The 10th Hour 09.15.08: Top 10 Rhythm Games

Posted by Derek Robbins on 09.15.2008

This week in the 10th Hour 411's Derek Robbins breaks down the top 10 rhythm games to be released yet. Where do Rock Band and Guitar Hero place? There's only one way to find out!

Hello and welcome to the 10th hour! As always there are a couple of tangents I would like to hit on before I start things out…

-Sorry that the 10th hour is a couple of days late. It will go back to the normal day next week.

-Owain J. Brimfield wrapped up his final Wonder Years this week. It was a good column and you should all read it. I respect him and he will be missed as a regular columnist on our game section.

-I've been playing a lot of Spore lately. I think the game could have maximized replay value if they decided to make the space age a combination of that space-ship shooter stuff and the Creature Stage. Like, you know, getting out of your ship to meet with alien overlords regarding…stuff. SERIOUS STUFF. Really though, it was a good game I'm just not sure it was worth my wait.

-The Cubs are 6 games ahead of Milwaukee. Considering we've been playing baseball that the Nationals would be ashamed of I am pretty proud of this.

Reader Feedback

Well last week I discussed which games critics like that I didn't really much care for. I wasn't saying a lot of these games suck – especially Metroid Prime and Oblivion – I was just saying it's not for me. Whatever the case, let's see what some of you commenters had to say.

S. Masters who says he is a former 411mania writer, has this to say:

I totally agree with Oblivion. I tried to play through it and I just wasnt pulled in. Metroid Prime and DMC4 are also on my list with the GTA franchise.

But the number one game everyone loves and I just CANNOT stand is the Metal Gear franchise. What's so great about it? I played through the first three with a feeling of "Why am I even bothering?". I saw a few people play through 4 and just wasnt moved by it. In fact, I picked up a book through most of 4 and glanced up every once in a while. There's nothing that draws me in about the stealth aspects of the series and the story is decent in the worst ways. I know it's a personal thing and while I respect how the games have revolutionized the gaming world, I just cant get into it.

The Metal Gear Solid story definitely isn't for everyone. It's deep and kind of convoluted. I figure if you're a fan of anime at all Metal Gear's story probably appeals to you. While the gameplay is absolutely top of the line – and don't let anybody tell you different – the story can definitely turn people off.

I suppose I can see why you didn't have fun with it though. Sneaking isn't always fun for everyone.

Rod Oracheski is a clever guy…

I'll do it one week - 10 good games nobody played...La Pucelle, Chromehounds, Earthbound...

Wait, not that last one.

I played two of those three! (Take a guess, you'll probably get it right…though I do desperately want to try out the third. I hear good things.). Man Rod, you're making me sad!

Dan questions my God of War distaste

What the fuck. GOW2 having a bad story? It is greek mythology dude. That was the point..GoW is one of the most cinematic story games to date.

Kratos becomes the GoW and is stripped of his powers and murdered, so you have to travel through the underworld and back in time(where, along the way you find out you only succeeded in the first GoW because you saved yourself by going back in time) to prevent it, then you gather titans to wage war on the gods.

How the FUCK is that not badass? Lol

I understand what Greek Mythology is. I've been through High School before. God of War one had a good story but the second one was just plain fucking stupid. "OH HEY, THERE'S ODYSSEUS! AND LOOK! HERMES!"

Badass is one thing. The story is certainly cool…but it's not good.

The ever popular Sean McCabe makes his long awaited 10th hour return:

I was waiting till you posted another interesting topic to post again and this does qualify. Your list is pretty good except...

Tales of Symphonia - Hell No. It's not even that generic, Final Fantasy will forever remain the worst offender of Generic anime storylines and characters in games. Symphonia doesn't even come close.

Metroid Prine - Hell the **** No. This game is probably in the top 5 greatest games ever. That's all.

But that said, here is my list, in order from least resentment to most.

Hon. Mention: Resident Evil 4, for killing a series I once loved

10. Splinter Cell series
9. Elder Scrolls series
8. God of War series
7. Tekken series
6. Call of Duty series
5. Devil May Cry series
4. Final Fantasy, main series, bar VII, IX and XII
3. Kingdom Hearts series
2. Halo series
1. Grand Theft Auto series.

Yep, that list will make me popular.

I disagree with your stance that FF is more generic than ToS. I think you're just a bit biased against the series due to the fact that better JRPGs get ignored while the series gets praised.

