REVIEW: Go! Go! Break Steady (Xbox 360)

Scribbled on July 23rd, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Puzzle, Reviews, Xbox Live Arcade

With one of the worst names imaginable, Go! Go! Break Steady is a shining example of what could be done with Microsoft’s XNA software tool, with a weird hybrid of Boom Boom Rocket, Zuma, Dance Dance Revolution and 1990’s breakdancing.

The premise of the game is quite simple: a series of “notes” appear on the screen in the form of Xbox controller A, B, X, and Y buttons. Completing the sequence gives you “Beatniks”, little creature icons, to use on an increasing arc of Beatniks during an interlude. As with Zuma, you fire the Beatnik to match three, causing the arc to collapse. Once you clear the arc, you complete the song.

What makes the game shine is its look and music. The game is a paean to 1990’s breakdancing, which was on the decline from its height of the 80’s due to the advent of gangsta rap and breakdancing’s being co-opted by corporate America. If you think of Poochie from The Simpons, or Fry’s dance group in “The Luck of the Fryish”, you get an idea of what the music and look of the game: breakdancing a la The United Colors of Benetton.

However, the game knows how lame that era was, and deliberately takes advantage of it, while tossing in some impressive tunes, around 20 of them, that range from hip hop to disco to pop, while the 2D cel animated dancers look and dance fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that the difficulty level ramps up nicely, allowing you to get a feel for the game, but even on Easy, the levels become difficult to the point of maddening, but not frustrating. The game also includes a marathon mode as well as co-op and online play.

If there’s an issue with the game, unlike Boom Boom Rocket, you can only get A-B-X-Y visuals, especially if you prefer the up-down-left-right arrow visual of BBR.

Otherwise, the game is a great upgrade to both Boom Boom Rocket and Zuma, and if you’re into the music genre, the game is an absolute blast. Try the trial - you might like it.