14 DAY TRIAL // 
Triple-A rhythm games have decreased in popularity over the years, as gamers aren't that interested in the likes of Rock Band or Guitar Hero and have shifted towards more innovative downloadable experiences in the genre.
One such title is KickBeat, coming from indie dev Zen Studios, which blends rhythm mechanics with fighting ones, pitting players against waves of enemies that can be defeated by countering their beat-based moves.
Seeing as how the premise sounds a bit weird, can KickBeat redeem itself in terms of gameplay or should we kick it elsewhere? Let's find out.
KickBeat starts off with a rather outlandish story premise, as players take control of Lee, an apprentice at an ancient order of monks who guard the Music Sphere, a mystical item that actually contains every song ever created.
As you can imagine, the sphere is stolen by an evil radio mogul who wants to dictate the trends in terms of music, instead of leaving it to the regular people. Lee can't let that happen and goes after the villain through a variety of cities around the world. Once you complete his saga, you can start a second campaign with Mei, Lee's lady friend, who also goes on a quest.
While the story may not appeal to everyone, the gameplay is actually really innovative. Players stand in a circle that shows their health and chi in a Ying Yang pattern. Meanwhile, enemies swarm around him and attack from one of four different directions (up, down, left, and right).
In case you've yet to realize, you can beat them when they're close to attacking by hitting the correct direction on the keyboard or controller. The attacks are dictated by the beat of the song that's played in the background, and enemies will strike from multiple directions in quick succession or at the same time, in some cases.
Thankfully, you can deploy special powerups, such as a shield or a shockwave, while collecting extra points or health by defeating certain enemies through double tapping their attack direction.
While it's a bit hard to explain, the game in practice is quite fun and hectic, as you're swarmed form different directions and must counter your foes in order to stay alive until the song ends and the waves of enemies stop.
The animations of the main character are extremely fluid even when countering foes in quick succession, and they shine during the boss fights when you have to do other crazy things, such as dodging rockets or tentacles.
Unfortunately, the game is quite hard even on the lowest difficulty setting – Normal. Enemies are unforgiving and some patterns are downright a pain to match depending on the song. Boss fights in particular are a pain, especially since most don't even have a way to refill your health. Others add annoying mechanics such as special orbs that need to be eliminated, and it's not always clear what enemies possess them.
There are four difficulty levels in total, and above Normal you no longer see helpful prompts when fighting and enemies will attack not just based on the beat but also depending on vocal or guitar solos.
Of course, one major aspect of any rhythm game is the soundtrack, and KickBeat manages to deliver a really interesting blend of songs that span genres like rock, drum & bass, or hip-hop, from artists like Marilyn Manson, POD, Pendulum, Rob Zombie, or even a Taiwanese rapper called Shen Yi that has a stunning song in Mandarin. Sure, these aren't the most popular artists nowadays, but most of their songs work really good when used by the game.
In case you get tired of the 24 tracks included as standard, you can also import your own songs. You first need to unlock the Beat Your Music mode first, which can be done rather easily, and then just navigate in-game to your music library and choose any MP3 file from that location. You then need to teach the game about that song's beats but it's a pretty simple process.
In terms of visuals, KickBeat looks pretty good, although some character models, such as the one for the main protagonist, look a bit weird. The environments and actual gameplay look quite impressive and the game maintains a great framerate at all times.
Conclusion
KickBeat is a fun and innovative title that will certainly delight those looking for a new type of rhythm-based experience. Bear in mind however that it's quite challenging, its soundtrack may not please all music fans, and the story is rather cheesy, but it's still very addictive.
