Post by chiefeagle02 on Aug 28, 2008 21:26:05 GMT -5
"Wii would like to rave."
Helix is a game developed for Nintendo's WiiWare service by indie developing house Ghostfire Games. The premises of the game requires the player to mimic the onscreen movements of an animated robot to the rhythm of the music playing in the background. Ghostfire Games touts the software as an upper body workout as a side benefit with fun as the chief purpose. It can essentially be called DDR for your arms, with over thirty different dance moves and twenty-six songs from independent artists from all over the world. Here's my review of Helix: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good:
Helix is a dance/rhythm game where you hold two Wii Remotes in each hand and mimic the dance moves the robot performs onscreen. While there is an option to play with only one remote, it's recommended to play with two for a fuller experience. The game requires no buttons during actual gameplay, only movements. For the most part, the movements pick up fairly well. There is a calibration mode before you begin to play where you perform the moves and the game saves how you performed them to its memory to compare these to how you perform them in the actual game. The graphics are fairly simplistic, however very well done. The robot is hand-animated and holds up extremely well graphically. The background is basically that little visual abstract you'd find on programs such as Windows Media Player or WinAmp, but it suits the music quite well. The music consists of twenty-six tracks from independent artists from all over the world, which is amazing for a WiiWare title since developers are only allowed 40MB. As they're indie artists, you won't find any big names in this title, unless you're familiar with the underground trance, techno, drum & bass, or rave scene of Eastern Europe. For what it's worth though, if you're into that kind of music, this game will surely satisfy. With the music, the colorful visuals, and the movements, this game does well in making you feel like you're dancing to the beat. There are three difficulty levels: a beginner to get your feet wet and to help you learn how the mechanics work; a medium to deliver a good workout; and a hard which can probably train one to become a ninja. Because this game uses Wii Remotes in doing the movements, it definitely has the Wii Boxing effect going here where your arms will feel sore the next morning after extended periods of play. However, your arms will feel a bit stronger, so there is a legitimate workout aspect in the grander scheme of things. If dancing games are your cup of tea, this game can be good fun.
The Bad:
While it's admonished to play with two Wii Remotes, there is an option to play with one. However, this cuts the difficulty, and the experience as a whole, in half. You're only playing half the game and having half the fun with one remote. Also, there's really no multiplayer mode to be found in the game, whereas other music and rhythm games such as Rock Band and DDR pride themselves on having said mode. The developers did say that one person can hold one Wii Remote to control one arm of the robot and then two people can dance to the music to somewhat compensate for lack of multiplayer. It's a nice try, but it'd still be nice to have a real multiplayer mode (maybe in the sequel, right?).
The Ugly:
These games are the reason I wanted a Wii. Games that get you up off your ass and moving. The point and click games like Toki Tori and Zack & Wiki are fun and appropriate for the hardware, but when I saw the early trailer for the Wii System and the girl picking up the Wiimote and swinging it like a tennis racket, actually moving around, I knew that those were the kinds of games I wanted to play for the system more than anything else, and Helix more than satisfies that criteria. With the music, the colours, and the dancing, the game could almost be called "Wii Rave." Something fun to do is to put some glow-in-the-dark Wii Gloves on your controllers, plug a USB lava lamp into your system, turn off the lights, pretend your Wii Remotes are glow sticks, and actually dance like you're in a rave. For 1,000 Wii Points (equivalent of $10USD), this game is more than worth a recommendation for music and dance lovers. Wii would LOVE to rave.
Helix is a game developed for Nintendo's WiiWare service by indie developing house Ghostfire Games. The premises of the game requires the player to mimic the onscreen movements of an animated robot to the rhythm of the music playing in the background. Ghostfire Games touts the software as an upper body workout as a side benefit with fun as the chief purpose. It can essentially be called DDR for your arms, with over thirty different dance moves and twenty-six songs from independent artists from all over the world. Here's my review of Helix: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good:
Helix is a dance/rhythm game where you hold two Wii Remotes in each hand and mimic the dance moves the robot performs onscreen. While there is an option to play with only one remote, it's recommended to play with two for a fuller experience. The game requires no buttons during actual gameplay, only movements. For the most part, the movements pick up fairly well. There is a calibration mode before you begin to play where you perform the moves and the game saves how you performed them to its memory to compare these to how you perform them in the actual game. The graphics are fairly simplistic, however very well done. The robot is hand-animated and holds up extremely well graphically. The background is basically that little visual abstract you'd find on programs such as Windows Media Player or WinAmp, but it suits the music quite well. The music consists of twenty-six tracks from independent artists from all over the world, which is amazing for a WiiWare title since developers are only allowed 40MB. As they're indie artists, you won't find any big names in this title, unless you're familiar with the underground trance, techno, drum & bass, or rave scene of Eastern Europe. For what it's worth though, if you're into that kind of music, this game will surely satisfy. With the music, the colorful visuals, and the movements, this game does well in making you feel like you're dancing to the beat. There are three difficulty levels: a beginner to get your feet wet and to help you learn how the mechanics work; a medium to deliver a good workout; and a hard which can probably train one to become a ninja. Because this game uses Wii Remotes in doing the movements, it definitely has the Wii Boxing effect going here where your arms will feel sore the next morning after extended periods of play. However, your arms will feel a bit stronger, so there is a legitimate workout aspect in the grander scheme of things. If dancing games are your cup of tea, this game can be good fun.
The Bad:
While it's admonished to play with two Wii Remotes, there is an option to play with one. However, this cuts the difficulty, and the experience as a whole, in half. You're only playing half the game and having half the fun with one remote. Also, there's really no multiplayer mode to be found in the game, whereas other music and rhythm games such as Rock Band and DDR pride themselves on having said mode. The developers did say that one person can hold one Wii Remote to control one arm of the robot and then two people can dance to the music to somewhat compensate for lack of multiplayer. It's a nice try, but it'd still be nice to have a real multiplayer mode (maybe in the sequel, right?).
The Ugly:
These games are the reason I wanted a Wii. Games that get you up off your ass and moving. The point and click games like Toki Tori and Zack & Wiki are fun and appropriate for the hardware, but when I saw the early trailer for the Wii System and the girl picking up the Wiimote and swinging it like a tennis racket, actually moving around, I knew that those were the kinds of games I wanted to play for the system more than anything else, and Helix more than satisfies that criteria. With the music, the colours, and the dancing, the game could almost be called "Wii Rave." Something fun to do is to put some glow-in-the-dark Wii Gloves on your controllers, plug a USB lava lamp into your system, turn off the lights, pretend your Wii Remotes are glow sticks, and actually dance like you're in a rave. For 1,000 Wii Points (equivalent of $10USD), this game is more than worth a recommendation for music and dance lovers. Wii would LOVE to rave.
