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1978
Simon
FROM: Milton Bradley
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Launched May
15th at Studio 54, this Jurassic forerunner to today's
touch-sensitive Nintendo DS featured four colored buttons (red,
green, yellow, blue) and three simple variations. Memorization's
the goal, with players required to repeat back a randomized or
user-created sequence of lights and tones with a simple poke. Named
for "Simon Says" and created by Ralph Baer, who also invented home
console gaming with 1972's Magnavox Odyssey, it quickly
became an American institution, and is still available for purchase
today.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Besides
single-handedly popularizing handheld electronic entertainment and
directly influencing every subsequent system from Game Boy to
PlayStation Portable, its pattern-based action set the mold for
nearly all successive music-themed titles. That goes double for
many of the current generation's most "innovative" offerings, which
simply require enthusiasts to play back notes synchronized to
audiovisual prompts that appear onscreen.
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1978
KISS
Pinball
FROM: Bally
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Resplendent in
dragons, flames, lightning bolts and black-and-white face paint,
this classic flipper-swatter features enough flashing lights and
table-shaking tones to pass for one of its headliners' infamous
stage acts.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Lovingly
showcases Gene Simmons' proboscis-like tongue, and offers chilling
foreshadowing as to fellow rockers' insatiable appetite for
high-tech merchandising that would follow. Amusingly, later
reprised with a horrible, but unrelated PC/PlayStation follow-up
which didn't even feature licensed music or speech
samples.
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1983
Journey
FROM: Bally/Midway
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Riding high on
1983's Number Two-charting Frontiers album, and with
spirits undoubtedly buoyed by a recent Budweiser sponsorship (among
the industry's first), the San Francisco balladeers were tapped by
coin-operated amusement staple Bally Midway to computerize their
brand of rock. The setup: Controlling band members with cartoon
torsos and black-and-white photos for heads, avoid or blast glowing
alien adversaries while collecting instruments to be rewarded with
an animated concert complete with a cassette player-fueled
rendition of "Separate Ways." Recently named one of Game
Informer's Top 10 Worst Licensed Game Ideas Ever, we can only
assume editors hadn't played Data Age's Journey Escape for
Atari 2600. Released a scant year earlier, this home-console
counterpart, also inexplicably set in space, had players fighting
intergalactic groupies (hearts with legs) and promoters (floating
heads) with the help of roadies in hopes of reaching your
insect-like spaceship.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Marks the
first time a band got its own video game — before
Journey, it was only pinball. The title also paved the way
for every other band appearance in a game since, and shows that the
relationship between rock and games — and their combined
ability to draw a crowd — goes back to long before anyone
ever thought to debut a single (hello Billy Corgan and Axl Rose) in
interactive form.
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1984
Will Harvey's
Music
Construction Set
FROM: Electronic Arts
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Fifteen-year-old Will Harvey was an Apple II
protégé who built this intuitive, drag-and-drop
user-interface powered, if tedious to operate, song building kit
while still in high school. File under Did You Know: He later went
on to found popular massively multiplayer 3D online universe
There.com.
WHY IT
ROCKS: One of the
earliest forerunners of Pro Tools, it proved there was a voracious
appetite for music-themed desktop titles. The program also provided
an early hit for then-nascent publisher Electronic Arts long before
Madden NFL debuted, which would later generate
star-powered soundtracks that got bands like Good Charlotte
thousands of spins.
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1984
Break
Dance
FROM: Epyx
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: California
Games wasn't even a twinkle in Epyx's eyes when the company
first offered Commodore 64 owners the chance to do the worm by
using joystick inputs to repeat back computerized dancers'
moves.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Primitive as
popping-and-locking may seem here, it nonetheless kicked open the
door for game makers to shine the light on musical subcultures, not
just songs. Besides, rudimentary as the animation is, every move
looks like you're doing the robot.
