- Game: Groov
- Developer: Funkmasonry Industries
- Price: 200MS Points ($2.50)
- Version Reviewed: Full Game
Many big-budget games often forget about one of the most immersive qualities in all video games; the quality of the game’s music. Developers often throw that part of game design to the side and forget about it, or even worse, they create a generic rock soundtrack or just add stereotypical orchestral music that somehow makes every game sound like God of War. Recognizing this as a major fault of most new games, developer Funkmasonry Industries took the familiar dual-joystick shooter formula that we all know and love and added a new twist to it; setting the game apart from almost every other dual-stick shooter available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Welcome to Groov.
If we look closely at what makes Groov a game, we soon realize that it’s flawed in its core gameplay. Your ship moves in an awkward manner that makes it hard to dodge enemies. The firing arc for your main weapon (which is also your only weapon) isn’t wide or precise enough to deal with the massive amount of enemies that get thrown at you; this makes even the first stage harder than it should be. Your only defense is the ability to slow down time by pushing the Right Trigger, but it’s mostly useless as it’s tied to the music and rarely works when you need it. If reviewed solely by its gameplay, Groov is a mediocre shooter at best.
But then you dive into what makes Groov such an immersive experience, which is how it handles its music. As soon as you start up the game it features some cool background music, but layered on top of that is how the music relates to your shooting. Depending on whether you hold down the stick or fire it in bursts, you will get a unique beat that is tied to your shooting; this beat also changes when you get upgrades. The game also features many different enemies that all produce different sounds when they’re destroyed and that fits along with the music as well. Groov gives you the ability to create the musical experience you want, not having you follow a soundtrack that was forced upon you. I found that every time I played Groov, it was a different experience than the last time I played it.
There are three different modes for you to play. The first mode is called “Original Mix” and it’s the core mode you’ll play, not to mention the best of all the modes. The two other modes for you to unlock are called “Expert Remix” and “Jam Session”. Expert Remix gives you one life and an endless stream of enemies to kill, but the mode lacks the dramatic build-up and progression that Original Mix gives you. I have yet to unlock Jam Session because Expert Remix is so damn hard. I found it maddening that I couldn’t play the entire game until I beat the hardest difficulty, but I’m also perfectly happy playing Original Mix.
For 200MS points, Groov is quite the steal. It may not feature the best gameplay experience, but the musical experience is quite impressive and worth every single point. It’s probably the most immersive game on XBL Indies, and perhaps the most rewarding in how the game lets you craft your own experience. If it wasn’t for the mediocre gameplay, Groov would have easily been the best XBL Indie game I’ve played.
Isaac Wagner
GT: millwrought
(Thanks to Kush for editing, and Pixelated Sausage!)