History VideoGame / BeatHazard

'''''Beat Hazard''''' is an indie twin-stick ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Games and released on [[XboxLiveArcade Xbox LIVE Indie Games]] (the original game's debut), {{Steam}}, the {{PlayStation Network}}, the Apple App Store (for Macintosh computers and [=iOS=] devices), and Android smart phones and tablets. The premise is simple: choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot stuff up. The things you'll battle against consists of [[AsteroidsMonster space junk of varying sizes]], [[MookMobile small]] {{space plane}}s, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs big space planes, smarter space planes, bigger AND smarter space planes]], [[DualBoss two big star-fighters]] armed with [[WaveMotionGun laser cannons]] and {{homing projectile}}s, [[LargeAndInCharge gigantic battleships]] armed to the teeth with weapons, and then some. In other words: [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves]].

Ever played ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind [[SpaceFighter your ship]] suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, and gotta you dodge 'em and shoot 'em. Now, here's the catch: the game's difficulty level is also controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level -- which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power-Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that harms everything around your ship's surroundings.

In Normal Play, you choose a song and play through it, and you're done. Pick a new song, shoot some more bad guys, rinse and repeat. If you prefer, you can engage in [[EndlessGame Survival Mode]] and see how many songs you can get through before you lose all your lives. With the addition of ''Beat Hazard Ultra'', the game adds a new variety of enemies (like the Mini-Serpents and [[TakingYouWithMe Reapers]]), new game modes like a BossRush and the aforemention Survival Mode, new special weapons to play around with, an even ''[[UpToEleven HARDER]]'' difficulty, and more.

** Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[{{IncrediblyLamePun}} rave motion gun]], shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.

Note that because of the way the game works, relevant music tropes often get paired with a video game trope.

** Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[VideoGame/{{BattleZone1998}} rave gun]], shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.

'''''Beat Hazard''''' is an indie ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Games and released on [[XboxLiveArcade Xbox LIVE Indie Games]] (the original game's debut), {{Steam}}, the {{PlayStation Network}}, the Apple App Store (for Macintosh computers and [=iOS=] devices), and Android smart phones and tablets. The premise is simple: choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot stuff up. The things you'll battle against consists of [[AsteroidsMonster space junk of varying sizes]], [[MookMobile small]] {{space plane}}s, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs big space planes, smarter space planes, bigger AND smarter space planes]], [[DualBoss two big star-fighters]] armed with [[WaveMotionGun laser cannons]] and {{homing projectile}}s, [[LargeAndInCharge gigantic battleships]] armed to the teeth with weapons, and then some. In other words: [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves]].

In Normal Play, you choose a song and play through it, and you're done. Pick a new song, shoot some more bad guys, rinse and repeat. If you prefer, you can engage in [[EndlessGame Survival mode]] and see how many songs you can get through before you lose all your lives. With the addition of ''Beat Hazard Ultra'', the game adds a new variety of enemies (like the Mini-Serpents and [[TakingYouWithMe Reapers]]), new game modes like a BossRush mode, new special weapons to play around with, an even ''[[UpToEleven HARDER]]'' difficulty, and more.

* SerialEscalation: Cold Beam Games previously implemented a slider to turn down the intense visuals (with a decrease in point scoring to match). As of the ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' expansion, it can be turned [[UpToEleven up to 150% or even 200%.]] Some people '''''[[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1229410 want it to go up to 500%']]'''''!

* AbnormalAmmo: Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[VideoGame/{{BattleZone1998}} rave gun]], shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.