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1985
Frankie Goes
to
Hollywood
FROM: Denton Designs/Ocean
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Launched on
British home micros, this offbeat adventure saw you playing
mini-games, solving murders and otherwise attempting to escape life
as a boring, nondescript sod on Liverpool's streets. Admittance to
the fabled Pleasuredome, the ultimate goal, came at a price,
though: Specifically, having to boost your sex, war, love and
religion attributes, each statistic inspired by ciphers on the
dance-pop staple's album covers.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Hailed as a
classic across the pond, it helped break down barriers for
independent gamemakers and was amongst the first titles to dabble
with symbolism. (A prominent genre fixture in the decadent
celebrity multimedia "experiences" released nearly a decade
following.) Plus, it had "Relax (Don't Do It)"!
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1988
Rock Star Ate
My
Hamster
FROM: Codemasters
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: As much
budget-balancing challenge as interactive satire, this
money-juggling game tasks you, as scummy manager Cecil Pitt, with
guiding pop star parodies like "Dorrissey," "Maradona" and "Bill
Collins" to gold-selling status.
WHY IT
ROCKS: For the first
time, chronicles almost every aspect of recording industry
self-production/promotion, from gigging and publicity stunts to
dealing with piracy and shooting videos. Also, "Bruce Stringbean"
and "Tina Turnoff" still make us giggle.
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1989
Rockstar
FROM: Wizard Games
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A forgotten
desktop gem, this all-text outing is the earliest popular business
simulation to fully embrace the shadier aspects of backstage life,
including use of controlled substances and groupie
exploitation.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Generations
before Midway's NARC remake glorified narcotics, it
actually offered you the opportunity to manage coke or pot intake,
with side-effects ranging from creativity boosts to painful stints
in rehab.
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1990
Michael
Jackson's Moonwalker
FROM: Sega
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A "Smooth
Criminal"-era arcade and Genesis title that saw the King of Pop
shimmying it out with suited thugs to rescue kidnapped children,
before that concept became so ironic.
WHY IT
ROCKS: You mean,
apart from an inexplicable cameo by Bubbles, who turns you into a
laser-spewing robot? Reasonably enjoyable to play, and featuring
MJ's creative input, it showed that with a little TLC, even the
strangest SoundScan spin-off could be good.
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1990
Miracle Piano
Teaching System
FROM: The Software Toolworks
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: While actual
owners were rare due to its wallet-crushing $500 price, this
keyboard-touting piano trainer enjoyed high visibility as a
standout catalog and marketing piece for the Nintendo Entertainment
System.
WHY IT
ROCKS: One of few
titles that aimed to expand the mega-popular console (and its
wide-eyed grade school audience)'s musical ambitions, and further
served to illustrate set-top systems' viability for use with more
than just mindless platform-hoppers. Plus, if you could convince
your parents to purchase it, any other essential cartridge —
Final Fantasy, Ninja Gaiden or Bionic
Commando — looked like a steal by comparison.
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1990
Loom
FROM: LucasArts
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Adventure
games (mouse-driven scavenger hunts interwoven with quirky dialog
and poorly-animated cut-scenes) were once huge on home computers,
but largely confined to formulaic fantasy, sci-fi and
tongue-in-cheek outings. At least, until genre kingpin LucasArts
told the haunting tale of Bobbin Threadbare, a magical Weaver who
uses combinations of notes to string together tunes that act as
puzzle-solving spells. Rather than simply chat or collect items, a
mystic staff was employed to craft these otherworldly ditties,
which could also be played in reverse to create opposing effects
(bleaching vs. dyeing clothes) and, as a result, still more
haunting jingles.
WHY IT
ROCKS: The first of
its ilk to explore melody as a control method, as well as a
best-seller and instant classic, a pair of planned sequels never
materialized due to team members' preoccupation with other
projects.
