Hands on with Beat It! on iPhone

Sometimes a game is fun because it has great action. Others are entertaining because of phenomenal graphics. Then there are games like Beat It! that are simply cool.

A combination of style and inventive gameplay, this unique music game taps into a fresh perspective in a genre in dire need of a new tune.

Ditching rhythmic tapping in favour of audio puzzle-solving, Beat It! involves replicating musical patterns by placing square beats on a measured grid. Instead of tapping out notes as they stream down the screen, you're actually creating the beats. The goal is to mimic the looping riff that plays at the start of each stage as quickly as possible.

Instrument tracks run horizontally across the width of the screen, the number of which varies per level. Early stages feature only a few tracks, with more added as the complexity of the music develops.

A bass drum, hi-hat cymbal, and tambourine were our tools in one early stage, for example. Later on, you contend with a veritable electronic jam band with tracks filling the screen from top to bottom.

These instrument tracks are then organised into blocks, which themselves are divided into measures. Tapping a block toggles a note for the corresponding instrument.

By listening carefully to the audio sample (a 'replay' button allows you reference the sample at any time), you can figure out where to toggle notes on the grid. When the beats on a whole track have been correctly placed, the track sparkles. Any improperly positioned notes can be eliminated with a tap.

Along with increasing the number instruments, the game extends the length of each sample with each progressive level. While you may have to figure out a short riff in early levels, multi-measure sequences test your aural skills late in the game.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, and the surprisingly intuitive design had us laying down beats within moments of picking up the handset. The gradual learning curve ensures that you're not thrust into constructing complex beats early on, instead introduced to new instruments and increasingly tricky patterns slowly.

Deciphering sequences in Career mode unlocks instrument tracks for use in Free Play. Here you're given the liberty to form beats unrestricted, saving them to your handset. Following the game's late October release, an update will allow you to share these creations online with others.

Before that update arrives, though, the game's five worlds should provide plenty of work. Each takes a particular theme from crazy urban sprawl to fantastical candy heaven complete with a war between gummy bears and toothpaste tubes. There's even a world designed around Glu's San Mateo office.

What really makes each theme pop is the brightly coloured graphics that look like an album cover come to life. That difference makes Beat It! so much cooler than tapping out radio hits. It's original, it's fresh, and we can't wait to jam later this month.