VenusGaming

LoudCrowd, the newest “dance with your fingers” web game, officially transitioned into beta today. Beta improvements include more character customization, private chat, reduced latency, and more music. So far, it’s looking good.

Loudcrowd, for those not familiar with the game, is a rhythm game played with arrow keys in a web browser. Unlike most rhythm games though, Loudcrowd takes a few twists:

•  DJs. That’s right, you don’t have to flip through pages of songs to find what you want to play. Instead, DJs choose the music for you, live or through playlists. None of the music is created for the game. That means it’s like being on a real dance floor.
• Avatar customization. You choose who you are in the LoudCrowd world.  Not only do you pick how your body looks, but as you play, you unlock clothes to customize your avatar. And believe me, you’ll want to: you’ll be looking at him/her a lot.
• Dance styles. This doesn’t bear any play on the buttons you press, but your character can learn and improve three dance styles: flirt, fancy, and funny.
•  Play with others. Everyone dances to the same song, and you get more points for dancing successfully for others.

When I first started playing in Alpha, I had two major complaints: lag and a short track list. Things are looking better already in beta though; I think this might be a legitimate time waster for rhythm junkies.