Beat-Hazard posts

2010 was a stellar year for indie gaming. We didn't think that 2009 could be beat, but this year really brought out all the stops. From classical platformers like Super Meat Boy to disturbing adventure games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, there was an aboslute flood of excellent indie games this year. From paid to free, players who wanted to try something a little different had a huge selection of titles to choose from in 2010. Here's our favorite picks from 2010 to roll in the new year! Click on the image to check out our gallery feature.

Wow. We thought that the PR folks were taking the week off along with game developers but we actually got a few press releases in our email inbox today. It's like people are actually working this week.

• Steam has new automatic updates for the beta versions of Apox and Counter-Strike Source along with a new update for Beat Hazard.
• Some folks from the University of Southern California have created the latest Kinect PC mod that works with World of Warcraft.
• Here's the latest Quake Done Quick video. It's cool
• The fourth season of the hit MMO-themed internet sitcom the Guild is now available on DVD and iTunes.

Steam's Treasure Hunt promotion and game sale marches on today as the PC game download site has four more objectives for its users to accomplish in the next two days in order to have the chance to win some free games. Here's the list of "missions" to complete:

Download and watch a trailer from each of the following games - Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Homefront, BRINK, Red Faction: Armageddon, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Portal 2
Become a Nosalis Hunter in Metro 2033
Create a Destruction Frenzy in Just Cause 2
Set a leaderboard score of at least 3,770,488 for 'Survival Best Score' in Beat Hazard

In addition to the new objectives the following games are also on sale for 75 percent off for the next two days: Metro 2033 for $9.99, Just Cause 2 for $7.49 and Beat Hazard for a mere $2.50

Some of you are getting ready to take off for a three day weekend. Some of you might even be taking today off, making this Fourth of July a four-day weekend (lucky you if you have that set-up). So what do you do with all that free time. Steam's summer sale is still going strong and today through 1 pm Eastern time on Saturday you can get extra-big price cuts on the downloadable games listed below:

Day of Defeat : Source - $2.49
Beat Hazard - $2.49
Half-Life 2 - $3.39
Star Wars Empire at War Gold (original game + expansion) - $4.99
Max and the Magic Marker - $5
Saints Row 2 - $7.49
Borderlands - $10.19
Bionic Commando Pack (Bionic Commando + Bionic Commando Rearmed) - $11.14
Prototype - $14.99
Crysis Maximum Edition (Crysis and Crysis Warhead) - $14.99

Music games, specifically ones that generate their gameplay based on dynamic music interpretation, have been growing vastly in popularity. Games like Audiosurf or Raycatcher, which act as visualizers as well as games with virtually infinite replayability. After all, with new levels for every track, your entire music collection becomes the game. Beat Hazard is the latest entry into this expanding sub-genre, and like other games of its ilk, it's an arcade game. However, this is not a bad thing, and Beat Hazard brings a refreshing new look to the music genre while building upon the work of earlier games such as Geometry Wars.

Those that are overwhelmed by the strobing visual complexity of Beat Hazard will be happy. The game just received an update that doesn't seem to add much. Windowed mode and some interface tweaks compose most of the patch notes. However, the update contains this little line as well:

- Added Low Visual Intensity Option to Difficulty Select Screen

For many people, the intense strobing effects of Beat Hazard were the biggest barrier of entry into this excellent arena shooter/music game hybrid. Those people can now enjoy Beat Hazard without going into an epileptic fit! Also, in the patch before the current one, the game was updated to support FLAC and OGG formats. Full patch notes for the last two patches is after the break.

Music games are a gradually growing genre. We're not talking about games like Guitar Hero, but rather games which take music and procedurally generate game content from it. The most famous is obviously Audiosurf, but there are others, such as Square Enix's Song Summoners. Beat Hazard is an entry into the procedural realm, and it was released on Steam last Thursday.

Beat Hazard follows the same rough format as Audiosurf. You choose a song, and the game procedurally generates a level for you based on the song's characteristics. However, Beat Hazard is an arena shooter (akin to Geometry Wars) and significantly more visually complex. By visually complex, we mean borderline epileptic. Strobe effects abound! If you can handle this, the game is available through its Steam page for $10 ($7 until the 22nd). The developer also posts in the game's Steam forums and interacts with the players. Watch for a full review soon.

In 2008 the indie game Audiosurf was released via Steam. It was a surprise sales success thanks in part to its unique gameplay design of letting the music from a player's collection dictate what the racing game's track and other features were like. Now a similar game is getting ready to debut on Steam in April.

Previously released as an Xbox Live Indie Game, Beat Hazard comes from the development team of Cold Beam Games. Like Audiosurf, Beat Hazard uses your own music collection as part of the gameplay. The arcade sci-fi shooter uses the music for, among other things, power ups for your ship. The PC version coming to Steam will have some extra content including a new boss ship to take on, Steam achievements and more. Pricing for the game was not announced.