We just played VidRhythm

VidRhythm is...well, it's an app that... look, it'll be easier to explain after you watch the video below. Seriously, have a look.

OK, we know what you're thinking--what the hell was that?

VidRhythm is the new app from Harmonix, the company best known for its work on the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises on consoles. VidRhythm is its first internally developed app for Apple's iOS devices, and surprisingly, it's not actually a rhythm game.

So what is VidRhythm? While music is still at the core of this Harmonix title, instead of pretending to play virtual instruments in songs as in Rock Band, this app takes sound samples that you create and turns them into the instruments in some premade tunes. This works by breaking down the various sounds in a song, and you'll have to individually record each of these sounds for VidRhythm to put together. Recording is done via your iOS device's built-in mic, and you'll have to make different drum sounds (such as a low "bom" to simulate a bass drum; "pshh" for a cymbal; and even sing a few words here and there). Each time you make a sound, VidRhythm also takes a picture, which is then used to make the video to accompany your song. As with the songs, there are a few style templates you can choose from, ranging from video wall-like mash-ups to videos featuring dogs and cats owned by the Harmonix staff.

The result is what you saw above: a goofy, often hilarious mash-up of the sounds you made accompanied by whatever funny faces you pulled during the shots. Most of the fun in VidRhythm really comes from roping in your friends to each contribute a sound, and it's great fun to watch and listen to the results. There are 20 song templates included in the app, ranging in genres from hip-hop, dance, and pop to even a couple of classical tracks like Beethoven's Symphony No 5. And once you've made you mini-masterpiece, VidRhythm allows you to either save it on your device as a movie or upload it to YouTube for the world to point at and laugh about.

VidRhythm is a great social app, and we can see it being a fun distraction at parties where you can rope in your friends to see just how ridiculous they can be. It may not be a game, but it's a good first step for Harmonix into the app world, and we can't wait to see what it has got next. Hopefully next time, it will be a game!