Rhythm Games for PC

[gwathdring]

Hey folks.

I'm a big fan of Sequence, and of Rock Band III (sadly unavailable to me except at friend's houses). Does the PC gaming space have some really solid rhythm games? I've tried a few free games and demos, but a lot of PC music games either have severely limited procedural systems (allow you to pick whatever music you like ... but only really work some of the time) and/or don't have particularly rhythmic play in the first place (Beat Hazard and Audiosurf come to mind). Also, PC music games tend to only incorporate the radio edits of explicit songs, which is a real turn-off.

I doubt there's much out there like Sequence--it's relatively difficult as a rhythm game, has great licensed tracks, and has a totally-out-there gimmick that really works (the three-panel, turn-based RPG mash-up). But I can dream.

Any suggestions? Otherwise ... music and rhythm games on the PC! The woes of keyboards that don't support 4 button presses at once! Discuss!

[jnx]

I was really interested in Patapon but don't have a PSP :(

[Mohorovicic]

Well the blatantly obvious suggestion is Audiosurf.

[gwathdring]

Well the blatantly obvious suggestion is Audiosurf.

My trouble with Audiosurf is mentioned above. I just don't feel like the gameplay is particularly rhythmic. It doesn't feel well synced up with the music. For a lot of tracks, the procedural generation of the track and blocks doesn't sync with the music. Even when a track works, the actual play tends not to sync as well as the visual/conceptual elements do. It's a really cool piece of software, but I neither found the game part particularly compelling nor particularly musical.

[johnki]

Frets On Fire.

Any of the BIT.TRIP games.

Buy a copy of Mother 3 on eBay or the like, get the ROM (from somewhere online if need be), patch it into English and play it in an emulator. It's got some sort of rhythm-based combat. I'm pretty sure I remember that being legal.

[pakoito]

OSU! is my rythm poison. It clones and improves on OSU! TATAKAE!! OUENDAN!!! for NDS, which is a blast.

[gwathdring]

Frets On Fire.

Any of the BIT.TRIP games.

Buy a copy of Mother 3 on eBay or the like, get the ROM (from somewhere online if need be), patch it into English and play it in an emulator. It's got some sort of rhythm-based combat. I'm pretty sure I remember that being legal.

Frets On Fire didn't work on my last PC. I don't think I ever tried the Windows version, though, just the Linux version. I couldn't resolve latency issues. I'll give it another go.

I can't believe I forgot to mention BIT.TRIP ... I've loved every one I've tried.

[c-Row]

I doubt there's much out there like Sequence--it's relatively difficult as a rhythm game, has great licensed tracks, and has a totally-out-there gimmick that really works (the three-panel, turn-based RPG mash-up). But I can dream.

My problem with Sequence was that I ran into an unskippable fight I couldn't win even after a dozen tries. Never touched it since.

[Oshada]

Sequence is absurdly brilliant, it's the only game for which I've bothered to get all the Steam achievements. It's a crime that it isn't more widely known (especially at a normal price of $4.99!).

I second Bit.Trip.Runner, but that can be so, so, so frustrating...

[XisLoose]

I loved Sequence! brilliant indeed..

If you mentioned Rock Band already, what about Guitar Hero 3 & 4? They're both for the PC
and work fine with keyboards (though my old keyboard couldn't handle the 3 rightmost keys together).

There's also Stepmania, I used to have a PSP version of it (PSP Revolution).
I believe it works well on the PC.

I couldn't resolve latency issues. I'll give it another go.

I had the same problem once, almost gave up on it, but after some tweaking I managed to get it working properly.

[gwathdring]

I second Bit.Trip.Runner, but that can be so, so, so frustrating...

Hmm. I only find it frustrating that you miss out on the awesome, inspiring (and helpful) music if you don't grab all the optional power-ups. It feels like being punished for falling shy of 100% rather than being rewarded for getting it. It's a musical experience, and it's cool to be rewarded with music ... it just feels a little too extreme and it doesn't quite work here for me.