** The worst part is that there are two (three after the ''Ultra'' expansion, although the third one behaves differently) variations of that cannon. The first one fires a beam at the spot it's locked on, the second one fires two beams slightly off the spot. So if you can't get really far from it in time, you have either get out of the laser sights, or stay in them. If you guessed wrong, you die. Lord help you if the tracker cannon is the last thing left on a boss when on Suicidal -- the charge time (the time the laser sight is visible) is barely long enough to react (barely 0.2 seconds), and the cool-down between attacks is pretty much nil.
** This gets taken to another level with the ''Ultra'' expansion, allowing bosses to have multiples of any weapon. Including {{Dual Boss}}es with two sets of the older Tracker Cannons[[labelnote:*]](the ones that actually aim at you or just to the side of you)[[/labelnote]] on them. [[OhCrap "Oh crap!"]] [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a3kytt.jpg indeed.]]

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04RpaYAzJ1I Rapidly spinning in place will completely fill the screen with projectiles.]]

* DynamicDifficulty: Enemies fire more often as the music gets louder and faster.
** Your weapon's damage output is also based on the music intensity. During a quiet bit your weapons do very little damage to enemies you can slaughter by the dozen with a single sweep of fire when it's intense.
* DualBoss: Sometimes instead of one bigger boss you have to deal with two smaller ones. They still pack some serious punch though.
** If the Achievement list for ''Ultra'' is anything to go by, you can have at least four different bosses on-screen at the same time during the Boss Rush mode.

* InterfaceScrew: When Volume and Weapon Power meters are full and the background visuals get going, it can be very hard to tell what's happening on screen. An intentional design decision as it changes with the difficulty and turning down the graphics intensity reduces your point harvest.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: Homing Missile launchers on boss ships. Also, you can take it UpToEleven with weapon power upgrades and the song's tempo. Reapers in ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' unleashes one upon death.

* NintendoHard: Think you're good at this game? [[Music/XJapan Art of Life]] will still make you its prison bitch. The first 3 minutes of the song are slow and quiet, meaning you will die. A lot.
** Want to go insane? Select the [[VideoGame/{{Halo2}} Delta Halo Suite]] and set it to Insane. Proceed to flip out. It's over 11 minutes long and has silent parts.
** Take any long trance/thumping techno band of any sort, such as Infected Mushroom. Special mention goes to their song "Psycho" which has a nasty tendency to throw a boss at you at ''the beginning of the song''. [[FromBadToWorse It only gets worse from there.]]
** For a piece of Hell under the 5-minute mark, try [[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Clear Mind]] on Hardcore. There are barely any breather spots so it's hard to get your multiplier up, and it will also be hard to see what's going on whilst everything is trying to kill you.
* NoPlotNoProblem: And who needs one to blast away an armada of space ships, asteriods, and robotic serpents while raving out to your favorite music anyway!

* {{RPG Elements}}: The game remembers your scores from each song and treats them as experience points, with levels having the names of naval ranks such as Cadet and Commander. Prior to ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' each level afforded you a tangible bonus, such as extra starting lives or {{Smart Bomb}}s. Reaching max rank let you start off with the Beat Hazard at full power!
** ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' [[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20586769&postcount=15 changed the always-enabled level-up awards into a perks system]] giving you 3 slots (which can be increased to 8 in ''Ultra'') to equip perks with, and you'll have to upgrade perks separately. Additionally, the expansion pack will also add a handful of perks, mostly pertaining to new weapons.

** If the Achievement list for Ultra is anything to go by, you can have at least four different bosses on-screen at the same time during the Boss Rush mode.

** The Micro-Missile perk gives you one of these. They prioritize the most threatening target on screen, totally bypassing other enemies to reach it. If some missiles are left over afterwards, they will automatically track the next most dangerous target and so on. The Reflector Shield can also turn enemy missiles back at the enemies

* NintendoHard: Think you're good at this game? [[Music/XJapan Art of Life]] will still make you its prison bitch. The first 3 minutes of the song are slow and quiet, meaning you will die, a lot.

** Take any long trance/thumping techno band of any sort, such as Infected Mushroom. Special mention goes to their song "Psycho" which has a nasty tendency to throw a boss at you at ''the beginning of the song''. It only gets worse from there.
** For a piece of hell under the 5 minute mark, try [[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Clear Mind]] on Hardcore. There are barely any breather spots so it's hard to get your multiplyer up, and it will also be hard to see what's going on whilst everything is trying to kill you.