As for your list…I agree with a LOT of the stuff you put up there. Halo of course, DMC, COD, Tekken, God of War, Elder Scrools, Splinter Cell…

I disagree with GTA because, well…the games are pretty fun and open ended. I also really appreciate the satirical world. GTA IV may have wrecked the driving controls but I still figure it was one of the best games this console generation.

I disagree with Final Fantasy because I like the games you listed as exceptions along with two others. FF VI and FF X. Both games really pulled me in.

Kingdom Hearts is just a Disney Love Fest and I have a soft spot in my heart towards Disney so there you go.

Guest confuses innovation with quality.

Several of those games set precendents that still have yet to be surpassed. It's extremely ignorant and ungrateful to disregard how they have influenced the industry, and how these games force developers to raise the bar on subsequent re-iterations.

Some of these games are VERY important and I even say as much in the column. That said, just because it's important doesn't mean I have to like it. I would say that "Wii Sports" was an important title for the wii because it helped establish what they were going to do with the system. That doesn't make it good though.

Eric complains about seeing the same ol', same ol'

*yawn* How many times has Halo showed up on these lists now?

It was my honest opinion. Sorry that a lot of people are finally waking up, rubbing their eyes and seeing that Halo is, in fact, rather bland.

whiteburbia caught on!

You watch TNA, or dig Christopher Daniels I take it?

I rather dislike TNA but I have a distinct man crush on Christopher Daniels.

Trini (The yellow ranger!?) really likes Halo.

Ok, I agreed with this article until it stumbled on to Halo.....The Halo franchise was one of the biggest hits to ever hit the xbox console....Yes!!! But then you go on to say that the story really wasn't good? I don't know what it was....I think you just stayed in your house thought of all the games that you didn't like and then decided (in your fustration to bash the Halo Campaign)....ridiculous of you....The Halo 1 Campaign was the best story mode of all 3 Halo series....Halo was Hailed because it is the best first-person shooter ever made with a story that rivals almost all first-person shooters out there....All the first-person shooters coming out literally takes ideas from Halo....I could understand that you will be angry because you dont know the full story but to say the story wasn't good at all is something that a person who doesn't go in depth to find out what the story really is about would say...I advise you to buy the Halo books and read them...Then post again and say that is rubbish..I will be happy to bash all of your articles......And yes every 16 Player LAN Party gane is fun, but it all depends on gameplay and which game is more fun to play....and it so happened to be Halo....Don't be angry buddy, but you hardly hear anything about MGS4 anymore, that ship has sailed......

In my opinion if you have to go outside of a game to find the good story, the game doesn't have a good story. I'm sure that Halo had a nice little set of books but the problem is a lot of the fanbase doesn't read them…only the hardcore fans. For most of us we only know what the games present, and what do they present? Nothing good.

I don't think that Halo is more fun in a group than something like Time Splitters 2. Don't get me wrong, both are a blast but when you get so many people together to play a shooter I'd say the experience is roughly the same no matter what you play. I would say that I'd even enjoy something like Red Faction 2 if it was in a large group setting.

I don't think I'm particularly angry and I may just be under-rating Halo due to the fact that it gets more press than my beloved Time Splitters series…but I do think it's probably one of the most over-rated games of all time. I think any X-Box shooter could have gotten the "main event push" Halo did but for whatever reason Microsoft was behind that, marketed it a shit load, and here we are today. It's fine if you like it – and Halo 3 was easily the best in the series in my opinion – but it's not for me.

Matt L. brings us a rather detailed comment next:

I'm just gonna comment on the games I've played.

Agree:

Oblivion. In fact, all the Elder Scrolls games are lame. They move far too slow. But having "multiple choices and only one ending" doesn't bother me.

Mortal Kombat. Shallowest fighting game series ever. Super Smash Bros and Dead Or Alive have more depth.

Tales of Symphonia. My friend has it. We played multi-player for a while. I got sick of it real quick. The combat was bland and the story couldn't have been more generic. Plus I'm sick of having to play as super-deformed anime teens in my RPGs. Why is it a problem to ask for adults of normal proportions in my RPGs? Thank god for Bioware.

Animal Crossing. I just don't think I'm the target audience of that game. I don't find it the least bit entertaining.

Agree somewhat:

Splinter Cell. I played the first game and enjoyed it, but not enough to ever pick up the sequels.

Halo. The single player sucked, but multiplayer was fun. So overall, it wasn't a bad game. I just don't see what separates it from all of the other shooters out there.

