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Chime Review for Xbox 360

Chime Review for Xbox 360

Melodious Puzzles

Looking at the screenshots for Chime, it’s hard not to roll your eyes. It’s yet another block-based game on a grid, and it even incorporates some trendy rhythm aspects. At first glance, it seems to be the product of some secret market-research lab that told the developers what’s “in.”

Chime screenshot

Fortunately, though, that’s not a fair characterization of the actual gameplay. The blocks look Tetris-esque, but they’re made of five pieces instead of four (which makes this game, what, Pentris?), and they don’t fall on their own. You can move them around and place them wherever you please. Also, the goal isn’t to stop the blocks from filling up the screen; rather, you’re actually trying to fill the screen with solid rectangles (or “Quads”) that are at least 3×3 in size. That’s not a radical departure for a block-based puzzle game, but at least it’s different enough to stand out.

Whenever you create a 3×3 Quad, it turns into a meter that fills slowly. Until the meter is full, you can add more blocks to the rectangle to make it bigger (it might grow from 3×3 to 3×4 to 3×5 to 4×5, for example). Whenever you add a row or column, the meter resets, but when it’s full, the rectangle solidifies. When the beat bar (a vertical line that moves from left to right) touches the solidified Quad, it disappears. This part of the grid is now considered “covered,” and is colored differently to reflect this, but you can still use it to create more 3×3 blocks, a feature that helps you cover adjacent areas.

That sounds somewhat complicated, but it’s really not. There’s a simple and well-done tutorial for anyone who has trouble, and after a few games, Chime’s basic concepts become second nature. These basic mechanics aren’t quite as addictive as those of, say, Tetris, because you’re not constantly up against a falling block, but they are engrossing, and you’ll find yourself putting real thought into where each piece should go.

Chime screenshot

If you achieve 50 percent coverage before the time runs out, you unlock the next stage, and if you achieve 100 percent coverage, you proceed to an extension of the current stage (in which you can increase your coverage beyond 100 percent). Playing well extends your time, and you can choose to start with three, six, or nine minutes, or even no time limit at all, which serves as a difficulty setting. If you turn off the time limit, however, you also turn off the scoring, so there isn’t much point to this option.

Chime screenshot

The rhythm aspects aren’t particularly important; they’re more a trendy gimmick than anything. Whenever the beat bar touches a block you’ve placed, it triggers additional layers of music, which ties the sound effects to the soundtrack. Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi is also a fan of this effect, called “synesthesia.” When the beat line touches a Quad, a special effect plays. To the developers’ credit, they got some high-profile artists, including Moby, to contribute tracks, but to their discredit, they included only five songs (and thus only five levels) total. Perhaps additional tracks will become available via DLC. Graphically, the game is far from a powerhouse, but everything looks sharp and colorful.

As you progress through the game, the block shapes get weirder and harder to fit together, and the grids themselves become oddly shaped as well. The plus-sign-shaped blocks in particular can turn your carefully organized screen into a mess in a hurry, leaving all sorts of gaps you can’t fill. Fortunately, if a Quad uses only part of a given five-piece block, the rest of the block disappears if you don’t use it within a certain period of time. This opens these gaps up and keeps you from getting completely stuck. If you turn the timer down to three minutes and shoot for 100 percent coverage, the last few levels are remarkably challenging.

Chime screenshot

The game features online leaderboards, but there’s no multiplayer. It seems like there are some missed opportunities here. Head-to-head matchups could be fun, and some form of co-op wouldn’t have hurt, either. It would be an interesting experience to work together with a partner to place each other’s shapes.

Regardless, all in all, Chime will provide most gamers with a few hours of entertainment, and hardcore puzzle addicts with much more. Besides climbing the leaderboards, the truly dedicated can earn twelve achievements. Though you get the first one, Fairy Godmother, just for buying the game, the others can be pretty tough. You have to create a Quad that spans the entire width of the grid on every level, create seven Quads in one pass of the beat line, and get 100 percent coverage on all the levels on the three-minute time setting, among other feats.

For $5, that’s not a bad deal, and at least $3 of that goes to charity anyway. The developer, Zoë Mode, ate its costs and promises to donate all of its proceeds (which amount to at least 60 percent of what you pay). The charity is OneBigGame, which in turn gives at least 80 percent of its money to Save the Children and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. It’s hard not to recommend a decent game at a low price that helps impoverished kids.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.6 Graphics
The game looks good, but it’s far from a graphical powerhouse. 4.8 Control
No real complaints here; rotating and placing blocks couldn’t be easier. 3.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The developers got some high-profile artists, including Moby, to contribute tracks, but there are only five songs total. 4.2 Play Value
At least $3 of the $5 you spend will go to charity, and you’ll get at least several hours’ worth of play time. 4.1 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Intriguing block puzzler: Rotate and place shapes to form quads of 3×3 or more to fill your grid before the time runs out.
  • Music tracks from world-renowned musicians: Chime features music by Moby, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital), and more.
  • Remix music tracks: Fill the grid to alter the track loop, place pieces to play notes, and create quads to trigger a range of song samples.
  • Unlimited replay value: Keep reaching 100 percent and resetting the grid to continue playing and beat your high score.
  • Five unique levels: Each level is made up of its own music, grid, and shape sets.
  • Time mode: Choose between three different levels of difficulty, based on time limit.
  • Free-play mode: Play for the sake of making music with no time pressure.
  • Charitable donation: All Zoë Mode’s services are provided at no cost to OneBigGame, and all Zoë Mode’s royalties (a minimum of 60 percent of the purchase price) are donated to the OneBigGame charity initiative. OneBigGame always aims to donate a minimum of 80% of all donations to its charity partners Save the Children and Starlight Children’s foundation.

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