Chime, a downloadable musical puzzle game for the Xbox 360, feels like the love child of Tetris and Lumines.
With only five playable levels, the game feels a little light on content. But since publisher OneBigGame is a non-profit dedicated to making games that benefit children's charities, the lack of variety is more than forgivable.
Besides, the game thanks you for doing the right thing right off the bat: Download Chime, fire it up and you've earned "Fairy Godmother" – a 50-point achievement that rewards you for simply donating.
"You've done a great thing and made the world a better place," the achievement text reads. "Here's a little gift!"
A slightly higher Gamerscore and the warm, fuzzy feeling of lending a helping hand aren't the only reasons to play Chime. It does a fine job of putting gamers in the zone. Atmospheric music from composer Philip Glass, electronica hit-maker Moby, Peter Harnoll of Orbital, progressive trance DJ Markus Schulz and Lemon Jelly's Fred Deakin certainly help. These shimmering tunes set the tone for the puzzling, which tasks players with fitting puzzle pieces together and claiming on-screen territory.
Players progress by dropping Tetromino-style pieces into blocks. With every pass of the game's beat line, squares that the player creates are claimed. You can't fail. In fact, the game board clears on its own as stale blocks dissolve. It takes a while to get the hang of exactly where you want to be putting your puzzle pieces, but once you get the rhythm of the game down its easy to get lost in the levels.
Chime provides a gaming trance that helps the needy and does it to the beat of Phillip Glass. Considering the fact that the game only costs $5, there's little reason not to join the ranks of gaming's fairy godmothers.
Image courtesy OneBigGame
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