Cutline Speaks

iGames (and ear games)

posted by The Cutline Team on December 10, 2007

The release of the wildly popular games "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" have been met with widespread acclaim from critics and gamers alike. Now, music-themed games have gone portable, appearing on a range of mobile devices, including iPods and cell phones. Two weeks ago, "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero I & II" developer Harmonix released "Phase," a game for the newest generation of Apple iPods that uses the player's own iTunes library to create individual levels. Guitar Hero fans will recognize the game's familiar scrolling fretboard, but instead of a guitar with five keys, players use the touchwheel's right left and central buttons to produce notes and win points.

Activision has also developed "Guitar Hero Mobile" for a range of mobile handsets, based on the interface from Guitar Hero III. I was able to test the game at this fall's CTIA conference, where I tore through Pearl Jam's "Evenflow" using keys 4, 5 and 6 on the dialpad. It was an entertaining experience, but performing and playing with friends in stereo sound remains a more compelling experience.

Still if you find yourself alone and in need of entertainment, Apple has also updated the once preloaded "Music Quiz," with new ways to test your knowledge of what's in your iPod's library, including song and album title trivia, name that tune rounds, and even the option to create your own questions using a program called iQuiz Maker.

Tags for this post: games