MTV Music Generator - Music Creation for the Playstation

by Codemasters

Product Details

• ASIN: B00001QER3
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,273 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Yo, DJ wannabes: mix your mad medley of music by using this creativity tool for the PlayStation. Don't mistake this disc for a game--it's a song creator that acts as a 24-track mixing machine.

But there are limitations to this hip tool--namely memory space, which on the PlayStation is scant at best. Still, the disc itself contains over 1,500 pre-recorded musical riffs and over 3,000 instrument sounds for you to mix and match as you like. Once the basic music is laid down, players can tinker with the sounds, adding effects such as reverb. In addition, the MTV Music Generator enables budding artists to sample music from their own audio CDs, but this is where the memory problem comes into play, limiting your samples to mere seconds.

No prior knowledge of music theory or editing is required to play with this disc, and when using the pre-recorded music snippets, which are varied and numerous, the resulting songs can be quite amazing. While this piece of software may be better suited for a PC with a fat hard disk full of storage space, MTV Music Generator is a completely original title for the PlayStation, and it manages to cleverly use the system's capability to play music in a unique way. --Jeff Young

Pros:

• Easy to operate--no music experience or editing required
• One of the only discs for the PlayStation that encourages creativity
• Much fuller content than other music tools aimed at younger children

Cons:

• Limited memory may frustrate users who want to sample their personal music collection

GameSpot Review

MTV: Music Generator isn't a game but rather a PlayStation program, of sorts, and the type of product we don't see too often. But it can be considered by the same criteria we judge games by: graphics, sound, value, and so forth. Unlike many of the music games that have shown up throughout the last year or so - Parappa, Um Jammer Lammy, and Konami's Bemani series, to name a few - MTV: MG is a music-making tool that attempts to take what PC music-editing and music-creating programs let you do full scale and brings the experience to the novice consumer who happens to own a PlayStation. It works like this: You pop in the Music Generator disc and choose to create a song. By hitting the circle button on your control pad, you can select from a list of menu items, including what you need to get started: the riff library, which includes about 4,500 samples. In this section, you choose from beats, drums, vocal samples, melodies, bass lines, and so forth, and you place the riffs on the blank score. You then build your song (which we can't tell you how to do here - just be creative), checking and editing it as you go, then saving it when you're finished. This mode is intuitive and simple, and if you bear in mind your limited memory capacity before you get too far into your song, you will be pleased with what you are able to create so quickly and effortlessly. But the real fun and, likewise, the real downfall of the program appears when you try the more advanced maneuvers. For example, you can record samples from audio CDs by swapping out the disc with the CD of your choice and then following simple commands that pop up on your screen. Once you record the audio you want, it's immediately stored in the sampled riff palette until you move it, save it, and access it later. While this sounds like a great idea and certainly rounds out the program, it's extremely limited. Likewise, the intuitive interface takes a plunge once you start looking around for your newly sampled riff. But the true disappointment, which should come as no surprise, is that you can only save seconds of audio before you run out of memory entirely. And the more self-sampled audio you use, the fewer library riffs you can slip in. You'll realize right away that the ideal setting for intense music creation is not the 2MB RAM PlayStation. In addition, the program, albeit intuitive, is not too attractive. Graphically, it's dull, even if it works. There's a video-editing option as well, wherein you synch up basic moving images and patterns to the song you created. You can also set the program to automate these videos. The problem is, once again, memory space. You're very limited by what you can do, and in the end, these video clips end up looking like low-budget college-computer-lab projects... at best. On the positive side, the game doesn't pretend to woo sound-savvy music editors or individuals with tons of mixing experience. Likewise, it doesn't tell you to ditch the PC editors and use this instead. MTV: Music Generator simply provides the experience of mixing for those who likely won't invest a couple hundred dollars in the very affordable and just as intuitive PC music editor Sonic Foundry Acid or any others, for that matter. And what it promises to do, it does it well. The basic functions are simple enough so that even someone with no music-making experience can get the hang of making a moderately complex song. And if you want to stretch the basics, you can. You can edit riffs, split riffs, as well as play around with keys, tone bending, envelopes, fades, and you name it - memory permitting. There's a multiplayer jam mode, too. This option lets you play turn-based one-to-four-player sessions that has each of you managing certain beats, rhythms, or melodies to form one complete song. Half the fun is figuring it out, but it's not the kind of game or experience you'll likely go back to often. But it was surprising to see a program like this include a shared experience, so there's value in the inventiveness, if not in the actually gameplay. For its price, MTV: Music Generator is worth it. It's sort of like the run on Casio keyboards in the early '80s - every house seemed to have one, and most owners didn't have a clue what to do with them. You pounded out basic songs and threw in some drumbeats. This program is more advanced than that and quite a bit more fun. If you're a serious musician and tool around on your PC, you're probably going to be frustrated or bored, as the RAM is obviously limited and the library is nothing you haven't seen or used before. And frankly, there are better libraries elsewhere. But for PlayStation owners who just want a fun, addictive music-making tool, you'll likely be pretty amused, if not downright mesmerized. At least long enough to justify the cost.--Lauren Fielder--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Addictive Music Making For the Playstation, December 27, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: MTV Music Generator - Music Creation for the Playstation (Video Game)

