Joystiq Review: Bit.Trip: Beat (WiiWare)

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Gallery: Bit.Trip: Beat
There isn't much of a premise to Bit.Trip: Beat. There's just this one mandate: block everything that comes toward you ever. As a magical bar, the galaxy's last hope against the onslaught of pixels seeking to destroy it, you'll face off against a variety of different pixel enemies (including some really cheap ones that match the color of the background!), twisting the Wiimote to move up and down accordingly.
The action all goes in time to the soundtrack, with each blocked pixel representing a note. Miss a pixel, and the song skips a beat. Miss enough pixels, and the game goes black and white, alá classic Pong. Miss more pixels at that point (it happens ... a lot), and it's time to retry the song. Add to that a light show dancing in the background that would make George Clinton remove his glasses and exclaim, "WOW" to his Parliament Funkadelic, and you have a pretty package. Care to take a guess as to how else the game is unique? It's the toughest thing ever!
Seriously, the game almost seemed to laugh at me the entire time I played, by throwing me an endless amount of pixels that no mere mortal could block. If I were to take a guess, I'd say this game is marketed toward the clock-hanging, mad scientist crowd, because you'd need to own a Delorean to catch all of these pixels.
As tough as it can be though, the game is still fun. It's a charming homage to an era of gaming's past, and will likely be a pleasant experience for anyone that remembers owning a 2600.
The action all goes in time to the soundtrack, with each blocked pixel representing a note. Miss a pixel, and the song skips a beat. Miss enough pixels, and the game goes black and white, alá classic Pong. Miss more pixels at that point (it happens ... a lot), and it's time to retry the song. Add to that a light show dancing in the background that would make George Clinton remove his glasses and exclaim, "WOW" to his Parliament Funkadelic, and you have a pretty package. Care to take a guess as to how else the game is unique? It's the toughest thing ever!
Seriously, the game almost seemed to laugh at me the entire time I played, by throwing me an endless amount of pixels that no mere mortal could block. If I were to take a guess, I'd say this game is marketed toward the clock-hanging, mad scientist crowd, because you'd need to own a Delorean to catch all of these pixels.
As tough as it can be though, the game is still fun. It's a charming homage to an era of gaming's past, and will likely be a pleasant experience for anyone that remembers owning a 2600.









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jordan @ Mar 20th 2009 2:56PM
All right, time for the big question. Which one is harder...Bit.Trip Beat or MM9?
Lakkus @ Mar 20th 2009 3:19PM
"All right, time for the big question. Which one is harder..."
....and that's what she said.
sorry, couldn't resist ;)
Go1denchi1d @ Mar 20th 2009 3:20PM
It would definitely be Bit.Trip! I mean its full of seizure goodness!
BlueXArmed @ Mar 20th 2009 3:27PM
I'm guessing MM9. I beat the first level my first time through, and now I'm usually scoring about 3 million (lots of room for improvement). You don't know what hard is until you've played level 3. I've only managed to get through it twice in my numerous attempts, scoring less than 700000 both times. But still, I suck at Megaman
ZaxCG2 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:20PM
Tough question. After NOT BEATING EITHER I'd have to say both right now. But MM9 is easier in the long run, because of the items shop. After dying enough, you'll have enough screws to buy more E tanks and jank. For this- its just practice, die, practice, die, practice, win?, no, die.
Its certainly fun though, I thought I was the master of it after beating level 1 on the first try... but then came level 2.
Wonder if its easier to use a Wiimote in each hand once you master it?
Roto13 @ Mar 20th 2009 3:29PM
Why doesn't anyone ever mention the fact that the stupid thing doesn't actually save unless you get a high score, so if you beat the first level and don't get 500,000 points and turn it off, you have to play it again if you want to play the second level?
SoshiKitai @ Mar 20th 2009 5:39PM
...........ouch!
ZaxCG2 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:21PM
Protip: Don't suck.
Roto13 @ Mar 23rd 2009 11:25PM
Protip: Kiss my ass. The game is hard. I hit every beat in the first two phases of the first level and I didn't go black and white once, and I still didn't get a high score. There aren't enough beats in the first level to make getting a high score a reasonable requirement to save. (Not that there's a reasonable requirement to save outside of beating the level.)
ZaxCG2 @ Apr 4th 2009 12:35AM
ProApology:
I'm stuck on level 2 now. :(
Roto13 @ Apr 4th 2009 12:40AM
Sucker. :P
Gun Barrier @ Mar 20th 2009 3:33PM
"And that what she said"
You sound like you said that with a straight face, but I bet couldn't hold it in for long. XD
Looks good, is it available to buy now? and for how many points?
BlueXArmed @ Mar 20th 2009 3:35PM
Yes, 600
Scotty @ Mar 20th 2009 3:39PM
'...and that's what she said.'
