Revolutionary controllers have always drawn gamers back to their TV screens, handhelds and monitors. Who wouldn’t love arming themselves with a joystick, racing wheel, dance pad, guitar controller, Wii-mote or any of the other number of gaming weapons of choice? Easy Piano offers another option.

Sporting a shiny, compact keyboard, Easy Piano is a very eye-catching and flashy addition to the Nintendo DS lineup of games that use extra controllers. Fitting a full octave, from C to C, onto a keyboard the same width as the DS is a feat in itself. On top of that, the developers have managed to build a base into the keyboard so that you can set down the whole contraption on a flat surface, and it supports itself. I had to admit I was wondering how I would play this game while holding my DS in front of me. I hardly have the motor skills to play music with one hand while supporting a bulky handheld and accessory with the other. Fortunately, this setup fixes that potential problem, and playing the built-in piano becomes effortless and comfortable — much like sitting at a full-size grand piano. The only real downside to this cool new attachment is how small the buttons are — pittance compared to the ingenuity in this new controller.

However, Easy Piano itself is not nearly as shiny, flashy or well-designed. It is VERY compact. The game’s design can best be described as a very barebones approach to videogames. It functions much like other rhythm-based games. The main game mode is to play along to classical hits, providing the piano part for each song by playing along to little colored gems that slide along the screen. If you hit them right on time, your score multiplier goes up, and you earn more points. Earn enough, and you can activate “Power Piano,” which makes little stars float from the piano keys as your in-game character pounds out the notes.

There are four genres of music in this main game: Classical, Traditional, Anthems and Pop. Each has their own outfit for your character, venue and type of piano. There are two difficulty modes in the main game. The first, Beginner, is exactly what it sounds like: simple and introductory to help you learn to play. The second, Virtuoso, is an intense barrage of so many notes that it leaves you lost halfway through the song. There is no transitory difficulty. It’s either difficulty ON or difficulty OFF. There is also a Training mode, which has the same list of songs but allows you to change their tempos with the arrow buttons to practice technique or master a particularly tricky segment.

In Easy Piano’s music game forefathers, all of the songs are usually recordings of real instruments or real songs. Even some DS music games have used real recordings. Easy Piano only has low quality MIDI sounds, sounding much more like the soundtrack to a Super Nintendo game of the early 1990s than the songs they are supposed to replicate. This would be forgivable were it not for the music getting repetitive very, very quickly. After only a few songs, I started to hear the same sounds over and over and was able to enjoy and concentrate on the current song less and less.

Other than the main game mode, there are two other modes of play. One is a handful of tutorials designed to teach the basics of music and the music staff. As far as these go, they are informative and rather entertaining. Each basic lesson has a minigame at the end designed to teach whatever concept was introduced. Instead of feeling like forced learning, these tutorials are fun and engaging. One main problem, though, is that once you have learned all the notes and where they are, the real game does not label them for you. Labels would have been useful to show players which note is which while playing, rather than expecting them to remember what note each colored gem represents. On the whole, though, this tutorial mode is a nice addition to the game.

The final game mode is a score editor, which allows the player to compose their own music. This also set up very nicely, allowing the player to move little dots around the staff — white dots for natural notes and black dots for sharp or flat notes. You can then drag the notes to extend their durations. The editor also has an “Advanced Mode” that allows the gamer to input different note lengths, such as quarter notes, eighth notes, etc. You even have five instrument sounds: cello, guitar, piano, trumpet and saxophone. However, the guitar and cello sound horrible and are far quieter than the others. Another problem is that in any given score, you can only have one sound, rather than arranging multiple instruments together. In addition, the shortest note you can use is an eighth note. As musicians know, you can have very short notes, such as a 16th or 30-second note. This means your scores are very limited in terms of sound and complexity. For the average player, however, this editor will suffice to write some simple jingles you are inspired to jot down.

As far as any unlockables, extras or any other gameplay features, there are very little. Your high scores are recorded after each song you perform. You can unlock the four different outfits, venues and pianos from each of the four music categories to use in any combination. Within each song genre, you only have one song unlocked and must achieve at least 80 percent on the song to unlock the next. Aside from this, there are no other extra treats, challenges or modes in Easy Piano.

Overall, Easy Piano provides a brand new innovative control scheme in the form of a compact and durable piano. However, the software hardly complements this nifty accessory. A collection of low-quality sound bites and bland, simple gameplay without much variety, Easy Piano barely makes the cut for average. With the cost of DS games these days, running from $30-$40, your money is better spent elsewhere. I would recommend playing it before purchasing it, whether in a store demo or borrowing from a friend.