Chime Super Deluxe Review

10-4-7-142_20110309_165737


Occasionally you want to play a game to help you relax. Chime Super Deluxe is just the sort of game you'll want to have on hand for those occasions. It's not an immersive military shooter, it doesn't reproduce the feeling of driving at one hundred eighty miles per hour. What it does do is provide and fun way to chill out.

What Is It?

Chime Super Deluxe is an expanded and extended version of the 2010 game developed by Zoe Mode and published by the for-charity publisher OneBigGame. In Chime you take control of various shapes and place them on a grid to create quadralaterals out of them. Bigger quads are worth more points as they're cleared out by a scanning line, which moves across the playfield to the beat of the music.  It's not all about the size of the quad though. Chime scores you based on the coverage of the grid as well.

Why Should I Care?

While a lot of puzzle games start off slow and quickly build to a frantic pace, Chime doesn't take that approach. In Chime, you choose a piece of music and then choose how long you would like your game to last. You can play for three, six or nine minutes at a time. Or, you can play in Free Mode which gives you free reign over the grid with no scoring or time limit so you can just sit back, relax and listen to the music. The more space on the grid you cover, the richer and more complex the music track you're playing will sound. That isn't to say that Chime doesn't allow you to rack up ridiculous scores. If you want to play quickly and juggle four active quads at once, you are completely able to. Your score does take that into consideration, but unlocking the next level is dependant on the percentage of the grid covered, not the sore.

Along with the Single Player Timed game and the Free Mode, Chime Super Deluxe also offers two multiplayer modes that can be played with up to four players. Co-Op mode lets you and up to three friends work together to cover as much space on the grid as possible. Vs. Mode is as it sounds: up to four players compete against one another to gain the most coverage. In this mode you can steal active quads from your opponents, adding a little extra level of competition to the mix. Both of the modes work rather well, but unfortunately they are only playable locally, so your friends will need to be in the same room with you.

10-4-7-142_20110309_161712If there is one real problem with Chime Super Deluxe it would have to be with some of the color choices used on the blocks and grids. Sometimes they are too similar and it is hard to figure out what part is the grid and what parts are block remnants. If you're color blind, this may be a problem that could hinder your enjoyment of the game. Maybe this could be fixed in a patch, but as it is it could be a potential issue for some people.

What Makes It Worth My Time & Money?

Simply Put, Chime Super Deluxe is all about the music. The Xbox 360 and Windows versions of the game only had a half dozen songs at most. This Super Deluxe version has ten songs to choose from and play through. All of them are fine electronic and ambient tracks from artists like Philip Glass and Orbital. Though music is a very subjective and personal thing, and your tastes may vary, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed playing these levels just to hear the way the music would build upon itself.

Chime Super Deluxe includes the new multiplayer modes and some visual tweaks. For $9.99, it offers up more than enough bang for the buck. If you have a PS3 and have not played any other version of Chime yet, get this one, it is the difinitive version.

Title:
Chime Super Deluxe
Platform:
PlayStation 3
Publisher:
Zoe Mode
Developer:
Zoe Mode
Genre:
Puzzle
Release Date:
March 29, 2011
ESRB Rating:
E

Occasionally you want to play a game to help you relax. Chime Super Deluxe is just the sort of game you'll want to have on hand for those occasions. It's not an immersive military shooter, it doesn't reproduce the feeling…

10-4-7-142_20110309_165737


Occasionally you want to play a game to help you relax. Chime Super Deluxe is just the sort of game you'll want to have on hand for those occasions. It's not an immersive military shooter, it doesn't reproduce the feeling of driving at one hundred eighty miles per hour. What it does do is provide and fun way to chill out.

What Is It?

Chime Super Deluxe is an expanded and extended version of the 2010 game developed by Zoe Mode and published by the for-charity publisher OneBigGame. In Chime you take control of various shapes and place them on a grid to create quadralaterals out of them. Bigger quads are worth more points as they're cleared out by a scanning line, which moves across the playfield to the beat of the music.  It's not all about the size of the quad though. Chime scores you based on the coverage of the grid as well.

Why Should I Care?

While a lot of puzzle games start off slow and quickly build to a frantic pace, Chime doesn't take that approach. In Chime, you choose a piece of music and then choose how long you would like your game to last. You can play for three, six or nine minutes at a time. Or, you can play in Free Mode which gives you free reign over the grid with no scoring or time limit so you can just sit back, relax and listen to the music. The more space on the grid you cover, the richer and more complex the music track you're playing will sound. That isn't to say that Chime doesn't allow you to rack up ridiculous scores. If you want to play quickly and juggle four active quads at once, you are completely able to. Your score does take that into consideration, but unlocking the next level is dependant on the percentage of the grid covered, not the sore.

Along with the Single Player Timed game and the Free Mode, Chime Super Deluxe also offers two multiplayer modes that can be played with up to four players. Co-Op mode lets you and up to three friends work together to cover as much space on the grid as possible. Vs. Mode is as it sounds: up to four players compete against one another to gain the most coverage. In this mode you can steal active quads from your opponents, adding a little extra level of competition to the mix. Both of the modes work rather well, but unfortunately they are only playable locally, so your friends will need to be in the same room with you.

10-4-7-142_20110309_161712If there is one real problem with Chime Super Deluxe it would have to be with some of the color choices used on the blocks and grids. Sometimes they are too similar and it is hard to figure out what part is the grid and what parts are block remnants. If you're color blind, this may be a problem that could hinder your enjoyment of the game. Maybe this could be fixed in a patch, but as it is it could be a potential issue for some people.

What Makes It Worth My Time & Money?

Simply Put, Chime Super Deluxe is all about the music. The Xbox 360 and Windows versions of the game only had a half dozen songs at most. This Super Deluxe version has ten songs to choose from and play through. All of them are fine electronic and ambient tracks from artists like Philip Glass and Orbital. Though music is a very subjective and personal thing, and your tastes may vary, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed playing these levels just to hear the way the music would build upon itself.

Chime Super Deluxe includes the new multiplayer modes and some visual tweaks. For $9.99, it offers up more than enough bang for the buck. If you have a PS3 and have not played any other version of Chime yet, get this one, it is the difinitive version.

Date published: 04/12/2011
4.5 / 5 stars