REVIEW: Limbo for the Xbox 360

Some people just don't get it. Games can certainly hold a quantifiably artistic merit, certainly in some of their more passive aspects of design. Inherently, some people just won't "get" Limbo. Critics, myself included (if I've earned that title), will laude it for its design, visuals, emotional connection, and presentation.

All of those compliments are well deserved. Praise won't go unjustly to Playdead's little platforming, puzzling title. With the lead-off Summer of Arcade responsibilities thrust upon its shoulders, Limbo's review scores will be a blessing. Unfortunately, I don't see the title reaching the well-deserved sales numbers that would define Limbo as the second coming of Braid.

Still, it's deserving of the title, certainly moreso than P.B. Winterbottom. Limbo thrusts the player into its plot, unforgiving in it's puzzles, a complete lack of tutorial, a total vacuous and nightmarish feeling enthralls in soundtrack, visuals, and controls. It's hard not too mention Limbo and without paying regards to its hauntingly sparse atmosphere. Where every game tries to be louder, brighter and give the player a higher score (see Bulletstorm etc.), Limbo relishes its languid and withholding aesthetic.

I could help but feel like the game was chuckling good humoredly at me as I fiddled with puzzles, repeatedly finding the way I was looking at it to be wrong. Instead of taking every chance to mock my ignorance, Limbo would produce a solution almost on its own. At least, that's how effortless it would seem. Not since Tetris has a learning curve been so smooth.

Needless to say, its easy to fall for Limbo's devious simplicity. Successes feel extremely high, while lows never push the player to walk away from the game, much less do any frustration fueled controller tossing. Still, I would ask for a bit more. The ending comes as a surprise, not necessarily in terms of plot, but in that I wanted to solve more puzzles and traverse more land.

That's truthfully the biggest complaint I have about Limbo. Oftentimes, it's best to leave us hanging on, barely satisfied in what we've had, satiating to further the experience. Limbo surely does leave me wanting more.

PLAY READ WRITE / REVIEW SCORE: 5 out of 5

Perfect Dark (XBLA) Review Now Live

Ah, Perfect Dark. One of, if not the last good game for the Nintendo 64. I bought a copy of the game used for my cratridge collection, but I don't think I'll ever dare to play the game in that form now that the Xbox Live Arcade port is out.

I reviewed the game, what is it?, two weeks ago now, and that review has gone live on Game Revolution. I loved the game, and I have to admit Ray much of the review was filtered through a fine mesh of nostalgia. Frankly, of course Perfect Dark isn't going to be up to par with modern first person shooters, but let's get serious and talk about "fun."

When you're playing Perfect Dark, were you having fun? Forget how old it is. Did you have fun? Forget the graphics and how it's really only a port. Were you having fun Farsighting Meatsims for an hour?

My argument is that a review shoud have plenty of personal opinion, that is what people are looking for when they seek out one person's semi-professional opinion. I hope you enjoy reading my personal opinion on Perfect Dark (XBLA) at the following link, and if you're reading this, send me a message and a friend request (my gamertag is coolyfooly88) and we can complete some co-op achievements: http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/xbox360/perfect-dark

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

Greed Corp Review Now Live

Woah! What happened there? PLAY READ WRITE sort of blanked out there for a while! I think it might have something to do with the GDC '10 or maybe some of the big announcements like Nintendo's next DS (generation). Anyways, some news:

My review of Greed Corp for Xbox Live Arcade is now live at Game Revolution. I ended up giving the game a positive review, but for the full breakdown and score, you'll have to click on over to Game Revolution. I've already written about the game on PLAY READ WRITE, but seeing the review on GR has me thinking about Greed Corp anew.

I've been playing Resonance of Fate, by Tri-Ace, for review over the past week and that game also uses hexagonal squares, albeit in a completely different way. I really like Settlers of Catan, and that (board) game along with these two video games have me pondering if the hexagonal space is the new square, when it comes to gaming at large.

What do you think? While you're pondering the space within a hexagon, you can check out my full review of Greed Corp (XBLA) at the following link: http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/xbox360/greed-corp

Perfect Dark XBLA Impressions

Playing games a little earlier than everyone else is always fun. I've been doing a lot of that lately too, what with early XBLA titles being downloaded to my hard drive on a weekly basis. This week is a little bit more special. I can't think of anyone that was really looking forward to Scrap Metal, or Greed Corp for that matter, but I know people have their eyes on this weeks XBLA release: Perfect Dark.

For those of you not in the know, Perfect Dark, the classic FPS game from the days of the Nintendo 64, has been remade with textures fit for HD. Essentially, it's the same exact game with an HD overlay and compatibility with Xbox Live. All of the original modes are there, including co-operative and counter-operative mission modes, as well as the combat simulator which allows for all kinds of fun with sims of all different types. Here are some of my quick impressions prior to a full-fledged review that'll go up on gamerevolution.com.

//Perfect Dark was not designed with two analog sticks in mind. This much is clear. The auto-aim is heavy handed, and now, instead of that heavy-handedness dealing with the C buttons on the 64 controller, it's dealing with flighty FPS controls.

//Still, the enemy AI is on the weak side as far as modern day first person shooters are concerned. The most advanced AI tactic I've seen was a Blonde Sim darting in and out of one of the windows in a classic map from Goldeneye. I haven't been taken down by advanced enemy movements, so much as I've been taken sheer firepower.

