Mattel Loopz: if Simon Married Merlin and Had a Kid

July 25th, 2010 by: Technabob

Tweet Pin It

Music pattern-matching games like Guitar Hero owe a lot to the early electronic games of the 1970s like Simon and Merlin. Now Mattel is back with a brand new music game which feels like a modern homage to the classics.

Instead of pushing buttons like the old games, LOOPZ uses a set of infrared beam sensors to detect when you place your hand through four semi-circular rings. The game comes with 7 gameplay modes, and lets you play with 1 to 4 players. Game modes include Music Studio, Freestyle DJ, Musicology, Reflex Master, Versus mode, Rhythm and Flow, and Repeat the Beat. The multi-player mode even lets players  create their own patterns to try and outsmart their rivals. While most of the modes are just variants on the old “Simon Says,” there’s a bit more variety with the rhythm-matching games which test not only your memory, but your timing too. Here’s a fun little video showing off how you can even use LOOPZ Music Studio mode to make your own tunes.

I got to play with a LOOPZ unit for a little while, and have to say it really is a fun diversion from today’s crowded market of casual video games. I can only imagine if I were a kid, I’d enjoy it even more. The only thing I’d like to see is the addition of tracks from popular artists. The built-in generic techno loops did nothing for me. Heck, if Mattel made add-on memory sticks with additional artists, they could extend the replay value of this thing quite a bit.

LOOPZ is available now over at Amazon for $29.99 (USD).