Amazon.com 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 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

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