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eJay Techno 4

Score: 85%
ESRB: Not Rated
Publisher: Digital Leisure
Developer: Empire Interactive
Media: CD/2
Players: 1
Genre: Rhythm/ Editor/ Online

Graphics & Sound:

eJay Techno 4 is not a game, but is music creation software, akin to MTV Music Generator. Techno 4 has some beautiful ambient imagery that flows behind the interface as you work and during playback. The appearance of the music sequencing and the ambient graphics behind the interface are suitable for performances in clubs; you could output your interface straight to a public monitor and you’d have something entertaining.

In addition to the ambient animations in the background, Techno 4 also has a new “3D VJ Box” that allows you to mix animated visual elements to create video that accompany your musical creations. This, again, would be perfect for club visuals.

As for sound, this is the most important part of this product, as eJay Techno 4 is, after all, music generation software. You have 4,000 brand new royalty-free samples to play with, including some vocal samples that aren’t horrid. (If you play around with some of the music creation software out there, you’ll quickly realize how rare that is.) These 4,000 samples give you all the material you need to jump in and mix something sweet.

If you’re looking for a bit deeper creative outlet and a little more self expression, you can explore some of Techno 4’s other features that allow you to create your own sounds above and beyond the 4,000 that are available out of the box. The new Mophonix feature is a virtual synth with a step sequencer that can be used to create your own samples. With the FX Studio, you can refine your samples. Then use the new Time & Tune to modify the tempo and otherwise distort imported sounds. You can create new bass lines with the new Bass Generator and create some really cool clips with the new polyphonic Hyper Generator that both serves as a synthesizer and a sequencer with some nice effects. You want to create your own drum sequences? Jump over to the improved Groove Generator – a drum computer and 16-track drum sequencer for programming drum patterns. Not enough for you? There’s also an improved Recording Studio for recording your own vocals, a new Voice Generator, a new Vocoder, sound import as Wave files or MP3s, the eJay Online Sound Archive, and CD grabbing for creating remixes.

If you can’t create some great music with eJay Techno 4, the problem most likely lies with you and not with Techno 4.


Gameplay:

Although Techno 4 is not a game, creating music with it can be quite fun. You can start out with just the sequencer and the 4,000 stock sound clips, then move into some of the more creative aspects.

If you’re not in need of video for a club event or a party, then you’d probably be better off skipping the 3D VJ Box. It’s cool enough, but it isn’t nearly as interesting as the audio portions of Techno 4.

Depending on the theme of your current creation, the Voice Generator and Vocoder may or may not be suitable. The robotic voices sound pretty decent, but everything has a bit of a robotic sound to it, so if you’re going for a realistic human vocal sound, you should probably use the Recording Studio instead.

Quite possibly one of the most exciting features of eJay Techno 4 is the CD Grabbing feature. Now you can create remixes of your favorite songs and give them your own personal techno slant. All-in-all, there’s a lot of creative fun to be had and many hours of experimentation ahead of you.


Difficulty:

Getting the hang of using the various parts of eJay Techno 4 can be a bit of a daunting task, but the included manual explains everything quite nicely and has some useful keyboard shortcuts in the back. The only other issue is making sure that your computer is ready for it. You’ll want to make sure that your PC meets the specifications and then make sure that you have the latest drivers for both audio and graphics. Once you’re all set and properly installed, however, the learning curve is not too steep and it can be a very rewarding creative experience.

Game Mechanics:

Early on, I had some technical issues and system hangs, but I attribute these to drivers that needed updating; once I was properly set up, things ran smoothly. The ambient graphics takes a bit of processor power to pull off, so your system requirements are elevated due to that. If you never plan to use the visuals in a club or party environment, then this may simply be overhead. Still, there are a lot of cool features that make eJay Techno 4 a powerful tool that’s fun to use.

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications
AKA Robert Perkins

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Pentium III, 450 MHz or higher, 256 MB RAM, 500MB – 900 MB free Hard Disk space, 4X CD-ROM, 4 MB OpenGL 1.1 compatible graphics adapter (with latest drivers), DirectX compatible VGA Graphics card (16 bit color depth, 800x600), DirectX compatible sound card (16 bit), DirectX (included on CD), Internet Explorer 4.0 (for Online Sound Archive), Windows Media Player 6.4 (for Video Playback)
 

Test System:



Windows XP, P4 1.8 GHz, 512 RAM, 60 gig HD, CD-RW/DVD, SIS650 Integrated Graphics, 32MB Shared Graphics Memory, Internet Explorer 6.0, Windows Media Player 10.0

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Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated