Consolation Prize

Tron. I remember the movie fondly from my youth, mainly because of the amazing (for the time) special effects and the game related theme. I’ve not watched the movie since as there’s no doubt my rose tinted spectacles would be shattered in an instant.

This little trip back down memory lane brings us onto one of the weeks Xbox Live Arcade releases, a port of the original arcade game Discs of Tron, released back in 1983.

The game is based in an isometric view of the arena, the player character Tron is closest and the opponent Sark is at the far end, both players are perched on disc shaped platforms. The aim is simple, throw discs at Sark whilst avoiding any thrown back in return, and defeat him by either knocking him off the platform or hitting him twice.

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There were a couple of new releases on Xbox Live Arcade this week. Both games, Chessmaster Live and Poker Smash, will set you back 800 MS points.

Chessmaster Live

There’s not a great deal I can elaborate on with this game. It’s a more than competent chess game based on a reputable chess engine, but don’t expect an exciting sensory experience.

The board can be viewed in either two or three dimensions, the latter of which can be rotated and panned and looks as good as can be expected. The 2D board doesn’t offer anything more exciting, feels a little out of place on an Xbox 360 console and reminds me of those portable magnetic chess games you can buy.

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I missed out on Rez the first time it appeared on the Dreamcast, and also its subsequent port to the PS2. An enhanced version is now also available from Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 MS points and this time I’m not going to miss out.

The story is a simple one providing enough detail to form a setting for the game. In Rez, you’re a hacker infiltrating a super network controlled by an artificial intelligence. Known as Eden, the AI has recently begun to question the meaning of its existence and has started to shut down. Your task is to enter cyberspace and infiltrate the core to re-awaken Eden.

Rez HD is an on the rails shooter and thus the player has no control over movement as you follow a predetermined path through each level. Emphasis is instead placed upon aiming as you guide the onscreen laser reticle over swarms of viruses and projectiles holding down the “A” button to get a lock-on to each target. Up-to a maximum of eight targets can be simultaneously locked-on ready for a laser attack when “A” is released.

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Boogie Bunnies is a new puzzle game that has recently been released on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points.

The aim of the game is to match three or more groups of “bunnies” in varying colours either horizontally or vertically by launching bunnies from the bottom or the left / right sides of the screen. Every time bunnies are successfully matched the “bunny bar” will fill up and once filled the player will advance to the next level. Every few seconds an additional row of bunnies is added to the top of the screen marching the crowd of bunnies further on and edging them closer to the trap (pit, water), which they will fall into, at the bottom of the screen.

There are a few minor variations in the game-play to that outlined above as every now and then the bunnies will dance acting as a double point’s multiplier for the duration. In addition red bunnies, in the roll of suicide bunny, will explode clearing the surrounding area when matched.

Boogie Bunnies is a very colourful game and has a nice isometric perspective of the action but doesn’t really break any new ground with this genre of game. Apart from being able to launch bunnies from the sides of the screen as-well as from the bottom the principles are similar to older games such as Puzzle Bobble.

With it’s cute graphics and bunnies that yelp “yippee” when successfully matched this game is probably more suited to the younger generation and is just a bit too saccharin sweet for my tastes. However, the game still plays well enough and I’m sure plenty of people will find it addictively engaging.

The Metal Slug series of games have been around for quite some time now and spawned a host of games on a number of platforms. I’ve even got a copy of Metal Slug 1st Mission and Metal Slug 2nd Mission for my Neo Geo Pocket Colour, that ill fated hand-held that I thought was particularly good for the time.

This time it’s the Xbox 360’s turn to receive a port of Metal Slug 3. The game is a run and gun side scrolling shooter which sees you taking on hordes of enemies, rescuing prisoners for power-ups and taking on the obligatory boss at the end of the stage.

During a stage you will come across different types of “Metal Slugs” (vehicles), increasing your firepower and overall effectiveness, and are essential for ensuring your survival if your reflexes are as bad as mine. One nice aspect about this game is the branching paths that are available within a stage adding to the games replayability as you explore the different routes available.

The controls are nice and simplistic with the left joystick used for movement and for the direction of fire with “X” used to shoot, “Y” to throw grenades and “A” to jump. Graphically things all move smoothly and the sprites, some of them surprisingly huge, look great.

The full version is available for 800 Microsoft Points and is well worth a look if you’re into arcade shooters.

Undertow has been available on Xbox Live Arcade for a couple of weeks now. It’s a small download at only 49Mb and to unlock the full game will set you back 800 Microsoft Points.

Undertow takes place after the polar ice caps have been melted covering the planet in water from an attack perpetrated by an unknown aquatic alien race.

The game is a side scrolling shooter where the player must fight for possession of strategic control points to achieve victory. Both the player and the opponent have a number of “tickets” (points) available which decrease in speed depending on the number of control points that have been conquered. The player will win by forcing the opponents “tickets” to zero.