I like it better in Bit.trip.Beat where missing isn't an instant lose condition. Whether or not you can hit enough beats to get the full music feels a little more well balanced and the simplicity of the Nether mode interfaces nicely with the tension of being on the back foot.

[johnki]

OSU! is my rythm poison. It clones and improves on OSU! TATAKAE!! OUENDAN!!! for NDS, which is a blast.

I can't believe I forgot OSU! The only problem I have with it is that learning how to play it, especially on the PC, is difficult as hell.

[Voon]

It's more of a music-based bullet hell game than rhythmic but the folks in DigiPen manage to come up with something pretty interesting with Solace

If all else fails, fire up a PSP an get Patapon or Lumines

[Jesus_Phish]

Dunno if you've see Rocksmith

It's guitar hero/rockband but with a real guitar. I believe you can play a simplified version of it or use it as a tool to learn how to play the guitar. I don't know how well it plays, but I remember coming across a similar version years ago while researching for a project where I made a similar program albeit much simpler looking (but mine didn't need it's own special interface!!).

I guess the one major drawback to Rocksmith is the cost of not just the game, but also you need to buy or already own an electric guitar.

[gwathdring]

Dunno if you've see Rocksmith

It's guitar hero/rockband but with a real guitar. I believe you can play a simplified version of it or use it as a tool to learn how to play the guitar. I don't know how well it plays, but I remember coming across a similar version years ago while researching for a project where I made a similar program albeit much simpler looking (but mine didn't need it's own special interface!!).

I guess the one major drawback to Rocksmith is the cost of not just the game, but also you need to buy or already own an electric guitar.

Yeah ... I play acoustic, so no dice. :( I've been meaning to try out electric, but that's a long ways off on my priorities list.

OSU! is my rythm poison. It clones and improves on OSU! TATAKAE!! OUENDAN!!! for NDS, which is a blast.

Well damn. OSU! is awesome. It's hell with a mouse though. Makes it more interesting in a sense, but the asymmetry of it being a mouse game is a bit annoying. I like the emphasis on pattern though. It's a really cool addition to the pure reflect of a DDR type game. :)

[sonson]

I was really interested in Patapon but don't have a PSP :(

I bought a PSP for my holiday the other year, bought a bunch of games but basically only played Patapon and I would say it was worth having so that I could do so. It's a really excellent game, mix of rhythm, strategy, attack patterns, RPG, and it looks and plays and sounds beautiful, I would kill for a HD Version, you could easily play it with a game pad.

[alms]

My problem with Sequence was that I ran into an unskippable fight I couldn't win even after a dozen tries. Never touched it since.

I still can't fathom why he thought it was a good idea to lock difficulty after a certain floor.

I second Bit.Trip.Runner, but that can be so, so, so frustrating...

...still stuck on Odyssey...

the gaijin guys told me to stop trying to get all the shiny bits, but ...I ...can ...not!

[gwathdring]

Hmm. So it turns out OSU! has this nasty habit of failing you a few moments after you've made your fatal error as the "health" bar seems to decay over time between beats. It gets frustrating--it's less frustrating now that I realize what's happening, but for a while I was mysteriously losing after a string of bad notes ... in the middle of a successful slider hit or right after a successful beat.

There's also this weird nether world in which you get 50 or 100 points for an almost-hit ... but the life bar still ultimately decays. Either it's a bug, or the game decides certain hits both deserve points AND punishment?

[pakoito]

50s do not increase your bar, and as it decays over time, they are effectively bad but at least don't make you lose your combo. You have to stay with 100 and 300 or you'll lose.

And in higher difficulties, two missed notes in a row means 60% of the bar gone.

[gwathdring]

50s do not increase your bar, and as it decays over time, they are effectively bad but at least don't make you lose your combo. You have to stay with 100 and 300 or you'll lose.

And in higher difficulties, two missed notes in a row means 60% of the bar gone.

Huh. Good to know. I don't mind as much, now that I understand it (thanks), but I'm not sure I like it. There's always no fail mode if I'm not good enough or I just don't like the system (most likely the former). :)