Chime Review

How many games have you bought that give upto 60% of the revenue to charity? Well the latest arcade game 'Chime' does that and, at only 400msp it's a bargain that lets you have a sense of pride that you have done your own bit of charity work without needing to even move from your room.

The game involves the player creating quads of 3 by 3 and bigger that creates a sound from an instrument over the beat when the beatline goes past, the sound created changes depending on the size and shape of the quad. This may sound very dull to many people at first - which it did to me - but once you start playing, making sure you have nothing you need to do for the next couple hours as you will most likely forget all about it. There is also a sense of accomplishment when you create a quad that completly changes the sound you make, as you will find a sound you like trying to match that sound all the time but finding better ones in the process.

There are only two game modes available in this arcade game. Time mode, which allows for the player to compete against the clock on five different levels, on three different times although you only start off with one level unlocked in each one and must cover over a certain percentage of the grid with quads to unlock the other 4 levels. The times include nine minutes, six minutes and three minutes with nine minutes being the easier of the three and three minutes being the hardest one which is very hard to complete due to the little amount of time and mass of the grid that has to be covered but will keep you trying for a good few hours before you finally complete the level or have a breakdown with how tough it can be.

Free mode which does what it says really and allows you to pick any of the songs you have done in time mode and play through it until you have 100% completed it where you have the choice to pick and new level and try mastering that or restarting the level you are on and see if you can beat your personal best or even your friends on the leaderboards. Very addictive game mode when your friends are all competing for the number one spot on the friends leaderboard.

The music included in the game is mostly classic styled, which you may see as a positive or a negative depending on what your into but even as one who doesn't like classic music it gives you a sense of relaxation while your playing and the artists included are people such as Philip Glass, Paul Hartnoll and Markus Schule. Ever heard of them? I know I haven't but can now say that I have.

The graphics are what you would expect of a game of this style with a polished look about it that you notice from the moment you start playing it. Simple gameplay that anyone from the age of 5 to about 90 would be able to pick up and not have to many problems with the gameplay style and gameplay.

Overall rating - 6.5

*Reviewed by Mutated Monkeyz.