| Beat Hazard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Cold Beam Games |
| Publisher(s) | Cold Beam Games |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS, Android, Linux |
| Release | October 28, 2009
|
| Genre(s) | Rhythm game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Beat Hazard is a music-themed video game developed and published by British studio Cold Beam Games on October 28, 2009 for Xbox Live Indie Games.
Beat Hazard is a shoot 'em up where the player controls a small spaceship that must fend off waves of hostile ships and asteroids that spawns around randomly. Destroying ships and asteroids will earn points and sometimes spawn power-ups that can be collected to increase the score multiplier and boost the FX and Sound of the music that is playing. During gameplay, larger enemies known as bosses will occasionally appear. Destroying bosses rewards more points and causes multiple power-ups to appear.
During each music sequence, the main goal is to earn as many points before the song that is playing in the background ends. When the song is finished, a screen then shows how many points was earned and is used as experience to move up ranks. When the player ranks up, a variety of gameplay options can be unlocked, including harder difficulty options and starting with a higher multiplier.
If the player's ship is hit by any enemy projectiles or collides into each other, the ship will be destroyed and a life is deducted. It also causes some of the FX and Sound power-ups to be dropped in the process. If all lives are lost, the music sequence immediately ends, but any points earned will not be lost.
As an important element in Beat Hazard, music affects gameplay in many ways. Enemies spawn in with each beat of the song and the background effects are determined by the sound volumes. Custom soundtracks can also be used, allowing more gameplay opportunities like playing to a song with faster beats that causes enemies to spawn in more frequently. [1]
After being made redundant at his previous employer, director Steve Hunt chose to go indie instead of work for another company. He conceived Beat Hazard because of his interest in music visualizers, leading him to turn the idea into a video game. He was further influenced by the music video game Audiosurf .[ citation needed ]
A demo of the game was produced over the span of a few days.[ citation needed ]
Hunt attempted to submit Beat Hazard to Xbox Live Arcade to have the game featured on the Xbox 360, but it was rejected twice.[ citation needed ]
An enhanced edition of Beat Hazard was later released for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version of the game was re-released under this edition afterwards. [2] This edition added more features, including a new weapon power-ups such as missiles and a perk system. It also introduced money that can spawn by destroying enemies and bosses. Money is used to buy and upgrade perks once they're unlocked after ranking up.
In April 2014, the Shadow Operations DLC was released exclusively for the Steam version of the game. [3] [4] It added nine new ships to the game, each with new levels and scoreboards. It also added Steam Workshop support, allowing the creation of custom ships to be created and shared online.
| Aggregator | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| iOS | PC | PS3 | |
| Metacritic | 91/100 [5] | 70/100 [6] | 63/100 [7] |
| Publication | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| iOS | PC | PS3 | |
| Destructoid | 8.5/10 [8] | ||
| Eurogamer | 6/10 [9] | ||
| GameSpot | 7/10 [10] | ||
| IGN | 7.6/10 [11] | 5/10 [12] | |
| Pocket Gamer |   [13] | ||
| Push Square |   [14] | ||
| TouchArcade |  [15] | ||
The PC version of Beat Hazard has a rating of 70/100 on Metacritic based on 11 critic reviews. [6] The PlayStation 3 version of Beat Hazard Ultra has a Metacritic rating of 63/100 based on 7 critic reviews, [7] while the iOS version has a rating of 91/100 based on 6 critic reviews. [5]
Beat Hazard 2 was released in October 2019. Compared to the original game, the sequel has upgraded graphics and the ability to play music from streaming services in an "Open Mic" mode. [16]
A second sequel, Beat Hazard 3, was released in June 2024 and features an explorable galaxy mapped by music. [17]
Ikaruga is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation using a specially designed fighter called the Ikaruga which can flip between two polarities, black and white. This polarity mechanism is the game's key feature and the foundation for its stage and enemy design. All enemies and bullets in the game are either black or white. Bullets which are the same color as the player are absorbed while the others will kill the player. The game features both single-player and cooperative modes.
Geometry Wars is a 2003 video game by Bizarre Creations. Initially a minigame in Project Gotham Racing 2, an updated version, titled Retro Evolved, was eventually released for the Xbox 360. That version, at one point, held the record for the most downloaded Xbox Live Arcade Game.
Mutant Storm Reloaded is a multi-directional shoot 'em up developed by PomPom Games. The game debuted as a launch title on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service with updated graphics, sound, and gameplay over its Windows and Xbox predecessor, Mutant Storm.
Castle Crashers is a 2D side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game developed by The Behemoth. The Xbox 360 version was released on August 27, 2008, via Xbox Live Arcade as part of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. The PlayStation 3 version was released in North America on August 31, 2010, and November 3, 2010, in Europe via the PlayStation Network. A Microsoft Windows and MacOS version, exclusive to Steam, was released on September 26, 2012. The game is set in a fictional medieval universe in which a dark wizard steals a mystical crystal and captures four princesses. Four knights are charged by the king to rescue the princesses, recover the crystal, and bring the wizard to justice. The game includes music created by members of Newgrounds.
