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Are you looking for something else to play? Tired of every game you own and just want
something just that little bit different? Do you have geometary wars, or even rock band?
Just imagine it, those two games fused together, what a wonderful title it would be.
Shooting enemies whilst listening to a nice beat created by yourself. Groov is just that
title. Anybody that is familar with Geomertary wars or even Asteroids, will feel very comfortable
learning and playing this Indie title. This game is located under the 'Indie game'
section of the Xbox live game marketplace and is priced at a low price of just 80 microsoft
points, so you don't have to break your wallet to have an interesting title. It brings
the elements of an old arcade title with the moderness of musical beats to create a fun
musical shooter that engrosses you and creates a fantastic experience. Even on top of that,
every game you play is completely unique and the beat and the spawning of the enemies is
different every game so you never know what to expect next.
You control a ship called the 'Conductor', which is very fitting seen as you do in fact,
control the background music of the game. Every action has a reaction in this title,
whether it be shooting your bullets, hitting an enemy or in fact the enemy disintergrating.
The are 4 types of instrumental enemies that appear. The 'Drums', the 'Trumpet', the 'Guitar'
and finally, the toughest, the 'Rapper'. A groov
can be immediately initiated upon the spawning of these enemies and the tempo flows accordingly.
The controls are very basic. Left analogue stick to move your ship and the right
analogue stick to shoot your bullets. Your bullets are unlimited so don'T worry about
ammo, just go in there and shoot everything you see. When you have 'destroyed an enemy'
they will glow a bright white colour, which makes them safe to fly through. However, they
don't disappear from your screen straight away and only does so when the game feels
fit within the beat. When they are finally destroyed,
they explode which also, has it's own note to play.
The game also features a slow down item and you are given three of them. It is
generally a replacement for the 'Smart bomb' as we know it. This slows down enemies for
a brief amount of time allowing you to get out
of tight situations if you're finding a stage challenging, but you remain at full speed.
They cannot be replenished and do not recharge so use them wisely. In theory, it's
a 'Panic button', but it can only be activated along with the downbeat of the music, so
in essence, every fourth beat. If you're good with music, that isn't a problem but identifying
which beat it is during the game may be a little difficult to begin with for
some players. You can't just use this feature when you're about to die so it can almost
make it seem like its useless, but the game is just fine without it. You are also given
three lives in the 'Original' mode and these also, cannot be replenished. Once all three
lives have been used up, it is game over and you are returned to the title screen.
The objective of this game is to survive waves of oncoming, relentless enemies and
once your reach a certain score within the stage, the tempo will change and a new wave
begins. You have to reach 25,000 points in order
to finish the 'Original mode', thereby unlocking Expert Mode. It is possible to beat the game
on your first try but even just that short playthrough will be enough to make you
fall in love with this game and you'll always want to come back and play a game or a few
from time to time. There are three modes in this game. Original mode, Expert mode and
Jam session. Original mode is the mode that is
automatically unlocked upon purchase and you must complete this mode to unlock Expert.
You have to survive waves of enemies whilst the tempo and gameplay itself changes, until
you reach your given target score. Once you have beaten that, you unlock 'expert' mode
which is a serious challenge. You are only given one life but you can still use three
of your slow down features if needed. In this mode, you have to surive waves whilst defeating
a speedy onslaught of relentless enemies and the aim is to hit a hidden target score.
Believe me, it isn't easy. Once you have completed that, you unlock a final mode named 'Jam session',
where you are invincible and can control the beat of the music for as however
long as you like and maybe start your own party with your friends.
Whereas games like Rock band and Guitar hero make you feel connected to the music whilst
your playing them, Groov sets itself apart by giving you a similar connection without
you having to follow the beat at all. You just play as normal whilst trying to survive
the waves of enemies and the game automatically syncs up the beat to the gameplay. It generates
a very unqiue sensaiton every new game and this has to be exeperienced. You
here therefore, creating your own music, without hardly any effort required at all.
Obviously, this game isn't perfect like any other and being a shooter fan, there are one
or two minor drawbacks to this little title. Players will notice the abnormal size of the
hit box. A hit box is the area of the ship that is vulernable to attacks. In other title's
such as Geomarty wars, enemies would have to touch the center of your ship to destory
it, however, in Groov, enemies just have to touch
any part of your ship, thus making it a lot more difficult to dodge enemies, especially
on the later stages of the game when the screen becomes overwhelemd with enemies. However,
this does add a sense of challenge and makes completion feel more rewarding so it's
not all so bad. Sometimes, Groov can become a little busy
and overwhelming and enemies can spawn in less than desirable places, especially when
trying to evade a large horde on the harder stages
and Expert difficulty. But, my main issue is just that I wish there was more. The game
is fantastic and I wanted more arenas, enemies or anything else because the experience was
very mesmorizing and sensational, I just didn't want to
stop playing. Yes, Expert difficulty is a challenge, but it isn't frustrating. You can
just relax and keep playing and hope to unlock the 'Freestyle' mode. I can almost imagine
this being a fmaily fun game where everyone takes it in turn to try and complete the game
or see how far people can make it to what score in Expert mode.
Groov is a brillaintly fun Indy game, that should most definitely make it into the retail
or arcade sections one day. I really do hope a
developer sees the true potential of this title and make a larger project invilving
these mechanics. It's a great way to burn a few
minutes here and there and defnetly a family friendly title that anybody of all ages can
enjoy. The mechanics and the way the game handles all of the music together is a real
treat that eevryone needs to expereince. This just goes to show, that there is
significant talent within the development scene and I do hope another longer version
of this or something similar is produced sometime in the future. And at a price of just 80 microsoft
points, you couldn't be more pleased and satisfied with this little game. I
encourage you to buy this title and give it a chance and I can gurantee you, you'll be
one very happy gamer.