Xbox Live Community Watch - 3/6/09
This week was actually a very strong one for Xbox Live Community Games, with the first chapter of an episodic adventure game and some great multiplayer games on offer. There are also a ton of games just on the cusp of greatness that are worth checking out, so let's get to the rundown.
Yay
- Mithra: Episode 1, Chapter 1 - 400 MS points. A very ambitious community game, Mithra is an episodic adventure game with surprisingly high production values. Fans of classic adventure games will definitely want to check this one out. Just be aware that this is only the first chapter (out of 3) of the first episode (out of 5) of this episodic series, so it still feels like an introduction, but it's setting a nice foundation for the rest of the series.
- ZP2K9 - 200 MS points. An excellent side-scrolling multiplayer shooter featuring classic modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and king of the hill. There are a ton of fun and interesting weapons to cause destruction with, making this probably the best multiplayer game to come out of the community games.
- Jackpot Stadium - 200 MS points. Amid all of the Pong clones in the community games, sometimes one of them actually does something innovative and worthwile. Jackpot Stadium is a perfect example, with the slight modification to the typical formula by allowing you to swing the angle of your paddle to change the direction as well as the speed of the ball depending on how hard you hit it. It works great and makes for a fun multiplayer game.
Nay
- Kittie's Maze - 200 MS points. Remember those mazes that would be on the kid's menu at restaurants? Well here's a ton of them. The big problem is that you're on a time limit that carries over from one maze to the next. You get a 30 second boost for completing a maze, but as the mazes get more complicated that isn't enough to get you through since your character can only move so fast.
- Welcome to Mexico - 200 MS points. I'm willing to overlook the potentially offensive Mexican stereotype in the game simply because it's not a very good game. Your character's collision detection with platforms is odd and inconsistent (there were times when I could just walk across the empty space between platforms) and there are other technical issues. To fault the game on moral grounds would just be overkill.
Ay?
- Alchemist - 200 MS points. Essentially, Alchemist is a Bejeweled clone. It's also much cheaper than other versions of Bejeweled while keeping the core gameplay and fun intact, making it an excellent alternative.
- Fitba - 400 MS points. A fun football (soccer here in the states) game. It's very much an arcade style version of the sport, which made it much more enjoyable for someone like me that doesn't actually know all of the rules. It also has a very nice control scheme, letting you pass the ball in any direction with the right analog stick, which I thought was a very nice touch.
- Pegzo - 400 MS points. The classic peg solitaire game, tasking you with jumping pegzo characters checkers-style to clear them all from the game board. It has some fun and challenging puzzles and an excellent presentation, but this kind of puzzle game isn't for everyone.
- Trinity Wars Prologue: Spine of the World - 800 MS points. A side-scrolling action RPG with 7 classes to choose from and a ton of skills and enchantments to customize your character. The controls are a little bit stiff, but it doesn't take too long to get used to it. At 800 points, definitely give it a trial download first before buying it, but fans of the old Castlevania games (as in the NES original) will find an enjoyable and lengthy game.
- Neon Paddles - 200 MS points. A paddle game where you hit the ball against the opposite wall to score points. It's been done a million times before, but this version keeps things interesting by having the walls constantly moving in later levels to increase the challenge.
- Tanks Vs. - 200 MS points. A classic arcade-style tank game for up to 4 players with several different game modes. There are some issues, like respawning right next to opponents, but it's still fun despite the setbacks. Just make sure you have friends to play it with, because it's just not as fun against CPU opponents.
- Double Vision - 400 MS points. A game of spotting the difference between two pictures. It's actually a pretty fun game and brings back memories of Eye Spy and Where's Waldo books. There's also a two-player mode so you can compete with a friend.
NaviFairy
Posted to Video Games on 6 March 2009
Other stuff like this: community games, indie, xbox 360, xbox live
