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Best of the Rest: Zack's Picks of 2007
A must-have game on the iPod? Yep. I'm as surprised as anyone. Apple's music player puttered through Tetris remakes, solitaire, and other obvious clones until Phase established some gaming muscle. (And sure, Musika gets some credit for being unique, but it's more visualizer than game.)
Developed by Harmonix, Phase is a simple Guitar Hero-style beat-matching game. Tap a fifth-generation (video) iPod, Classic, or recent Nano's left, center, and right buttons in time with the music and on-screen prompts. Slide a finger around the wheel to catch falling dots. And that's it. The game becomes so much more because of its quirky visuals and ability to sync to your own songs. Nearly any genre works, especially music with a percussive bass line. While the console rhythm games let you buy new track downloads, Phase's unlimited replay with your own songs makes it a no-brainer for a portable music player.
PaRappa's papa Matsuura produces iPod product, musika
Interestingly, players don't necessarily have to play the game. They can use it just as a visualizer, playing along only advances to different graphics and effects. You gotta do what? You gotta participate! ... Or, you know, not. musika is on sale now in the iTunes store for $4.99.
