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Destructoid review: Groov

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James Stephanie Sterling
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Published: Jan 21, 2009 12:00 pm

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Music influenced by gameplay is a popular little sub genre, with puzzle games like Lumines and revamped shooters such as Space Invaders Extreme using the player’s own in-game actions to create pleasant audio experiences. Since indie developers love that kind of artistic nonsense, it should come as little surprise that Community Games have their fair share of musical gameplay.

Enter Groov, an otherwise mediocre twin stick shooter that has used excellent music to raise it above ground and produce something that is actually, dare I say it, quite beautiful. 

Read on for the full review of Groov.

Groov (Xbox 360 Community Games)
Developed by Barryman
Released on January 9, 2008
Costs 200 MS Points
Read more about our Community Games Review Challenge 

Unlike many other music/videogame mash ups where gameplay enhances the music, with Groov the gameplay is the music. Save for an understated beat that occurs partway through the game, things remain silent until you do something. As soon as you act, music begins, and it’s incredibly pretty to boot.

The main tune of the track is performed by your shooting, and if you keep your hand pressed on the right stick and maintain a continuous stream of fire, it will play seamlessly, changing when your weapon periodically upgrades with new tempos. The rest of the music is provided by your enemies, which come at you from all angles and make a variety of sounds when obliterated.

Enemies turn white when they take enough shots to die, but they don’t disappear right away. While white they are harmless, and will explode after a few seconds. In that timeframe, you can turn other enemies white and they’ll all die at once, allowing you to chain attacks together. 

At its core, Groov is a bog-standard shooter, not really a great one at all. The bullets come out a little awkwardly from your “ship” and don’t really provide the kind of coverage one needs to tackle the amount of enemies on screen. Adding to that the lack of any other defense and a tendency to get swamped by enemies just as the music really starts to kick in and you have a game that be quite frustrating. 

However, despite having rather mediocre roots, the seamless and striking way that music and gameplay have been wed really helps raise Groov‘s stock and turns it into something worth checking out. The game is addictive simply for its sound, and the power that you have to control it.

As well as the “Original Mix” mode, an “Expert Remix” can be unlocked. This mode gives you one life and an endless swarm of enemies, while your weapon starts out with the max upgrade. It lacks the enjoyable progression of the Original Mix and can ironically be easier since the upgraded weapon lets you sit in one corner for most of the game. There is also a “Jam Session” mode which needs further playing to unlock. Personally, I’d have preferred these modes to be available from the start. 

Graphically, the game really isn’t the best looking title out there, but its simple shapes and clear colors are by no means offensive. Those used to the prettier graphics of predecessor titles like Rez and Lumines might be disappointed (even Space Invaders Extreme looks better) but they shouldn’t really bother anyone with a forgiving eye. 

Groov is one of those games that are better than they have any right to be. Shooter fans should be looking down on it for not rivalling a title like Geometry Wars, while fans of other trippy music games should be put off by the visuals. However, the game presents itself as such a nice balance of the two genres that it’s difficult not to enjoy. Costing a mere 200 Points, I would recommend this as a purchase. A few dollars is definitely worth the pleasure this can bring your ears.

Score: 7.0 — Good (7s are solid games that definitely have an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.)

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Author
James Stephanie Sterling