JamSpace: PocketStudio for the DS

 

Storyline: There was no story to this game since it only had you create beats and musical structures on different instruments to create a song. The lack of a story does not hurt the game in any way since all you have to do create a song based off of four different instruments.

 

Gameplay: At first, I was very confused what the game wanted me to do since there was no tutorial or instructional guide. I had to go treasure hunting through the help guide to figure out what my goal in the game was. Basically, I create beats and music through four different instruments: Drums, guitar, bass and keyboard. However, I was only able to play drums and some keyboard since I could not figure out how to get the guitar or bass. This was very frustrating and seemed way to complex to create music because of the lack of instructions on how to. To edit the music was also complex and confusing because the game offered no help in how to use the editing tools or where to find them. How can I create music without proper instructions to what and where these tools are? 

Audio: The audio was weak. Whenever I tried to bang the different percussion equipment or play the keyboard, it did not sound authentic. I tried turning up the volume to see if it helped, but it only made it worse. The sound effects created from Jam Space were very scratchy and distorted. 

Graphics: There was not much for graphical structure in this game. The only graphics were the drums and keyboard. I could not locate how to access the guitar or bass. At one point I thought I did access them and appeared to be in a grid like pattern, but could not get them to work. The only other critique I have was that the text was to small for some areas of the game such as the menu screen and when selecting what minor or major scales to be in. Especially the text stating what major or minor key you were in, they were almost unreadable. 

Replaybility: It had potential of being replayable, but with the lack of a tutorial, authentic sound and frustrating interface, I quickly moved on to a more exciting game and will not be revisiting this one in the near future. If I wanted to create music, I will go to a professional or find a downloadable program for my computer. This game failed in all of the aspects of a true musical composition game.

Pros:

• Great idea to have a studio in the palm of your hand

Cons:

• Frustrating to figure out what the goal in the game was
• Confusing on how to switch to different instruments
• Lack of a Help and Tutorial mode 
• Audio is not true to the instruments themselves
• Unreadable text

Associate Editor: Alyssa Bogie

1/10 – Horrid

(Value: Skip it no matter the price)