Chime = mix 2 parts Tetris to 1 part Lumines

zero2dash

zero2dash

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So I noticed a new $4.99 game in Steam last night called Chime, had never heard of it before. Apparently it was released on 360 awhile back.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/62100/

A few vids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGNedkVWrdA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqPv1YK9wws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dT7ttUErlM

Steam version adds "Still Alive", can't complain about that.
I realize it's somewhat of a puzzle + music app, plus it's cheap - no demo but I buy it anyway.

It's basically a mixture of Tetris and Lumines on somewhat of a juvenile level. Yeah it has different shaped blocks like Tetris, and it has a sweeping note bar like Lumines. The things it does differently though - like the music changing based on where the blocks are placed, the mechanics of "filling" the board as a goal, having straggler pieces and trying to keep them going to keep the multiplier....all new stuff.

Reposting what I said at the Steam forums:
Chime = digital crack
This game is crack. Anyone who dislikes this game either a) isn't giving it a fair shake based on the fact that it's not a "use your own music" title or b) isn't a fan of puzzle games in general.

First of all - kudos to the developer for donating a portion of the money to charity.

Secondly - it's less than $5 bucks. Buy 1 less McChicken every day at work for 1 week, on Friday, buy Chime. Your mind, soul, and body will thank you for it (not only because you bought a good game and gave to charity, but you ate less fattening food for the week).

Thirdly - no seriously, the game is crack. There are only a few titles I can put in that category that I've played before...Mr. Driller and Tetris Attack come to mind. I could play those games for hours and hours and hours and not want to quit. If not for having to go to work today and wanting to get some sleep, I would have played Chime all frickin' night last night.

I could care less about the limited assortment of songs. This isn't Audiosurf, it's not Beat Hazard. The object of the game is not to play your mp3 library. The object of the game is to enjoy a puzzle game out of the box. The enjoyment comes from having a limited amount of music yet having a different track practically every time you play that particular track. I don't recall which track I quit with last night, but after playing it 5 or 6 times, it still sounded different every time. Maybe it's the "glass half full" guy in me, but I take that as hearing 5 or 6 songs, not hearing 1 song 5 or 6 times like a cynic/"glass half empty" person would.

$5 bucks, seriously. I've spent more money on worse games in my life, and I can't believe I just got Chime for $5 bucks last night. For crying out loud, Lumines costs double that, the songs are not as good, and the tracks do not change based on where you place the blocks.

Chime will set a standard in the genre for future games - mark my words. People may pass on it and call it a Lumines clone because of the sweeping bar, and that's really a stupid thing to do...Lumines has NOTHING on Chime.

~my $4 dollars and 95 cents worth
Click to expand...

If you like puzzle games, especially if you have played and like Lumines, you will freakin' LOVE Chime. I would say general puzzle fans will love Chime anyway, but some puzzle gamers are more picky than others. There is no Steam demo, but if you have access to a 360, apparently there is a demo available on the 360. (Hopefully a Steam demo pops up soon.)

You WILL NOT LIKE CHIME if you expect to be able to use your own music, or you think having a limited amount of audio tracks will negatively impact your gameplay. Yes, there are only a few music tracks in the game...the thing is though, depending on where you place the blocks, the notes and fills of the music will be different. Whether you take that more into consideration or not as a good thing or a bad thing to alleviate for the limited amount of tracks - that's up to you (the gamer). It doesn't bother me, personally.
 
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I was really intrigued when I saw this on my Steam notes the other day, but not intrigued enough to plunk down $5 with no demo and very little in the way of gameplay description.

This glowing endorsement might have just changed my mind... though I do wish I could get the $5 Steam price for the non-Steam version (to get the Linux binaries...).
 
Cool. never seen this before. Its like Tenori-On the game :D aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Bought!
 
yeah dude, i was all over this last night when i found it on steam. i LOOOOOOOVE Lumines, and anything similar is going to get play time fosho'.

i wish there was a demo, but still thinking of pushing the trigger anyway....
 
LeviathanZERO said:
yeah dude, i was all over this last night when i found it on steam. i LOOOOOOOVE Lumines, and anything similar is going to get play time fosho'.

i wish there was a demo, but still thinking of pushing the trigger anyway....
Click to expand...

if you loved lumines... this is the next best thing for PC.
 
I bought it as well - I rarely play puzzle games but this is quite enjoyable. I also liked the fact that it supports 2560x1600 resolution, but the only other graphics option was... Quality (or something similar): Low, Medium, High. Yes I am that anal about graphics that I would point this out regarding a puzzle game.
 
Still Alive still brings a smile to my face. :)

I will say - a quick pointer - I got stuck on like the 4th song trying to get 50% coverage to get to the next stage (just before Still Alive). I was playing the 3 minute time mode. After a couple tries and getting close but running out of time, I just went ahead and did a 6 minute run and passed it on the first try (as well as the next song, and then Still Alive as well). 6 minutes is a nice, perfect spot IMHO...not too short, not too long. (plus you can always get time extensions from combos while playing anyway)

So if you're trying the 3 minute runs and you get stuck, it really doesn't matter on unlocks - you can pick up where you left off and still get the unlocks with the higher times. As far as I can tell all there really is there is the unlock of all the songs/stages, then free mode...then of course you can achievement grind if you want.
 
i would love some more color theme or background. But for 5$ its well worth it.
 
Bought it. Addictive as hell.

But in Free Mode, what's the end game? I played for about 30 minutes and got to stage 3 100% complete and got a little sick of it and just quit. Is there supposed to be a finish, because I feel like I could have just gone on playing indefinitely.
 
I think that's it, free mode you can play as long as you want. It keeps going until you fill the whole board then it starts a new cleared level with the same song again.
 
bought this game as a gift for the g/f, she loves it, shes a great cheap date ;)
 
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