Music 2000 Review
Well ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the genius design team at Jester Interactive have done it again. A few years ago we were introduced to the delightful world of music creating on the PSX when Music was released. Now they will astound us again` with Music 2000 - which I'm sure you will agree, is far better than it's predecessor. So, go right ahead and sample your own tracks. There is quite a large selection of pre-recorded riffs to choose from, but you can always sample your own if you choose to. The styles of music at your disposal range from Drum n Bass to rock and Trance. You can even compile your own music tape! But you need to read the rules and regulations in the manual regarding this!
The gameplay in Music 2000 isn't too bad. The idea is to pick a style of music that you like, e.g. Drum n Bass, and then start creating... According to the manual - for a basic outline, you can start by putting a Bass line, then a Drum loop and then a Melody. Then you're creating music. There is also another mode - Music Jam, which is quite easy and also good fun. In this mode you can you can use up to 4 players (using the multi tap). Each player can basically jam together after selecting a template (a set of riffs) and pressing the relevant buttons as they are highlighted on the screen.
The control method in this game is ok - after reading the manual! I say this because I tried to play the game without reading the manual and ended up getting in one hell of a state. Firstly, a quick guideline. Throughout the game, the X button carries out an action, the TRIANGLE button takes you back to the previous menu, and the CIRCLE button gives you a full menu of choices.
Once you have started the game, you will find yourself on the main track screen. If you press the TRIANGLE button, you will notice that a menu at the top is lit up. There should be about 6 different options available. To select any of these, move the arrow left or right and press the X button. I'd say it was advisable that you look at the manual to figure out all the options, because there are a few tricky ones.
Graphically, I think that Music 2000 is an extremely nice looking game. Even the track screen, itself looks nice! It seems to be a lot more colourful than a lot of the other packages available throughout the different formats. There are some real nice features. Like the ability to make your own videos to accompany your riffs. I thinks the sound quality through mono is real nice, but if you can, you should try and link you PSX up to a stereo. You will notice one hell of a difference - I did! You can even choose the sound quality that you would like for CD sampling. But, the larger the sample rate, the more memory it takes up. But it sounds better!
Personally, I think that this is an absolutely amazing music creating package, which I whole-heartedly recommend to anyone who was/is thinking of buying it. It's good fun, and you will without a doubt, get really involved when your masterpiece comes together. But, if like me, you start to get carried away with it, you will notice the one flaw the game has: - It runs out of memory quickly. But I think that's down to the PSX and not the game!