Blend the glorious purity of a Rhythm Tengoku stage with a Bit Generations aesthetic and you have BIT.TRIP BEAT, a forthcoming WiiWare title unveiled today by Aksys Games.

From the video on the official site, it looks like a high-score-chasing rhythm-action collect-’em-up, which requires the player to move a line up and down to collect chunky pixel ‘beats’, to beef up the chiptune soundtrack burbling away merrily in the background.

Developer Gaijin Games describes the game thus:

“[We] wanted to make a game that used the tools of today to inspire the fun of yesterday. Our goal was to make a game that was as simple in gameplay as the games of the early 80s and equally as fun - even though gamers’ tastes have changed over the years.”

So a delightfully old-school experience with a modern twist? Colour me very intrigued indeed. BIT.TRIP BEAT has no ESRB rating yet, and with Nintendo’s reluctance to announce release dates for WiiWare games before their arrival on the service, it could be with us in two weeks or two months. But as something a little different from the WiiWare norm, I think this is one worth splurging a few hundred Wii Points on. Expect a review in the not-too-distant, with any luck.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 3:38 pm by Chris Schilling
Forthcoming titles, Nostalgia, WiiWare.