users may also use their own music to play along to in the My Music Challenge mode. ''Beats'' automatically loads the track titles and artist names of the songs it finds on the user's PSP. However, the game will only read up to 127 tracks for the user to choose from. There is as yet no explanation from
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
for this limitation, nor is it obvious how the game determines which 127 tracks are loaded from the library. (What is known is that the game loads the same set of tracks from the user's /MUSIC directory each time.) During the game, three stationary targets, or landing points, (just one in Novice mode) are spaced evenly at the center of the screen. Symbols appear from off the screen and glide towards these targets in rhythm with the music. The symbols represent notes that players are meant to synchronize their button presses to and are identified by the four PlayStation face buttons: circle, "x", square, and triangle. These notes are generated based on the rhythm of the music using a beat tracking algorithm. While often occurring on the beat, notes can also occur off the beat at times. Tracks with greater emphasis on
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...
, especially
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
songs with a strong, well-defined
beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...
or powerful
bass line Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and some ...
s, generate the best in-game beat patterns. The objective of the game is to hit the corresponding face button as each note glides onto its landing point. The better the player's timing, the more points are given for that button press. Point multipliers are also awarded for successive correct inputs; hitting an incorrect button or missing a note will result in the point multiplier to decrease. Additionally, glowing symbols occasionally appear, and correctly hitting these notes will fill an "overdrive meter" on the left side of the screen. Once the overdrive meter is full, the player can activate "overdrive mode" which doubles the score multiplier temporarily. However, while in overdrive mode, symbols will travel diagonally and glide in from off angles instead of their normally vertical (center target) or horizontal (left & right targets) flight paths. Additionally, ''Beats'' includes a lightweight music mixer, allowing players to make and record their own remixes using
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
tracks from the game and from other SCEE titles, such as '' Team Buddies'', '' EyeToy Kinetic'' and '' Drop Ship''. Once recorded, players can share their creations with other players online. Players may also collaborate with others in online "Jamming" sessions. ''Beats'' also comes with 70 different visualizations that play in the background in sync with the music and player actions as well as a variety of themes for the user interface.


Release and reception

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the game a score of 7.0, and were impressed by the "sheer number of visualizations" on offer, but noted that despite the ability to import the player's own music, "the first five minutes of the game are just about the same as the next five hours".


See also

* Phase (video game) * AudioSurf *
Frequency (video game) ''Frequency'' is a music video game developed by Harmonix and published by SCEA. It is the first major release from Harmonix. It was released in November 2001. A sequel, ''Amplitude'', was released in 2003. Gameplay In the game, a player portray ...


References


External links


''Beats''
at
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beats (Video Game) 2007 video games London Studio games Music generated games Music video games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Portable-only games Single-player video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Alastair Lindsay