Music rhythm games appeal to everyone, well everyone who likes music, games and something easy to pick up and play whenever. However what the PC has been lacking is a real stand out music rhythm game, enter AudioSurf.
AudioSurf is simple in concept and one of the most innovative and fun ways to listen to your music I have ever seen. When you install the game it has access to all of your music files stored on your computer/hard drives, you then choose which song you wish to listen to, it scans the song and creates a track in which you control a small spaceship in collecting notes that play significant parts of the music whilst giving you an impressive neon filled backdrop.
That is the game in a nutshell, however you have different difficulty levels, play styles and even a leader board system for each song & difficulty. The most impressive feature of AudioSurf is the fact that you can play every song that has ever been created and every song that ever will be created, the ability to do this is by having access to all MP3 files on your system, due to the high quality of MP3's and the ease of use it seems that AudioSurf will be around for many years before it becomes obsolete. It also means the game will never get old or boring if you have a big music collection, every song is unique therefore every song on AudioSurf has a different layout of track, note placement, note numbers and set pieces.
If played on the highest settings, which aren’t hard to achieve due to its minimalistic style. To start with you are given a white background and fireworks every time you hit a note, as you get more into the song you will begin to see giant flashing columns, giant spinning tops and the big end of track set piece. All of these glow with colour and are even more effective if you tinker with the settings to get a back background instead of a white one. If your computer cant handle the more impressive visual levels not much is lost with the lower ones, but colours aren’t so strong and set pieces not so spectacular in size.
The sound, besides your music choice consists of small chimes or bleeps indicating how many notes you have collected, how many points you have scored and if you have broken your combo. Your music however is played at exactly the same quality it would be in something like iTunes but in conjunction with the sound cues from AudioSurf it is enhanced...usually. The downside to having these sounds playing is that sometimes they don’t mix with the mood of the song or even overpower it in some sections making it a bit off-putting (such as in Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams). Fortunately they can be turned off but the game doesn’t seem quite the same without them and if you get a song where they mix perfectly you could be missing out on some awesome enhancements to your music.
AudioSurf is the rhythm game for audio enthusiasts, for people who love their music and want a new way to enjoy it. It is also a very good looking game for those who seek it and has an infinite lifespan due to the sheer amount of music there is in the market. For a price of about £5 on Steam, AudioSurf is perhaps the best deal in music around (It also comes with the entire Orange Box soundtrack).
AudioSurf – 10/10
+The Only Way To Listen To Music From Now On
