Xbox Live Community Watch - 5/22/09
After such a strong showing last week, this week's games may not cause quite as much excitement. There are still a few gems hidden amongst the pack, but overall this may be a week to give your MS points a rest.
Yay
- Dock 'em - 200 MS points. Dock 'em is a deceptively simple game about getting incoming boats to the right dock. You draw the path for the boats to follow, while also staying wary of other incoming boats and making sure their paths don't cause a collision. I wish there were more island and dock layouts to add some extra variety, but it's an extremely addictive design already.
- What The?! - 400 MS points. What The?! is a game show with some challenging questions and fabulous prizes. An excellent game for trivia buffs, and you'll enjoy the "prizes" you can win, like a refrigerator or a right shoe.
Ay?
- StreamLine - 200 MS points. A slick race to the finish through devious obstacle courses filled with boosts and hazards. At times it almost reminded me of the Battletoads speeder bike levels, but in a good way. It's punishing, but you always have that sense of "one more try" to keep you coming back for more.
- Sqong - 200 MS points. A breakout clone with some great ideas, like tilting paddles and challenging survival mode. But the whole time I was playing I couldn't help but feel like the ball was bouncing off of my paddle and other objects in a way that just didn't seem right. Maybe it would bounce a couple degrees sharper than I was expecting, but it was enough to make the game a bit too unpredictable for my liking.
- Cubix Classic - 200 MS points. I'm going to come right out and say it, I've never been able to complete a Rubix cube. And this community game didn't make it any easier on me. If you do like this sort of thing, then you can alter the difficulty to get a nearly limitless supply of different cube puzzles to solve.
Nay
- Minesweeper Mayhem - 200 MS points. As far as minesweeper clones go, there are much better ones already available through community games (like Battlesweeper) that offer more options and a smoother play experience. The one new mode that Minesweeper Mayhem delivers is a spinner mode where the board spins around, but I'm not sure that a dizzy feeling can count as a new fun play mechanic. I'm also not a fan of the fact that once a flag is placed you can still lose by selecting that square, where in other minesweeper clones a flag is a safeguard to prevent that from happening.
- Ultra Dual X Racer - 400 MS points. This game is just plain mean. Remember the Battletoads level I mentioned for StreamLine? Well this is that same kind of game. Except that here you are controlling two cars simultaneously on separate courses, each with one of the controller's analog sticks. I commend anyone that can successfully play this game, but I cannot in good conscience recommend it.
- The Mystic Orb - 200 MS points. Essentially, it's a magic 8-ball with a different coat of paint. It may be entertaining for a question or two, but it's hardly worth spending your points on.
- SpeedMath - 200 MS points. A valiant attempt to make math fun. It gives you a math problem, and you and up to 3 friends can see who can figure out the answer quickest. It's a solid design, allows for some nice customization for the kinds of math questions you'll be asked, and has some really good music. The only problem is that it's math, and generally people don't like math. It would be good for kids trying to practice their math at home, but don't expect it to be a hit at parties.
- GravSheep - 200 MS points. A sheep herding game similar to the XBLA game Flock. There is one big issue that is holding this game back though. Sheep often get herded into corners, and touching walls causes you damage, so getting sheep out of a corner will almost always get you killed or very close to it. If you have a high tolerance for frustration then give this one a try, but otherw
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NaviFairy
Posted to Video Games on 22 May 2009
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