Joe Danger SE (XBLA)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2011 -- Developer: Hello Games -- Publisher:  Hello Games

First impression:
Since this is an XBLA game, there may have been a video to watch, but I didn't watch it. I also feel like I'm supposed to already know who Joe Danger is, considering this is SE (Special Edition?).  He looks like a daredevil, so I'm thinking I may be doing minigames that mimic activities that daredevils might do?  Shooting out of cannons, jumping over buses, etc.  The art style is fun and looks like it will work well.  The title screen music is catchy as well.  I'm definitely interested in seeing what this is all about.

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Fooled around for:  ~25-30 minutes (First chapter, about 5-6 levels)
I was about half right.  You are a daredevil-type guy and you certainly jump over things.  It actually plays a lot like Trials, which is pretty awesome!  It's like Trials, except on uppers for tricks and downers for realistic physics.. if that makes sense.   Basically, you get super boosts and points for tricks like flipping and wheelies and air tricks, but you can land crazy tricks easier because it's more forgiving.  Also, there are a bunch of goals like "Collect all of the stars" "Collect all of the letters" "Do all of these tricks" etc.

The graphics, the sound, the whole presentation is pretty awesome.  There are a few more references to this being a remake, or a sequel or something.  "Joe is back" etc.

The biggest problem with the game being so crazy is that the controls are pretty tricky to grasp.  Sure, moving forward and backward are just the triggers, but when you have to stop moving forward to hit the shoulder buttons, and then get back on the trigger. Then you have to rotate forward, but hit the back trigger to land on a certain spot, and it just gets confusing.  There are so many levels, and so many goals to accomplish in each level though, that you could definitely get some practice without getting too bored with being "stuck".  I imagine the game is only going to get crazier and more complicated.



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Hit it or Quit it?  (1200 MSP)
Aside from feeling a little flustered with the controls, this is really a game I could see myself getting into.  It's a nice outlet to play a game "like" Trials, but to get away from Trials for a bit and have more fun.  Trials can be really serious sometimes, when you really just can't hit that jump right.  This game may have that issue as well, but it really looks like it's more focused on skills with your tricks and getting to know the level rather than just pushing past that one last hill.

My only problem is that I'm poor, and even $15 for a game that I probably won't have a lot of time to play is a little steep for me.  This would be a game that I would pick up if I got a large enough Points Card as a gift, or just had a bonus at work and remembered I wanted this.  Past that, the amount of time it's going to take to really get good at this game and get through all of it, I just don't know if I have.

That said, it's not like I can say quit it to every game I can't buy, because that would probably be all of them.  I need to be doing this based on the game, not the price.  Yeah, value is one thing, but this game is definitely worth it's value.  On that note, hit it.  And then hit it more.

Hypotenuse (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Iamrese -- Publisher: XBLIG

First impression:
Well, it's another fighting game.. but unlike yesterday, these graphics look better.  Except all it looks like is a bunch of rendered.. lines/boxes?  And they fight?   Hopefully there will at least be some sort of AI so I can actually play the game..

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Fooled around for:  7 minutes (Indie Game Demo Limit)
That was an interesting little game..  So you play a Samurai "Rectangle".. and you are fending off waves of Evil Rectangles.  You have a sword and a few shurikens, as do the enemies.  At first, I wasn't really digging it too much.  The sword-play seemed clunky and the shurikens were are hard to aim enough to actually hit the enemies.  About halfway through my time, I remembered that I had seem "lock-on" in the controls.  That really turned the game around as far as playability.

Unfortunately, the other side of this is just that there really isn't much to the game.  It says on the exit screen that the full version gives you more death animations, items, and enemy types.  Even a small taste of those might have made the demo a little more fulfilling.  I know they don't want to give it all away, but considering there's a 7 minute time limit anyways, why be so stingy?  Makes me wonder how much more it's really going to add to the game.

