One of my favorite rhythm Nintendo DS games is “Elite Beat Agents”. I have never found a game that was so frustrating and addicting to play than “Elite Beat Agents” so you can imagine how I felt when I heard that the sequel of the game will only release in the eastern part of the world. The pick-up-and-play game just got me hooked for different kind of reasons.
It had great mechanics, lovely recognizable songs, funny setting, the addicted scoring system… etc. For example: I always wanted to get the high score and by that I mean ALWAYS, it became a problem… If my play session didn’t reach my standards I would just restart the song all over again, just to get a perfect hit on that one stupid note. The game also did a great job in adding a bit of story to it. Elite Beat Agents had different funny stories that were only solvable just by dancing… Can you imagine a world where people would solve their differences just by dancing? I would love it! Of course, this review isn’t about “Elite Beat Agents”, it’s all about Radio Hammer. Let’s see if the game hit the nail right on the head or did “a swing and miss”…
You don’t see a lot of rhythm games on the market and to be truly honest, who can blame the developers for not creating a successful rhythm game. It’s just not easy. You might wonder why but for me it seems obvious. First of all, there aren’t many gamers who like playing a rhythm based video game. It’s really tough to create a good rhythm game that can be successful. You already have the factor of people playing your game because they like the genre, but you shouldn’t forget the next factor: It’s more difficult to create a game where people like the genre AND love the music that’s being used for the game. Do you create your own set of sounds or adapt popular songs? For me, the second factor is a BIG important factor and that’s where Radiohammer went the wrong way.
But first of all, let’s talk about the story and main mechanics of Radiohammer. You play as one of the 3 Dj’s with big hammers that work for the pirate music station “Radiohammer”. The DJ’s protect groovy tunes from Evil, whatever form it takes in this music world. Each DJ has their own agent, but they really don’t add anything to your gaming experience. The first DJ that you’ll play is July Ann accompanied by a rabbit for an agent. July Ann is dressed as an innocent schoolgirl wielding a pink hammer. In her story, she has to fend off your typical trench coat dudes before they get a chance to flash their -BLANK- at July Ann, you all know what i mean! Then there’s MC Wayne, the programming Director of Radiohammer who has to send those alien goons back to space and last but not least, you have Simply Lita who turns music zombies back to ash with her incredible epic solos.
The 3 DJ’s all have a story mode which contains 14 episodes and a boss. Each DJ, which has been said in previous section, have to face a specific kind of enemy in their own unique environment ( a unique background and their own set of music). These enemies you face in each section are all the same but they do vary a little bit from each other. The next DJ unlocks when you’ve finished all the music sessions of the previous DJ. As you progress, you’ll unlock different modes that let’s you play a song of your choice or play a shuffled selection of all the songs you’ve unlocked. These modes are a nice feature but the songs in this game aren’t “funky” enough to replay them again, even if it is in a different mode; the game mechanics are just the same. Each DJ also has an end boss to defeat and they’re really unique, it’s actually one of the fun sections of the game. They’re visual stunning and challenging and once you see through the shards of obstacles and concentrate on the rhythm, you’ll be able to defeat them. It just takes focus and a lot of tries. It’s not fun when it’s not challenging, right?
Once the play session starts the funky groove music, different enemies will come at you to do you harm. It’s your job to keep the grunts at bay, by placing a perfectly hammer swing to the beat. The grunts make a noise, so it’s easier for you to hear when to send him home flying. With each placed tap, the system awards you with a “Perfect,” “Great,” “Good,” or “Bad” comment that influences your score on the top right. The longer you perform a decent tap, the higher your combo will be. The higher your combo, the more you’ll add some bonus points to your score. Beware, one missed swing will reset your combo and takes a bite out of your health. This encourages you to concentrate on your swings. If your health’s fully depleted, you’ll have to restart the whole session. Accurate placed swings and combo score will fill up a blue bar. The moment you activate the blue bar, you’ll land a “Perfect” comment on each hit as long as you don’t miss.
The play field consist out of 2 lanes ( a top and a bottom) and a “present” section. Presents are randomly power- ups that show up behind your DJ and they have to be collected in order for them to be active. You have “normal” and “green” presents. These normal presents can be quite tricky during a music session. These power-up presents disappear quicker than they show up. If you tap on a present and you’re too late, your health will drop. The challenge here is of course to avoid “the green presents”. The “green presents” give negative effects to your character if they’re collected.
The mechanics in this game are very well designed, it’s simple and fast paced, just the way i like it. Although this is fun for me, a lot of rhythm game newborns will dislike this pace and quit very quickly. Look, the songs are okay but they’re not groundbreaking. If you don’t play with a set of earphones, the slightest change in the rhythm is being overheard and you start messing up. If you start messing up, the frustration rises and you’ll quit the game faster before you can say ” beat it.” There’s a bit of a learning curve and if you’re not ready to commit a bit to the game, it’s easily left aside. Other strong hearted gamers will enjoy this pace and will complete the game fluently.
The environments, the detailed animations, the funny stuff happening in the background are cartoony and stylish. The game runs smoothly on the Nintendo 3DS without any stutter which is perfect for a rhythm game. The sound quality like the voice acting and the hammer bashing sounds in general are decent but like i said in previous, if you’re not paying attention or you’re not using headphones, the beats are easily missed. The song design could have been a lot better, sure each DJ has different songs but they don’t stand out. They don’t give me that “shake along”- feeling. The English translations within this game is good but sometimes it’s a bit broken. Not that it influences your gameplay experience but it gives that certain extra “weirdness” to the game, in a good way. The broken translations fit perfectly in this game. For example: “Tab everywhere” instead of “Tap everywhere”.
| The Good: | The Bad: |
| + visually gorgeous | – forgettable songs |
| + hardcore rhythm action | – uninspiring modes |
| + challenging boss fights | – unclear audio |
Vinyl Lab created a good rhythm game but it didn’t give me the “fun moments” i had with Elite Beat Agents. Visually the game is gorgeous, game mechanics are decent but they don’t bring anything new to the table, even with that “present” section… and the songs are truly “funky” but forgettable. The story is bland and songs really don’t bring out the best in this game. Songs are very important in these kind of games, and if they funked up this part. People will more likely pass the game and wait for something that offers a bit more “recognizable” songs. The hardcore rhythm gamer will already have bought this game since there are few rhythm games on the market but as a newbie, just wait and buy a game with a bit more “shake along”- feeling.
Score 3 out of 5:
