Review for FUSER. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/11/2020
From the creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band a game halfway between an educational and a family entertainment: we'll see how fuser it will take its spaces.
It is not the first time that Harmonix amazes the videogame market with projects on which few would bet, but if we think about the turnover of Rock Band, which in just over three years managed to make over a billion dollars in turnover, perhaps this is how we should start. This time the developers who have inextricably linked their passion for music to game design, have decided to try their hand at the complicated art of deejay. fuser in fact it does nothing but put you in the shoes of a novice DJ, who as such will need to learn not only the essential technical basics to stir the dancing crowd, but also the secrets to become a headliner à la David Guetta.
In this virtuous path, your avatar, needless to say, customizable in every maniacal stylistic detail, will be accompanied by as many PR in 6 huge stages where he will have to challenge himself, as well as with his own ambition, with the people of dance festivals in Tomorrowland style. The story is quite simple and without too many frills: learn how records are mixed, manage the reactions of the dance club in real time, jump into your career online producing your own tracks and if you want to challenge other players in the world, face to face or in virtual kermesse.
The review by fuser therefore it can only start from campaign mode, a term that sounds strange as it is a game not related to the development of a story. In reality, more than a "campaign" we should speak of a mega-tutorial, but it is absolutely essential to face it and finish it with commitment to begin to master all the tools of the real DJ. On this we feel we can seriously reward the US development team, which manages gradually and without simulation ambitions to bring even the player who is fasting to technical concepts of mixing to satisfactory technical standards.
In a few hours you will learn how to master a 4 disc console, assembling the groove as you wish with very personal combinations of rhythmic bases, vocal solos, wind keyboards and guitars, extrapolated from your very personal case of track filler pieces (and not). Not only. fuser will put at your disposal, in addition to the songs (a basic equipment plus others that can be purchased and / or unlocked at will), also a multitude of loops, instrumental effects, samples, snapshots. Not to mention the related set of clothing accessories and stage effects from live performances that you can then show off at the right moment.
The effort made to make typically musical concepts playable such as changing tracks on downbeat or upbeat, as well as maintaining a certain flow typical of a genre or manipulating the bpm of a piece, really deserves praise and represents the true value added of this title of Harmonix Music System compared to similar attempts in the past. For example, let's think of something like Dj Hero, who actually ape the gameplay of Guitar Hero, proving to be very uneducational and very repetitive in the long run. Once the fuser, you will therefore no doubt be able to produce yourself some free-style sessions in which you will not have to pursue any parameters, on the contrary ... you can rightly (and with great joy) listen and follow exclusively the Gabry Ponte that dwells in you.
The gameplay… indeed, the soundcheck!
Are you wondering how this can be likely? Controller in hand, once in the console you can select as mentioned up to 4 discs simultaneously (from an ever-increasing roster), each of which features 4 musical tracks, typically: vocals, drums, keyboards (or synths) and guitars. In addition you will have samples of various instruments, effects, snapshots (in a nutshell pieces of mixes you have pre-recorded), as well as the inevitable faders and pitchband. All these "tools" of the trade, and above all the essential concepts to use them, are taught to you as told by fuser in 6 macro-steps of the campaign mode each divided into various sets, repeatable at will. And it must be said that this huge and stimulating tutorial on how to get to do a mix starting (almost) from scratch is stimulating and damn fun, especially when it travels on the harmonics you are most passionate about.
Once the session has begun, all you have to do is select the tracks of the song that you think are most beautiful to insert, at the moment in which it is more rhythmically correct and to satisfy the desire for groove of the virtual audience. Not being a simulation, of course Fuser does not allow you to listen to an entire song on headphones while another is spinning on the turntable, but this will not hinder your creativity., unless you are a purist. The game almost always produces excellent quality mixes when you hit the right tempo and song, only on a few occasions have we experienced musically mediocre results despite having collected the maximum score ... but you know: the staff is mathematics, but the musicians (luckily) they are not engineers!
Already said of freestyle solo, that lets you play and record your desired mix as you like without time limit, we analyze the online features. Fuser provides one battle mode, in which you will participate in a festival with DJs of your same rank, clashing two at a time, and one co-op mode, where you can create private lobbies or be invited to be part of them to create a unique mood. During Battles, your timing and track knowledge will be tested through a specific mechanism called Power. The more accurately you meet the demands of the crowd, the more your attack timer will grow. Once you reach the maximum, your records will all play together to try to annihilate the opponent in a sort of final move of a musical fighting game. Obviously, the more challenges you win, the more your career progression will lead you to headlining Olympus.
Editor's note: Unfortunately at the time of writing the servers were still empty, so it was not possible to thoroughly test the online mods.
fuser it also comes with a dedicated section Social, which promises to host numerous registration events, with prizes and awards for your virtual career as well as concrete possibilities to share your musical preferences with other users. It is certainly the section to which longevity will be entrusted in the future, on which in any case we feel we have very few doubts. What we believe can be equally delicate for the community and also for the success of the title in the coming months, is the management of the Store. If Harmonix will be able to constantly flesh out its own song database, drawing on both those currently in vogue and blockbusters of the past, then Fuser can really aspire to the glories of Rock Band, as long as he does not indulge in the temptation of in-game profit on optional content.
Fuser is a music title with a strong educational quality matrix, but this does not mean that it is little fun. Mastering the basic concepts essential for mixing in a short time and handling a controller will in many cases open the doors to a hidden passion, and that's probably what Harmonix is all about. The potential is still strong, and the age group it is aimed at is wider than one might expect. Much of its fortunes will be tied to the sales policies of additional music databases.
► FUSER is a Music type game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/11/2020