The music isn't really music.. It's just some pinking of an instrument hear and there.  In a different type of game, this might work better.  Adventure, puzzle, something like that.  In an action game, it's a little too calm.  Maybe it's on purpose, but it just didn't really work for me.

The graphics are good though, despite being simple.  It's "fancy" simple, with all of the animations on what amounts to be very basic shapes.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)
Since it's only a buck, I could almost see myself picking this up.  It might be fun to pick up every now and then.  But the game also doesn't give any indication that it will be keeping track of high scores, or progress or how much the game will actually grow.  For that, I really don't see myself getting too much into this game in the long run.  Despite being a cute little game that is well put together for what it is, I would have to quit it.

Eat my Shuriken and die! (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: FlatRedBall -- Publisher: XBLIG

First impression:
Pretty brutal name.. I have to eat your shuriken.. AND die?  Man..

The screenshots show this actually looks like a Smash Bros clone.  Haven't really seen anything like that before.  Granted, it's pretty basic graphics, and I really don't expect the controls to handle very well at all, but that's what they seem to be shooting for.  I should note as well, that I never really like Smash Bros (yeah, yeah.. get over it) in the first place, so I'm especially not looking forward this.

When the game loads, but before it starts, there is some pretty hyper chiptuney techno crazy music.  If that's the music during the game, it might actually be a little distracting.

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Fooled around for: 0 minutes (!?)

..This wasn't even worth the bandwidth to post, let alone the time it took to actually put this post together.

The game is MULTIPLAYER ONLY WTF?!?!??!  I get that it takes quite a bit of extra time and programming to program AI, especially into a larger scale fighting game, but really?  It should be called Eat my MULTIPLAYER ONLY in the title.  This is dumb.  The game was ugly anyways.  Quit it.

Jeopardy! (XBOX360 Demo)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Pipeworks -- Publisher: THQ

First impression:
On the back of yesterday's Wheel Of Fortune, I'm going to check out the demo for Jeopardy.  Knowing that it's by the same company, Pipeworks, and published by THQ, I expect this really to just be the same as WoF, except a different word game.

That's actually kind of exciting.  Yeah, the voices are kind of lame, but I expect decent camera work, a solid presentation of the game, and lots of features I would be excited for, but won't be able to see in the demo.  Let's make sure they didn't screw this one up!

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Fooled around for:  10 minutes (1 full game)
Notice the time there.. only 10 minutes for the full game!?  The demo didn't even let you run a full board.  It only gives you the first two columns.   This made for a very short game.

Otherwise, as expected, the game looks like the show.  And it looks like WoF.  Somehow, I wasn't expecting them to have re-used the character models and sound clips and everything.  It looks like the same three people happened to get on WoF AND Jeopardy.  WTF?!   At least on WoF, I could play a real, full game.

Alex' sound bits were good though.  He voices all of the questions and all of the answers.  He must not have had much else going on or something, or there really isn't much variety in the questions after a few games.  There is a little weirdness when certain bits are spliced together, otherwise without looking, it usually sounds just like him.

Except overall, this really wasn't as fun of an experience as WoF.  Had I thought about it, I probably could have expected it.  One of the biggest things about "real" Jeopardy is that you either know the answer or you don't.  In turning that into a video game, they decided to go multiple choice with it.  This means that every now and then you might allllmost know it, and you can just look at the answers and figure it out.  That doesn't count!

Also, Jeopardy is harder anyways, of course.  This is why I never wanted to be on Jeopardy, but I would totally try WoF.  That is, unless I could get on Teen Jeopardy.  That might turn out okay...

Multiple choice!?

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Hit it or Quit it?
Considering they dumbed down one of the most important aspects of this game, and it's usually too hard for me to have fun being in control, I definitely would be quitting this.  Especially since if I bought this AND WoF, it would mostly feel like playing the same game with all of the similar assets.  They should have just bundled the two games together, and more people would probably end up playing this.  As it is though, quit it.

