Music Catch 2
[a href='http://www.kongregate.com/games/Reflexive/music-catch-2']
Music Catch 2 comes to mind as a merging of [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.203481-Ctrl-Tab-Higher]Higher![/a] and [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.222895-Crtl-Tab-Take-a-Walk]Take a Walk[/a], with the light-hearted if repetitive feel of the former and the relaxing, music based gameplay of the latter.
Gameplay-wise, it is very basic, almost in the same way as 'Higher!'. Try to collect as many points as possible, collecting points (green), multipliers (yellow), bonus notes (purple an flashing) and trying to avoid negative multipliers (red). As the multiplier increases, so does the size of the cursor, allowing you to catch multiple notes at once, but making it harder to avoid red notes.
There is a selection of three songs, four styles of notes, including music, sky, floral and abstract, five patterns of how the notes would appear, five motion patterns, and a remarkably in-depth randomise function. Most of these need to be unlocked through playing, but it is impossible to call this a chore. The music, by Isaac Shepherd, is both beautiful and very relaxing. However, if Mr Shepherd's music is not to your liking, then, after playing enough, you can enter the URL of any MP3 track and play that.
However, while the game is practically flawless, it is missing some elements that could make it slightly more immersive. Possibly taking a leaf out of 'Take a Walk's book, and having the music relating to the success of the player. There are definite times when my playing feels unrelated to the gameplay. For example, accidentally collecting a negative note could cause the song to stop, slow down, or ring the wrong note. Gaining a 100x multiplier could mean that the song will play at 100% quality. Spending a short time not collecting any notes could mean that the multiplier will go down, and eventually the song will grind to halt.
However, all of these ideas would make the game more intense, and if you want intense, there a a thousand other games out there that can do so for you. Music Catch 2 is a remarkably imaginative piece of work, and definitely evidence of Games as Art.
Music to my ears.
