Interesting can be fun for a minute
Blending gameplay similar to an arcade shooter, rhythm based game, and timing based micromanager, it can be a little intimidating to take in at first. The idea in the main mode is to keep the time going by collecting time, score, and tempo multipliers, all the while watching the clock and balancing the running down of the timer with the combo chains started from exploding yourself. Sound complicated? At first it is, especially when you are trying to trigger your self destruct in time with the beat and manage both the game clock and the shield clock when your chain stops or you cancel it early to pick up the bonuses floating around from your massive explosions. As the tempo of the music increases, you more and more have to tap your foot to explode on beat to maximize your point multipliers, which go up each time you successfully trigger on the beat. Add to that the need to increase the tempo of the music to increase your point multipliers as well, and there can be quite a bit of juggling to do. But just like many games of the same ilk, you get into a groove and it can be very enjoyable to play. Once again, though, once you groove well enough, it will seem to go on and on with no additional variety after you reach a certain level of intensity, and thats a shame, because with just a bit more incentive, this could have been a very dangerous game, causing us all to be late for school and work just wanting to keep the combo rolling for just another few seconds. As it stands, it only takes about half an hour to start getting kinda bored.
There are a few different modes, but they don't offer enough variety. There's a timed mode that you can't extend to see how much you can score before time ends. It uses the same themes of the regular game. There's a mix game that allows you to mix the music choices, but nothing new. Finally there's a version of the game that tries to play like Geometry Wars, but isn't set up to do so effectively. After five stages it begins to repeat itself and is almost immediately boring.
The visuals are cool and trippy in a retro-stripped down kinda way. The design lends itself to retro arcade games like tempest and other vector graphic games, except with pulsing techno running the engine. Speaking of techno, the music is fine and works with the game even if its not very memorable. Sound effects work fine as well, at least for what they are. All in all, the presentation is great and really lends itself to a retro-tech art style that works.
Its a shame that the game just doesn't go anywhere, because the basic are all here and are fun for a while. If you are jonesing for a new game that really taxes your brain for a moment, check this out. Just don't expect it to take you through more than a few good marathon sessions before you start looking for something else for variety.