(R) Beat Hazard (PC)

Summary:
Beat Hazard is a music based, seizure inducing, take no prisoners, evil little space shooter. The premise is simple: load a song, pick how big of a seizure you would like to enjoy, turn the volume up, and enjoy said seizure. This game is just another reason why the music genre is far from dead; in fact, the music genre is in a more undead phase because of Beat Hazard and Audiosurf. Whoever thought Guitar Hero and Rockband was the end all of music games has best look to other consoles or platforms, because there is a movement brewing - and it is looking healthy, viral, and searching for your soul.

Pros:

To start with some positives, this game is amazing. Not many games have pulled me in like this one. Maybe it's because I'm a music kid, maybe it's because I'm a fan of epically dramatic situations, or maybe I enjoy well made games. This game is clean, classy and addictive. Right from the start the menus go quick, the game loads quickly, and once your done it's right into another game. It's the perfect presentation of beautiful art and stellar programming. The game takes a lot of its actual gameplay mechanics from Asteroids and Geometry Wars while throwing in the spice of an Amplitude or Audiosurf.


You pick your own songs which means your gameplay is based off of how heavy or fast your song is. You pick a little orchestrated number from, say... Clint Mansil, and the game's difficulty sky rockets because your ammo is basically beats. The softer the song, the less ammo you have. On the other hand, when you pick a super fast, super electronic song like Clarissa by Mindless Self Indulgence... you are hit in the face with more ammo then you can hold on to, but there are massive armies of enemies trying to eat you and your little ship. Both situations can be loads of fun which is why I love this game so much.

Cons:
To talk negatively about this game is like talking shit about ice cream on a hot California day. I mean, it can be done, but why? Yes, it does get repetitive if you stay at the same difficulty or have limited songs to choose from on your computer. Yes, if you are playing a really intense song the screen can get bogged down when you jump to menu. Yes, it's only on PC at the moment and Mac users and console junkies are out of luck at the moment.

Final Verdict:
Overall though, the verdict stands. If you love music (life), then you should pick this game up. No matter your skills in shooters or taste in music, it'll work for you. Since the price is normally only 4.99 on Steam, there really is no reason not to pick this up for an in between game that you can use as a new way to experience your music.

Score:
Buy.
(As always in the PC world, there is a demo. So go play the demo and tell me why this game isn't worth a five dollar foot long.)

Any comments or personal suggestions should go to ME.