Thanks for picking that up, I said it in my head anyway.
Josh @ Mar 20th 2009 4:05PM
I still can't decide if I want to buy this game, even with this review... I'm just not sure if it'd be really fun.
PixelHustler @ Mar 20th 2009 4:35PM
I bought it the other day, and can't stop playing. It's one of those games where you just get in "the zone." It's so satisfying getting past a part in a song that you couldn't beat previously. I haven't finished level 2 yet, but I'd still say it's worth the money, for sure. This will probably be an unpopular comment, but it reminds me of what would happen if Space Giraffe and Frequency/Amplitude hooked up and decided to go to a retro-party dressed as Pong. I highly recommend it.
nickux @ Mar 20th 2009 4:47PM
I kind of regret purchasing Bit.Trip.Beat. While I love a challenge- I find this to be almost punishingly difficult. The levels are just too long so you get so close to the end, have a pixel over-load, and fail. It's such a shame. I love the presentation, the music, graphics, etc. I just don't like the motion controls because it feels so imprecise and the difficulty is far too high for me. Still I love the concept and I'm happy to support this kind of effort on WiiWare. I just wish they'd either put in checkpoints or simply made the levels a little shorter but had more of them.
RICANJO @ Mar 20th 2009 5:08PM
The music aspect of it kinda reminds me of Orbient, which I also liked. Might consider getting this.
Cheap trick @ Mar 20th 2009 5:22PM
Suck at bit.trip:beat? here's a hint. turn on your other wiimotes. it automatically goes to co-op then. You don't need to do anything with them, leave one on the middle and throw the other two up to the ends and now you've just become capable of beating the game.
now you will no longer be in that situation of
you have just lost the game
hellojohnrosenwinkel @ Mar 20th 2009 10:28PM
Did you just make me lose "the game" right then and there mid-comment?!? I guess that's what I get for thinking about "the game" The shame is too much for me to bear! :cP
...well done sir
CommanderVideo @ Mar 20th 2009 5:37PM
@ Cheap trick: That is an AWESOME strategy! I never even thought of that while we were in development. You certainly are living up to your name! ;) Very cool discovery.
Tannor P. @ Mar 30th 2009 6:23PM
Holy crap! CommanderVideo?!?
2 hrs. later...
I'm still thinkin' if it's really you.
I've got a question: Is there any other way to save your progress other than having to be on the high scores? I JUST beat "Descent", but it didn't save!
CUHHH-RAP! :(
CommanderVideo @ Mar 30th 2009 6:27PM
@ Tannor P.
Sorry to break it to you, but yeah, you have to rank in to the high scores to save your progress. There is a savedata file on gamefaqs.com if it's presenting too gnarly a challenge for you though!
chahi @ Mar 20th 2009 7:44PM
DL'ed B.TB and I can't stop playing it. Highly recommended.
milan @ Mar 20th 2009 9:53PM
Awesome review! Glad to see you doing more videos Dave! Keep up your hard work!
DaisukeKiriyama @ Mar 20th 2009 10:20PM
A friend gifted this to me last night since he had a lot of WiiPoints lying around.
DEAR GOD, I RAGED AT HOW HARD IT IS.
But it's fantastic. ;_;
hellojohnrosenwinkel @ Mar 20th 2009 10:26PM
Bought it. Played it a couples times now. Cheap game only 600 points. Cool soundtrack. Passable gameplay. Co-op multiplayer is nearly a necessity due to the difficulty of the game. I find it to be a good casual fit for me and my Wii. I plan to hop into this one every once in a while when I don't have enough time for a good sitting into a deeper game. Very enjoyable.
Adrian @ Mar 21st 2009 7:41PM
Great video!
"That's what she said"!
I'm really loving this game, as well. It's insane difficulty only adds to it's value.
I didn't have an Atari 2600 as a child. But, many of my friends had them & I played quite a bit.
The analog controls are my favorite feature. I've actually considered inserting the wiimote into a cardboard tube or something: So I can place it beside me on the couch and just role my hand over it to control the paddle. Or something like that. Mostly 'cause it's almost impossible for me to relax while playing this game. My hands are always sore after I play due to my intense concentration. Oh, man! I believe another "That's what she said" would be appropriate right there.
(hahaha! Beat ya to it!)
RewRew @ Mar 23rd 2009 12:18PM
I really wonder about people that think this game is too hard. I am a passive gamer and I got to level 3 the first night.
benim399oi @ Apr 1st 2009 3:52AM
Hot but single? Rich but lonely? Well, life is so wonderful, why not find someone who is similar with you to enjoy the happy time together??
R i c h p a s s i o n . c o m will give you a surprise!
simps244 @ Apr 26th 2009 9:25PM
this is a fun ass game. download it and do yourself a favor --- turn up the sound!! the music is awesome, and while it's hard, i'm often sitting there grooving along to the music