Conquering a checkpoint is simply a matter of wiping out all opposition in that sector and waiting until it changes to your teams colour. Of course once you’ve taken a control point there’s nothing stopping the opponent taking it back, and thus control points swing back and forth between the player and the opponent during the course of a level.

The controls of the game are very straightforward using the left stick for movement, right stick to shoot, left trigger to drop a depth charge and right trigger to boost. In addition “X” can be held down for a continuous boost and the D-pad is used to select one of the four different unit types available to the player.

As you’d expect each of the different unit types have strengths and weakness but the player can interchange between them during the level if so desired. The “Marine” is fast and agile and has a decent shooting range, the “Dragoon” is slower than the marine but is better armoured and has a very powerful short range attack, the “Corsair” is fast and fires long range missiles but is lightly armoured, and finally the “Destroyer” is the slowest class but is heavily armoured and has the most powerful, but slowest firing weapon in the game. Each of the four units can be upgraded three times during the game once enough points have been racked up from destroying units and taking control points which increases there overall effectiveness.

Jotted throughout each level you will also come across various power-ups such as the “Frenzy” which doubles damage for 30 seconds, “Depth Charge” packs to add three depth charges to your arsenal, or “Health” packs to restore your unit to fighting fitness once more.

The trial lets you play the first three single player missions; “Training”, “Tide Pool”, and “The Line” from the first campaign. The game does have a story and the action is punctuated between levels with cut-scenes, but to be honest I didn’t really find them to be that enthralling.

Undertow looks great with some gorgeous backdrops and some nice graphical effects and I found fighting for control points with the tide of the battle swinging back and forth to be an enjoyable change from the shooter norm.

The full game offers multiplayer co-op as-well as versus modes and if you like playing the occasional shooter then this would be worth trying out.

There were a couple of new releases on Xbox Live Arcade this week, namely Word Puzzle and ScrewJumper. Each title will set you back 800 Microsoft Points.

Word Puzzle

Word Puzzle is based upon word searches, the kind that seem to be popular in puzzle magazines, whereby the player is given a grid made up of seemingly random letters with a list of words to be found either horizontally, vertically or diagonally on the grid. To make it more difficult it’s possible that the word may be reversed, or a multi-dimensional grid employed to force the player to spin the grid in order to locate the word.

The gameplay isn’t complex and it’s therefore easy to pick up and play. To enliven the game the developers have thrown a few extra things into the mix, such as word combos, and pretty backgrounds. The trial lets you try out the “Arcade” and “Survival” modes for a limited time and all in all this is quite a decent puzzle game to add to the Xbox Live roster. However, 800 Microsoft points is a bit too steep a price in my opinion.

ScrewJumper

The other game released on Wednesday was “Screwjumper”. Players must choose a character and free-fall into various structures diving through platforms at velocity to destroy them (green objects) whilst avoiding or destroying hazards (red objects).

The destruction of the reactor core at the end of the free fall is the primary objective. If enough objects have been destroyed on the way down then the reactor will have no shielding, leaving it exposed and vulnerable. Before the reactor explodes you must escape by jetting back up the structure, once again avoiding the hazards.

The game doesn’t look great, but I can forgive this if it’s both playable and fun but unfortunately ScrewJumper is lacking in both departments. Not only are there problems controlling the character whilst in free fall, but the aiming reticle used to lob your sticks of dynamite at hazards is just as bad to use.

After a couple of attempts to get into the game I decided that this certainly wasn’t something I would consider purchasing.

Ice cream! Ice cream! Those that can remember the phrase will be pleased to know that Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 MS points.

This is an enhanced port of the 1991 game that I first played on the Commodore Amiga and features both the original sprite based graphics and some new 3D graphics as-well as Xbox Live multi-player, the obligatory 200 gamerscore achievements and leaderboards.

The game of “Speedball” features two opposing teams of nine players split into attack, midfield and defence in a futuristic full contact sport. Each team will aspire to score a goal, worth 10 points, but this can be increased by using the score multipliers on the sides of the arena. Jotted around the arena are also various power-ups that may be picked up to give one team an edge for a limited duration.

Initially the “Brutal Deluxe” team you start with will be fairly weak, but through the use of the gym and money invested each players stats can be improved. Alternatively you could dip into the transfer market and buy better players if you have enough cash.

There are plenty of modes to keep you occupied like, “league”, “knockout”, “cup”, “practice” or “league manager” and improving your players from weaklings to all conquering powerhouses that smash through the opposition is one of the highlights.

Unfortunately the enhanced graphics aren’t that great and I prefer sticking with the original top-down sprites that I fondly remember, even though they don’t look as great today on larger HD displays. The game is still good fun, especially with friends over Xbox Live, and even by today’s standards it’s certainly playable. However, as with all retro games something is lost between the memory and the actuality of playing it again, but it’s still a happy trip down nostalgia lane.