* PowerUp: The VOL and POW power-ups raises your ship's fire and spread respectively, while the +1 and +5 Multiplier Bonus ups your score multiplier. In ''Ultra'', you can also get ammo for your special weapons you've equipped.

** ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' [[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20586769&postcount=15 changed the always-enabled level-up awards into a perks system]] giving you 3 slots (which can be increased to 8) to equip perks with, and you'll have to upgrade perks separately. Additionally, the expansion pack will also add a handful of perks, mostly pertaining to new weapons.

* AttackReflector: You can use a [[DeflectorShield Reflector Shield]] in ''Ultra'' that can send most of the projectiles right back into the enemies while protecting your ship from harm. It becomes especially handy when dealing with Reapers and bosses that fires homing weapons.

* PowerUp:

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BeatHazard_3654.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[VideoGame/RevolutionX Music is the Weapon!]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin No, really.]]]]

Ever played ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind [[SpaceFighter your ship]] suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, and gotta you dodge 'em and shoot 'em. Now, here's the catch: the game's difficulty level is also controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level -- which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power-Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that does that harms everything around your ship's surroundings.

* AttackReflector: You can use a [[DeflectorShield Reflector Shield]] in ''Ultra'' that can send most of the projectiles right back into the enemies while protecting your ship from harm. It becomes especially handy when dealing Reapers and bosses that fires homing weapons.

* ThePowerOfRock: Throw on your favorite rock song and go to town.

'''''Beat Hazard''''' is an indie ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Games and released on [[XboxLiveArcade Xbox LIVE Indie Games]] (the original game's debut), {{Steam}}, the {{PlayStation Network}}, the Apple App Store (for Macintosh computers and [=iOS=] devices), and Android smart phones and tablets. The premise is simple: choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot stuff up. The things you'll battle against consists of [[AsteroidsMonster space junk of varying sizes]], [[MookMobile small]] {{space plane}}s, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs big space planes, smarter space planes, bigger AND smarter space plane]], [[DualBoss two big star-fighters]] armed with [[WaveMotionGun laser cannons]] and {{homing projectile}}s, [[LargeAndInCharge gigantic battleships]] armed to the teeth with weapons, and then some. In other words: [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves]].

Ever play ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind [[SpaceFighter your ship]] suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, and gotta you dodge 'em and shoot 'em. Now, here's the catch: the game's difficulty level is also controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level -- which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power-Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that does that harms everything around your ship's surroundings.

In Normal Play, you choose a song and play through it, and you're done. Pick a new song, shoot some more bad guys, rinse and repeat. If you prefer, you can engage in [[EndlessGame Survival mode]] and see how many songs you can get through before you lose all your lives. With the addition of ''Beat Hazard Ultra'', the game adds a new variety of enemies (like the Mini-Serpents and [[TakingYouWithMe Reapers]]), new game modes like a BossRush mode, new special weapons to play around with, an even ''[[UpToEleven HARDER]]'' difficutly, and more.

* AbnormalAmmo: Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[VideoGame/{{BattleZone1998}} Rave Gun]], shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.
** In ''Beat Hazard Ultra'', some of the bosses have guns that shoot other, smaller ships at you.

* BeamSpam: The deadly Tracker Cannon on boss ships. First, it uses a LaserSight to aim at you. Then, it launches a salvo of beams at the place it locked you at. Hope you managed to move out of the way.

* BossRush: A Boss Rush mode was added in ''Beat Hazard Ultra''.

* CurbStompBattle: It's possible to destroy a boss ship before it can even fire. Doing so nets you the "Brutal Boss Kill" [[CosmeticAward Achievement.]]

* DownloadableContent: The ''Ultra'' pack, which dramatically expands the game. There's also a cheap codec pack that enables you to play music in iTunes, m4a, mp4 and other formats[[labelnote:*]](this is only required for Windows users as Macintosh computers already support these formats)[[/labelnote]].

** If the achievement list for Ultra is anything to go by, you can have at least 4 different bosses onscreen at the same time during the BossRush mode.

* EpilepticFlashingLights: The game starts with a seizure warning. [[CassandraTruth Unfortunately, they made it skippable]].
* ExpansionPack: ''Ultra'', which caused a leaderboard and rank reset upon release due to changes in how quieter-but-still-intense sections of songs are handled (which is part of a free patch). There's enough new content in there to make it feel like a new game entirely.
* HarderThanHard: Hardcore not hard enough for you? Give Insane a try. Still not hard enough? Try [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Suicidal]].

** Certain enemies in the ''Ultra'' pack can mess with your ship. Stalkers and Repulsers use gravity beams to either pull your ship in or push it away, potentially into something you shouldn't hit. Bosses can potentially have either type on some of their hardpoints. There's also an enemy that essentially amounts to a chain of glowing energy balls that if you hit, do not damage you but disable your weaponry momentarily; mines dropped from a Miner can also cripple your ship's ability to use anything.

** One of the perks gives you one of these. They prioritize the most threatening target on screen, totally bypassing other enemies to reach it. If some missiles are left over afterwards, they will automatically track the next most dangerous target and so on.

* {{RPG Elements}}: The game remembers your scores from each song and treats them as experience points, with levels having the names of naval ranks such as Cadet and Commander. Prior to ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' each level afforded you a tangible bonus, such as extra starting lives or {{SmartBomb}}s. Reaching max rank let you start off with the Beat Hazard at full power!
** ''Beat Hazard Ultra'' [[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20586769&postcount=15 changed the always-enabled level-up awards into a perks system]] giving you 3 slots (which can be increased to 8 with Ultra installed) to equip perks in, and you'll have to upgrade perks separately. Additionally, the expansion pack will also add a handful of perks, mostly pertaining to new weapons.

* SerialEscalation: Cold Beam previously implemented a slider to turn down the intense visuals (with a decrease in point scoring to match). As of the Ultra pack, it can be turned [[UpToEleven up to 150% or even 200%.]] Some people '''''[[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1229410 want it to go up to 500%']]'''''.
* SheatheYourSword: Wait a few seconds without shooting and you'll get a Dare Devil bonus which increases your multiplier. Holding fire for a minute gives an achievement.

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Going from a soft section to a loud section of a song (or from a soft to loud song in Survival mode) results in this- for you and the enemies!

-> Beat Hazard is designed to [[BrownNote overload the senses and batter your eyes]] from start to finish.
--> --'''[[WordOfGod Starg]], confirming our suspicions'''

[[caption-width-right:300:[[VideoGame/RevolutionX Music Is The Weapon.]] No, really.]]

Beat Hazard is an indie ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Studios and released on Steam, Xbox Live Indie Games, the PlayStationNetwork, and the Apple App Store. The premise is simple... choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot some bad guys, consisting of space junk in various-sized clumps, small [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], bigger [[SpacePlane Space Planes,]] smarter [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], [[BossFight bigger, smarter]] [[SpacePlane Space Planes]] and [[BossFight even bigger]] [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], which are armed with multiple weapons to take you down. In other words, [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves.]]

Ever play ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind your ship suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, you dodge'em and shoot'em. Now, here's the catch: Difficulty level is controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level - which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that wipes all enemies onscreen (not counting bosses), too.

In Normal Play, you choose a song and play through it, and you're done. Pick a new song, shoot some more bad guys, rinse and repeat. If you prefer, you can engage in [[EndlessGame Survival mode]] and see how many songs you can get through before you lose all your lives.