Disagree (STRONGLY):

Metroid Prime. The backtracking didn't bother me. I've got a really good sense of direction, so after a few hours into the game, I never needed to look at the map and I was able to put together the absolute shortest route possible to my goals. Plus I really enjoyed getting items out of order and skipping around the game at my own choosing.

What I would add to my list:

Resident Evil EVERYTHING (except RE4, my second favorite game of the last console generation, Metroid Prime was number one). I hate every one of them. Awkward controls. Bad camera angles. Stupid characters. Awful dialog. Lousy voice actors. Slow, boring, easy to kill enemies. Simple puzzles that even someone in a coma could figure out. Not scary, even though it's supposed to be a survival "horror" game. Blah. Just writing about them makes me sick.

Metal Gear Solid series. I want to try MGS4, before I give my opinion on it because it actually looks quite different from its brethren, but all the others were bad. Half of what I said about the RE games applies here.

Hey, hey! Smash Brothers has plenty of depth man. I mean, like, THERE ARE MIND GAMES MAN!

Really a lot of people had a problem with Metroid Prime being on the list and with GOOD reason. It was a great game worthy of all the praise that was coming to it. I'm not sure what it is…I think a combination of the backtracking and the gamecube controls just turned me off. Metroid Prime 2 I liked even less…and I admit I should have put that one on instead because, you know, less backlash.

That said, Metroid Prime 3 was fantastic and is one of my favorite games on the wii. FINALLY the series clicks with me.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Resident Evil before number four either…the tank-like controls and the atmosphere really turned me off. On the other hand, Resident Evil 4 was pretty much your ideal action game. I can see why fans of the series dislike 4 so much because it's such a radical change…but calling it a bad game would be a fat lie.

MGS 4 seems more action oriented so you may enjoy that more. From a gameplay standpoint it was my favorite of the bunch but from a story standpoint – and the fact they RUINED A GREAT ENDING – Metal Gear Solid 3 is still my favorite.

Andy Polancy finishes off the comments for this week.

Yawn...I want my 10 minutes back.

Stop playing Animal Crossing for a day and you may very well get those 10 minutes back.



Top-10 Rhythm Games

This week I'm going to rate the top-10 rhythm based games. There are no rules for this list. So enjoy your first every lawless 10th hour.

10-) GuitarFreaks (franchise) - I wish I could single out a particular game from this franchise like I am able to with some of the other rhythm titles on this list but fact is…I really couldn't distinguish for you which one was the best. They're all fairly quality games.

For those of you thinking to yourself, and I'm sure there are a few of you: "What the hell is GuitarFreaks!?" the answer is rather simple…it's essentially the grand daddy of Guitar Hero. Oh sure, there are some alterations to the formula. As we all know by now Guitar Hero has five buttons for you to mess with. Sure a lot of people struggle like hell with that fifth button but it IS there for your perusal.

GuitarFreaks only has three buttons. They also have a thing called a "wailing bonus" when a guitar icon is displayed in a fourth (think DDR style) column along with the corresponding note. If you tilt your guitar upwards during this segment you'll be greeted with bonus points…yippee!

This game is certainly easier than Guitar Hero. You won't find anything as challenging as "Through the Fire and Flames" here…but the thing is with the increase of difficulty you don't have to fumble through more buttons. So think like a more complicated, more difficult, version of Guitar Hero on Easy mode. Essentially if you aren't skilled enough to jam on those two extra buttons GuitarFreaks may be more your speed.

The soundtrack is mostly comprised on anime, J-Pop, and J-Rock songs but they also sometimes cover super popular American songs from groups such as KISS and Sum41. So if you needed to play the game and had a scathing hatred of all things foreign to you there may be a couple of things that are appealing.

Most likely GuitarFreaks will never receive its due as Guitar Hero's innovator. It's kind of sad but you don't really need group appreciation to enjoy a game. For those of you who really like Guitar Hero but can't quite get super good at it…I would say that this title is for you.



9-) Taiko Drum Master - This is another rhythm titles that you may not have heard of. Taiko Drum Master has you playing on a giant drum with a horizontally scrolling meter. The home version of the game, which is the one I have experience with, keeps track of single and double notes. As you play you are filling up what you would call a life meter. The life meter must be above a certain point before the end of the song or YOU FAIL.

