Bit Trip Complete (Wii)

The sounds and the looks of eighties video games as we remember them through rose coloured spectacles. Worth a buy for the soundtrack alone. The Pong-like bit.trip beat and flux are my favourite and with the option of changing the level of difficulty I can get through them for the first time. There's certainly the option for proper hardcore gamers to get a challenge and now us mere mortals can enjoy it too. Recommended.

I bought this game entirely for Runner, which looked fantastic and instantly addictive in concept (and YouTube videos). What surprised me however is that I am much more in love with Bit.Trips Beat and Flux. The simplest tilting of the remote is all you need to control these two games, However with entire Bit Trip package it's the combination of music, visuals and timing that make them so addictive. So insanely addictive.

For me it's not the 8-bit graphics that hit the old nostalgia button; it's the pattern learning required. It takes me back to playing Nemesis, Armalyte, Slap Fight, Who Dares Wins II... anything that required you to learn enemy attack patterns to advance in an unrelenting game. Bit Trip has that in spades and it's fun to see it employed again (you could argue that Halo, COD or any modern FPS also has attack patterns too, there really isn't much difference between then and now, however Bit Trip harks back to the 8 & 16-bit feel of the same thing).

What brings this into the modern era are the seemingly simple visuals which are smooth as silk, featuring luscious backgrounds that tip their hat to Atari 2600 graphics, but ramp it up with a trippy modern aesthetic... and the music! The music aids your game play, especially in Bit Trip Core where the bass beat and growing knowledge of the tune help you time perfectly what looks to an onlooker like a chaos of stars coming at you from all directions. That you can dispel these myriad pixel stars in a third-eye like way whilst also nodding your head dance stylee is perfection.

Try playing Bit Trip Flux with all the lights off and music up loud... all you need is Renton narrating over the top and you're there!

Overall Bit Trip Complete is a beautiful game. Well worth the piddly amount of money for the fun it delivers. And don't forget it also comes with a music CD, and each game on this disc is also packed with extra challenges lovingly devised by the designers to give more value & longevity. Photo's & videos don't do it justice. Bit Trip; like a bullet hell shooter or a mind-warping puzzler is one of those games that when you're in the zone the room around you falls away and only the thumping beats and on-screen graphics exist.

In all likelihood however, this game is going to skew towards the mature player; someone who has been through generations of computers & consoles and can see exactly what this game is referencing, but also that is pushes concepts forward, keeping things eminently fresh in this world of bald space marine sims and yearly football updates. And hey I'm not complaining, I love a good space marine shooter and I was addicted to Kick Off 2. What I'm saying is it's nice to have the variety of a quirky and fun game like this to go with them.

I bought this game primarily because I had played 'bit trip runner' on someone's pc and loved it. I think this game is so great, and addictive!! The fact that there is 5 other games on this disk was just a bonus for me. Would definitely recommend this to people that enjoy the old style games.