02Jam is an online game that prevailed through the years. It was a simple free online rhythm action game that requires the coordination of both your eyes and fingers. However, it has been shut down by the year 2012. Good news for 02Jam players, the game is back! – though not for the PC but for the smartphones. So without further ado here is where this game review begins.
Starting off, the simple yet attractive GUI of the game has caught my attention almost instantly. You can navigate through the system without a problem. The menu is divided into several parts as you can see in the photo above. I’m not going to cover all of its functions so you can enjoy exploring it on your own. What I’ll be covering, however, will be the big red start button in the center. As the word suggests, this starts up the game and brings you to the song menu.
Shown above is the song menu. It’s divided into 4 parts; Category, Sort, My Album and Search. Category is simply where you can find songs by type. Sort depends on the title and level of the game. While Album is where you compile all your favorite songs. However, it’s only limited to 10 songs per album. To get a new one, one must unlock it by paying 30 000 gems, and Search, as the name suggests, gives you the power to find a specific song you wish to play. Okay, enough about the submenus, let’s get into the gameplay.
First off. allow me to explain the Point and Gem system. These two systems act as the stamina for the game. Points are deducted at each and every time you play. The amount of points that have been deducted solely depends on the level of the game. You can regain these points by buying them on the store, leveling up, or wait for them to replenish. You can also receive more points by completing offers. Gems, on the other hand, are more commonly used for power-ups. You can use them to buy songs so you can play them permanently without deducting any points. The power-ups are divided into three: active, passive and pattern. Now not all of these are power ups; some of them are to make the game more challenging. I won’t be telling what every power up(or chips) can do. It’s up for you to discover what lies ahead. Now, let’s move on to the gameplay itself.
To play a song, you have to press its icon on the song list. After pressing it, you have to press the play button on the center. Doing so will cause the game to download the song. After the song has finished loading; you are greeted by this. The 4 bars on the bottom is where you have to hit the notes as they fall from the top. Take note that this is the landscape version. The chips are commonly shown at the top right corner along with your score and the pause button. Pausing can give you the chance to resume, go back to the menu or change the speed settings. Now, please take a look by the top left corner of the screen. Written there is “JAM COMBO.” Jam Combo is more or less the score multiplier. To activate the combo, you must first fill in the gauge. After that, you have to either press the button that appears underneath it or shake your phone. It’s a crazy mechanic but it’s extremely useful. After finishing, you will be greeted by this screen and I do believe it explains everything.
There’s more to this game but I’ll leave the rest up to you. No point in spoiling the fun. Enjoy playing 🙂
About the Author: Another guest post contributed by my youngest son- Yahmir, 16 years, grade 10 student, who excels academically, a gamer, a writer and the author of The Lunacy of a Warrior.