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1991
The Blues
Brothers
FROM: Titus
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Back at the
dawn of the '90s, Americans had Super Nintendo systems with smooth
scrolling, vibrant graphics and sprawling adventures starring
dynamic duo Mario and Luigi. French gamers? They were packing
pre-Windows IBM PCs with limited visual capabilities, clunky
keyboard control schemes, blocky visuals and (sacrebleu!)
clumsy approximations starring Jake and Elwood. The goal: Get the
bros (running from the cops, of course) to a concert by hurling
objects at enemies.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Once upon a
time, for desktop systems, its performance was actually
state-of-the-art, and — in a biz milestone — gave a
fictional musical act its premier virtual chance to shine. Now,
about that Spinal Tap treatment ...
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1992
Motörhead
FROM: Virgin Games
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Picture
Streets of Rage, only with a handlebar mustache and
fondness for biker gear. When Lemmy's bandmates get kidnapped, Mr.
Kilmister takes to the streets, assaulting backwards
ball-cap-sporting chumps with fist, bass, guitar or flame-spitting
belch. Released only for the Euro-centric Amiga and Atari ST
computers.
WHY IT
ROCKS: In a tip of
the hat, and facial mole, to David Hasselhoff, illustrates that
just because you can't sell two units in North America doesn't mean
you can't be a cult icon in the Old World. It's probably still huge
in Lithuania.
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1992
Make My Video
series
FROM: Digital Pictures
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Drunk with the
power of CD storage — capable of holding hundreds of times
more audiovisual data than floppy disks, the previous computing
medium du jour — our forerunners sagely assumed that
digitized video and interactive movies (versus, say, creativity and
innovative gameplay) were the future. This game let you play
director by mixing and matching a limited selection of grainy video
clips to provide a visual accompaniment to songs by Kris Kross and
Marky Mark.
WHY IT
ROCKS: You mean apart
from the fact that, unlike the musicians these games feature, we're
still talking about said titles today? Sheer comic relief. See
Power Factory Featuring C&C Music Factory, whose oddly lit,
neo-industrial backdrops and diabolical close-up shots better suit
a Saw flick than anything rated as suitable for
consumption by Walkman-loving children. "Things That Make You Go
Hmmm," indeed.
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1992
Crüe
Ball
FROM: Electronic Arts
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Pinball goes
glam, with digitized renditions of "Dr. Feelgood," "Live Wire" and
"Home Sweet Home" offered in addition to the vertically scrolling,
on-table action, which serves up targets like maggots and skulls to
squash.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Heavy metal
plus pinball and a special appearance by group mascot Alister
Fiend? If you weren't, like, so there at the time, dude, chances
are you didn't have a Y chromosome.
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1994
Revolution
X
FROM: Acclaim
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Packing a
full-size machine gun in the arcade or SNES/Genesis/PC controller,
overthrow the fun-squashing New Order Nation regime and save
Aerosmith in a series of shooting gallery engagements.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Educational
value. Street scholars learn the perils of hyperbole (CDs and
laserdiscs double as grenades); poor contractual negotiation
(Steven Tyler's contributions mostly include shrieks of "Don't give
uuuuupp!"); and filtering social commentary through the marketing
department's eyes (enemies are led by the sunglass-/leather
bustier-sporting dominatrix Headmistress Helga, natch).
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1994
C.P.U.
Bach
FROM: MicroProse
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Designed by
legendary developer Sid Meier (Civilization, Pirates!),
this bizarre side-project, released for the ill-fated 3DO console,
let you set parameters for the software to create virtual concertos
around. Sadly, given the system's limited sell-through, audiences
remained mostly deaf to the program's potential.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Relative
obscurity aside, brought classical composition to the mainstream in
a way that's yet to be topped, with Nintendo's promising Wii
Music arriving only now, nearly 15 years later.
