Imagine flying around space shooting everything you see.... then imagine flying around space shooting everything you see to your own music. Sounds familiar right? In fact Geometry Wars for XboxLiveArcade did it almost 3 years ago. So what makes Beat Hazard on XBL Indie Games worth my 400 marketplace points you ask.... Well let me tell you that it would be well worth your money to give it a try. Firstly it sounds exactly the same as Geometry Wars, but in fact it is a completely different beast. Remember earlier when I said you play to your own music? Well that's the twist..... it not only lets you play your music, it also reacts to every beat, lyric, and chord. Everything from the background , the enemies, your guns, and even how many bosses you fight depends how fast, long, and loud your songs are. The possibilities are endless as long as you have more music to put on your hardrive!
Presentation
As you start the game there are a number of things that will catch your eye about this game. First is that the game instantly loads any music you've downloaded to your hardrive which requires no work on your part. Second thing your notice is that there is a music visualizer in the background going to a randomly selected song of your own. Lastly you'll notice all the different options in the menu you have a full screen visualizer, a how to play button, single player game, co-op game, your stats and ranks, challenges, and the options menu. The first four items should be self explanatory, but the next two really add to the overall presentation and replay of the game. The your stats and ranks menu includes various items which tell you your total time played, total points earned over all songs, total number of tracks cleared, total number of albums cleared, and then 27 different pilot ranks that you unlock as you hit certain points milestone totals. Then there's the challenge menu which offers 12 different challenges not much different then Xbox 360 achievements that add even more replay and difficulty into the mix.
Gameplay
Now on to the gameplay... Okay it wouldn't really be all that difficult to just say if you liked Geometry Wars then you should just buy the game because the game controls exactly the same. Which isn't such a bad thing. You have both your thumbsticks: Left for controlling your ship and right for aiming/shooting your gun. You also have bombs which you can blow off with your right trigger. It's very simple to the learn but very difficult to master. Even though it's a very basic setup it is the only way i would prefer for the game to control and it's makes for some very addictive and fun action.
The last part of the game is the graphics. Simply put they are AMAZING!! Colors upon colors mix and mesh to make the prettiest top down space shooter ever! With every sound your music makes it sends waves of color changes throughout the screen. The enemies and asteroids fly onto screen hypnotized by the beats and your guns pulse to the music. When your song is fast your gun is fast and vibrant, when the song gets slow your gun dies down to a single shooter. Each song has it's own unique vibe, enemy flight patterns, and color pallets so each song is different to play.
I'm only going to say this once more... GO OUT AND BUY BEAT HAZARD!!! It is an AMAZING game at an amazing value. How many other games out there are going to limit what you get for gameplay by the number of songs in your music library.... not even rock band can play your already existing music. If you are a fan of Geometry Wars or even just music then go out and buy this game. You'll get tons of replay on Beat Hazard and on your own music. Download the game here!!
9.7 out of 10
