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.

Heart of the Planet (Flash)

I was wondering how I was going to decide on my next game on Kongregate without being biased by Recommendations or ones that I know already looked good or bad.  I searched for "Random Game" and it looks like someone made something to pick a random game from the site.  And this is what I got....

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2010 -- Developer: ??? -- Site: Flonga (via Kongegrate)

First Impression:  

The description is "Help her reach the heart of the planet to save the world from evil".  A little generic..  Controls:  "Arrows to move, x to shoot".  Okay, I'm thinking something like a top-down shooter?  Except the tag is "Action" so who knows.

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Fooled around for: 5 minutes

Ugh.. Been a while since I really couldn't last longer than 5 minutes.  This is what happens with random flash games.  It's basically a Mario rip-off.  But there's no story explaining anything.  Literally just "Level 1" right when the game loads.  The controls are super loose, sliding all over the place.  The left arrow overrides the right arrow, no matter which was pressed first, so you find yourself turning when you didn't want to.  This also makes the whole platforming aspect super hard, but not because it's hard, just because it's not made well.  I guess eating a mushroom to get big in Mario doesn't make much sense either, but in this it's a carrot.  And then some random shape for "fireballs".  Big You breaks blocks, there are stars for coins, and you jump on pigs instead of carrots.  You could literally just remake Mario in this engine and everything would be there. Except the fun.

Also the music is annoying and a very short loop.

The ONLY thing this game has going for it was the art assets are actually not that bad.  Some of the textures are pretty good, but they don't match the hand-drawn sprites, and it's all probably just ripped off from somewhere else around the internet.

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Hit it or Quit it?

In case it wasn't apparent, quit it.  Reading the reviews on Kongregate, it seems everyone else agrees.  Shoddy controls on an otherwise ripped-off, but still incredibly vague platformer.  Mayyybe this was a first game/demo kind of deal for them to get used to making games, but I don't have much hope for anything else that pops up by this developer.

It looks like Flonga is just a website for Flash games, so I don't even know who to blame for this....

Infectonator (Flash)

To swipe an idea from my "Partner Site" Fluffy Fox Gamerating (see sidebar), I am going to hit a Flash game today (and possibly for a few days).  Specifically, these will be from www.kongregate.com .  It's a wealth of options to choose from, and it's easy to load them up and play them because it's all right in the browser I'm using anyways!  I could probably just turn this whole blog into Hit it or Quit it on Kongregate and never run out of stuff to play, but I don't see that happening.  Sounds like fun for now though!

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2009 -- Developer: Toge Productions -- Site: Kongregate

First Impression:
Most Flash games likely won't have much of a demo screen or anything, so I may be a little light on First Impressions.  This game already makes it apparent we will be looking at 8-bit graphics and listening to 8-bit music though.  Not a bad sign, just pretty much the only thing I know about it.  I chose this because I saw the sequel in my "Recommended" list, and since I hit Plague Inc a few days ago, I figured I would check out the first in this series.  The only other thing I know so far is "zombies" and "kill off the world in 60 seconds"

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Fooled around for: ~15-20 minutes (two play-throughs)
I almost stopped after the first playthrough, because things just didn't feel right, and it left a weird impression on me.  The game just seemed to end and give me a score out of nowhere.  This, plus one level giving me an insane amount of money led me to think maybe the game was glitchy.  I decided to give it another try, thinking that maybe I just missed something.  Turns out I did, and now it's hard for me to stop playing.  I have a feeling this will be something that happens to me often while I try Flash games for this blog.  The style of many Flash games fits my style perfectly.  Play for a few minutes here and here, feel accomplished, and move on with your life.  This would work well for this blog, except then I have to stop myself from playing, or I will end up playing for hours just to level up in a game that gives very little reward.  At least many games on Kongregate have Badges/Achievements.  That always helps.

Anyways, back to the task at hand.  Like Plague Inc, the biggest draw in this game is the power you feel by just starting the chain and watching the reaction take everything over.  You click to start the infection, and the nearby people turn to zombies and start chasing the others.  What this game has over Plague is that you can actually see it happening.  After each level, you can spend your money on upgrading various aspects, such as your zombies' speed, infectiousness  lifespan, etc.  In each level, you need to infect a certain number of people who are already on the screen.  Some of them are stronger than others, and can even fight back.

The two things I was missing on my first playthrough was that you get per-game achievements that give you a bunch of money.  Apparently I hit those well in the first game.  The other thing was that you have 60 seconds spread throughout all of the levels you are playing, so you have to balance your cash into effects that will allow you to take over each level most quickly because if you have too many stragglers, you are just wasting time.  In this setting, it's weird to switch locations and still be running off the same "minute", but whatever works, I guess.  Perhaps the sequels took a different approach to this.

This got super long for not really saying anything important (when do I anyways, right?), so I'm going to finish up....


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Hit it or Quit it?
I would probably actually just Quit this version to move on to one of its siblings.  If there are more games in this series that presumably play like this, I'd rather just enjoy the enhancements they probably added to the game.  If this had Badges, I would at least Hit it until I got all of those.  It doesn't, so I'm moving on.

Trials Evolution (XBLA)

...with benefits

Like I mentioned yesterday, you should be expecting a post about the sequel to Trials HD.  That is this. This is Evolution.

The premise has remained the same.  You are running from one end to the other, conquering obstacles, trying to get your time and your faults down to nothing.