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1995
Quest for
Fame
FROM: Virtual Music/IBM
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Fusing an
ill-conceived electronic gadget (chunky plastic wedge the v-pick:
strum on any surface, like a table or tennis racket, to play
featured tracks) and adventure (compete to headline a stadium show
with Aerosmith), it's a living monument to CD-ROM era
excess.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Yet another
inexplicable cameo op for Tyler and Co., the rhythm-based mechanics
and obvious thematic similarities plant the seeds for Guitar
Hero's eventual arrival. Most importantly, through the game's
spectacular failure, underscores the need for controllers that you
wouldn't feel embarrassed for using in public.
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1996
EVE
FROM: Real World Multimedia
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Second in
ultra-prolific songwriter Peter Gabriel's experimental blends of
art and music. (First was Xplora 1, more collection of
audiovisual oddities than game). Wander surreal worlds poking and
prodding to enjoy occasional video and musical
interludes.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Vague
allusions to comprehending the relationship between man, woman and
nature reveal artists' pretentious nature isn't limited to musical
works alone, since it's basically an overgrown picture book for
21st century hippies. Translation: Think Myst meets
mescaline with spectacular results.
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1997
PaRappa the
Rapper
FROM: SCEA
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A quirky
Japanese PSOne import which challenged players, as a paper doll
pooch, to bust a move by pressing buttons in time to featured
beats. Do so correctly, and you drop mad science on onion-headed
senseis, moose driving instructors, Rastafarian frogs and chickens
that pass for chefs. Captivating domestic audiences with its
sing-song vibe, hypnotic play and psychedelic cardboard cutout
aesthetic, it's still one of the freshest interactive
approximations of MCing hip-hop heads will find.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Brought the
"rhythm game" category home to North American shores, which
eventually gave birth to countless hip-wiggling rivals from
Unison to Bust a Groove.
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1997
Beatmania
FROM: Konami
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A DJ
simulation that equipped you with five keys and a turntable,
demanding that players scratch their way through techno,
drum-n-bass and hip-hop tracks. Originally launched in Japanese
arcades, it's credited with starting the faux instrument craze, and
launching Konami music game division Bemani's eponymous, signature
line of ridiculous accessory-equipped, tune-making
titles.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Drafted the
blueprint upon which nearly every single breakout music game
success story has since been built. Dance Dance
Revolution, played by physically shimmying on a virtual stage,
is a direct descendant.
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1998
Spice
World
FROM: Psygnosis
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Released at
the height of Spice mania, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Victoria
Beckham and cohorts from the 55 million record-selling supergroup
become yours to control in custom-built dance-offs.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Spearheaded
Girl Power's conquest of the digital realm, shattering the
simulated glass ceiling for every Cheetah Girls and
Hannah Montana title to come.
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1998
Sex 'n Drugs
'n Rock 'n Roll
FROM: Sensible Software
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Canceled due
to controversial themes, which no publisher would tackle in the
halcyon, pre-Grand Theft Auto days, this long-lost classic
would've been a risqué adventure chronicling desperate rock
star Nigel's rise to the top. Creator Sensible Software's
self-described "multimedia experience" included 15 hours of lewd
dialogue, animated music videos and a hero who could huff illicit
substances, masturbate and, if he eschews condoms, even contract
AIDS from groupies.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Nearly 10
years in development, its production saga — conceived during
home computing's dawn, intended to launch its maker into the 3D
era, signed to Warner International, sold, dropped, beatified
online — parallels that of legendary records.
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1998
Guitar
Freaks
FROM: Konami
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A breakout
smash in Far Eastern arcades: Armed with a Fender-like plastic
guitar controller featuring color-coded buttons and a motion
sensor, shred along to on-screen graphical indicators.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Sound
familiar? Despite Konami's failure to capitalize on the series'
popularity in the US, the original "guitar hero" predates its
best-selling cousin by the better part of a decade. Somewhere out
there, we just know there's an developer still weeping into his
Schlitz.
