Oh how I love it when great music and rhythm games show up pretty well unannounced to blow me away. While I do wish there was a bit more story and a few more songs to enjoy in LOUD, there’s so much that it gets right that it’s hard to hold much against it. I think its best feature is the very challenging but incredibly effective control scheme that will have you using 3 buttons (well, positions on the D-Pad if you’re using a Pro Controller… which if you haven’t applied the hack to make it less sensitive will likely frustrate you in this game) on either side of the controller, then using the sticks on either side as a whammy bar when playing held notes for some extra style points. You’ll really need to be deliberate and crisp as you move between buttons and tap out increasingly quick and sometimes tough rhythm combinations, but it is so satisfying when you get through a tough passage and that’s the rush these sorts of games do such a great job of delivering. You’ll be able to roll the credits just getting through the easiest skill level with each song, but the fun really begins to kick in at the mid-level and then once you’re really in the swing of things you’ll want to get S ranks in each of the lower levels to unlock the toughest one which will really test your ability to see the notes coming on either side and keep up. The soundtrack, for not being licensed, is varied and terrific and many tunes actually feel quite familiar, which is a smart but nice way to be engaging but keep prices down. This is absolutely a satisfying title that deserves to be cranked up to 11 to enjoy fully.