Scrap Metal Review Now Live

As part of Xbox Live's Arcade Block Party string of weeks, a lot more people have bought and played Scrap Metal when compared to the little known Greed Corp. When you get a percentage of the Microsoft Points you spent back after the promotion is over, it turns out to be quite a deal to extend your XBLA library.

Of course, at 1200 MS Points you've got to question whether or not Scrap Metal is worth shelling out for. We're not all 1 Vs. 100 Primetime winners now are we? Luckily, you can read my full review of the top-down car-combat title at Game Revolution now that it's live on the site. I wrote quickly about Scrap Metal on PLAY READ WRITE while I was in the middle of reviewing it, but you might have already read that. Are there any readers around after my long absence?

Anyways, check out my full review of Scrap Metal at the following link, and if you bother to have any choice words for me, please leave them in the comments on this post (that way I'll see them): http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/xbox360/scrap-metal

Scrap Metal (XBLA) Impressions

While Scrap Metal is out now, and I'm no longer the top of the charts, I'm stil playing around with the game and gettng enough experience under my belt for a fully fledged review. Frustration aside, I'm still attempting to make my way through the main campaign and I plan on playing some multiplayer now that people are actually online. That still worries me. I know I'm not all that great at the game, and if I make my way online, I'm thinking I'm probably going to get blown to pieces before I even reach turn one. Anyways, here are some quick impressions:

//I'm towards the end of the campaign but the difficulty has ramped up in an incredible way. Starting with one of the boss races at the end of the second to last area, I cannot clear a single mission. I've tried several different cars and none of them are fast enough, handle well enough, or have the firepower to take out Petrov Piston. Fuck you Petrov Piston.

//On another note, I've really loved playing the alternative missions. Every map has similar races like demolition races, elimination races, and survivor missions. These are all fun, but nothing beats driving a gas tanker with a flame thrower attached to it. It's similar to the Rampage missions you used to find in Grand Theft Auto.

//I've also enjoyed the ability to switch back and forth between control schemes on the fly. Some of those alternative races require the precision of the RC car controls, while most need only the arcadey feel of the basic controls.

//Scrap Metal does such an awesome job of providing varied, arcadey, vehicular destruction. There's a very obvious nod to the top down arcade racers in Scrap Metal, but the game totally launches from that pad and hits the moon. It adds a ton of variety in both mission design, track design, and car design. That wealth of alternatives makes every match unpredictable and, basically FUN.

I'll be playing more Scrap Metal this week, and I'll be online before Friday. Drop me a line at danielrbischoff@gmail.com if you'd like to party up and play online, or simply message and friend request me on Xbox Live. My gamertag is coolyfooly88.

Top of the charts and Scrap Metal

I'm currently playing Scrap Metal, an XBLA game set to release this week along side Perfect Dark in Microsoft's Xbox Live Block Party. I got a review code for the game and have been playing it before its release, alongside maybe 20 other people. Of course, this means the leaderboards are pretty bare right now.

Since I've been playing as much as I can to write a review early, I've found that I'm frequently on top of the overall leaderboard for Xbox Live. Hooray for me!

I sincerely doubt I'd be on top of any leaderboard on Xbox Live ever. Of course, this rare occasion is now documented so no one can ever say that I've never led anything in my life. My kills ranking on Modern Warfare 2 is well into the 3 millions, as is my score and wins ranking. Scrap Metal is about the only game I'll ever be "the best" at. I think I'm OK with that.