Reach For The Starz Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

For all you wannabee rockstars out there.

78% of statistics are made up and here's another one for you. 90% of all games in the mobile top ten are not original. They will either be based on a movie/tv show or based on a console/PC title be it retro or modern. On the whole it's safe to assume that original ideas and new characters rarely hit the mainstream. That doesn't stop Tag Games and their latest game has no connection with any future film release or game past or present. As such they have the freedom to create the game they want without any executives with burly assistants putting the kosh on them. Reach For The Starz is a mix of mini games and management/sim style growth as you live out your wildest dreams and make your way to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Everyone has to start somewhere and after you have created and customised your character it's time to practice a few sessions in your garage and play down your local bar. Both of these are simple mini games where you have stop the musical note as it passes through the target zone. Score enough points in the bar and you get to earn some cash. At the beginning, cash is your only way out of boresville; you need to collect $2000 before you can get a ticket on the road to stardom. That may sound like a lot of mulah but you can aid your income with some burger stacking action at the local fast food parlour. There is only so much a budding rockstar can do in one day and in your case in generally amounts to two actions before you have to go back home and rest; incidentally, you cannot repeat a money earning action in the same day. This system does slow the pace down as you are constantly popping back for some ZZZZs. On the flip side, it sits perfectly for those short dip in/dip out moments.

Anyway, once you have enough money in your bank you can move into Midway. Here is your real chance of getting spotted and the game starts to get a little more interesting. The new map has a few new destinations; there's a clothes shop, PR agency and vocal and dance coaches. The vocal/dance lessons give you a couple more simple mini games to mess around with as you gradually improve your stats (which you can find at home). The only way to get spotted and sign a record deal is to shine at the open mic. To improve your chances, you have to dress well, dance better and even earn some street cred thanks to the guys at the PR agency. All this takes money and aside from the boring burger bar, you can host your own gigs and get a percentage of the profits. Large gigs cost more but potentially yield more, however, don't go for the big gigs until your rating is good enough to demand the extortionate ticket prices. Once you've bought all the items and passed all your lessons you will invariably be spotted and move on in your quest for that number 1 album.

The third map is the final map and it's generally more of the same except for higher stakes. As a fully fledged rockstar with your own penthouse, the burger bar gets the boot and large sums of money can be made from touring. The ultimate aim of the game is to create a number 1 single and to do that you're gonna need a song and a video. Make your way to the studio, think of a song title and pick your video style, location and director and sit back and watch the charts. The charts themselves are filled with cheeky references that should bring a smile to your face. By this stage of the game, all the hard work has paid off. You should be famous enough to make oodles of money and there should be no worries in that department. The vocal/dance lessons may be more expensive but will eventually push your stats up to the 5 star maximum and there are some lovely jumpsuits for the style conscious among you. It shouldn't take too long before you finally reach the top of the charts and you can then start all over again (or continue making hit records).

The basics of the game are good. The graphics are bright and vivid. There are a number of different tunes throughout the game and the whole package works very well. It is slightly tedious at the beginning and is too much emphasis on resting but you soon get used to it. Even playing through pretty rapidly, it will take a good few hours to get your man to a point where people will buy the record.

Reach For The Starz is a very different kind of game. It doesn't try to be a mini game compendium; the games cannot be played outside of the story and there are no individual high scores. The title is whole heartedly a sim game with a few mini games thrown in. Does it have what it takes to get to number 1? Unlikely but it does deserve a top 10 place if people (ie the operators) give it a chance.