Helix (video game)
Encyclopedia
Helix is a music video game
for WiiWare
by Ghostfire Games
for 1000 Wii Points
(and, now that DSiWare has been created, Nintendo Points). The objective of the game is to accurately copy gestures with the Wii Remote
to the beat of the music. The game encourages players to use two Wii Remotes to play, and features 26 music tracks from independent musicians.
Helix was released on August 25, 2008 in North America and on September 26, 2008 in Europe.
that dances on screen using their Wii Remotes. The player is first shown the motion, and then must perform it afterward, similar to the game simon says
. A "Rhythm Track" scrolls across the top of the screen, indicating to the player when it is time for to do the motion.
When the robot does a move, a "Move Bar" appears on the Rhythm Track. The Move Bar starts traveling left on the Rhythm Track after it appears. The player must then time their motion so that it is halfway completed by the time the center of the Move Bar passes by the halfway mark of the Rhythm Track. Once completing the motion, if the Move Bar turns green, the player has performed the gesture correctly, if it turns red, the move was performed incorrectly. In addition, like other music games, Helix also features a gauge that fills up with every successful move, and depletes with every failed move.
instead of custom animation, and used audio compression
to fit the 26 songs into the game.
GameFocus were also positive, scoring Helix an 85/100, the reviewer noting "I was blown away by the unique gameplay and simple concept behind the game, which makes this one of the best Wii and downloadable games this year. If you enjoy rhythm games this one will be one of your favorites." Cheatcode Central rated the game a 76/100, stating that "unless you have a violent aversion to physical exercise or techno music, this rhythm dancing game is a good pick."
In contrast, IGN
gave the game 4.3/10, citing "shallow" motion controls and "blah" visuals, and showing little fondness for the game's techno soundtrack.
GamingTarget did two reviews of the title due to opposing views by their writers. One reviewer found fault with "the lack of precise movement, uneven challenge, and uninspired music selection" of the game, while the other felt that Ghostfire made "a fun, but bare-bones package" and called for a more fleshed-out edition.
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
for WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
by Ghostfire Games
Ghostfire Games
Ghostfire Games is a video game developer and publisher based out of Austin, Texas, founded in late 2007. The company currently specializes in games for the WiiWare platform.-Origins:...
for 1000 Wii Points
Wii Points
Nintendo Points are a currency that Nintendo uses for its Wii and Nintendo DSi systems through the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop respectively...
(and, now that DSiWare has been created, Nintendo Points). The objective of the game is to accurately copy gestures with the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
to the beat of the music. The game encourages players to use two Wii Remotes to play, and features 26 music tracks from independent musicians.
Helix was released on August 25, 2008 in North America and on September 26, 2008 in Europe.
Gameplay
The player is required to copy the arm motions of a robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
that dances on screen using their Wii Remotes. The player is first shown the motion, and then must perform it afterward, similar to the game simon says
Simon says
Simon says is a children's game for three or more players where one player takes the role of 'Simon' and issues instructions, to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase 'Simon says', for example 'Simon says jump in the air'...
. A "Rhythm Track" scrolls across the top of the screen, indicating to the player when it is time for to do the motion.
When the robot does a move, a "Move Bar" appears on the Rhythm Track. The Move Bar starts traveling left on the Rhythm Track after it appears. The player must then time their motion so that it is halfway completed by the time the center of the Move Bar passes by the halfway mark of the Rhythm Track. Once completing the motion, if the Move Bar turns green, the player has performed the gesture correctly, if it turns red, the move was performed incorrectly. In addition, like other music games, Helix also features a gauge that fills up with every successful move, and depletes with every failed move.
Development
Helix was designed with as "a video game that happens to burn calories as a side benefit". In order to keep the game under the 40mb size limit imposed by Nintendo, the developers used various technologies such as music visualizationMusic visualization
Music visualization, a feature found in electronic music visualizers and media player software, generates animated imagery based on a piece of music...
instead of custom animation, and used audio compression
Audio compression
Audio compression may refer to:*Audio compression , a type of lossy compression in which the amount of data in a recorded waveform is reduced for transmission with some loss of quality, used in CD and MP3 encoding, Internet radio, and the like...
to fit the 26 songs into the game.
Reception
Helix received an 8.0 out of 10 from WiiWare World, saying "as it is, Helix is a refreshing entry into the rhythm action genre and, without a doubt, one of the more worthwhile additions to WiiWare. If you weren't a fan of such titles before then we don't expect you to be won over by it, but if you enjoy a fun game that tries something different (and succeeds) then we can heartily recommend Helix to you. It is definitely worth the asking price."GameFocus were also positive, scoring Helix an 85/100, the reviewer noting "I was blown away by the unique gameplay and simple concept behind the game, which makes this one of the best Wii and downloadable games this year. If you enjoy rhythm games this one will be one of your favorites." Cheatcode Central rated the game a 76/100, stating that "unless you have a violent aversion to physical exercise or techno music, this rhythm dancing game is a good pick."
In contrast, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game 4.3/10, citing "shallow" motion controls and "blah" visuals, and showing little fondness for the game's techno soundtrack.
GamingTarget did two reviews of the title due to opposing views by their writers. One reviewer found fault with "the lack of precise movement, uneven challenge, and uninspired music selection" of the game, while the other felt that Ghostfire made "a fun, but bare-bones package" and called for a more fleshed-out edition.