This seems rather simple to you, doesn't it? Just hit the drum a bunch of times and you win? Well it really is. This game and the next game that appear on my list aren't the most difficult rhythm games out there. Not to say that you should go in under-estimating it: the game takes practice. You can't just go storming into hard mode and expect to be some sort of drummer God…you need to hone your craft. It doesn't take long but it's a nice fun experience none the less.

The American soundtrack is obviously quite a bit different than the Japanese equivelant. The Japanese Taiko Drum Master comes with a lot of J-Pop and anime songs while ours are mostly comprised of pop music and some Namco stuff. The pop songs range from Queen to Britney Spears while the Namco originals include tracks from katamari and Soul Calibur 2. There IS one extra though…Rock the Dragon from Dragonball Z can be drummed through. Let's be totally honest though…how many games allow us to DRUM through ROCK THE DRAGON? I mean, come on, I can't be the only one who waxes nostalgically over Dragon Ball Z.

Taiko Drum Master will not overwhelm you with its difficulty but it's a rhythm game that you can play with just about anybody and have fun. You may not be the most rhythmically inclined person…but unlike in other rhythm games with a lot of practice you can get quite good at this.



8-) Donkey Konga - This game is a lot like Taiko Drum Master but with a couple of differences. Instead of one centralized drum you have two bongos to pound on. The game is color coded and tells you which bongo to hit and when. It also has sound censors for clapping. So, like, it's a bit more complicated I guess. Fact is though that it has several similarities, including the side-scrolling meter telling you when to hit notes and the HP meter.

Also like Taiko Drum Master, Donkey Konga is ridiculously easy. I don't exactly consider myself a rhythm virtuoso but within the second day I was able to make my way through gorilla (hard) mode with almost no difficulty. Its ease of use is something that's appealing to a lot of people because even my mother played this game and she hasn't really touched a game since Mrs. Pac Man. I know I complain about games catering to non-gamers but for genres such as rhythm the appeal has always been pretty broad.

The only real problem with the game is its soundtrack. To say that it's horrible is a bit of an understatement. Actually, it's almost like a compliment! Any game that has you jamming to "B-I-N-G-O" has a couple of problems. Of course, it also has some mainstream songs such as "The Impression that I Get" and "All the Small Things". Is it ideal? Absolutely not…but it's better than nothing I guess.

I suppose the most appealing portion of the game is the fact that you can play through some Nintendo songs on the drums. They include tracks from franchises such as Mario and Zelda and also throw together the anime themes for both Kirby: RIGHT BACK AT YA and POKEMON. It's not any of that new pokemon shit, it's the OLD theme. There's something almost surreal about playing the bongos to "POKEMON, OHHHHHHHHHHHH YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND IN A WORLD WE MUST DEFEND…"

Without a doubt, Donkey Konga could have been improved. I don't really see how they could have made it any more difficult – since it finds the rare combination of "HARD YET FUN" – but the song selection really held the game back. It'd be different if they had a questionable soundtrack and delivered with it – see a game later on this list – but they didn't. Still though, Donkey Konga is easily one of the most enjoyable rhythm games out there.

- See, this is how you play the game.

7-) Guitar Hero 1 - This seems to be a franchise that a lot of people thought should have been on last week's list, and to be totally fair it IS over-exposed. That said, I think the hatred towards Guitar Hero started to hop out en-masse when Guitar Hero 3 launched to underwhelm us all. That game was the first game in the franchise the original creators did not work on though and that may have affected our enjoyment.

Fact is, from a rhythm standpoint…it's hard to deny that Guitar Hero is indeed a fun game. It takes the things that GuitarFreaks does and expounds on them. Yes, the added buttons can feel very awkward but it feels MUCH more rewarding to be jamming on Guitar Hero's five button guitar than it does on GuitarFreak's three button guitar. While I've always felt that the game sort of has a giant leap in difficulty…once you get into the harder stuff it's a blast.

The reason that I chose Guitar Hero is fairly obvious. I feel that out of the three core iterations and the horrid side-iterations that the original has not only the best soundtrack of them all but also has the most enjoyable songs to play. I'm sorry, but Godzilla is STILL my favorite song to play on video game guitar. I don't even really like the song that much, it's just FUN.

At this point the series seemed rather pure. It had the makings of a cult smash and eventually caught fire pretty rapidly. It's rather interesting that the theme throughout Guitar Hero 3 is telling your band TO NOT SELL OUT…when in reality the franchise that's telling bands to not sell out has sold out. Is Guitar Hero still fun today? Absolutely. As loathe as I am to admit it, Guitar Hero 3 had a few songs that I really enjoyed playing and the online mode was…neat.