Wheel of Fortune (XBOX360 Demo)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Pipeworks -- Publisher: THQ

First impression:
What is there to say about a first impression about Wheel of Fortune?  I expect to spin a very large wheel, guess letters, buy vowels, solve puzzles.  I do also expect the game to come off as pretty cheesy, as most of these video game versions of TV shows like this tend to turn out.  Maybe some lame voiceovers.  Maybe some "awesome" e-"prizes".   The Sony and THQ intro logos made the game seem pretty fancy, but the cover art has Pat and Vanna look like bobble heads, so we'll see how this actually turns out.

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Fooled around for:  ~35 minutes (One full game)
On one hand, it was about what I was expected.

On the other, it was actually better than I expected.  A lot of it has to do with presentation.  Yeah, the contestant voiceovers were a little cheesy and repetitive   Pat and Vanna weren't -as- repetitive, but they probably would be after a few games.  Their scripts in general actually weren't so bad as far as delivery.  Also, the timing triggers working pretty well, causing Pat to say "slow down" or "go go go" when appropriate to where you were about to land.

The best parts about the presentation were how much it actually looked like the show.  The music, camera angles, the cuts around the set, the wheel, everything looked like you were just playing the show.  That's about as good as you can expect to get with a game based on a word game.

One thing I didn't even think about going into it was online play!  Being the demo, I couldn't try it, but that would be a huge selling point for me.  I've always thought I would do pretty good on the show, and playing against other real people is about as close as will probably ever get.   It would probably one of the few games I would actually pull my headset out for, just to get into the game a little more.

The game keeps track of various stats, and also prizes that you win, so you have some tracking of what you've done, considering it's going to feel like a lot of the same.  It also has leaderboards, to compare yourself to people you aren't even playing!



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Hit it or Quit it?
Originally, as I was typing this, I thought this version was an XBLA game, so I expected it to be probably 10 bucks (though I hoped for 5).  As I went to check the price, I realized this is actually just a "demo", so it's probably actually a full game that you have to buy on disc.  For probably 30-40 bucks.  For that amount of money, I'm out.  If it ever came through the e-downloads for something closer to 15 bucks, I might jump on it.  5 bucks, I'm there, instantly, playing it every day.

The game itself, I would hit it pretty hard, because I love Wheel of Fortune, I love easy achievements, and the presentation of this game was actually very well put together for being a cheesy TV show "port".  For the price they probably want me to pay to play it though, I'm going to have to quit it.  Just checked, yeah, it's looking like 30-35.  With great remorse, I will have to quit it.  Maybe I will catch it in the bargain bin in a couple years....

Bad Piggies (Android)

...with benefits

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Rovio Entertainment -- Publisher: Rovio Entertainment

I feel a little weird reviewing such a "Pop" game considering even I've never heard of most of the stuff I have been talking about, but here it is.  Bad Piggies isn't quite as "Pop" yet as developer Rovio's first game Angry Birds has become, and maybe it actually won't be.

Don't get me wrong though, I love this game.  I have barely ever been able to suffer through a whole section in Angry Birds, and definitely not to 3-star it all.  This game, on the other hand, hits me so much better in so many ways.

In Bad Piggies, you play the role of the green pigs that you are trying to destroy in Angry Birds.  I think I read that this is supposed to be a sort of prequel.  Something like this is what happened to cause the backlash of the birds or something.  Even then, it's not like you are controlling the pigs themselves, like you control the Birds in the original.  What you actually do is build the vehicle/contraption that the pigs ride to the finish line.

It starts simple, add a couple boxes, add some wheels, and let him roll down the hill.  As the level progress, you start to use various other pieces, building bigger and more complicated vehicles.  You might have balloons to make you float, or fans to blow you left or right (or hover upwards, for that matter).  Here and there, you will find engines that will kick some of these pieces into overdrive.