!!'''This game displays examples of:'''
* AbnormalAmmo:
** Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[VideoGame/{{BattleZone1998}} Rave Gun,]] shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.
** In ''Ultra'', some of the bosses have guns that shoot other, smaller ships at you.
* BeamSpam:
** The deadly Tracker Cannon on boss ships. First, it uses a LaserSight to aim at you. Then, it launches a salvo of beams at the place it locked you at. Hope you managed to move out of the way.\\
\\
The worst part is that there are two (three after the Ultra Patch, although the third one behaves differently) variations of that cannon. The first one fires a beam at the spot it's locked on, the second one fires two beams slightly off the spot. So if you can't get really far from it in time, you have either get out of the {{laser sight}}s, or stay in them. If you guessed wrong, you die.\\
\\
Lord help you if the Tracker Cannon is the last thing left on a boss when on Suicidal - the charge time (the time the laser sight is visible) is barely long enough to react (barely 0.2 seconds), and the cooldown between attacks is pretty much nil.
** This gets taken to another level with the Ultra Patch allowing bosses to have multiples of any weapon. Including [[DualBoss Dual Bosses]] with two sets of the [[hottip:older Tracker Cannons:The ones that actually aim at you or just to the side of you]] on them. [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a3kytt.jpg Oh, crap indeed.]]
* BulletHell:
** You shoot a lot. The bosses shoot a lot too. Some things you can shoot down, some you have to dodge.

* DownloadableContent: The Ultra pack, which dramatically expands the game. There's also a cheap codec pack that enables you to play music in iTunes, m4a, mp4 and other formats.
* DynamicDifficulty:
** Enemies fire more often as the music gets louder and faster.
** Your weapon damage is also based on the music intensity. During a quiet bit your weapons do very little damage to enemies you can slaughter by the dozen with a single sweep of fire when it's intense.
* DualBoss:
** Sometimes instead of one bigger boss you have to deal with two smaller ones. They still pack some serious punch though.

* ExpansionPack: Ultra, which caused a leaderboard and rank reset upon release due to changes in how quieter-but-still-intense sections of songs are handled (which is part of a free patch). There's enough new content in there to make it feel like a new game entirely.

* InterfaceScrew:
** When power is on full and the background visuals get going, it can be very hard to tell what's happening on screen. An intentional design decision as it changes with the difficulty and turning down the graphics intensity reduces your point harvest.
** Certain enemies in the Ultra pack can mess with your ship. Attractors and Repellers use gravity beams to either pull your ship in or push it away, potentially into something you shouldn't hit. Bosses can potentially have either type on some of their hardpoints. There's also an enemy that essentially amounts to a chain of glowing energy balls that if you hit, do not damage you but disable your weaponry momentarily.

* MacrossMissileMassacre:
** Homing Missile launchers on boss ships. Also, you can take it UpToEleven with weapon power upgrades and the song's tempo. A new ship in the Ultra pack unleashes one upon death.

* NintendoHard:
** Think you're good at this game? [[Music/XJapan Art of Life]] will still make you its prison bitch. The first 3 minutes of the song are slow and quiet, meaning you will die, a lot.

* {{RPG Elements}}:
** The game remembers your scores from each song and treats them as experience points, with levels having the names naval ranks such as cadet and commander. Prior to the "Ultra Patch" each level afforded you a tangible bonus, such as extra starting lives or [[SmartBomb Smart Bombs.]] Reaching max rank let you start off with the Beat Hazard SuperMode on!
** The [[ExpansionPack Ultra]] patch [[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20586769&postcount=15 changed the always-enabled levelup awards into a perks system]] giving you 3 slots (which can be increased to 8 with Ultra installed) to equip perks in, and you'll have to upgrade perks separately. Additionally, the expansion pack will also add a handful of perks, mostly pertaining to new weapons.

* SerialEscalation: Cold Beam previously implemented a slider to turn down the intense visuals (with a decrease in point scoring to match). As of the Ultra pack, it can be turned [[UpToEleven up to 150% or even 200%.]] Some people '''''[[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1229410 want it to go up to 500%.]]'''''

