MTV Music Generator - PlayStation

But there are limitations to this hip tool--namely memory space, which on the PlayStation is scant at best. Still, the disc itself contains over 1,500 pre-recorded musical riffs and over 3,000 instrument sounds for you to mix and match as you like. Once the basic music is laid down, players can tinker with the sounds, adding effects such as reverb. In addition, the MTV Music Generator enables budding artists to sample music from their own audio CDs, but this is where the memory problem comes into play, limiting your samples to mere seconds.

No prior knowledge of music theory or editing is required to play with this disc, and when using the pre-recorded music snippets, which are varied and numerous, the resulting songs can be quite amazing. While this piece of software may be better suited for a PC with a fat hard disk full of storage space, MTV Music Generator is a completely original title for the PlayStation, and it manages to cleverly use the system's capability to play music in a unique way. --Jeff Young

Pros: Easy to operate--no music experience or editing required One of the only discs for the PlayStation that encourages creativity Much fuller content than other music tools aimed at younger children Cons: Limited memory may frustrate users who want to sample their personal music collection