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1998
Dance Dance
Revolution
FROM: Konami
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: The arcade
game that inspired a cultural revolution. Standing on a virtual
dance stage, work up a rhythm then step, jump and twist in time to
floating arrow icons, and J-Pop hits, to perform something
resembling an actual rump-shaking routine. Celebrates its 10th
anniversary in November, with new releases such as Dance Dance
Revolution X and Universe 3 keeping the time-honored
tradition of couch-potato choreography going strong.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Inspired local
and national dance competitions; muscled its way into gyms the
globe over; inspired a generation of footloose tweens who could
contort like pretzels at the local Dave & Buster's but barely
shoulder lean otherwise; spawned over 100 hernia-inducing sequels;
made local quarter-munching dives cool again; and gave us all
something to gawk at. Plus, actually adopted by states like West
Virginia as part of state PE programs to combat childhood obesity,
a marked step up from ego-crushing kickball competitions and those
thigh-chafing ropes.
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1999
Wu-Tang
Shaolin Style
FROM: Activision
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Staten
Island's campy kung-fu clique (RZA, GZA, Raekwon — nine
brawlers from Inspectah Deck to U-God appear) pummel martial
arts-wielding opponents with karate kicks, special weapons and
fatalities. Shocker: ODB favors drunken style moves, including an
inexplicable decapitating finisher.
WHY IT
ROCKS: While of
questionable quality and subject to a lukewarm critical reception,
proved there's ample room in the 3D space to expand an artist's
surrounding mythology, as evidenced by 50 Cent's later
efforts.
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1999
Um Jammer
Lammy
FROM: SCEA
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Spin-off of
popular PaRappa the Rapper series which introduced fans to
Lammy, lamb guitarist of band MilkCan, who — with the aid of
well-timed key presses — must jam her way to a gig she's late
for.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Exhibited how
the basic rhythm game formula was easily transportable between
musical genres, opening the door for punk, pop, rap and metal to
later join the soiree.
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1999
Samba de
Amigo
FROM: Sega
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A cult hit in
arcades and on Sega's Dreamcast console, which put plastic maracas
in your hands and had you shake-shake-shake through a trippy,
Latin-flavored world of sombrero-clad monkeys and dancing
bears.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Taught an
essential lesson: Even the seemingly dumbest activity can be made
10 times cooler when it involves physically waving some gonzo
electronic accessory and the kind of sensory backdrop only LSD
could inspire.
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1999
Vib-Ribbon
FROM: SCEA
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: PaRappa creator and musical game genre
pioneer Masaya Matsuura outdoes himself here, allowing you to
insert any music CD into your PlayStation and enjoy
uniquely-generated level designs. Wireframe graphics complement the
action, featuring a female rabbit running along a single-line
pathway and avoiding obstacles as tracks play in the
background.
WHY IT
ROCKS: The first
title to turn your record collection into an endless source of
button-mashing replay value.
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1999
MTV Music
Generator
FROM: Codemasters
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A flagship
music creation program built for PC and console platforms that
(amen) actually made playing producer easy for once by enabling
owners to quickly and painlessly mix riffs, beats, sound effects
and 3D visualizations.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Explored the
much-ignored subject of stepping behind the actual boards and
dialing up dance-ready joints (yours to distribute free of
royalties or licensing restrictions) for non-commercial purposes.
Who knows how many DJs it inspired?
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2000
Space Channel 5
FROM: Sega
BEHIND THE MUSIC: Parrot back moves according to displayed prompts to make cosmic reporter Ulala blast aliens, rescue human captives and otherwise jiggle her way through an intergalactic dance party.
WHY IT ROCKS: An early critical favorite for the Dreamcast, it highlighted music games' continued cultural resonance, demonstrating that they even enjoyed enough inherent mass appeal to kick-start interest in a new console. Additionally, features a random cameo by Michael Jackson ("Space Michael").
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2000
KISS Psycho
Circus: The Nightmare Child
FROM: Gathering of Developers
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A nondescript
first-person shooter inspired by Todd McFarlane's cult comic books
that re-imagine the hard-rocking quartet as supernatural warriors
sent to eradicate ancient evil.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Helped to
reinvent the band for a new generation of tech-savvy comic book
fans as virtually animated saviors of humanity.