Borderlands is a 2009 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. It is the first game in the Borderlands series. The game was released worldwide in October 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, with a Mac OS X version being released on December 3, 2010 by Feral Interactive. The game's story focuses on a group of four "Vault Hunters", who travel to the distant planet of Pandora to search for the "Vault", which is rumored to contain advanced alien technology and other priceless riches. The hunters piece together clues to find the Vault while battling the savage wildlife of Pandora, local bandits that populate the planet, and ultimately banding together to prevent the Atlas Corporation and its privately funded paramilitary forces from reaching the Vault first.
Mafia II is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K. It was released on 24 August 2010 for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is a standalone sequel to 2002's Mafia, and the second installment in the Mafia series. Set within the fictional city of Empire Bay from 1945 to 1951, the story follows Vito Scaletta, a young Sicilian-American mobster and war veteran, who becomes caught in a power struggle among the city's Mafia crime families while attempting to pay back his father's debts and secure a better lifestyle.
DoDonPachi Resurrection, known in Japan as DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu, is the fifth arcade game in Cave's DonPachi series. The game was unveiled at AOU2008 Amusement EXPO.
There are five pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the Bethesda action role-playing video game Fallout 3. Each package of downloadable content adds new missions, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to use. Of the five, Broken Steel has the largest effect on the game, altering the ending, increasing the level cap to 30, and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line. The Game of The Year edition of Fallout 3 includes the full game and all five pieces of downloadable content.
Dungeon Defenders is a hybrid multiplayer video game developed by Trendy Entertainment that combines the genres of tower defense and action role-playing game. It is based on a showcase of Unreal Engine 3 named Dungeon Defense. The game takes place in a fantasy setting where players control the young apprentices of wizards and warriors and defend against hordes of monsters. A sequel titled Dungeon Defenders II was released in 2015.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is a 2013 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the tenth major installment in the Call of Duty series and the sixth developed by Infinity Ward. It was released for PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox 360, on November 5, 2013. The game was released with the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Bit.Trip Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien is a 2013 side-scrolling platformer developed by Gaijin Games. The game is the sequel to Bit.Trip Runner (2010) and was released as a downloadable title on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, and iOS. Versions for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch were later released in 2016 and 2024 respectively. The PC, Mac, Linux, and Wii U versions were self-published by Gaijin Games, and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were published by Aksys Games.
Guacamelee! is a Metroidvania action platforming video game developed and published by DrinkBox Studios, initially launched in April 2013 for platforms PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and was later ported to Windows in August and to OS X and Linux in February 2014. The enhanced Super Turbo Championship Edition was released for Wii U, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 in July 2014 and later on the Nintendo Switch in October 2018. The game is inspired by traditional Mexican culture and folklore, like alebrijes and Day of the Dead.
A Hat in Time is a 2017 platform game developed by Danish game studio Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which nearly doubled its fundraising goals within its first two days. The game was self-published for macOS and Windows in October 2017, and by Humble Bundle for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles two months later. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released in October 2019.
Resogun is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It was originally released in North America and PAL regions in November 2013, while ports for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita developed by Climax Studios were released in December 2014. Resogun: Heroes, the first downloadable content (DLC), was released in North America on June 24, 2014, while the second DLC, Resogun: Defenders was released on February 17, 2015. Resogun draws heavily from the games Defender and Datastorm, and is considered the spiritual successor to Housemarque's previous shoot 'em up games Super Stardust HD and Super Stardust Delta.
Puyo Puyo Tetris is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game is a crossover between the Puyo Puyo series and the Tetris franchise, and features various gameplay modes incorporating both aspects. The game includes characters modeled and named after the seven Tetrominos, which are different puzzle pieces each made of four blocks.
Kalimba is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Press Play and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One and Windows. In the game, initially known as "Project Totem", players must move pieces of a totem pole through various levels while avoiding obstacles.
Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2017 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard. In the game, players must survive being stranded on one of several maps filled with roaming dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players.
MudRunner is a 2017 off-roading simulation game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released on October 31, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and is a spin-off/sequel of the 2014 Windows-exclusive Spintires, which was developed by Oovee Game Studios. Similar to Spintires, MudRunner has the player control off-road vehicles as they traverse locations to complete objectives. The game was released in Japan on Nintendo Switch on June 18, 2020. A sequel to MudRunner was released on April 28, 2020 titled SnowRunner.
Insurgency: Sandstorm is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game developed by New World Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is a sequel to the 2014 video game Insurgency. Set in an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern region, the game depicts a conflict between two factions: "Security", loosely based on various militaries ; and "Insurgents", loosely based on various paramilitary and terrorist groups.
Streets of Rage 4 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games and published by Dotemu. The game is a continuation of Sega's Streets of Rage trilogy, originally released for the Sega Genesis during the 1990s. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Linux, and macOS, in 2020, for Stadia in 2021, and Android and iOS in 2022. Streets of Rage 4 received generally positive reviews and sold over 2.5 million copies by April 2021. An expansion, Mr. X Nightmare, was released in July 2021.