Still, if you wish to go back to a time when Guitar Hero was not only good but down-right awesome…this game will do just fine. Say what you will about the newer titles but I still think this one has the best soundtrack. We wouldn't see a rhythm game with a soundtrack this good until…well…Rock band.

- Where it all started.

6-) PaRappa - The choice here inevitably came down between PaRappa and Um Jammer Lammy. I had to think rather hard about which one I preferred but in the end I decided to stick with one of the certifiable icons of the Playstation 1. Parappa the Rapper is a relatively simple game where you need to time your button presses accurately in order for your character to make it through the stage. Through these presses, Parappa will rap.

That's really the most memorable portion of this game. The rapping. They may not be the best songs in the world but I guarantee you anyone who has played the game would be able to recognize the songs if they heard them. "M-I-X the flour into the bowl.", "Step and turn your signal to the right.", "I GOTTA BELIEVE!"…really everything in the game just sticks out. It has personality and you just got to love that.
As mentioned before, the game is rather simple. It's just a case of you see the button, you press the button…but that doesn't mean it's easy. The timing of your moves takes a bit of getting used to and even then when you mess up you don't have much of a leash. You have to finish with at least a good rating. So let's say you're playing story mode and you have the maximum possible score – A good with cool blinking – if you were to miss three segments you go down to bad. At this point you need to get two in a row in order to hit good again. It seems easy but if you're new to the game it's much harder than you would think.

Pa Rappa isn't the most in depth rhythm game. Odds are if you've played a video game in your lifetime and you devote a bit of time into it you will find some success. What it lacks in depth it makes up for in charm. Its charm was able to propel it to superstardom and is the main reason why a lot of people remember the franchise to this day. You may find this pill hard to swallow…but man, ya' gotta believe.

- Oh man...thinking about Parappa one reminds me of how disappointing the second one was.

5-) Gitaroo Man - Gitaroo Man is certainly a unique little title. From its gameplay to its premise it's the sort of title that you don't really see much these days. It's really a shame more people haven't played this title because it had all the makings of a big blockbuster…but I suppose that can't really be helped. So just ignore the lack of a fan-base and actually try the game out. I guarantee that you'll find something in there you like.

First off, looking at the story you will see that it's very similar to Pa Rappa. From the common theme of "believe in yourself" to the title character U-1's lusting after the girl Pico…it all seems very familiar. Gitaroo man differs in that instead of trying to succeed on a local scale like PaRappa, U-1 is trying to succeed on a global scale. You see, U-1 is the Gitaroo man and he must prevent a race of aliens known as Gravillians from getting hold of the legendary gitaroos. After all, if life has taught us anything it's that music is power.

Gitaroo man may seem like sort of a super hero Pa Rappa, that's there the similarities end. Each of the stages comprise of battles between various Gravillian foes. These battles have various types of rhythm gameplay…but let's just focus on the attack and defense for now. After all, those are the basics. To attack you follow a line with the left analogue stick and when prompted you press a face button. It seems simple but it's quite fun and it works. To defend you press the corresponding face buttons as they fly towards the center of the screen. Of course, being that this is a combat game there ARE life bars…but they are misleading. You can win a stage without depleting an opponents lifebar and similarly a stage doesn't end when you finish an opponent's lifebar. You must play through the entire song. That's not really a problem, but it's just something you should know.

To go along with the gameplay and charm is its unique art style. The rhythm genre seems to have a lot of stylistic games and this one is no exception. Each of the characters looks astoundingly cool and it sort of gives off this vibe of being hand-drawn. It's not like Windwaker in the sense that someone will be watching the game and go: "Oh hey, is that a cartoon?" but it's still quite neat.

Gitaroo Man is a PS2/PSP title that you need to try out because, quite simply, you won't find another rhythm experience like this. Remember when FRESH games was established? It didn't bring this title (It was brought over by THQ, I believe) here but it's the sort of thing they really should have brought us. Mad Maestro was a good game…but it's nowhere near as good as this. This game was ported over to the PSP as Guitaroo Man Lives…and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least try it.



