Review – Auditorium

The Scoop: Auditorium, an epic convergence of color, light and music offers a unique experiential game play that kept my thumbs, eyes and ears mesmerized for hours. Literally, I could not put it down until I finished the last “symphony.”

The Setup: Auditorium is a puzzle / game / addicting celebration of music, light and color. Players start off on level one “Hajimemashite” or ‘Hello, I am pleased to make your acquaintance” in Japanese. And yes, I was pleased to make this game’s acquaintance as my thumbs mustered up a show that any composer or 80′s hair band would be envious about.

As for controls, players start out with a black screen, a light source and box of lines somewhere on the screen and arrow, twirl or bunny icons. The light source needs to be directed by the arrow (direction of light source), twirl (makes the light source go in a circle) or bunny (makes light source go faster) to the box of lines, which acts as the soundboard. Simply put, light hits soundboard and magic happens.

Exploration is the key to engaging with the beautiful artwork that dances about the screen while high-quality audio compliments every composed note.

At one point, I was asked by my girlfriend if I had downloaded some new classical music.

What’s Hot: Everything. From the interactive game play that continues to challenge players with every bead of light to the beautifully mixed audio that both relaxes and helps to focus players as the levels get more difficult.

What’s Not: The difficulty. I love it for its difficulty and I also was frustrated by its difficulty. It’s a vicious cycle. Or a Catch 22 perhaps? Regardless, players will need to play around with the controls a bit and try not to get frustrated as they learn how to compose their way to glory.

Final Verdict: With Auditorium’s five acts and seven levels to play through, players will be both challenged and pleased with the difficult yet rewarding game play. The $2.99 price is definitely worth it.

Auditorium from EA is available for download from iTunes.

And to keep harmonizing, maestros can purchase additional movements from the in-game store. Each new movement features more challenging acts, new concepts, colors and themes

Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Category: Games, Puzzle
Version: 1.0.0
Price: $2.99