Rhythm games are somewhat of a rare creature in the video game industry; even with the successes of Harmonix's Rock Band and Activision's Guitar Hero franchises in the last few of years, the genre has failed to spread much beyond the pseudo-band experience. And while there have been a few excellent titles for the Nintendo DS (Elite Beat Agents comes to mind) and the PlayStation Portable, I’ve been more impressed by the small but growing number of quality rhythm games for iOS devices -- and Simogo’s Beat Sneak Bandit is the best entry there by far.

All the clocks in the world have mysteriously disappeared, and it’s up to Beat Sneak Bandit and his amphibian companion, Herbie, to take them back from the nefarious Duke Clockface. It’s a ridiculous premise that only adds to its Saturday-morning cartoon vibe, along with its charming visuals and unique soundtrack.

Taking cues from games like Sony’s Patapon franchise, BSB tasks players with moving their character to the beat of the song -- your goal is to collect as much of the missing clocks as possible, but if you mess up on the beat, these clocks disappear. For players like me who demand perfection, this can lead to many, many restarts; but it never feels too frustrating or impossible, as you’ll actually want to go back to collect that last clock.

Complicating things, however, are a series of obstacles that are gradually added from level to level -- things like light sensors, moving platforms, security personnel, and even teleporters require meticulous planning of your movements ahead of time. Sometimes you’ll have to wait a few beats in-between your movements to sneak past them, reinforcing the idea that even if you are not moving on screen, you need to keep track of the beat in your head.

Though there is a visual indicator of the timing at the top of the screen to help you with this, I found it easier if I tried to tap my feet or hands alongside playing the game. Here’s a tip: if you normally play games on your phone either on a bus or a train ride, I don’t suggest playing BSB for long periods of time; it’s so easy to just lose yourself in the game, half of it being worried that you’ll mess up your timing, that you’ll more than likely miss your next stop (like I did).

  

The music is somewhat difficult to describe; it fuses elements of funk and electronic beats into truly eclectic tracks that vary from chapter to chapter. These tracks are looped over and over to give you a sense of the timing, but the pacing of the game makes sure that you don't become too comfortable with a particular track; the music changes just ever more slightly to throw you off if you’re not paying enough attention. As you collect more clocks, bonus “shadow” levels open up with a more jazz-influenced soundtrack; the pacing is slower than the normal levels, but it has the added platforming challenge of it’s silhouette-like presentation.

With 40 stages divided over four chapters, plus the extra shadow levels, a challenging finale, and a bonus chapter filled with remixed levels and music, Beat Sneak Bandit offers a lot of bang for your buck. And to top it off, the developers recently won the Best Mobile Game award for BSB at the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival in San Francisco. In other words, there are really no excuses why you shouldn’t have this game on your favorite iOS device of choice.

 

Beat Sneak Bandit is an iOS game developed by Simogo, and retails for $2.99.