now playing: "Music Catch"

Music Catch (the original & the sequel)
Genre(s): Art/abstract
Credits: Reflexive Entertainment 2008, 2009

Today's review is all about the fact that my new motto is "work less, play more."

That's right folks. Today we get not one, not one-and-a-half, not one and a theoretical sequel in the original one's context, but two games to amuse ourselves. Well, technically, it's the same concept just done up two different times—the draft and the final product, so to speak, the second being an expanded version of the first with multiple songs and visual patterns to pick from.

Music Catch's concept is as relaxing as its soundtrack: simply "catch" the falling shapes with your cursor, in time with the music. The purple, yellow and (version 2) flashing shapes are good, and the red ones are bad. Pretty straightforward. Work less, play more.

Falling shapes in the first Music Catch.

Spiraling geometric shapes attracted to the magnetized purple power-up just beyond the corner of the screen, in Music Catch 2.

The various shapes twirling and swirling down gently, combined with the minimalist classical sounds, create a wonderfully relaxing rhythm. It's the perfect "bedtime" wind-down, something to get your mind off of work and stress before you finally log off the computer. If you're a tech nerd like me, forget the bubble bath and play a round or two of Music Catch to justify your gaming impulses in the most relaxing way possible. And if ambient piano's not really your thing, you can also upload or link to other MP3 tracks. No elaborate leveling-up scheme, no diabolical moods, no storyline or even really a narrative as far as thematic subtext goes. Work less, play more.

There is one thing that puzzles me, however. Why the title Music Catch? Why not something New-Age-ish like "SoundScapes"? Something more realistic like "Shapes That Fall in Time with the Music"? Simply, it's an intuitive pun. Your cursor "catches" the musical shapes, and the music itself is somewhat "catchy." Get it? Work less, play more.

Today's review is all about the fact that I've been busy too much lately, to play games or for that matter to write detailed dissertations on their value. Time for me to just focus on one thing at a time. I'm not a quitter, but I need to know my limits, and what you my readers really want—which is just the thrill of playing a game. Work less, play more.

Friday preview: What you think is "just a dream" is no more... someone please make an Inception joke here (amazing how many times I've referenced that movie on this blog and have not yet seen it. Deprived soul that I am).