4-) Dance Dance Revolution Franchise - As with Guitarfreaks earlier, I really can't tell you which one of these games is the best. It seems to me that a lot of the arcade versions share songs…and it's really hard for me to distinguish which one is which. So it gets the ambiguous franchise label. This is one of those games that I'm sure all of you have heard of at some point and it really warrants no explanation…

But I'm going to explain it anyhow. In Dance Dance Revolution your goal is to simply keep up with the frantic pace of the music with your feet. It's one thing to keep up with something so frantic when you're using your fingers but when you're actually moving your LEGS it can be quite tenuous. Throughout each song you see four panels – like in GuitarFreak! – each panel corresponding to one of your foot notes. Simply press the corresponding note to when it appears on the screen and you're golden! Of course, it's not that simple. When it FLIES at you, you don't exactly have the time to think.

DDR is one of those games that is easy to play but takes a long time to master. The very first time I got on the machine I danced awkwardly – as I would in real life – and was barely able to tap my way through a song on Beginner mode. You know what that's like…you see a guy in the arcade awkwardly flailing at notes in beginner mode and laugh to yourself. I WAS that guy. With practice though, I got better and better and eventually I was able to routinely do things on the game's heavy mode.

DDR is something that most anybody can play, which as has been mentioned is a benefit of the rhythm genre. A lot of people have looked at DDR as a reliable method of losing weight. My mother, who I am fairly sure I have never mentioned in a column prior to this one, even bought DDR for that sole purpose. It has mass appeal and for good reason! It's highly accessible.

DDR may have an obnoxious tournament scene – to be fair, everything does really – but as long as you just play for fun you should really enjoy yourself. It feels kind of good to pull yourself off the couch and dance around for a while. I would never say that this game is one of my favorites – it's not even in my top-50, but it's one of the few games that I can go back to at any time, no matter what mood I am in, and enjoy playing. That's some high praise.



3-) Samba De Amigo - Oh God did I love the Dreamcast. I know you've heard this take a million times, but seriously…Dreamcast innovation was GAMEPLAY innovation. When I look at the wii, it tries to alter the way you play games but doesn't really do anything to make gameplay…new. The Dreamcast actively tried different things and inevitably failed because of this.

So, here we are…with a game that could easily – and will be soon, thank God – be replicated on the Gamecube, Samba De Amigo. Samba De Amigo fills a void we have all been clamoring for. A rhythm game where you use maracas! In order to succeed you need to shake your maracas at certain parts of the screen. These sections are Upper Right and Left, Middle Right and Left, and Lower Right and Left. A little blue dot will tell you where you need to shake. If a dot appeared at the lower right hand corner of the screen and you shook BOTH of your maracas at it, you would get a bonus.

How could it tell where you were shaking the maracas though? After all, this was in a time before the Nintendo Wii offered motion controls for everything. Well you plug your maracas into a sensor which is placed on the floor. Each maraca also has an ultra-sonic transmitter which presumably allows the game to figure out where exactly your maraca is located. It's quite accurate and it's pretty fun. In the arcade version of the game magnetic sensors were able to tell where your maracas were.

The music in Samba De Amigo is primarily comprised of popular Latin songs. They have other songs in the game as well – such as the theme from Rocky – but in order to make everything feel "just right" they stick primarily to latin. I'm not really a fan of that type of music but I have to be honest – I really couldn't imagine this game having a different sort of soundtrack. This game also introduced me to Samba De Janeiro…so props to it there. Everything just goes so well with the bright and colorful happenings in the background. Sure, they're not important considering you shouldn't be paying attention to that…but it's super neat to see and gives onlookers something to stare at.

Samba De Amigo is a bright and colorful game that sort of defined what made the Dreamcast so special. It was a neat experience you really couldn't get elsewhere. I can't wait to play the wii version of this game because it has been entirely too long since the last time I've played this game. On top of that, Sonic Team has been delegated to simply consultants for it so there's no way even they can screw this one up! Some of the new features include leader boards, the ability to use miis, and new songs. This is easily one of my most anticipated titles for the wii simply because the game on the Dreamcast was so damn enjoyable.



2-) Rock Band - This game was, without a doubt, the run away winner of the "rhythm wars" last year. While Guitar Hero went through the motions and offered a ho-hum product in Guitar Hero 3…Rock Band came out with barrels blazing and brought us one of the finest rhythm games to date. It featured probably the finest soundtrack in any game last year and its sequel looks only to improve on that. The rivalry between Rock Band and Guitar Hero could bring us some truly amazing rhythm games in the future and unlike the NFL…neither of them will EVER hold exclusivity (with the exception of bands or something) over the other.