This program -- yes program, not a game really -- allows you to create music by cobbling together a series of prerecorded sound loops. The program matches tempo between the loops so that what you end up creating has a consistent flow. You can lay out snippets of melody, vocals, bass samples, and percussion, and layer these in various combinations so that what's produced sounds quite professional and danceable.

If this sounds a bit dry and complex, nothing could be further from the truth! Codemasters, the developer, has created a product that's incredibly easy to get going with: as easy as pulling up a menu of samples, laying them out graphically, and playing them back to see how they sound. Music Generator is modeled on PC products like Sonic Foundry's Acid Pro for music professionals, which cost over a couple of hundred dollars, and though Music Generator isn't quite as deep as the professional-level products, it's amazing to see such a clever music making tool available for a home game console at a reasonable price. It took me two minutes to create a hummable song with a thumping dance track, but I've spent much more time since then fooling around with the large library of music samples to create more layered pieces of music.

You can also create a video to match your music, and there's even a multiplayer option where up to four players can collaborate to "jam" in creating music. The only drawback to all this is that the Playstation doesn't have quite enough memory to support a lot of recording or video creation -- the result is that you can create around two to three minute pieces of music, and videos that are basic light shows. Also, creating music is very easy, but some of the more advanced options are a little obscure to implement. Nevertheless, the CD includes song and video combinations created by professionals that show just how much can be done with a little imagination. This is definitely one of the most unique and coolest pieces of software for the Playstation, and anyone, repeat ANYONE, can get started with it. Beware, though -- you won't be able to get near your Playstation once you've let someone else try this program!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just what the doctor ordered...., February 7, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: MTV Music Generator - Music Creation for the Playstation (Video Game)

let me start off like this....I haven't even tried all the featured yet, and this is already my favorite cd for the PLAYSTATION....I haven't even explored all my options, yet I have been able to create some nice beats....novice or pro, this game allows you to create beats in no time, and turn 5 hours of wasted gameplay into 5 hours of productivity....due to the fact that your not just playing a game, get shot, die, and it's game over....but instead your CREATING music that you can save and play later, record to tape, or cd, and even use to create your own album....a feature that shocked me, was the ability to sample from an audio cd, thats something that I never seen on any system before, the possibilities are infinate....although on the down side besides the memory problom, in my view, this game needs more HIP-HOP, me being a underground artist and all, but then again, you can always create your own riffs....I STRONGLY advise anyone debating on weather or not they should purchasing this cd or not, to do so, you will not regret it....and with the same strength, I advise CODEMASTERS//JESTER to continue this product into even more depth (if it's possible) in the future on paystation 2....one....KVIII

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent Mix!, December 25, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: MTV Music Generator - Music Creation for the Playstation (Video Game)

MTV Music Generator is like the "Easy Bake" of Dj's. It allows you to blend and mix riffs with ease and to your liking. You can cut samples from your regular cd's and paste it on your song as well. Although, it's a shame that you can't synthesize a guitar since that would be a great innovation to the game. Also, making your own video is quite fun as well. All in all, it's a great game that should take notice from fans who don't want to spend 2000$+ on DJ equipment.