Rhythm Games buying guide

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Rhythm Games

Taking innovation and immersion up a level, rhythm games have you dancing around, strumming a guitar or mixing a beat track. Games from the genre are known for being addictive, diverse and an excellent entry point for uninitiated gamers. Grandma may not be interested in fragging beasts in Doom, but she'd probably grab a microphone to sing a few tunes in Karaoke Revolution. The games often come with peripheral controllers such as dance pads or microphones. Rhythm games are excellent party conversation pieces and an excellent addition to any gamer's collection. Because rhythm games often involve moving around, they are nearly never released for computers.

Consoles

Guitar Hero : Step one in your prospective career as a rock star is this game. Using the included guitar-shaped peripheral controller, rock out to classic songs and wow the virtual crowd.

DDR Max 2 : Grab a dance pad and start rocking out to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which has you match foot movements to an ongoing flow of symbols timed to the music. It's excellent exercise as well as entertainment.

Karaoke Revolution : Using a microphone, you follow the words and notes onscreen and sing your heart out over the background music. You're judged on your timing and tone.

Donkey Konga : Bang your bongo drum controller to the time of children's songs and classic Nintendo music in this GameCube exclusive title. Who knew a clumsy ape could make such sweet percussion grooves?

Handhelds

Trauma Center: Under the Knife : Play doctor like never before, using the Nintendo DS as your surgery room. Taking full advantage of the touch screen functionality, you carve incisions, sew sutures and inject serums into your patients.

DJ Max Portable : Play DJ in this PSP title, which has you mix tracks and layer music in an effort to achieve high scores. It's the entire DJ experience except for the alcohol, the late hours and the V.I.P. list.

Wario Ware: Touched! : Another exemplary DS rhythm title, Wario War crams hundreds of mini-games into a rapidfire package. Your stylus serves as a paintbrush, pencil and whip for you to tame this wild beast of a game.

The Rub Rabbits : When you're in love, you do crazy things, such as hurling snowballs at 30-foot-tall polar bears and unicycling across a network of 2x4 beams. This often nonsensical, always very Japanese title has you making a fool out of yourself for the hand of your crush.

Classic

PaRappa The Rapper : Nothing says "gangsta rap" like a puffily animated cartoon. The old PSOne title has you busting out raps by pressing the proper buttons on your controller at the right times.

BeatMania GB : Remember the old handheld toy, Simon? The GameBoy Color iteration of BeatMania is just like that. Time your thumb button presses to colors, symbols and words onscreen.

Dance Dance Revolution : The DDR craze started -- and continues -- in the arcades, with humongous machines such as this. Even though it's embarrassing to play out in public, it's nice to dance around on a stable pad that won't bunch up or slip.

Space Channel 5 : If only all conflicts were settled by dance, the world would be a much friendlier place. Bust some moves to save the universe and send your opponents slumping away in shame.

External Links

GameSpot -- One of the top gaming resources on the net.
IGN -- Covers video games as well as the rest of the entertainment world.
Game Informer -- An excellent video game magazine's home page.
PS2 Rhythm Games -- A directory of rhythm games made for the PS2.

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Consoles

Guitar Hero : Step one in your prospective career as a rock star is this game. Using the included guitar-shaped peripheral controller, rock out to classic songs and wow the virtual crowd.	DDR Max 2 : Grab a dance pad and start rocking out to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which has you match foot movements to an ongoing flow of symbols timed to the music. It's excellent exercise as well as entertainment.	Karaoke Revolution : Using a microphone, you follow the words and notes onscreen and sing your heart out over the background music. You're judged on your timing and tone.	Donkey Konga : Bang your bongo drum controller to the time of children's songs and classic Nintendo music in this GameCube exclusive title. Who knew a clumsy ape could make such sweet percussion grooves?

Handhelds

Trauma Center: Under the Knife : Play doctor like never before, using the Nintendo DS as your surgery room. Taking full advantage of the touch screen functionality, you carve incisions, sew sutures and inject serums into your patients.	DJ Max Portable : Play DJ in this PSP title, which has you mix tracks and layer music in an effort to achieve high scores. It's the entire DJ experience except for the alcohol, the late hours and the V.I.P. list.	Wario Ware: Touched! : Another exemplary DS rhythm title, Wario War crams hundreds of mini-games into a rapidfire package. Your stylus serves as a paintbrush, pencil and whip for you to tame this wild beast of a game.	The Rub Rabbits : When you're in love, you do crazy things, such as hurling snowballs at 30-foot-tall polar bears and unicycling across a network of 2x4 beams. This often nonsensical, always very Japanese title has you making a fool out of yourself for the hand of your crush.

Classic

PaRappa The Rapper : Nothing says "gangsta rap" like a puffily animated cartoon. The old PSOne title has you busting out raps by pressing the proper buttons on your controller at the right times.	BeatMania GB : Remember the old handheld toy, Simon? The GameBoy Color iteration of BeatMania is just like that. Time your thumb button presses to colors, symbols and words onscreen.	Dance Dance Revolution : The DDR craze started -- and continues -- in the arcades, with humongous machines such as this. Even though it's embarrassing to play out in public, it's nice to dance around on a stable pad that won't bunch up or slip.	Space Channel 5 : If only all conflicts were settled by dance, the world would be a much friendlier place. Bust some moves to save the universe and send your opponents slumping away in shame.