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2001
Frequency
FROM: SCEA
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Zooming down
kaleidoscopic 3D corridors, tap buttons when prompted to make
notes, drums and vocals play, eventually completing entire songs by
electronic gurus like Orbital, BT and the Crystal
Method.
WHY IT
ROCKS: The first
game, and initial step towards exploring acoustics as gameplay
elements, from fledging developer Harmonix, who'd later go on to
invent seminal titles Guitar Hero, Rock Band and
Karaoke Revolution. Sequel Amplitude (2003) added
online elements and higher-profile song licensing, hinting at key
features of these later hits.
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2001
Rez
FROM: Sega
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Enter a
surreal, vector-graphics representation of cyberspace and clear it
of viruses by highlighting enemies and dispatching them in a
psychedelic spray of colored light and shapes. Ever-present house
music rounds out the experience's peyote-tinged flavor, with shots
keyed to land in time with thumping beats.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Champions the
spirit of synesthesia, and one of the earliest games obviously
intended to be played under the influence. Integrated support for a
"trance vibrator" USB gizmo which shudders and pulses to the
soundtrack further prompted several fans to undertake
well-publicized experiments in masturbation.
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2001
Karaoke
Revolution
FROM: Konami
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: In spite of
standalone karaoke home systems' success years prior, this was the
first video game to actually put a microphone in wannabe stars'
hands and encourage them to torture friends and
neighbors.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Although it
judged pitch, not accuracy or intonation (much to tipsy crooners'
delight), proved there was a major market for living room
caterwauling long before SingStar, American Idol
and LIPS ever even got the green light.
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2001
SingStar
FROM: SCEA
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Although a
largely copycat product, Sony's answer to Karaoke
Revolution, promising USB microphone-enabled sing-alongs to
onscreen lyrics, still remains popular in the U.S., where it
recently made the jump to PS3. However, the franchise is a
veritable juggernaut overseas, with a whopping 70 releases
(including pop, R&B, and '90s editions) spanning multiple
languages and custom set lists individualized by
territory.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Elegantly
reveals how music universally translates across nationalities and
cultures as a medium for both entertainment and play, ensuring the
topic's continued exploration by software makers. Also, bonus
points awarded for being the first game to sport a Bollywood
edition.
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2002
Britney's
Dance Beat
FROM: THQ
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Rewind the
tape to 2002, and Britney, then Forbes' Number One-ranked most
powerful celebrity, was at the peak of her career, enjoying breezy
paydays like this quickly forgettable timed button-bashing outing,
featuring tracks such as "Oops! ... I Did It Again" and "I'm a
Slave 4 U."
WHY IT
ROCKS: Like earlier
fan-service specials such as *NSYNC Hotline Fantasy Phone and
CD-ROM Game, gave closet fans an interactive means to obsess
over their favorite chart-topper.
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2003
Def Jam:
Vendetta
FROM: Electronic Arts
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Rap's premier
record label unleashes its roster of living characters (Ludacris,
DMX, Ghostface Killah) on unsuspecting haters in a WWE main
event-type scrapper that goes heavy on the urban machismo. Hip-hop
and you don't stop ... smashing rival MCs' faces in with uppercuts,
roundhouses and occasional shots to the groin, that
is.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Gave some of
hip-hop's big-name artists' the perfect outlet to showcase their
exuberance, and outsize personalities.
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2004
Snoop Dogg
Boxing
FROM: Blue Heat
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Blunted West
Coast MC turned reality TV star and youth football coach meets
Punch Out! on your cellular phone with knockout results.
Fun fact: The near-ubiquitous rhyme-spitter also doubles as the
last opponent players get to beat the living gin-and-juice out
of.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Helped
establish the pop culture-skewering mold that would eventually
define nearly all celebrity dalliances with mobile devices hence
— Brady Bunch Kung-Fu or Lil' Jon Crunk
Golf, anyone?