Ever play ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind your ship suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, you dodge'em and shoot'em. [[ItGotWorse Now, here's the catch.]] Difficulty level is controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level - which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that wipes all enemies onscreen (not counting bosses), too.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[RevolutionX Music Is The Weapon.]] No, really.]]

* SoundtrackDissonance: Try shooting ships to Creator/MichaelGiacchino's Married Life theme from ''Film/{{Up}}'' sometime.

* SoundtrackDissonance: Try shooting ships to MichaelGiacchino's Married Life theme from ''Film/{{Up}}'' sometime.

Beat Hazard is an indie ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Studios and released on Steam, Xbox Live Indie Games, the PlayStationNetwork, and the Apple App Store. The premise is simple... choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot some bad guys, consisting of space junk in various-sized clumps, small [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], bigger [[SpacePlane Space Planes,]] and [[BossFight even bigger]] [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], which are armed with multiple weapons to take you down. In other words, [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves.]]

** This troper tried to play perfectly zts tracks from Umineko OST, like lastendconductor or dreamenddischarger on Insane difficulty. And failed. Over 200 times. With maxed out Deflect Shield and Superbomb perks equipped (others perks equipped were score-related perks). Yep, these over 10 minutes tracks deserve to be called "hard".

*** Try using the Reflect Shield when the boss is about to use the Tracker Cannon while right next to the boss. It does MAJOR damage

** Beat Hazard IS this trope, in video game format. [[UpToEleven Especially if you turn the intensity to 200%]]

--> Beat Hazard is designed to [[BrownNote overload the senses and batter your eyes]] from start to finish.
---> '''[[WordOfGod Starg]], confirming our suspicions'''

Ever play ''{{Asteroids}}''? This game should look visually familiar. That is, until the space behind your ship suddenly becomes a psychedelic audio visualization. Your small fighter craft appears in the middle of the screen, things fly in from all sides, you dodge'em and shoot'em. [[ItGotWorse Now, here's the catch.]] Difficulty level is controlled by your choice of music, not unlike in ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. Survive the whole song and you complete the level - which means that EpicRocking equals MarathonLevel. Your spaceship's guns shoot faster and harder the faster and louder your chosen song is. And, on top of that, there are [[PowerUp Power Ups]] that make the music even louder and, of course, increase the power of your guns. If you need a breather, there's a SmartBomb that wipes all enemies onscreen (not counting bosses), too.

* AbnormalAmmo: Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[VideoGame/{{BattleZone1998}} Rave Gun,]] shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.

* BeamSpam: The deadly Tracker Cannon on boss ships. First, it uses a LaserSight to aim at you. Then, it launches a salvo of beams at the place it locked you at. Hope you managed to move out of the way.\\

** This gets taken to another level with the Ultra Patch allowing bosses to have multiples of any weapon. Including [[DualBoss Dual Bosses]] with two sets of the [[hottip:older Tracker Cannons:The ones that actually aim at you or just to the side of you]] on them. [[OhCrap Oh, crap]] [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a3kytt.jpg indeed.]]

* CoolButImpractical: The Ultra Beam and Micro Missile power-ups in Ultra.
** YMMV, as both these perks have their uses but you can hardly rely on them

* DifficultySpike: Once the music gets quiet, you're screwed.
** Not so much in Ultra, if the music gets quiet all enemies slow down, allowing you to get away or pick off enemy ships while they're slowed to a crawl.

* DynamicDifficulty: Enemies fire more often as the music gets louder and faster.

* DualBoss: Sometimes instead of one bigger boss you have to deal with two smaller ones. They still pack some serious punch though.
** They're actually worse, as not only are they smaller, but they are barely damaged by the Super Bomb, which has been seen to take out the large ones with no previous damage.

