PixlBit

You can do it, U-1! Believe in yourself!

With all my love for RPGs, fighting games, and big dumb action titles, it would probably come as a surprise that I have a large part of my heart reserved for music games. I’ve spent countless hours honing my skills on PaRappa the Rapper, Bust a Groove, and of course Guitar Hero. I even owned Britney’s Dance Beat because it was the closest thing Americans could get to a Bust a Groove 3, having been developed by the same team. However, one music game stands above them all in my eyes, and it’s the one that criminally never got a sequel. That game is Gitaroo Man, and I’m spending this edition of MIA to give some much needed love to a true diamond in the rough.

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An awkward interface and limited functionality hinder this otherwise creative music game.

Playing Jam Live Music Arcade distinctly reminded me of my time with the DS title, KORG-DS 10 Plus. While the two aren’t exactly the same, Jam Live Music Arcade provides the ability to play with song arrangements using a variety of samples, encouraging players to creatively jam out. However, Jam Live Music Arcade makes the mistake of cramming in an uninspired arcade mode that needlessly mimics the popular rhythm games of this generation, like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

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When I die, I want to go to Rhythm Heaven.

If asked to describe Rhythm Heaven Fever in one short phrase, I'd say it's “a horse of a different color!” Like Rhythm Heaven and the WarioWare games before, Rhythm Heaven Fever does an excellent job of painting itself as a game different from virtually any other. It's more unique, more quirky, and more inspired than a lot of what I've seen in the past. For a title budgeted for release at $30, there's certainly plenty of content to keep the original feeling going for some time.

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Kaz Hirai announced the apps at CES 2012.

Tonight marked the beginning of CES 2012 with keynote speeches from various hardware developers. At Sony's conference, Sony Computer Entertainment President Kaz Hirai announced that Netflix and Music Unlimited are coming to the PlayStation Vita.

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