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Spatula Clarke will weigh on Singstar, I feel sure; he's quite a fan.
Eep. No. I'm a massive fan of bemani and music games in general, but I really don't like Singstar. The technology is clever and interesting, but I'm not keen on the game at all.
There's some good use of the Dual Shock 2 in the second Metal Gear Solid. One of the few PS2 games that employs the analogue facia buttons for anything useful - jam your finger onto one to have it rest on the trigger of whetever gun you're holding, then either fire it by letting go immediately or ease off by, well, by easing off.
Samba de Amigo's maraccas. They're where it's at. The tech behind them is, again, clever and interesting - the game asks them not just to recognise movement when you shake them, but also recognise where you're shaking them. The effect they have on bystanders is similar to that of DDR cabs - most people baulk at the idea, but as soon as they see somebody else playing the game, they want a go. It helps that they function as maraccas outside of the game - it would have been easy for Sega to leave them empty, but the swoosh of the plastic rice stuff inside adds to the experience by providing a small amount of physical feedback whenever you use them. Extra bonus points for being potentially dangerous to people with pacemakers.
Donkey Konga's bongos are fun, for sure (and surprisingly robust, given how cheap they are), but they're a poor man's substitute for Samba's maraccas.
DDR cabinets - yes. The controls are just so simple - up, down, left, right - that it makes everybody want to give it a go. I've seen attempts to make more complex layouts for dancing games, with the inclusion of diagonals and whatnot, but they overcomplicate matters and pull the entire thing apart.
The rail at the back - which I've always presumed was initially included for safety reasons - provides the illusion that the cab is somehow concealed, which is another thing that makes yr normally shy or too cool mates prepared to get up and give it a twirl. Also comes into its own when used by the sort of disgustingly agile bastards who play it at competition level. And it all screams fun - the flashing lights, the huge speakers at the front. It's probably the most inclusive arcade game around and that's all because of the control setup. I can't think of another game that has such a basic set of rules yet encourages you, through the controller, to experiment with different ways of playing it. Google for 'DDR videos' and consider yourself dead inside if some of the best don't make you want to dance - that's the real hook with the cab, that it looks like it will teach you how to dance (and it probably can, provided you've got enough spare change).
You can play it at home with a standard joypad, but what's the point? |
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