* ExpansionPack: Ultra, which will cause a leaderboard and rank reset upon release due to changes in how quieter-but-still-intense sections of songs are handled (which is part of a free patch). There's enough new content in there to make it feel like a new game entirely.
* HarderThanHard: Hardcore not hard enough for you? Reach Elite rank and give Insane a try. Still not hard enough? Rank up 10 times more and try [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Suicidal]].
** In the Ultra Pack, these are unlocked like perks. Insane must be obtained before Suicidal.
* InterfaceScrew: When power is on full and the background visuals get going, it can be very hard to tell what's happening on screen. An intentional design decision as it changes with the difficulty and turning down the graphics intensity reduces your point harvest.
** Certain new enemies in the Ultra pack can mess with your ship. Attractors and Repellers use gravity beams to either pull your ship in or push it away, potentially into something you shouldn't hit. Bosses can potentially have either type on some of their hardpoints. There's also an enemy that essentially amounts to a chain of glowing energy balls that if you hit, do not damage you but disable your weaponry momentarily.
* LaserSight: when you see a boss use one, avoid it. That's the Tracker Cannon.

** Think you're good at this game? [[XJapan Art of Life]] will still make you its prison bitch. The first 3 minutes of the song are slow and quiet, meaning you will die, a lot.
*** Not to mention the piano solo about halfway across that quiets everything down and usually comes packaged nicely with a boss. This song by itself is extremely tough.
** Want to go insane? Select the [[{{Halo2}} Delta Halo Suite]] and set it to Insane. Proceed to flip out. It's over 11 minutes long and has silent parts.

** For a piece of hell under the 5 minute mark, try [[YuGiOh5Ds Clear Mind]] on Hardcore. There are barely any breather spots so it's hard to get your multiplyer up, and it will also be hard to see what's going on whilst everything is trying to kill you.
** Quiet songs in general have ended up being notoriously hard, regardless of the intensity of the song. The dev asked people to fire off some sample songs of this type so that he could make them more playable, but until that patch hits (which is expected to be when [[ExpansionPack Ultra]] is released), they'll be nigh-impossible. Of course, when the patch does hit, a leaderboard and rank reset will occur.

** The game remembers your scores from each song and treats them as experience points, with levels having the names naval ranks such as cadet and commander. Prior to the "Ultra Patch" Each level affords you a tangible bonus, such as extra starting lives or [[SmartBomb Smart Bombs.]] Reaching max rank lets you start off with the Beat Hazard SuperMode on!

* SerialEscalation: Cold Beam previously implemented a slider to turn down the intense visuals (with a decrease in point scoring to match). As of the Ultra pack, it can be turned [[UpToEleven up to 150% or even 200%.]] Some people '''''[[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1229410 want it to go up to 500%]]'''''

* ShoutOut: One of the perks is called [[MythBusters Jamie Wants Big Boom]].
* SoundtrackDissonance: Try shooting ships to MichaelGiacchino's Married Life theme from ''{{Up}}'' sometime.

* ThePowerOfRock: Throw on some Priest or Motorhead and go to town.

* AbnormalAmmo: Your EnergyWeapon, which could only be called a [[BattleZone Rave Gun,]] shoots streams of technicolor ''awesome'', fueled by '''music'''.

*** Not to mention the piano solo about halfway across that quiets everything down and usually comes packaged nicely with a boss. This song by itself is BeyondTheImpossible.

Beat Hazard is an indie ShootEmUp created by Cold Beam Studios and released on Steam, Xbox Live Indie Games and the PlayStationNetwork. The premise is simple... choose a song, which in this case is a level, and shoot some bad guys, consisting of space junk in various-sized clumps, small [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], bigger [[SpacePlane Space Planes,]] and [[BossFight even bigger]] [[SpacePlane Space Planes]], which are armed with multiple weapons to take you down. In other words, [[TriggerHappy shoot anything that moves.]]

* ShootTheBullet: That's what you should do when someone shoots a Homing Missile or a spread of Ring Mines at you. Don't try doing it to the [[PainfullySlowProjectile orbs]] though.

--> Beat Hazard is designed to overload the senses and batter your eyes from start to finish.