What made Rock Band such a great experience is that it really emphasized playing as a group. You have a drummer, a singer, and a guitar player and you needed to work together to finish a song. If someone fails it is up to one of you to bring that person back or you ALL fail. Prior to this I had never really played a rhythm game with anybody else. It was just me versus the computer and I was okay with that. Now though…it's me and two bandmates against the computer and damn…it is fun. What really helps further the group dynamic along is that nobody really gets "stuck" playing something. Each instrument is a blast to play.

We've already focused on two guitar games and oddly enough two drum games (though Rock Band's drum segments differ significantly from Taiko and DK)…so let's talk about the singing segment. Essentially what you do while you sing is try to stay on pitch and have the proper tone for the song. It takes some getting used to, and I am well aware that singing is available in other rhythm games, but there is something distinctly fun about subjecting your bandmates to some of your worst singing.

The thing is though, I would NEVER play a karaoke game. I've tried to do it before and I just don't have fun…but what Rock Band does well is the fact that it combines three different games and makes it one. In Rock Band it feels like I am singing for a band, I am singing for a reason, and that goes a long way to further my enjoyment of the title. Also, like, Dani California is amazingly fun to sing.

Rock Band's downloadable songs combined with the original Rock Band tracks will be playable in Rock Band 2 and when you combine all that, according to the game makers, you will have over 500 songs at your disposal. I know this goes without saying but if you have 500 different songs to choose from you can be rocking for a very, very long time. Essentially any time you wish to play a rhythm game you have something there for you and that's awesome.

I know everyone is tired of hearing about Rock Band and Guitar Hero news but the fact is that this little bout between them could be the best thing to happen to the rhythm genre in a long time.



1-) Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents and Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 - Without a doubt my favorite rhythm game of all time is Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan. A matter of fact, if I hadn't have totally forgotten about Elite Beat Agents it would have topped my ill-fated Top-10 Portable games list. It's not just a good rhythm game, it's a good game. Never have I felt more immersed in a musical experience and that includes those instrumental rhythm titles.

Essentially what you do in EBA is touch your stylus to a bubble of action that appears on the screen. It's all color coded and number coded. So if you see a red "1" the next target to hit is a red "2". It goes on like that. The bubbles you hit correspond with the music in the background and weirdly enough when you're playing the higher difficulties in the game it feels like you're actually composing the music. I know! Composing doesn't work that way but for whatever reason EBA does it RIGHT. To go along with pressing these bubbles you also sometimes have to drag your stylus along the touch-screen (with the bubble). It just helps make the game more immersive. I don't really like the spinning you have to do – I blame it for ruining my DS FAT – but I'll just leave that out for now.

If there's one thing wrong with the version of Ouendan we got, Elite Beat Agents, it would have to be the soundtrack. As far as soundtracks go it has got to be one of the worst of all time. While I ragged on Donkey Konga for having a bad soundtrack EBA comes out with Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne. Now normally this would be a killer to a game. I mean, who wants to play a rhythm game to sk8er boy? The thing is though, the cover bands that perform these songs do an ASTOUNDING job. The Ashlee Simpson song, which before was not even tolerable…is actually made quite good through the game. A matter of fact, even for the more decent songs EBA's cover crew does a better job. I can't even LISTEN to the original version of Jumping Jack Flash anymore. The cover does such a fantastic job that the original just isn't the same. A lot of people have gotten onto EBA over the track, but the fact is the game overcomes the odds and makes these mediocre songs great. I applaud.

Ouendans 1 and 2 are great little titles as well. Assuming you don't understand Japanese you'll be missing out on the story- -which is kind of a shame because EBA's story is surprisingly good - but you won't be missing out on the gameplay which is every bit as addictive in Japanese as it is in English. A matter of fact, one song in particular from Ouendan 2 leaps out to me…it's called "Sekai wa Sore o ai to Yobundaize". It's the game's equivelant to Jumping Jack Flash. When I was playing through it, I was connecting to the music so well I was getting goose bumps. I'm telling you, and I know I've already said this, but no game immerses you in the music as well as Ouendan. None. Also for you Full Metal Alchemist fans the first opening theme, Ready Steady Go, is in Ouendan 1. Just sayin'

Elite Beat Agents did not even manage to sell 200,000 copies and today is being packaged with a Nintendo DS carrying kit for like nine dollars. NINE DOLLARS. Talk about a great deal. Odds are we'll never see Nintendo cooperate with iNis and release a sequel over here but it's something that we desperately need. I mean if they can fucking release Pokemon Platinum they can find it in their hearts to make a new EBA.

I'm not kidding. If you haven't played Elite Beat Agents drop what you're doing and get it right now. I don't care if it's via emulator or you buy it for nine dollars or whatever…just play it and see what you're missing. It's without a doubt one of the best games ever released for a portable system.

Here, have a video of Ouendan 2 and EBA's final songs. If you are super sensitive of spoilers you may wish to avoid.:


This one is for Ouendan 2. I know the quality is bad but it shows the gameplay off pretty well.



This is Jumping Jack Flash on EBA's equivelant of Normal mode. It's not very hard (it's certainly harder on higher difficulties, but I didn't want to post the hard rock videos)…but it shows the timing and what not well I believe. You miss out on the before-the-song EBA! EBA! chant but I doubt that it would mean as much to someone who hasn't played the game.

Well that's it for this week…as always if you wish to give me any feedback you can e-mail me at [e-mail] or you can simply comment below. I should say right now that 10th hour will be back at its normal time next week.

Before I leave you all for the day, let's see what some other columns from around 411 mania's game section are saying…

This week John Curry – The Curry Man – discusses a type of game that he wishes would be brought back…the Cave Man game! I think one based on the Geico Cavemen would be just about as successful as the show was (which wasn't based on them, but you know damn well if it wasn't for those commercials the show would never have came to be).

Chris Evans writes the premiere computer games column for 411mania's game section and it's called The PC-Centric Extravaganza. This week he talks about things including WAR's desire to become an alternative to WoW. He even writes in his blog about it. WHERE I FOUND OUT HE WATCHES BIG BROTHER! fucking good, I'm not the only one on this site who does. I sure as hell hope Dan wins. haha!

Vincent Chiucchi makes fun of some kids in this week's Hall of Fame…to hilarity! He talks about AVGN wannabes. The kids are all terrible but the WORST of them is the Irate Gamer. He's a fucking douche. This was a very humorous article. He also writes the select and start news report which can be seen here

Jordan "The Ogre" Williams writes Working Title and I have to be honest…this is one of the funniest things I've read on the site. He wants appreciation for henchmen dammit. He also brings back horrible memories about that damn Sun from Mario Brothers 3.

In the final Edition of the Wonder Years, Owain "The Letter J" Brimfield brings us his top-10 16-bit era games ever. It was a great list. He also talks about his all-time favorite games ever and while EB isn't on there (come on man!) he does have a really good list with a surprise number one. I'll miss ya Owain!

Rod Oracheski writes Achievement Unlocked. This week he discusses average scores for different types of gamers. I really enjoyed this column because it went IN DEPTH on casuals. Thank you Rod, thank you.

Drew Robbins, MEIN BROTHER, writes Coming Attractions and this week he uhm…talks about the godly WAR and Yggdra Union. Also a little game called Rock Band 2. ALSO DREW SAYS UNCHARTED IS THE BEST GAME ON THE PS3!? The accusations are correct, Drew was on drugs while he was playing that game. Fucking heroine. Give me back my brother.

Joe Roche writes the Full Circle News Report which has returned after an elongated absence. Happy wedding man. He brings us news of a possible Gamestop Expo? Neat! Also JOE YOU LINKED TO AN ARTICLE I WROTE IN JUNE. STEP YOUR GAME UP MAN! Hahaha…good to have you back.

Tommy Coloma tries to make my day in the Negative Edge News Report by bringing me news of a DS Phantasy Star and news on where I can see if there's a Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet anywhere around me. I checked to see if there was and there's not even one arcade cabinet in my state. Maybe fate doesn't want me playing game of the century (2000-2100) before its console release?

Mark Salmela WILL NOT DIE as he brings us the Nintendophiles. This week he catches onto my trend of copy and pasting the same few lists over and over again. CURSE YOU MARK NOW I HAVE TO WORK. Also I continue the thieve your water cooler because I am evil.

B3yond the Report this week goes in depth onto why I, Derek Robbins, rule and why JRPGs are so good. Heh, my hostile take over of Salms domain is almost complete.

Mike and AJ Minotti are the voices behind the Exploding Barrel Podcast. As always they talk about the week in gaming but now they are separated by distance! No worries, through the use of tiny little elves they are able to bring us another podcast. Hoorah! Also of note, the "ANSWER OR DIE" segment is my new favorite part of the show. I wonder how AJ will kill Mike from Pittsburgh if he can't answer in five seconds? My guess is assassination attempt or ballistic missile.

Well, that's it for this week. I'm out.

Til' the crossroads