“Drum like a pro” is JamKit’s slogan, and while we hate to be nitpicky... well, what pro plays a 27-piece drum kit using two fingers? Then again, “Drum like you were playing a really complicated but slick game of Simon, and match your skills against other finger-drummers worldwide” is a bit unwieldy.
The free version features 14 songs and a basic drum kit with 8 zones to tap; spend a buck to take that to more than 40 songs and bigger, badder drum kits. Just tap the colored circles as they pulse up through the super-clean interface (with or without labels for each item in your kit) with hip hop, club, industrial, jangly pop, heavy metal, or good old rock & roll drum samples, all of which sound crisp and fresh.
After you’ve mastered the in-game patterns -- which seems unlikely at anything beyond the easy skill level, because they get finger-twisty quickly -- you can download player-made patterns or create and upload your own. It’s a shame there’s no way to quantize the beats you tap out; any rhythmic mistakes you make are presented raw to the world.
The bottom line. For free it’s a fun and elegantly designed distraction; even if you splurge for the in-game Pro Gear Pack, it’s hard to argue with a buck for all this content. It all comes down to how much and how often you want to play Simon with a 27-piece drum kit.
iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.2 or later
Clean interface. Really catchy loops. Crisp samples. Free downloads from other users.
Can’t tweak your mistakes. Higher levels are almost too hard to be fun.
