Guitar Hero took the world by storm, for a time. It wasn't the first time that a music game was released, but it certainly was the game that made it popular. Rock Band followed and then we got to play Dance games when Kinect and other motion controlled hardware made it possible. Now, we have Fantasia: Music Evolved as the latest in genre that for me, was getting very tired.I started this game up and of course Kinect wanted me to do something. I was comfy on the couch. I thought, "Can't I fake this, and just wave my arms around?" I got up and put some effort into it because that is what game reviewers do. We sacrifice for the people.
I started thinking I was going to see Mickey Mouse right away or somehow this was a kids game. When I finished the tutorial song "Message in a Bottle" by The Police, I realized I was wrong. Really wrong.
Not only is Fantasia fun to play, it adds a great twist to the music genre in general. Not only do you try and match up your movements to cues on the screen (with your body replacing the plastic controllers of the past) but you can do so and create your own mixes and add your own twists to the music itself. The team at Harmonix reportedly looked over Walt Disney's original notes (rather than relying on the movie from which this game gets its name) and were inspired by what he was trying to do so many years ago. He has been quoted as saying "I don't know if its art, but I know I like it". I couldn't agree more.
Regardless of how far or how close you are to the Kinect sensor (within reason of course), Fantasia adds you as a musical conductor near the bottom of the screen and all people are roughly the same size. The game has you become the apprentice as you learn the moves and gestures and I have to tell you, not far in I was beginning to work up a bit of a sweat as the ending parts of these songs can get quite intense. My dogs were looking at me strangely while I must have made some pretty strange looking gestures but I assure you I was actually feeling the music as I went.
As mentioned, you can often change the sounds of a song by adding your own mix of rocks, jazz, and other genres and by reaching certain point levels you will unlock other mixes. The game does not have any "fail" or "game over" moments so there is never a fear of that and the songs chosen here in the 30+ soundtrack all work well with remixes. It's clear these people know what they are doing and the polish of the game and general presentation is far beyond anything that Harmonix has done previously. It's nice to see that the music part of the game is evolved and so has the presentation.
This game isn't going to be for everyone, but everyone of every age can certainly enjoy it. Like any music game it's going to be more enjoyable if you like the music but for me I was right at home switching between a classic rock song, something classical, and something a little more "poppy".
The game supports multiplayer. Just have another person come up and shake your hand to join in. If your experience with Kinect has been somewhat spotty in the past I'm happy to report that this time around it's working the way you have always wanted it to. I never once got frustrated and the game never got it "wrong" from what I intended - and I played the 360 version. I imagine the Xbox One version is even better with the better camera support.
I'm also hesitant to call this a game. Fantasia is an experience and a great one at that. It's unique, fresh, and a lot of fun. Give it a whirl! It's an experience for the majority of your senses and doesn't disappoint.
- Syd Bolton
Follow @sydbolton
The Good:
- Refined, fresh take on the music genre
- Great presentation and Kinect control that works!
The Bad:
- Might be overlooked and considered a kids title because of the Fantasia/Disney connection
- Lots of DLC to follow, so once you tire of the included songs it will get more expensive to keep replaying
Syd Bolton surrounds himself in thousands of classic video games as Canada's top video game collector playing his games on a 80 inch Sharp Quattron Plus TV. He is also the founder of the Personal Computer Museum (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