In each level, there are 3 stars to get, like the original.  Unlike the original though, you don't need to get all three on one run, and often you can't.  What you can do though, is build a machine specific to reaching that star box to collect, or making a speed run, or getting through without breaking any pieces off.  Sometimes, the same machine works for all three, sometimes you need something completely different.  Sometimes it needs to be a machine that you can just "set and forget", and sometimes you actually need to "drive" the machine, turning the fans on or off, or releasing balloons to stop your ascent, etc.

Pretty standard vehicle from pretty early in the game

I love when I get to make 4-sided rolly things like this!

What keeps me coming back to this game is the creativity and sometimes genius it takes to accomplish all of the goals in each level.  I've tried playing games like Incredible Machine in the past, and it just never keeps me playing.  I've tried Angry Birds, but there's nothing but angles and seemingly unguessable physics.

In this game, I feel like I'm in control.  I love the way the pieces work together.  Unlike Angry Birds, I will not move to the next level until I have all 3 stars, and I'm actually not upset about it.  I think that's what it boils down to.  In Angry Birds, yeah, you are in control of the angle, and the force, etc, but to me, it ends up ultimately feeling random.  You can aim exactly the same, and something bounces different and causes a completely different result from one shot to the next.  In Bad Piggies, I feel like if I can't hit that goal, it's because I haven't figured something out with my machine yet.  I feel like everything is achieve-able, I just need to find that one little piece to put in just the right place, and it all works.

I haven't been playing quite as much as I was at first, but it's partly because I don't really want to burn through it all and be stuck waiting for new levels.  On the other hand, I also don't want to wait too long and get behind on my levels.  I think it may be just about time to pull it back out and get through a few more levels though!

Voltron (XBLA)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2011 -- Developer: Behaviour Entertainment -- Publisher: THQ

First impression:
To be honest, I really barely know anything about Voltron.  That's part of the reason I downloaded this demo.  I have no idea what this could be like.  The only thing I've seen so far is what may have been the actual opening to the show.  It was definitely animation from the show, I'm just not sure if that speech that the narrator gave was original or not.  I know Voltron as "not quite transformers, but quite the following regardless".  As for the game, I'm guessssssing.. something like a 3d beat-em-up?  Lots of "movie games" do that.  Maybe this will be some sort of crazy new design.

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Fooled around for:  9 minutes (1 level, length of demo)
I pretty much called it, except it wasn't even as good as most bad "movie games".  I don't know if it's so bad because I'm missing the nostalgia or what, but that was just boring and clunky.  The clips from the show were kind of entertaining, even though I don't feel any connection with them.  The game itself was kind of like a twin stick shooter, except with slow weapon, slow movement and the camera is too far out to actually enjoy seeing anything blow up.

The game felt generic, despite having such heavy ties to a franchise.  You can pick from any of the 5 "cats", which have different statistics, but what determines each, I have no idea.  It's hard to even tell what all of the stats are about anyways.

Then you run around, shoot your weapon, awkwardly jump at air-borne enemies, and eventually blow up. Then you have to survive outside your cat for 10 seconds, while it auto-repairs.  Then you can get back into it, ready to get blown up again.

I don't know if the music is from the show.  It sounds like this theme might be "the theme", but it's pretty obnoxious.


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Hit it or Quit it? (800 MSP)
I don't know if this game is supposed to be huge or what.  Or if that price is because it's some overhyped franchise, but based on that 1 level, there is no way I would be paying 10 bucks for this.  Even the "buy me" videos and screen shots don't give you any indication that things get better, or more interesting.  I don't think there's leveling on your character, the levels look the same, except you are flying in one.  That looks more annoying than walking, which is pretty bad anyways.  The ONLY appeal might be if you have 4 other XBOX Live friends (or one other "RL" friend) who just has to experience everything about Voltron.  Then, maybe because of the multi-player aspect, you could have fun, but even then, I'm not sure how.

Quit it 5 times. One for each lion.