Xbox Live Recommendation Of The Week: Beat Hazard

This week I am recommending the Xbox Live Indie Marketplace release Beat hazard, a game that combines both indie, and retro. This multi-platform (PC, Mac, Linux, mobile and console) game is a modern interpretation of the classic Asteroids style gameplay, with a really interesting twist... The game's soundtrack actually effects the gameplay!

"Your music collection drives gameplay,
can you defeat your favourite album?"

Players can select a music track from the ten track album of original music provided with the game itself, or they can use music from their Xbox 360 hard drive or disc player. The music that they select will effect a number of factors, including the volume of the music, the colours and effects on their screen, and even the speed and difficulty of the gameplay. So, a powerful clubbing beat or electric guitar solo will produce some really “epic” results!

Similar to 2003's Geometry Wars, players must fly around their screen in their ship shooting onslaughts of asteroids  enemy spacecraft and 'Bosses', but this time earning special drops such as weapon enhancements, score multipliers, and even music volume increases, to help with gameplay, and of course, the soundtrack is a key factor here.

There are a number of difficulty settings, Solo and Co-Operative play, as well as Leaderboards, so there is lots and lots of replayability and fun to be had with this “Indie” release, which will only cost gamers 80 Microsoft Points, translating at the RRP of MSP as 68p!

A highly recommended, and cheap, purchase.

Visit the official website for more game footage, images and information, and purchase the game to play on your console from the Xbox Live website, or from the Games Marketplace on your Xbox Dashboard.

NOTE: Photosensitive epileptics should use caution with this release due to the powerful lighting effects during faster or more "intense" music tracks.