Genre: Action
Developer: HumaNature Studios
Publisher: HumaNature Studios

Ever since the "Super Street Fighter II HD Remix" some years ago, there has been an on-again, off-again pattern of games-- children's television shows even before that-- adopting an "Adobe Illustrator"-esque aesthetic as a cost-cutting measure. They look sort of like the shovelware "Yahoo Games" one may recall their grandmother playing. The "no pixels" look not only precludes any possible imagination-augmenting implicitness, but the inherent lack of detail makes the art look cheap and thrown together. In defense of "Back in the Groove", the "Adult Swim" style does fit the series' underlying motifs, while some of the transition frames use their totally disjointed nature for comedic effect, as the characters incongruously waltz over the basic polygonal terrain.

Cody Wright, Nick Stubblefield, and the immortal Burke Trieschmann-- the lattermost being a name intimately familiar to Star Control II and 3DO fans everywhere-- combine to fully remaster the Mark Miller and John Baker songs from the two Mega Drive games, but with real instrumentation. The effect is rather profound for those who grew up with the original titles, and in a boringly conservative industry where all soundtracks are basically one of two genres, having real live-recorded funk music in a new release is extremely refreshing. The game's voice acting is superb, and like the original title, has oodles of character.

The original release was two parts exploration, two parts resource management, and one part combat. This new game's ratios are, respectively, one-three-one, with exploration disappointingly de-emphasized via tiny map sizes as compared to the original game, but with resource management amped up, as each small map is positively choked with Earthlings, to the point of near-absurdity at some junctures. Items like slingshots and spring shoes are difficult to aim versus in the original title. Money can be acquired via character-initiated "Dance Dance Revolution"-style minigames and via gambling, lending cash a much larger role in this entry. Foliage can be searched with the press of a button, revealing bonus presents, Earthlings, and even damaging bowling balls!

Taken in and of itself, "Back in the Groove" has some issues: while it's an interesting "rogue-like" with a distinctive sense of style, it has some serious framerate issues, especially in split-screen mode. Like many modern games, it feels somewhat jerky and latency-filled. The game could use some re-balancing with regards to the amount of Earthlings in the stages, and even of the severe number of types, of which there are so many the designers eventually resort to palette swaps, ala a JRPG! Taken within the context of today's video game industry though, there really isn't anything else quite like it-- leave it to Greg Johnson-- and that's in spite of it nominally sharing the same genre with ninety percent of contemporary indie releases! While no classic, it's a fun remix for those who have long-since mastered the original.