Mad Maestro Review

6.0

Format PlayStation 2

Developer Unknown

Publisher Eidos Interactive

Genre Rhythm Action

Grab your baton to please the crowds

Aside from making your thumbs throb from hammering the accelerate button in GT3, those analog PS2 pads haven't been good for much. Until now, that is. Mad Maestro! is a crazy music game where you use different amounts of finger pressure to conduct an orchestra. It's rhythm action with a cool new twist and we like it a whole lot.

SINGLE FINGER FUN
For the most part, Mad Maestro! uses just one button. An on-screen metronome passes over icons on your TV, and you need to hit the button at the right strength, as indicated by the icon's colour: blue for weak, green for medium, red for strong. It's ingenious and makes for surprisingly involving and tense gameplay.

You also have to make sure you lead at an appropriate tempo and occasionally you need to conduct different parts of the orchestra with a tap of a direction button. There's so much music in here and so many mini-games and rewards for perseverance that it'll probably last you longer than any other rhythm action game.

Lee Skittrell