On paper, Rhythm Zone is a compelling idea; a simple four-button rhythm game that gives PC gamers the ability to play their own library of songs with support for friends and global leaderboards. How could this possibly be a disaster?
Rhythm Zone opts for a single mode that allows players to jump in and play any of the 20+ included songs, or start importing their own. The songs that come with the game are from different indie artists, most of which you probably won’t know. That’s where your years of song collecting comes into play. The process of importing them into the game is the problem. There is no way to upload more than a single song at a time, which makes uploading full albums a tedious process. What’s more frustrating is that each song takes 10-20 seconds to get “analyzed” and imported to the library.
The support for friend and global leaderboards is a welcome addition, although don’t expect them to be very hard to beat. As you or other players around the world post their scores, they can be set as Challenges. Other players can then take on that challenge and try to beat the high score. If successful, it can be a back and forth battle as losers try again and again to reclaim their scores. The Challenges system is appealing, but in the end not worth the trouble, due to the poor gameplay.
The title screen, which warns against seizures, should have included a warning against extreme frustration. The fact that the developers are constantly updating the game with more free songs is admirable, but even those don’t end up matching to the notes, which ultimately makes them worthless. If anything, Rhythm Zone is a hardcore dexterity workout, but rhythm game junkies should look elsewhere.
by Mike Splechta, November 24, 2010