I stumbled upon GameSpot's Harmonix Phases onto iPod story tonight and was intrigued. I'm usually wary of downloading games for my iPod, since the generation cycle of the mp3 player is extremely short (I'm on my fourth iteration in six years). But the fact that Guitar Hero gurus Harmonix developed the title, plus the availability of a new (at least to me) Freezepop track to play made the decision for me.

Downloading the game automatically creates an iTunes playlist called Phase for you to drag and drop any track on your iPod (between 30 seconds and 30 minutes in length). Syncing your iPod with your computer will automatically update the in-game track list, which includes 7 pre-installed songs (like Freezepop's 'Pop Music is Not a Crime' or Bang Camaro's 'Nightlife Commando'). After an initial 5-10 second load time, you can choose any song to play on one of three difficulty levels by pressing the back, center, and forward buttons on the iPod click wheel in time with the music. There are also glide sections in which you roll your finger along the scroll wheel (as if you were browsing up and down in the iPod menus). The interface looks very much like the Guitar Hero on-screen guide, and the gameplay is essentially the same as previous Harmonix titles.

On the easy and medium settings, the game is fun to play, but the notes don't sync up perfectly with the music. You hit the notes at the appropriate points and you feel like you're keeping the rhythm well enough, but it lacks the essential Guitar Hero "feeling." Of course, that's moreso a product of the platform and not the development. The hard setting is more exciting, but you'll find your wrist cramping up very quickly. I imagine that, even though Phase is playable on the newest generation of iPod nanos, those with the iPod Clas.sic's tiny cousin (or large hands, for that matter) won't get the same enjoyment out of the game. The real draw to Phase is the ability to use any track in your iTunes library for fast, on-the-go entertainment when the music on your iPod just doesn't keep you entertained enough and you feel the need to do something with your hands while you listen. The game also keeps track of your high scores and note streaks for each song, adding to the replay-ability. While it's certainly not a replacement for Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or even a real hand-held game on the GBA, DS, or PSP, it's definitely worth the $5 download to give you something to do with your iPod on the bus.

Side note: I think I've figured out why I haven't written a review in ages. The vast majority of my blogs recently have been first impressions (or Fimps, if you're hip to the Trigames lingo), because that's what I seem to have time for these days. I always plan on writing reviews for these games, but I've found that my first impressions rarely change and I don't have much to say about the games beyond what's already been said.