Tuned Review

Tuned does to music trivia games what the likes of Scene It? has done for movie trivia. It's compelling, attractive to look at and fantastic fun to play. Refreshingly, it also boasts an excellent two player mode that, rather than feeling tacked on, is just as enjoyable as the single player mode.

The game is a free download with adverts but it's well worth paying the 99c to unlock the 2 player mode as well as a huge wealth of genres to play with. While the Top 50 hits quiz that comes with the free version is perfectly respectable, the real depth of fun comes with experimenting with different genres. In each case, players answer either 50, 100 or 300 questions by listening to a preview of a song and choosing which artist sang it from a selection of four. Previews of songs are instantaneous via Wi-Fi and still appropriately quick over 3G connections. Integration within iTunes is also excellent as after each question, a simple tap of the relevant option takes players to iTunes to download the track.

Genres cover pretty much everything possible from Hip Hop & Rap, Rock, Country, Latino, Reggae to Classical music and Jazz. There are even options for Japanese Pop, German and French music. While players, like myself, might be terrible at the latest pop hits, they're bound to be accomplished at something.

The more questions in a row that players answer correctly, the more points are gained with GameCenter based leaderboards providing some online competition as well as some appropriate achievements. There's also the aforementioned 2 player mode which works excellently. Players simply hold the iPhone between them and use one half of the screen each to try to answer faster than the other person.

Tuned is a truly accomplished title. It's quite clearly the best Music Trivia game on the app store yet managing to be both enjoyable alone and with friends. The suggestion that questions will change daily depending on what's currently popular on iTunes is a great idea and should mean that the game consistently feels fresh and interesting. That and of course, it's great fun. A must buy at $1.99, it's a bargain at the price of a 99c in-app purchase.