In the modern music industry, Hip Hop and R 'n' B music have become the staple genres for America. Acts like Jay-Z and Rihanna have created a new breed of stars, bringing the beats and production of songs that would once have been considered underground into the mainstream. The most notable of these producers has to be Timbaland, whose songs The Way I Are and Give It to Me hit number one in 2007. Simply putting his name on something makes success guaranteed. If there was a videogame developer that could hold that claim as equally it would have to be Rockstar, creators of the Grand Theft Auto Series. Beaterator is the result of these two powerhouses of their own media joining forces, but is the result as impressive as either party's own work?

In short, Beaterator is a music production program. Not really a game, more a tool for wannabe music producers to create beats, construct songs and share their music with others. With this in mind, the emphasis really is on you working at a song to perfect it, rather than dip in and out whenever you can. As with other user generated content led games-LittleBigPlanet for example-it takes a lot of time to create music; capturing the perfectionist attitude of the producer himself. It's a time sink, but unlike the level creation tool in LBP, here the product is universal, especially after you export it into WAV format and transfer it to a computer. On the surface Beaterator is little more than a production program for PSP, but is there anything to accommodate a more casual music fan?

Beaterator is split into 3 modes, Live Play, Studio Session and Song Crafter. The Live Play mode is the most like a videogame, although it still revolves around the construction of a song. An animated version of Timbaland is seen in the centre of a set of decks, and you have 7 audio tracks to play around with. Each of these tracks can hold up to 4 different sound patterns, whether that's a guitar riff, drum pattern, or vocal track. You select one of these for each of the 7 tracks in real time, using the face buttons, allowing you to pick and choose which section of the song you want playing at which point. This is a great pick up and play mode to jam out to, all the beats being created and built into the game by Timbo himself. Live play is an easy way to start Beaterator, but the real beat creation tools are found in the other two modes.

Studio Session takes the main idea of Live Play, and uses a set of menus to achieve the same result. There are a lot more options available to you in terms of loops and samples, opening up new avenues for your production. That said, if you really want to perfect a song, rather than changing beats on the fly, the Song Crafter option is the place to be. Here you can not only edit songs you've created in the other modes, but create your own samples and beats. This means you can select the sound you want, create a rhythm, and incorporate them into your creation. It works effortlessly, with simple navigation and controls. There are no complicated multi button actions; instead the game adopts the XMB style seen on the PSP's menu screen. Vocals can even be recorded, provided you own the microphone adapter, or a PSPGo, which completes your song ready to be published online, or exported to a computer. Every beat, even the player created ones do share the same distinct Timbaland style, heavy emphasis on the drum patterns and off beats for instance, but for those who take the time to perfect their creations using Song Crafter, the results can be chart quality.

As music production programs go, the Song Crafter mode in Beaterator has the visual style you would expect. It's slick, albeit fully menu based, shown inside of a realistic production deck. This mixing desk holds your volume, speed and looping options, attempting to make you feel just like the mega producer himself; the game succeeds too. The distinctive style of the game is seen in the live play mode, the digital representation of Timbaland moving with the same swagger he has in the real world, despite animations being comprised of static positions. That said the most impressive aspect of Beaterator's presentation is the sound. Beats ring out with the highest fidelity, though headphones are required for full clarity of tone and rhythm. When exported, the songs run at a decent bit rate too, reducing interference. The overall aesthetic design of Beaterator is good, never trying too hard to scare away wannabe producers with a complicated or overly urban style.

Beaterator is one of the most interesting PSP titles in the last few months. With samples created by Timbaland himself, it appeals to his fans by staying true to the work mantra he utilises. For those who aren't familiar with the Hip Hop and R 'n' B scene however, the option is still there to create original pop, or dance records. For music fans, especially those with a Microphone equipped PSPGo or PSP 3000, this is a tool worth taking the time to master. No one in the music industry makes beats like Timbaland does, but with Beaterator, you can come very close.

Reviewed by Sam Atkins for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).