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2005
Guitar
Hero
FROM: RedOctane/Activision
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: With 21
million copies sold worldwide; multiple spin-offs (Guitar Hero:
Aerosmith, Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the '80s, etc.);
chart-topping adaptations for nearly every platform from Nintendo
DS to mobile phones; a cultlike following amongst teens and
twenty-somethings; and entire South Park episodes now
devoted to its charms, you'd be forgiven for failing to recall
that, prior to launch, the dynamo which sparked an entire industry
was once just a risky, unproven gamble from RedOctane, a
little-known manufacturer of dance pad peripherals and dabbler in
online video game rentals.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Single-handedly built today's fastest-growing game
category, may help save rock through the sale of online music and
is guaranteed to keep the cheap plastic Stratocaster party going
for decades hence.
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2005
Lumines
FROM: UbiSoft
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Once upon a
time, puzzle games were either cutesy, doe-eyed cartoon affairs or
shameless spin-offs of Tetris. Then came this entrancing
PSP effort from designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Space Channel 5,
Rez), which demands that you group colored squares set atop
scintillating backgrounds before a screen-sweeping line
synchronized to the beat of background music comes and clears them
away.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Brought the
club experience home, with its laser-light show effects and
pounding beats, and showed how audio could enhance, and be actively
incorporated, into nearly any play experience. Later hits like
Everyday Shooter and Every Extend Extra owe it an
obvious debt of gratitude.
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2005
50 Cent:
Bulletproof
FROM: Vivendi Universal
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Having
survived nine shots in real life, the Queens lyricist teams with
G-Unit soldiers Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and ex-affiliate Young Buck
to butcher his assailants in this fictionalized run-n-gun spin-off.
Surprise: Eminem and Dr. Dre also make cameos, respectively, as a
corrupt detective and trigger-happy dealer in black market
arms.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Bad controls;
bad graphics; bad targeting; bad enemy artificial intelligence; bad
song and video extras; bad publicity; bad voice-acting; an average
Metacritic rating of 47 and it still sold over a million
copies? No greater testament exists to musicians' sheer star power,
though we'll have to wait till sequel Blood on the Sand
drops in '09 to find out if Curtis still has the platinum
touch.
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2006
Elite Beat
Agents
FROM: Nintendo
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Critics adored
this rhythm-based game starring a team of quirky men in black who
aid citizens by inspiring them via dance, with boogie sessions
controlled via poking the DS' touch-sensing screen.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Outrageously
flamboyant, the title — an Americanized take on Japan's
Osu! Tatakae! Oendan! franchise — makes the most
imaginative use of featured tracks like "Material Girl" and "YMCA"
ever witnessed.
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2007
Traxxpad
FROM: Eidos
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A full-service
suite of music creation tools designed for use on the PSP handheld,
including sequencers, drum machines and the ability to record audio
snippets via microphone, then export to MP3 files.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Turned
portable gamers into beatmakers overnight, and made it possible for
them to produce tracks without having to lug along a bulky laptop
while catching the downtown train.
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2007
Audition
FROM: Nexon
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: A Korean
online dance simulator that's accessible free 24/7, where
button-nosed anime avatars shake their moneymaker to Natasha
Bedingfield, Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne in freestyle or
synchronized routines to score fresh shades and
hairdos.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Offers endless
entertainment for the teen and tween set within a permanent
cyberspace venue that costs zilch to jump right into and (go
figure) obsess like a schoolgirl over.
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2007
Musika
FROM: Sony BMG
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Matsaya
Matsuura strikes again, turning the iPod into an interactive
visualizer. The experience in a nutshell: After tapping your music
library to provide a soundtrack, random letters appear onscreen in
increasingly graphically surreal ways. Players must then identify
ASAP if these letters are represented in the current song title by
pressing the center button, or jab forward/back to prompt the next
character's appearance.
