Platform: PSP Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar Leeds Rating: G Players: 1 Genre: Music Released: October 2, 2009

Website: http://www.rockstargames.com/beaterator/

[starreview tpl=16]

If you’ve ever wanted a taste of what it’s like to record and create your own music in a studio, Beaterator is one of the closest things you’ll get to it. And don’t at all be fooled by the fact that the game is for PSP. They say “good things come in small packages”. Beaterator is jam packed with so much to do and experiment with, you’ll be jamming out and creating music for hours on end… really.

With the tutorial presented by Timbaland, the master of mixing and producing hit music, you’ll be well on your way to creating your own in no time at all. And it’s well worth doing the tutorial because you could easily become a little ‘dazed and confused’ with all the possibilities and options in the game.

For instance, starting off with just a drum track can offer so many different opportunities to add or edit. It’s not just a matter of laying down a track in one place and repeating it (although, if that’s how you wish to create your music, there’s nothing stopping you). The music loops are set up specifically for this purpose and many popular songs today are created by doing the exact same thing.

It’s nice to also be able to choose a different genre to work with, especially if pop music isn’t your thing. You can access the different options from the main menu and choose your genre. Although I found a few of the options there a little limited, there’s still more than enough to get you started.

The one thing that really blew me away when creating the sounds using Beaterator is just how one particular aspect of a loop can change the sound dramatically when you alter it’s frequency, pitch or omit it altogether.

Beaterator has two main areas for creating sounds and loops which are ‘Live Play’ or ‘Studio’. With Live Play it’s easier to ‘dive straight in’ and start mixing tunes right away. But the learning curve for creating everything yourself may be a tad high for people who really aren’t good with alot of information and menus. Beaterator has an incredible amount of depth and options to create the music but the interface can be a little challenging if you’re intending to by-pass the tutorial.

Live Play allows you to use pre-recorded templates to create music. You can change each ‘loop’ using the R and L buttons to create even more diverse sounds. There is a variety of genre’s to choose from including Rock, Pop and House. Studio is where the true creation process begins. You can create and edit every sound in the database (of which there are dozens). You can edit tempo, length of a beat or loop, and even add your own sounds. Everything you create can be recorded and altered accordingly. The Song Crafter allows you to add in your own sounds to create your own loops – the possibilities are endless.

Beaterator is a fantastic piece of software that crosses the line between ‘game’ and utility bringing the world of digital music production to the PSP. For its size, the Beaterator software packs in a truckload of content and deserves serious consideration from all music fans. For the wee price of $49.99, you’re getting alot more than your money’s worth.