salaminizer

User Score
9.0

Presentation - 8.0
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 10

Audiosurf hit the PCs last year, providing a new experience to enjoy while listening to MP3's or CD's. The game offers some sort of puzzle interaction: the game reads an MP3 and generates a track with slopes and blocks laid on track according to the beat. Players pick a character across 3 different difficulty levels, each one with a different specialty.

The bulk of the game is matching 3 or more blocks of the same color, in a grid with 21 (or 24 for some characters) spaces. The key to good scores relies on getting big matches and chaining them (like you do on Panel de Pon). Some characters have special bonuses and there are also general bonuses like finishing a song with no blocks on the grid. 

The game was made with Quest 3D and uses a lot of effects on-screen. Unfortunately, the menus are very clunky, requiring a lot of navigating when you change a character or even to check song scores. The music is obviously picked by the player, and the game can play some sounds when the player hit a block.

The big problem of the game occurs when you finish a song and realise your Ninja Mono character is owned by every other character, simply because you can't score as high as a Pusher character. Though the game already has 3 charts for each difficulty, having a separate chart for the Ninja characters would certainly be a great option.

As long as you have MP3's, you'll surely be playing the game. Also, if you get a top score and someone beats you, you get an email so you'll probably run to the game to outscore your rival. 

Audiosurf is recommended to anyone who likes some Tetris or Panel de Pon and enjoy music, and even if you don't feel like competing, it's always a good ride.