//The graphics are certainly upgraded, but characters don't move their mouths, the geometry hasn't been updated, and most of the basic animations remain the same. That being said, the frame rate, visual fidelity, and overall look of the game has made a giant leap forward. I can't imagine going back to play the game on Nintendo 64 aside from pure nostalgia's sake.

Gamers have a reason to look forward to Perfect Dark. It still retains every bit of fun the original had. Mowing down countless amounts of meatsims will never get old in my book. Set up the laptop gun in sentry mode, kick back, and just enjoy some good old multiplayer fun like you used to, back when that kind of thing required an expansion pack.

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.

Darwinia+ Afterthoughts

My review went up at Game Revolution the yesterday but I'm still playing the game on and off in an effort to fully take in the single player mode and multiplayer modes (and clean up some achievements I left behind). Easy one of the better downloadable titles I've played, mostly thanks to the nuanced and satisfying gameplay, Darwinia+ still had some surprises in store for me after finishing my review.

Most notably is the "boot loader" that basically acts as a title screen. I didn't realize it at first, but there are actually several boot loaders programmer into Darwinia+, each a slightly different flavor than the last. Tonight, for example, when I loaded the game, there was a very peaceful piece of Darwinia+'s soundtrack playing as darwinian souls floated upwards on screen. I let this loader play for a good half an hour with the music on loop before actually starting my game.

I've noticed other loaders too though, including a Matrix-rain infused with darwinians that actually falls to form the title of the game. Not all of them are so peacful or interesting though as one loader had some spinning geometry and lots of strange effects with banner text that read "I just programmed this in 8 minutes."

All of the bootloaders were nice touches and I always loved seeing what popped up when I started the game. Why don't more games do different things with the loading screens? Why don't they let programmers do individual "signature" load screens before the game starts?

Darwinia+ Review now Live on GR

My Darwinia+ review is now live and I have to say that I really enjoying writing about the game. When I requested to review the title, I did so with tempered excitement. I had heard so many good things about Darwinia from players of the game on the PC platform, but just because you hear good things doesn't mean good things are always there.

I suppose Darwinia+ showed me how polarizing specific video games can be. Many gamers may enjoy Modern Warfare 2's specific brand of action, but I doubt that being a fan of that title could possibly ensure the enjoyment of this title. Darwinia+ doesn't have the fine and glossy coat of the highest possible resolution graphics or the intense arcade gameplay that might make a game a system seller, but it is an incredibly deep, enthralling, and nuanced title. In my review I likened it to "the wine and cheese of video games," a palatable title that you might have to be a connoisseur to really enjoy.

Anyways, you can check out my full review over at Game Revolution at the following address: http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/xbox360/darwinia-plus

Greed Corp Initial Impressions

I'm still struggling to get the game under my thumb(s) but after playing about 4 hours yesterday and 4 hours today, I think I can write up some quick impressions for a game I would never (ever) play if it weren't for a review. That's not to say that Greed Corp isn't a fun title that has a great turn on Settlers of Catan style gaming. Speaking of which...

//The Settlers of Catan influence is moderate at best. I'm sure developer W! Games has the board game and its expansions in the office, and I'm sure they were seeing hexagons in their sleep while developing Greed Corp, but they've taken the essential board design and made a ompletely different game out of it.

//These computer players are about the most difficult assholes I've ever met, and that's including Advance Wars, and I hate the computer player in those games too. After the tutorial, which doesn't give the player any control, I had to try 4 times to beat the very first campaign level that pits me against one other opponent whose AI is set to the lowest level. You can imagine where it went as the game got harder and I progressed through the ascending levels.

//In truth, Greed Corp has you operate constantly on the side of a cliff literally, and forcing the player to learn through failure is as close to trial by fire as you're going get in video games these days. It's not as if you can't just try again, but hopefully you'll learn from how you lose, and not just throw your controller in frustration like me.

//Soundtrack, meet my friend, custom playlist. While at first I thought the 1920s-influenced soundtrack was a neat touch, it quickly got annoying and unnecessary. The sound effects also got tiring after a short time with the game. As a turn-based title, the game takes a while as your opponents moves play out. The computer also takes its sweet time while it's kicking your ass so having a custom soundtrack of your own tunes will definitely help the process overall.

I'll be sure to post here when my full review goes live at GR.

Darwinia+ Quick Impressions

I have another review assignment from Game Revolution that was an easy download from Xbox Live Arcade. This one I was curious about because of it's long history on the PC. I'd also heard that there was an extremely long development cycle for the XBLA port.

Blake and Nick were able to get me a review code, so I downloaded Darwinia+ last Friday. Obviously, Darwinia+ is a hybrid of real time strategy gameplay and good old fashioned Lemmings. Honestly, that makes me very nervous. I'm the kind of guy who worries the entire time he's playing Starcraft. How do I know the enemy isn't going to come rushing in when I'm at my most vulnerable? And when a game depends on a mechanic of guarding little helpless sprites as they pass from one point to another, this only heightens a sense of nervousness and fear.

Still, Darwinia+ has been fun, as nerve wrecking as fun can be. I like the graphic style, and the music has been good, though very sparse. I've been playing with OCD and wiping out every enemy. If there's an egg launcher near by, I simply have an entire squad dedicated to the landing zone so no monsters will spawn. This of course slows down much of my engineering time, but there's no time limit to the game and I'm not worried.

I'll be sure to post the link to my full review once it goes live.