“Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F” is a rhythm game that involves pressing buttons along to music. There’s no jumping on arrows or karaoke involved as Project DIVA F plays more like “Elite Beat Agents,” or a smart phone music game. The game is bright, colorful and loud, but if you don’t know the franchise, chances are that this is not your cup of sake.
Review Score: 4/5
For Playstation 3
Price: 49.99
Hatsune Miku is a character from a Japanese music program and is part of a group of characters named Vocaloids. The music is very much pop, although certain songs can bleed over to different genres including hard rock, jazz and rap.
Project DIVA F plays by using the face buttons on the controller in beat to the music. Symbols, representing the buttons, fly on the screen and must be pressed in time; with variations including holding two buttons at once, holding the button for a period of time and even flicking the control sticks. The game is very unforgiving, and though it does its best to teach the player how to play, it can overload the senses.
When players start a song, they are presented with a music video in the back as well as the gameplay cues.
The videos are fantastic and the settings include a temple of fire and a lonely rooftop. One video even includes a band of rocker clowns. By themselves, the videos are great, but can be distracting when cues start popping up on screen.
The button cues wouldn’t be a problem if they appeared on a track; instead they appear all over the screen in a seemingly random fashion. After a couple of play runs, it becomes obvious that they appear in a pattern. The visual patter usually helps to guide the player, but distracting backgrounds and sometimes random placement can really throw someone off.
“Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F” is full of fan service, and rightfully so after making fans wait so long for an American release of the game.
Extra features include creating a custom song track, un-lockable costumes and a video editor. The Diva Room, which is the creepiest feature of all, is a dollhouse-like feature where players can dress their divas, watch them as they mill around the room and even pose to take photos in the game.
Calibration can also be a problem if playing on an HD-TV, as the game does not include an auto-calibration feature. Players instead, have to move numbers and experiment until gameplay feels solid.
Overall, “Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F” is an enjoyable music and rhythm game. With a sensory overload of fantastic visuals, loud Japanese pop music and plenty of bonus features, this is definitely a game for the fans.
