So maybe you don’t quite remember 8-tracks, but chances are you’ve at least owned some cassette tapes in your lifetime. If you haven’t, then you were definitely born after 1990, and CDs are probably as old school as your music collection gets. The mini-disc never really caught on, but digital music sure found its niche after the MP3 and a little shareware program called Napster. Since then, music distribution has seen some interesting shifts. From USB albums to iTunes, music fans are always looking for new ways to hear their favorite bands. So what’s the next logical step? Rock Band and Guitar Hero, of course.

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Recently, there have been a few articles here at GotGame about either critiquing track lists or a wish list of tracks that could be included in Rock Band. At the end of the day, no one can be perfectly happy. With a myriad of musical tastes, everyone will have their opinions on what songs they want included in their rhythm game. We’ve always wondered: why can’t we have a game that is compatible with any song? Well, Audiosurf is that game. Though not necessarily “new,” since Audiosurf has been available for download on Steam since February, the game’s release in retail markets is sure to breathe some fresh air into the title, even in spite of a price increase above its current $10.

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Guitar Hero has the guitar. Donkey Konga has the bongos. DDR has the dance pad, and Steel Battalion had that ungodly-huge monstrosity for controlling your mech. Specialized controllers are all the rage these days. Simply examine the off-the-charts successes of the Wii, Rock Band, and the 150,000 different versions of Guitar Hero. Could a DJ rhythm have the same success?

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It’s interesting to see how many games evolve from a common mechanic, yet have drastic differences. Let’s consider what’s currently known as the “Rhythm” genre. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the reigning champs. I describe this game mechanic as “Linear Digital Timing,” or LDT for short. It has these rules:
-The player’s actions are tied to a fixed linear medium (like a video clip or a music sample).
-The player uses digital input ( e.g. tapping a button on or off, or pushing a joystick from center to right).
-When prompted, the player must do the specified input in a specific window of time.
Example: in Guitar Hero, you react to a linear song (like “Roxanne”), where you need to strum a note (where the digital fret button and strum switch must be “on”) at the exact time the note passes the strum window. Do it correctly, and a note plays. Miss, and you are penalized.
But Guitar Hero and Rock Band were far from the first to do this. Remember Dragon’s Lair?
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