The Bit.Trip series has carved a nice little niche out for itself on the WiiWare scene by providing players with a NES-style affair that is seemingly simple, but makes use of the modern-day Wii technology like the motion sensor to provide an experience that simply couldn’t have been done during that system’s lifetime. The third and final entry in the series turns you into a black pixel “void” that has to avoid waves of white pixels and touch, then absorb black ones to grow.

However, if you grow too large, you’ll fill the screen, your speed will slow to a crawl, and you’ll have no choice but to hit white ones and take a hit. Therein lies the complexity of the game, because you’re able to reduce your size on command, but will lose out on the bonus points that come with being larger. The risk/reward system in place is addictive, and striving to find the proper balance between size and maneuverability will have you playing for hours - especially if you try to top your prior high scores. It’s a shame online scoreboards aren’t in, because this game would be perfect for a feature like that.

Despite the complexity to the gameplay, some may feel that it seems too easy - that couldn’t be further from the truth. While the initial patterns are easy to figure out, later on, you’ll deal with white dots coming at you from literally all possible directions at once, and the game then shifts from being about picking and choosing when to increase and decrease in size to being purely about survival. It winds up being an incredibly intense game - certainly more than one might expect it to be if they just saw screenshots of it. Unfortunately, it’s also a very short game - at just three levels long, you can beat the main game very quickly. Those who are just out to “beat” a game will tire of it quickly, while those who are out to master them, or at least top their own personal high scores, will get a lot of replay value out of It.

The Nunchuk/Remote combo used to control the game works wonderfully - the analog stick is used to move the void around, while either the A or Z buttons (located on the front of the remote and back of the Nunchuk, respectively) allow you to decrease in size at will. The latter control setup is interesting because it enables you to do everything except pause the game with just the Nuncuk, and makes the game just a little more difficult since you have to play through a section in one shot without the benefit of pausing with ease and taking a break. No matter how you choose to control the game though, you’ll be treated to responsive controls.

BTV’s graphics are a finely-crafted blend of pixel graphics and psychedelic screensaver-esque backgrounds that have depth to them, and a lot of color, but still manage to fit within the pixilated actions in the foreground. It’s definitely a visual style that helps the game stand out, but in a good way as it works very well and manages to be pleasing to the eye without being cutting edge.

BTV’s audio remind me a lot of Rez - it’s got a trance music soundtrack that is enhanced by the gameplay. As in Rez, whenever you execute the game’s primary action (shooting in Rez’s case, or collecting black dots here) a note is played, resulting in a beat being formed when done in succession. This ends up causing the existing music to be enhanced by little ditties that are never the same way again since they rely complely on your in-game performance to be played. Other little touches, like the remote vibrating to the tune of the music, help enhance the experience without getting annoying because the rumble level is very low and doesn‘t distract the player.

All in all, Bit.Trip Void is a must-have for anyone who either loved the prior entries in the series or who just wants to experience a seemingly-simple, but addictive game that offers a lot more than you’d initially suspect. It controls like a dream, has a catchy soundtrack that is enhanced by the gameplay, and is just flat-out fun to play. Its only major drawbacks are a lack of levels and online leaderboards - resulting in a remarkable game that feels somewhat incomplete.