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Mevo & the Grooveriders: Galactic Tour

mevo

Thanks to the recent successes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, rhythm games have risen in popularity.  Of course there was a slew of games that made at some sort of success in the US market: Parapa the Rappa, Dance Dance Revolution, Amplitude/Frequency, etc. but none of them have reached the heights of popularity like the ones with plastic instruments.

Can the rhythm game genre make it on the iPhone platform?  The Tap Tap series started with Revolution not only was one of the first batch of iPhone applications, but it was also the first rhythm game on the platform.  However it really is just a clone of the Guitar Hero game mechanic with notes flying down the screen on in this case 3 lines instead of 4.

Mevo & the Grooveriders, by Red Rocket Games does things differently.  At first glance it looks like a simple platformer.  It is a platformer of sorts, except that the only controls you have are two buttons that correspond to cues on screen.  Your little dude runs and jumps, and as he does, either an arrow pointing left or one pointing right will cross his path.  You then tap the appropriate button at that time.

It starts of simple enough, and is actually pretty boring if you're familiar with the concept of rhythm games.  That's compounded by the fact that in order to unlock new costumes, which in turn unlock bonus powers, you have to do each song on all three difficulty levels.  A little over half way through the game, the songs start to get a little challenging, requiring the player to both hold one button while tapping on the other.  Up until then though, it's all just sustains and rhythmic taps.

Actually, the gameplay itself reminds me of Donkey Konga for the Nintendo Gamecube.  That game definitely has more complex patterns plus the additional clap for a third note type.

I believe it's normally $0.99 but I picked it up during a one day sale for free.  It was definitely a fun surprise, but I'm not sure I'd pay money for the experience.

Mevo & the Grooveriders: Galactic Tour earns a score of Not Quite Awesome.

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