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| |  Genre: Puzzle & Trivia | | | Mac OS X: Any Version Mac OS Classic: Not Supported |
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When developer Harmonix makes a game, people take notice. They are masters of the Music/Rhythm genre, earning acclaim for the Playstation 2 hits FreQuency and Amplitude. They are best known for being one of the creative minds behind the immensely popular Guitar Hero, and now they are going to be known as the creators of Rock Band. It is safe to say that Harmonix is one of the top developers in gaming today. Now, while Rock Band is delivering on its ambitious gameplay, its ambitious music catalogue, and its ambitious price tag, another ambitious title was made for a fraction of the price for the iPod. The game is Phase.Phase takes Harmonix’s proven Music/Rhythm formula only now, it is portable and with the option to import songs into the game, it has an nearly unlimited playlist. Gameplay “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If you have played one Harmonix game, you have played them all. Of course, any fan of Guitar Hero will tell you that is not a bad thing in the least. The premise is simple. Using the iPod’s Back, Center, and Forward buttons, you just hit the notes that appear on screen, as well as scrolling the wheel to catch bonus points spiraling down the timeline. With three difficulty settings, Easy, Medium and Hard, and two play modes, there is plenty to challenge. The first mode is Quick Play, which takes you to an iTunes menu, breaking down the imported playlist by Artists, Albums and Songs, along with tracks included in the game. Quick Play is self-explanatory. Play one song of your choice, and either continue on to the next song, pick the next song, or stop. The second mode is Marathon, where you to play through five songs in a row. Upon completing a Hard Marathon, a new expert difficulty becomes unlocked. Upon an expert marathon completion, the insane difficulty is unlocked. After insane? Bragging rights.Now as for the actual gameplay, it is more similar to Harmonix’s Playstation 2 games, where songs are broken up into segments, lengths vary on the song. To progress through each checkpoint, you have to earn a minimum star rating, from one to four. If the rating is not attained, you loose a heart, starting with four in total. If all the hearts are lost, game over. They can be regained in songs if segments are played well, especially if you achieve a high multiplier. The gameplay works, and is well suited the iPod. On higher difficulties, remember, two thumbs are better than one.Music It is impossible to talk about a Harmonix game without talking about the music. That would just be stupid honestly, being musical rhythm games. The purchase of Phase comes loaded with seven tracks from music staples from previous games of Harmonix such as Bang Camero and Freezepop. Depending on your musical preferences you may enjoy these tracks, or at least appreciate the fun in playing them, but the real bonus comes with the option of uploading your own songs into the game. In that regard, this game just may have the best soundtrack in gaming history as you have total control of what music plays. Keep on adding new tracks to your playlist, and the possibilities are quite endless.Graphics The game makes great use of the iPod’s video capabilities. The graphics style uses a cel-shaded art style, using bright, vivid colors, with some cool cardboard like pop-ups moving forward along with the notes on screen. For the most part, the venues are fairly barren, with the pop-ups showing up every so often. Stages range from oceanic themes, with aquatic life, to space with alien life. Overall, these might be the best visuals on the iPod.
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