Day 101, Game 101 - Sound Shapes

I've never been into the musical games that were all the rage the last few years. Despite my unhealthy love for peripherals, I never fell victim to the Rock Band/Guitar Hero craze that swept the country. I thought DJ Hero might have been that game to finally drag me in to the depths of pretend instrument gaming, I never spent enough time playing it to give it a fair shake.

You see, I'm not what you would consider to be musically gifted, which is problematic when trying to keep rhythm while pretending to play plastic musical instruments. I guess my fear of sheer failure and humiliation kept me from ever putting much stock into the genre. So when this little PSN exclusive came out, based around beats, rhythm and your ability to make all those things come together in video game form, it had me worried.

Would I like this, despite my musical ineptitude? Well, I gave it shot back then, and I loved it. Half the game is comprised of platforming, where you collect notes throughout the level to complete the beat for that stage. No musical talent necessary, just uncanny and unflinching platforming skills, especially when it comes to the challenge levels.

The other half of the game is the level editor, where you build your own levels with the beats you want. Within that mode, there is Beat School, where you have to recreate small samples of beats perfectly, figuring out where each note goes on the music sheet. It takes a keen musical ear to figure these out easily, but with enough struggling and guessing, even someone like me can figure them out. What a sense of accomplishment it is to.

And that's why I played tonight, to go back and mop up a handful of silver trophies associated with Beat School DLC that I downloaded a while ago. Honestly, if it wasn't for all those awesome trophies, I probably would have quit on the Beat School levels a long, long time ago. But hey, for the musically gifted, they are probably the best part of the game.

For the musically challenged though, like me, don't worry. There are PLENTY of guides available online to help you through the Beat School levels. You know, if you're in to that sort of thing.

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