Audio Surf 28

Daniel Emery feels the rhythm in this music-based game that bases levels on your MP3s.

Lisa drinks contaminated water and starts to hallucinate in an episode of 'The Simpsons' (Season 4: Episode 13, 'Selma's Choice'). During her trip, she voices the immortal line, 'I can see the music.' After playing Audiosurf for an hour, I know exactly how she felt.

One of the first things that strikes you - other than it being rather trippy - is that it looks like the sort of thing put together by gifted grad students for their end-of-year project, before they're snapped up at a recruitment fair and chained to a desk for the next 30 years of their lives.

The man and the inspiration behind Audiosurf is a gentleman by the name of Dylan Fitterer, who wanted to create a game that merged gameplay with an audio experience. The end result resembles a cross between Wipeout and Rez, although you could even go as far as describing it as the ultimate WinAmp visualisation. Flying your psychedelic spaceship along an equally artistic-looking track, you have to collect coloured blocks (called cars); collect three or more of the same type, and you receive bonus points. With multiple colours, you have to arrange them in such a way that the three link up; the larger the cluster, the more points you gain.

So far, so good. However, the game is a little more complex that that. The colours on the track are determined by the beat and tempo of the music playing. The faster the track becomes, the hotter the colours are.This means that blues and greens score at the low end, while red and yellow score at the top end. On top of this, some game modes also have grey blocks that need to be avoided (otherwise they'll occupy one of your slots, thereby making it more difficult to accumulate points). There are also bonus cars that can provide you with random extra colours or clear out your car cache.

However, this isn't simply some kind of moto-terris. Everything about the game revolves around music; from the track layout to the colour and speed of the cars, the game is generated by sound. While the game has the soundtrack from Orange Box, ultimately, it's down to you to feed in your own music collection.

Listen without prejudice
Here's how it works. When you import an audio file (Audiosurf works with CD, MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC and iTunes Plus formats), the game creates an internal script based on the contents of the song. Dynamics, pace, tone and beat all have a direct influence on the gameplay. The song will determine the shape, length and feel of the race. A slow classical tune, or simple speech (we tested the game using the announcement that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour), creates an uphill course that a four-year-old can complete with flying colours. Play something fast and frantic, and the intensity of the track reflects the audio, with a downhill slalom that's packed full of hot colours, spaced-out effects and lots of traffic.

Speeding along
With fast music playing, the game is utterly, stunningly, jaw-droppingly intense. It's also devilishly difficult, especially if you're trying to win some bonus points (such as missing every grey block for an extra 30 per cent). After playing for a few hours, you feel like Pete Doherty's cerebral cortex - albeit without the urge to behave like a total arse.

Audiosurf may be a commercial release - it will cost you more than a fiver for the pleasure, although there's a demo version you can download - but while the presentation is slick, the game has a few issues. For starters, your field of view is firmly fixed on whatever is coming towards you on the track, so you have no idea which cars you've collected. If you try to analyse which cars you've already picked up, the odds are that you'll either collect a load of useless grey blocks or just run over whatever's coming your way, thereby wrecking any strategic plans you might be fostering.

Another potential pitfall in Audiosurf is that if your taste in music is of a faster persuasion (just try 'Café Del Mar' by Energy 52) then you'll find the game - certainly on the harder levels - bordering on the impossible. This means that you either have to listen to slower music you don't like, or accept the fact that life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Does it count as a game?
Audiosurf is certainly innovative, which is one of the reasons that it was nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at this year's Independent Games Festival in San Francisco, and the fact that the game is built around your own musical tastes is pretty groundbreaking.

However, it isn't a game in the true sense of the word. While you can post your high scores online in order to compare them with those of other players who share the same musical tastes (if they're really eclectic, you can always use the Orange Box or Audiosurf radio for some competition), this is more a way of giving your cranium a mental workover.

Conclusion
Audiosurf is entertaining in small doses, although it doesn't have the ability to suck you in that most real games have. However, I can see it being the sort of game you might keep on your PC for a long time, if only to have the occasional dabble or entertain friends with whom you don't really want to have a conversation. We shudder to think what the game would be like if you were in a pharmaceutically enhanced state, although I think it's safe to assume that the game will be really popular with clubbers, students and those interested in something different from the usual game fare.