[Review] Groov

Another XNA Community game up for review today, and yet another twin-stick shooter, although this one is quite different to Weapon of Choice.

At first glance, Groov will remind you of Geometry Wars. As a matter of fact, you might even mistake it for a GeoWars game at first glance. You navigate around a rectangle area with one stick, while shooting at enemies (each with its own different appearance and movement patterns) with the second stick. No, Groov does not shy away from its influences. However, once you actually get to play the game itself, you will see that it holds its own quite well.

You see, more than anything, Groov is as much a music game as it is a shooter. Every single shot your (what one assumes to be a) ship fires adds a certain beat to the music, and each of the enemies you kill with said shots adds another, different sound, depending on the enemy.

Given that this game is a shooter though, you may have already imagined that things become hectic after a while. This combination of frantic shooting action and catchy music bits means that Groov becomes quite the audiovisual spectacle.

Another thing that Groov does differently from most shooters is the fact that there is no smartbomb to save your life during a difficult situation. Instead, you are given the ability to slow down time for a short while, which you can use to escape from a cluster of enemies heading straight for you. While not as handy as the aforementioned bomb, it still works well and makes you feel more skilled.

There’s three different modes to the game, the first of which being the normal mode that plays like any regular shooter as things start off slowly and become progressively harder. Then there is the Remix Hard mode where as the name implies things start off hectic and you only have one life but you also get an upgraded weapon. Lastly, there is the Jam Session mode where it’s impossible for you to die and therefore are left to casually kill things dead.

Things Groov does right:

- Catchy jazz fusion music, a music genre that’s quite unique for this type of game.

- Gameplay that is, by its very nature, quite addictive. The addition of leaderboards means you’ll have a reason to keep playing.

- The Jam Session mode works wonderfully. Without the stress of dying, you are able to manually choose what sounds your weapon and drum modes will make, so you can create your own music (of sorts) at your own leisure.

- At 200 Microsoft points, Groov is one cheap game.

Things about Groov that aren’t that hot:

- At its very heart, it’s nothing more than just another twin-stick shooter with limited game options. If the music aspect of the game does nothing for you, then neither will the game.

- While the game is pretty enough for an indie production, the animation isn’t quite as smooth as in other games of the genre.

- Much like the first Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Groov’s main game mode starts off really slow and feels almost like a chore after you have played it several times, as it takes a long while before things get into a groove[*].

Things I don’t get:

- Why are the menu screens so damn dark? I could barely read anything.

In closing, the twin-stick shooters market may be rapidly becoming saturated, but indie games such as Groov still show that there is life in the genre. It’s not the world’s most original game, but it’s honest enough with its intentions and its price to be worth picking up.

The Final Verdict is:
THE GENUINE ARTICLE

TL;DR version:

While it may be true that for some people[*2] any sort of music-shooter game is enough to make them go all “Ooh, shiny!”, Groov is actually accomplished as a game, first and foremost. Not to mention, you can’t go wrong with that asking price.

[*] Would you kindly excuse the horrible, horrible pun.
[*2] Me being one of them.