Video: Take a look at Rockstar's latest property, plus get our hands-on impressions of the new Beaterator music app for the PSP.
Rockstar's got a challenge when it comes to pushing Beaterator to the masses. It's on the PSP, and on the surface it looks kinda cartoony; but look closer and you'll find something that's leagues away from the PSP's usual gaming fair - a truly full-featured, and easy to use music making machine.
Beaterator is a collaboration between Rockstar Leads and DJ extraordinaire Timbaland. It features 1000s of loops of Timbaland's own material, and three layers of music mixing.
The Liveplay mode is the easiest to get to grips with, letting you mix eight tracks on the fly, in a number of different styles, from techno to trance and dark ambient. Beaterator takes care of all the beat matching, and even makes sure that each track it suggests will groove nicely with what you've already chosen. It is, in effect, like having a superstar DJ over your shoulder.
It's also the gamiest part of the product, but rest assured this is no rhythm game. Once you've made your track, you can delve deep into it with the Studio Session mode, and this is where the real power of the program starts to be unlocked. Where no DJ ourselves, but this is the real deal. Drill further down into the Song Crafter, and you'll have finer access to the loops themselves, as well as being able to craft your own.
It's all very impressive.
Beaterator will be released later this month.
Issue: 111 | April, 2010