Audiosurf

Steam has chopped 75 per cent off the asking price for wacky PC music rollercoaster game Audiosurf.

British music label Aardvark Records is set to supply songs to PC rhythm game Audiosurf.

Award-winning musical puzzle game Audiosurf has had been given a rather chunky update.

Most of the features added were suggested by fans of the game, and include Last.fm "audioscrobbling", being able to run the game as a music visualiser and the option to comment on scoreboards.

There is also a mod interface available for you creative types, although this has been usable in beta form for a while - the Audiosurf forum has a list of what has been made so far.

Read more

Music-riding puzzle game Audiosurf was the best-selling game on Steam for the whole of February, Valve has said.

While the world of PC gaming may be in "disarray" for those still turning out big beefy blokey shooters, for those who like to take their gaming with just a dash of indie spirit and bedroom coder verve the PC is in pretty good shape. In large part this is down to digital distribution nozzles like Steam, which allow smaller developers to get their games into our grasping paws without the need to jump through the traditional publishing hoops.

So it is for Audiosurf, which made us say nice things when it paraded around in a metaphorical swimsuit at the gamesy beauty pageant we call Independent Games Festival. We only looked at it one month ago, and yet here's the game - ready and waiting to be downloaded by anyone with USD 9.95 (or your local equivalent). So big whoops and kisses for digital distribution, and a cheeky pat on the bottom for Dylan Fitterer, the talented programmer responsible.

As those who've been paying attention will know, Audiosurf is a bit like Rez. And a bit like Amplitude. And a bit like Tetris. And a bit like Vib Ribbon. Yet rather than coming across as a gruesome mash-up of other people's ideas, it cleverly takes the best ideas from each and turns them into something that's both instantly familiar and enjoyably fresh all at the same time.

Read more

By now you know that Dylan Fitterer's Audiosurf, a fancy mixture of rhythm-response and puzzle that feeds off your own MP3 collection, is out on Steam. But perhaps you didn't know there was a demo. There is.

PC rhythm-action game Audiosurf is set to be released on Steam this Friday, 15th February, with the music from The Orange Box included for playing along to. The game will cost USD 9.95, with a 10 percent discount available on pre-orders.

Shooters and sports games. RPGs and racers. Strategy and simulation, action and adventure. The lines may blur but for the most part you know where you are with these. If a game's got guns, cars, football or wizards, it's easy to see where it fits.

Having played most of the Seumas McNally Grand Finalists for the Independent Games Festival next month, I really don't envy the judges. Entirely smitten by what I played of World of Goo, I presumed it was a shoe-in. Then Walker let me have a crack of the code of Crayon Physics Deluxe which is plain magical, and technically an enormous leap on from what I'd played in the freely available early prototypes. Finally, with Jim acting as a facilitator, I found myself introducing Audiosurf to my MP3 library. They may be getting married. It's technically and conceptually a tour de force. Any one would be a worthy winner.

Yesterday we began our series of IGF previews with a little look at the excellent World of Goo; today we're examining its fellow Seumas McNally Grand Prize nominee Audiosurf.