I am neither cool nor hip. The words "funk master" and I will never intermingle. We may see each other at parties, but I get the distinct impression that they do not like me. Anyway, enough about my social inadequacies — I managed to temporarily escape my awkward, rhythmless existence by living vicariously through the adventures of the ever-so-groovetacular little Mevo. He is cool, hip and cute as a button.

On some level, Mevo and the Grooveriders is about great personal tragedy. I mean, you are grooving along, minding your own business, when out of a pitch black sky an omnipotent evil dude kidnaps you and your bandmates for no reason! Sure, you were being a little loud, but that's the nature of funk. Somehow you escape, but now it's up to you to rescue the rest of your buddies. This is not a great way to start a day. (So much for catching up on your Tivoed copies of 30 Rock.)

The Godfather of Funk drops by to get you hip to the ways of the world before you set off on your rescue mission. You need to keep your health meter full, collect little green notes (aka "funk") and most importantly, jam to the rhythm of the world around you. (Even the fish and palm trees come loaded with speakers!) The controls are gloriously simple — just hit either the right or left Shift keys in time with the music. That's it — no directional pad, no strange button combos, no fear of accidentally plunging off a cliff. Nice and easy.

Once you complete the Godfather of Funk's tutorial, you move on to complete your mission. You start by looking at the Universe Map, which plots the path you must take to find your friends and win the game. It is divided into levels and worlds — each world is comprised of several levels. One by one you must clear these to progress the storyline. You will inevitably play each level at least a few times. The first time through, you attempt to earn the silver Gruv, a record. (Literally, it is a vinyl record. Seriously.) After you get the silver, you can either move on to the next level or redo the current one to get the next Gruv — gold. The third and hardest to earn achievement, the diamond Gruv, is last. You don't have to get a gold or diamond Gruv on every level, but you do need at least one diamond Gruv achievement to unlock the next world. (This is definitely not easy.)

If you feel like taking a break from hunting your buddies, you can always head into My Mevo to buy items with which you can freshen up your look or mix up your dance moves. The "funk" you have collected throughout your travels serves as currency. I'd love to be able to make a living dancing in the real world. Well, dancing in the "still get to keep my self-respect and keep all of my clothes on" sense. Dare to dream ...

A tip: Some of the rhythms are a bit tough to master. You need to pay close attention to both the visual and audio clues to get them right. Don't hesitate to turn up the volume on your speakers. Believe me, it helps a lot. (Unless you have cranky neighbors. Headphones may be a good investment.) Tip two: Keep in mind that you need to press the buttons at just the right moment. Don't make the mistake of moving after you hear the note; anticipate the fact that a note is coming, and move a split second before the button needs to be depressed.

For the most part, getting through the levels to win the silver Gruv is relatively easy. It's when you start to attempt the gold and diamond Gruvs challenges that things can get ugly. I'm too klutzy to make it through a level without missing at least a few notes, and I'm not fast enough to earn big freestyle achievements. Because of this, I got stuck. My skills only improve marginally with repeated attempts, and I was disappointed that my lack of ability kept me from progressing the quirky-but-cute storyline. My poor bandmates will remain unfound, and the universe will never get its groove back. Failure sucks, man.

Though the storyline and concept are admittedly a bit weird, Mevo and the Grooveriders is a lot of fun. If you have an affinity and aptitude for music and rhythm games, by all means give this one a try. The music is really creative and enjoyable — you'll find yourself bobbing your head in time with the rhythm as you play and maybe humming a few bars later in the shower. Unfortunately, if you have no sense of rhythm, it might be a bit too hard. The first levels are quite easy, but I found myself stuck with no hope of progressing any further than about halfway through.