Bit. Trip Core is the second in the Bit. Trip series of retraux rhythm-action games. The title is a reference to the crazy visuals in the game that look like they were inspired by an acid trip. The gameplay of the Bit. Trip games are very minimalistic and especially so in the 'Nether' modes where the visuals are completely stripped to the core elements in black and white, even the sounds are reduced to blips.
The controls for Bit. Trip Core are simple: the d-pad controls the direction of the beam while the 2-button shoot the beam. The objective of the game is to hit the tiny square bits with your beam, which can be aimed at four directions starting from the center of the screen. It's a rhythm game like Guitar Hero, so listening to the music and timing your button presses to it helps a lot. The music is retro GameBoy ear candy.
The game utilizes a rather unique system of 'health'; the game ends when your health hits zero. There are four realms, from the lowest: Nether, Hyper, Mega, Super. If you do well by hitting all the bits, you've moved to a high realm and the sound and visuals become more complex which is rewarding but also distracting (but that is intentional by the designers). When you miss a bit, your health depletes and when it is fully depleted, you move to a lower realm. You know you're in trouble when you hit the Nether realm; the visualizations in the background disappear to help you concentrate on the bits.
It's fun to see how the game developers come up with new ways of animating the bits as the game becomes progressively harder. The best part is you could play along with another person. Bit. Trip Core is an interesting take on rhythm games. It's like the genre distilled into its very essence and mixed into a rainbow. Fun and experimental.
More screenshots: http://picasaweb.google.com/wiitower2008/BitTripCoreWiiWare
-- Benjamin
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