The following is a reader-submitted review:
Nitrome continues its relationship with MTV Arcade with their latest, Pixel Pop. It's like a rhythm-based Wario Ware, in which you play colorful mini-game levels with a musical timing element. Destroy attacking fighters and tanks as Godzilla! Stake vampires as they rise in their coffins! Um...eat...stuff. It's all here, with three difficulty levels across four distinct stages, a different song in each level, and a final "mix-tape" stage that surreally switches context between the stages over the course of the song.
All you need is your mouse. There are some levels with a motion element, but by and large, it's one-switch action. It's no DDR, though; clicking in time to the beat yields to complicated click-hold-and-release patterns, all melded smoothly into one motion. And all to a soundtrack too infectious to sit still to.
Analysis: I think we can skip over the part where I talk about the graphics and sound that have become a staple of Nitrome's style, except to say that the C64 references have never been as explicit.
Pixel Pop strikes a delicate balance between adding novelty and complexity to a rhythm game on the one hand, and remaining comprehensible on the other, and it is a qualified success. Toward the end, the tasks can become almost too intricate, to the point where you are too distracted by the kinematics to notice how they tie together with the on-screen action, or with the music. At the same time, the precision of the timing increases sharply between difficulty levels (from downbeat to upbeat to off-beat), making for a steep and sometimes frustrating difficulty curve.
This problem is alleviated somewhat by the fact that each stage in a set emphasizes some of the same parts of the rhythm, and they share some conceptual similarities—they all might require you to anticipate the beat, for instance. Thus, the biggest hurdle is the first stage.
The timing of the game is thankfully hiccup-free.* I noticed the animation or sound sticking occasionally, but it all resynced to the music quickly and flawlessly, though a few sound cues seem to mute on occasion. There are one or two bugs that can be exploited to the player's advantage, but they're very difficult to find.
All in all, Pixel Pop is a polished, quirky and entertaining title, if you have a decent sense of rhythm. I heartily recommend it.
Thanks to Maqrkk, Alex, Joseph, Repairmanman, Jninjaz, Aethelind, Mrsico, Luffely, Sijapu17, Rosie and Boris for sending this one in!
*Note: Your mileage may vary. A couple of our reviewers had trouble playing this one due to synchronization problems.
Walkthrough Guide
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Walkthrough:
Easy:
Just chop the watermelons when they are ABOUT under the hand. When it comes to the apples, count 1, 2, 3, 4 and then chop on 4. And remember, don't chop anything black.
Punch or kick the army when they are in the target, but don't let them get past your foot or fist!
Just jump normally when it's just a normal cactus. When there's 2 cacti, double jump by clicking when in air. When it gets to the cactus then the cacti, jump when over the cactus.
This three slot level is also easy. Just predict where the next mouse will be then get ready there. If the mouse is in another place, go there quickly.
Use the steps above to help.
Medium:
Just quickly stake the skinny zombies. When it comes to the fat zombies, stake once then stake twice the next time 'round. When it comes to 2 fat zombies then 2 more, stake the first 2. Stake every coffin the next time 'round and then just stake the one with fat zombies.
Dip the biscuits and cookies. Biscuits need 4 go-ups. Cookies need twice that many.
Count 1,2,3,4 to help you. Also, the U.F.O makes sounds to help you.
Blow the berry people into the bottle. The ones that are closest need one blow. Count 1, 2, then stop on 2. Ones that are closer to you need a longer blow. Count 1,2,3,4, then stop on 4.
Use the steps above to help you.
Hard:
Play Simon Says with the cats. Remember the sound they meow on. Bark on the same sound.
Click when you come across a worm. On a fat one, click and hold. When it comes to the fat ones on each side, pull one, wait about 1 second, then pull the next one.
When the sushi comes to you, open your mouth. Wait till it is in then close. When the thing on a cloud comes, open your mouth, wait till some of it vanishes inside your throat, then close. When the hot dog comes, wait till it vanishes inside your throat 3 times.
Count 1,2,3,4, then grab the ghost. Click and follow him and let go over the chamber. When it goes up and down, go up and down with it. When it goes all over the place, follow it slowly but keep up.
Use the steps above to help you, and you've won!!!!!!
Posted by: N I T R O MEfan
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November 27, 2009 9:53 AM
Tips Tricks, and A Walkthrough for Pixel Pop!
General Hints!
Most levels are forgiving on the fact that they let you click after the object(food, farmers, melon etc.)
The game is NOT synched to the music, it is synched to the music's BEAT.
Try counting "One, Two, Three, Four" in your head, tapping it out, or clicking(if the stage you're on doesn't take hearts away for a "wrong" click.).
Walkthrough!
Easy!
Easy: "Fruit Salad"
Click every beat(this will help you keep the beat, but DO NOT click when a bomb comes! You'll have to resort to tapping or some other beat-keeping method.
Easy: "Dino Dance"
Try to keep your mouse at the very center so you don't have to move much when you have to alternate between punching/kicking. Try to keep a beat just like in "Fruit Salad".
Easy: "Cactus Caution"
This is quite hard, but to keep the beat, he'll double jump. Just try to guess when you will land.
Easy: "Mouse Mash"
Keep clicking on every beat, just like "Fruit Salad". This shouldn't cause many problems, just remember to keep clicking at the beat even when you're moving the floorboards.
Medium!
Medium: "WeightWatchers For Vampires"
This is quite hard at first, but the best thing to do is play it over and over until you can remember when the vampires come out!
Medium: "Beat o' Biscuits"
This is very easy actually. You can't really lose. :D
Medium: "Cows and Farmers? What are they?"
Click just after the cow/farmer passes the point where you are supposed to click. It's much more reliable this way!(For some reason)
Medium: "Blue Berry Bottle"
In some ways this has nothing to do with the music, but it does in other ways. Try to listen to the sounds the cloud makes. One full loop of the sound is a for a short distanced berry, 2 loops for a long distanced berry.
Hard!
Hard: "Dr.Siamese's Original Experiments"
This I find incredibly easy. Just try to keep the beat. and remember to move left and right.
Hard: "Early Bird..."
This is quite hard, just, as always, try to keep the beat, and remember to hold your mouse click to drag the bigger worms.
Hard: "Sushi, Hotdogs, and Allsorts?"
Don't get distracted by the mouth! Concentrate on when the food hits and leaves the line before his mouth!
Hard: "Who Ya' Gonna Call?"
This is VERY hard so don't be worried if you can't do it the first few(okay, loads of) times. Just do it again and again until you know when to click and what path the ghosts take.
Mix-Up Tips!
Try these stages again and again and again and again... until you know how everything is choreographed and you'll be alright.
Posted by: Byronyello
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January 2, 2011 5:02 PM