Chiming In on the Audiosurf Phenomenon

So, I tried Audiosurf the other day (I’ve been trying a lot of new games ever since I pulled my head out of Galaxy’s metaphorical ass, a few days ago . . .). I had to try it, the buzz around it was hard to ignore. It is amazing.

For those who haven’t played or heard of Audiosurf it’s a music puzzler. Players control a little ship flying over a highway; these are created based on the songs players pick (and the song options are any MP3 files, literally any MP3 file will work, even podcasts). On this highway colored ‘bricks’ appear on certain beats of a song. These ‘bricks’ are placed within three lanes and gather at in a grid the bottom of the screen. The goal is to get three or more ‘bricks’ of the same color together to score points.

It’s descriptions like what I have above that drove me away from the game. when you try to type out what the game is it just sounds complicated. It isn’t. The nature of the game is this: you pick a song, the game generates a highway, and you move your mouse to collect ‘bricks’ (trying to match three of one color to earn points).

There is no way to lose. There are ways to not earn points, but there is no way to fail. In fact there’s even an option to just cruise the highway the game creates. This might be the game’s best feature. It has so many ways to play. It’s got several modes, and varying difficulties, but you never have to adhere to any of what the game tells you. You can play the hardest difficulty, and just say, “fuck it”, and cruise and there will be no penalty besides a really low score. Players choose the amount of effort they want to put into it the game, all the time. It’s great.

Just enjoying the highway is fun too. Some songs have mind boggling bends with fast areas and slow crawl areas, over all kinds of bumpy terrain. It’s just fun to look at. This, also can be problematic. In the time I spent with As much as I loved the craziness, it was almost to much for me to handle. This is the closest I’ve gotten to getting sick from playing a game. It’s color everywhere while the highway is flipping every which way. My mother would probably die if I showed this to her (she has a hard time watching any kind of video game. She couldn’t even handle 2D Sonic games).

Even so, I wish I owned the full game this second. It’s a game that will suck you right in. I can see myself buying a new disc and wanting to load up Audiosurf to see what kind of madness will ensue. It’s a very original experience that will constantly beg a player to keep playing.

It’s a really weird experience. The game itself is totally fresh, but the soundtrack is something that will be different for everyone. On the first play through a song it’s this odd synthesis of familiar music with a radical new experience. It’s this experience that’s driving me to keep typing. I guess I just can’t capture it with words. Audiosurf is an experience, and it might be a good idea to try it out.

I know I’ll be purchasing it soon.

The Forgotten Wonder

I don’t know anyone that owns a PSP. I had one friend who did, and then that unit made it’s way into my hands. I, foolishly, sold it. After taking part in several game forum discussions, I ended up with a new PSP.

It’s easy to forget that it’s home to several unique games. I’ve been in this Mario Galaxy haze for so long now that I simply forgot other games existed. I figured eventually I’d snap back into reality; I didn’t expect to find myself playing Metal Gear Ac!d again though. MGA is one of the many gems of the PSP. A year ago, when I had the old unit, I had Ac!d, Metal Gear Solid: Portable OPS, Exit, Megaman Powered Up, and Power Stone Collection. Even looking at that list I wonder why the hell I ever sold hose away. Each one of those games is completely unique to the PSP (save for Power Stone) and each was great in it’s own right.

I just want to write a little abstracts (and as always, bonus commentary) for two games, Metal Gear Ac!d and Crush.

Ac!d is Metal Gear, but with cards. It’s a crazy mix up of the thick Metal Gear plot and action, but on a grid based plain where you use cards to accomplish all of the games goals (all of which are based on things from every other Metal Gear game (one example is the Nikita Missle Launcher from MGS 2, playing this card allows you to control a missile (still restricted by grid movement) on the battle field)). It’s a card based stealth action game. I’m under the impression that the Ac!d series was a bit over looked, I found MGA for under ten dollars used, and the sequel retails for ten new. Granted they’re old games, now, but the second doesn’t even retail for $20 new. Great for me, but a sad indication that this series isn’t going to see another installment.

Crush is a story driven puzzle game. Players assume the role of an insomniac questing for the cure to his insomnia. Apparently, you cure insomnia by wearing a device called C.R.U.S.H. Said device places users into puzzle scenarios where you change from 2D to 3D to solve puzzles. The puzzles are mind benders and the story is actually pretty entertaining. It’s mostly witty banter between a crazed professor and the protagonist (Danny), and it’s actually pretty funny. The puzzles are tough, but it’s a rewarding kind of tough, which is nice. It’s sweet. Bonus: Sega published this game (but didn’t have one of their studios develop it), making it their only good game of 2007 (which is hilarious because their internal teams failed with every release last year).