WHY IT
ROCKS: While Apple's
ubiquitous tagalong isn't exactly giving Nintendo or Sony the
shakes, demonstrates there's room for gaming's growth on alternate
devices yet, and potential gold to be found in the iPhone 3G App
Store.
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2007
Rock
Band
FROM: MTV Games
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: The first game
to combine all aspects of the virtual music-making experience
(singing, pounding skins, playing guitar or bass) was also the
initial offering to deliver peripherals for all (including
microphone, plastic drum set and faux axe) in one kit. Roughly 21
million digital song downloads; dozens of master, re-recordings or
alternate tracks (all playable) by artists like Rush, Metallica and
Weezer; and countless satisfied fans — who could now perform
as cohesive four-man bands online — later, the world will
never be the same.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Invented the
globe's fastest-growing vehicle for the sale of digital music, and
provided MTV a marquee entrée into the gaming universe.
Backed by the network's cachet, Harmonix founders Alex Rigopoulos
and Eran Egozy were able to assemble the greatest video game
soundtrack ever, and snag a well-deserved slot on Time
magazine's 100 most influential people of 2008.
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2008
Wii
Music
FROM: Nintendo
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Conduct
orchestras or coax sweet nothings from 60-plus instruments —
bongos, maracas, guitars, violins, pianos, even cowbells — by
physically manipulating the Wii remote, nunchuk controller and
balance board peripheral.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Brings
motion-sensitivity to the broadest range of musical applications
ever, and, apart from 2002's Mad Maestro, delivers the
coolest spin on classical we've seen since Falco's "Rock Me
Amadeus."
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2008
Guitar Hero:
World Tour
FROM: Activision
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Aims to
differentiate itself from perennial rival Rock Band 2 with
personalized song creation utilities (albeit just instrumentals,
not vocals) and options to share custom-built tracks online.
Further crams in support for microphone and drum peripherals; four
vs. four broadband Battle of the Bands showdowns; custom tattooed
or lip-ringed avatar generation; and exclusive tunes by Van Halen
and the Eagles.
WHY IT
ROCKS: The ability to
quickly construct your own shred-ready spin on "Smells Like Teen
Spirit," "Miss Murder" or other favorite FM staples, then watch as
peers vote it to the top of weekly rankings, turning you into an
overnight sensation. Also, day-and-date releases of Metallica's
Death Magnetic, plus a three-song track pack from R.E.M.
and the exclusive, pre-retail debut of new Smashing Pumpkins'
single "G.L.O.W.," with Billy Corgan set to appear as a playable
character alongside Ozzy Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix. Also, with all
due respect to beer pong, still the best party game
ever.
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2008
Rock Band
2
FROM: MTV Games/Electronic Arts
BEHIND THE
MUSIC: Retools and
enhances celebrated features, (like its predecessor's
jack-of-all-trades musical mentality, Internet readiness and
stellar song library). Highlights include individualized character
creation complete with the ability to buy posters and figurines
featuring your fictional group; competitive Battle of the Bands
scenarios; signature tracks like Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue"
and debut Chinese Democracy cut "Shackler's Revenge";
revamped controllers (sorry, cymbals cost extra); and compatibility
with previously-purchased songs.
WHY IT
ROCKS: Expanded
virtual touring options, an exclusive appearance by AC/DC, added
multiplayer thrills and a constant stream of weekly contests and
album/track expansions are sure to resonate with enthusiastic
admirers. Most significantly, carries the torch for a new
generation of music-based titles, and, given heated competition
with Activision's MVP (prompting the need to instantly wow
spectators) promises relationship-ending excuses aplenty, and
months of productivity-crushing thrills.
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• 1984: Will Harvey's Music Construction Set
• 1985: Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• 1988: Rock Star Ate My Hamster
• 1990: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
• 1990: Miracle Piano Teaching System
• 1998: Sex 'n Drugs 'n Rock 'n Roll
• 1998: Dance Dance Revolution
• 2000: KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
• 2005: 50 Cent: Bulletproof/b>