Go! Go! Break Steady (Xbox 360)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.0 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Austin Light
• Reviewed on: 07/28/2008
• Updated on: 07/29/2008
• Released on: 07/23/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: Go! Go! Break Steady (Xbox 360) Review

When Puzzle Quest came out more than a year ago, people weren't sure how well a role-playing game would blend with a puzzle game. It sounded like a strange idea, but the mixture was delightful. Looking to bank on that same improbable success is Go Go Break Steady, a rhythm- and puzzle-game hybrid. Although the genre blend isn't as seamless as Puzzle Quest's, and the rhythm gameplay isn't as tight as it should be, the two components work well enough together to provide an interesting and sometimes enjoyable experience.

The game plays like a mix between a rhythm game such as Dance Dance Revolution and a puzzle game such as Zuma. Rather than playing both types of games at the same time, you'll alternate between each component. Each stage has a different song, and you need to finish the puzzle before the song ends to move on to the next stage. The puzzle consists of a ring of beatniks--which are this game's version of Zuma's marbles--that must be eliminated by matching three of the same color. The two gameplay components complement one another nicely. How well you play the rhythm game will determine how quickly you move through the puzzle; matching the button presses perfectly will net you a few extra beatniks to use in the puzzle, but if you mess up at all, you get only one.

It's an interesting blend of gameplay, but a few things keep it from gelling. For starters, the rhythm game feels off. Unlike in many rhythm-based music games, a button press does not correspond with a note in the music; rather, each press is a tap, buzz, or some other odd sound that plays on top of the track, which results in an out-of-sync feeling. Second, the timing for each press is a little unforgiving considering that your success in the puzzle game is dependent on your success in the rhythm game. The beads start off crawling in from the side, but they eventually snake and swirl in from all directions. The music portions are challenging, sometimes unfairly so, and they may turn off casual puzzle-game players.

The single-player option includes a tournament mode with 30 levels, a challenge mode that lets you pick the song and difficulty, and an endurance mode. Aside from adding in more buttons to the rhythm strings, the single-player mode doesn't go very deep; what you see on your first game is what you get for the rest of the game. There are competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. Co-op is frustrating because you and your partner both have to hit the beats perfectly if you ever want to win, but the game can be fun in competition. Eliminating beatniks on your ring will add more to your opponent's, so there's potential for a good back-and-forth volley depending on the skills of each player. A spray-paint power-up will crop up from time to time that obscures the other player's rhythm string and can turn the tide of a match in an instant.

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