This game is everything from the first, and more.  And that's awesome.  The graphics are even better.  The water and fire look great, and better yet, most of the courses are outside!  The scope of the game looks so large now.  The whole first game, you are indoors, which is fine.  It's crazy how much just changing the backdrop really affects how the game feels though.  You can also curve "towards" and "away" from the camera, adding to the depth.

One of the other big things they added was multiplayer over XBOX Live!  There are either 4-lane maps, or you can just race the ghost of 3 other players on the normal single player levels.  As you rank, you earn Online Points, and can level up, increasing your stature online.

Also, the level editor has gotten way crazier... AND.. You can download tracks through the in-game marketplace (all free, of course), and man, people are getting insane with the builder.  Apparently it's so robust that, with patience and skill, you can do almost anything.  I have seen everything from insane "normal" maps, to Tetris, to FP"S" games.  All within the Trials Engine! WTF?!  It makes me want to get into it, but I'm not sure I have that time or patience.

Outside!

4-players?  At one time!?

There isn't much else to say about the sequel though.  It's almost literally just "the same thing except better", and that's not bad!  I'm definitely going to be reaping the benefits of this relationship for a while!

Plus, there is already DLC for it!  I totally forgot to mention the Trials HD DLC in that post, but DLC is awesome!  Even more of more of the same awesomeness!  I just can't get enough!

Trials HD (XBLA)

...with benefits

Year: 2009 -- Developer: RedLynx -- Publisher:  XBLA

Me and Trials HD go back a ways.  Probably at least a couple years at this point.  I think it was one of the first demos I downloaded when I got my XBOX360 but couldn't afford any games yet.  Even the 3 levels in the demo kept me playing longer than some "real" games have.  I just wanted to get better times, or find better ways to show off fancy maneuvers or whatever.  After I really just couldn't take the demo anymore and had some extra money, I bought my points, downloaded the full version, and couldn't stop playing it for days.

The premise is fairly simple.  You are riding a dirtbike, and you are trying to get from the beginning to the end in the fastest time, with the fewest number of faults.  The reality is that this really isn't as easy as it sounds.  The levels go up, down, including ramps, jumps, obstacles, etc.  As the game gets to the Hard and Extreme courses, you really need to get into bunny hopping, riding up what are basically walls, and all sorts of crazy things.  The better you do, the better medal you get.

The game is gorgeous!  I can't even imagine needing the graphics to look any better!  And when you fall of your bike, you are thrown around with ragdoll physics, and you can almost feel the pain he must be in.  Then you can still wiggle him around on the ground, and that's always fun!

The controls are easy.  Right trigger "go", Left trigger "stop", and tilt the stick to lean back or forward.  It's the combination of this and the crazy physics that really make the game.  While there is no "jump" button, with practice you learn that if you hit the gas just right and lean just right, you can make little hops.  Or you find that if you hit this ramp just right, you will go up to another path in the level.  Also, there are explosions, and boxes you might hit that just knock you out!

The game comes with a level editor (the same one the developers actually use), so you have every possibility of creating the same quality of levels that they did, it's just a matter of skill, design and patience.  I have never messed with the editor much, but it's cool that it's in there.  You can share tracks to your XBOX friends, but not to anyone, so you can't just go download them either (See: Trials Evolution coming up).

In case you get tired of the Point A to Point B runs, there are also Skill Games.  These might have you jumping off of pinball flippers to reach the highest altitude you can, or they may have you riding on top of a metal ball for as long as you can.  The cleverness of some of the Skill Games is actually pretty interesting, and definitely a nice break from the rest of the main game.

Also!  When you look at the leaderboards, you can watch the replay of the Top 100 (I think it's 100) so you can try to pick up ideas on how to decrease your time, or get past certain obstacles.  The catch is, these people are crazy, and often, you need to run the course exactly like they did, otherwise you whole timing is off and their techniques don't work.  It's always fun to watch though, and just try to imagine how long they spent getting to that skill level.



I find myself hooking up with this game every now and then just because I want to keep my skills up.  I have gone too long sometimes, and I can tell I've gotten rusty.  I used to think "Man, I could never get through those Extreme courses" but over the years, I have just stuck with it every now and then, and I have slowly pieced together most of them.  I'm nowhere near getting golds on them, but at least I'm getting through them! Also, with no story to pay attention to, it's super easy to just pick up for a few minutes here and there.  If I pass, I pass, if not, at least I was able to get a little more used to some of the Extreme level skills required to pass them someday.

The worst part is trying and trying to pass a course, and running out the 30 minute time limit, or the 500 fault limit.  All the time feels wasted, but at least you know the next time, the level up until that point will run a little easier, and you can focus more on that area that snuffed you.

Even with the sequel out, I still pick this up, and still will.  There's always room for improvement, and I just love the way the physics to the bike feel.  As long as I stick with it and feel that I'm improving, this game will stay in my benefits rotation.

Plague Inc (Android)

...with benefits

Year: 2012 -- Developer: ndemic -- Publisher: Android Marketplace

Plague Inc is a game where you play the role of a disease (or someone who controls the disease, depending on how you look at it).  The majority of the game is played just by watching a map of the world, and evolving your disease to infect and kill as many people as possible.  You win if you infect, and subsequently kill everyone in the world.  You lose if you kill all of your hosts before everyone is infected, or if the world develops a cure to you.

The beginning of each game starts you with deciding what type of disease you want to be.  At first, you can only be bacteria, then virus, then fungus, etc.  In the end, you can even control a nano-virus or a bio-weapon agent.  Each class has has its strengths and weaknesses which affect how you play each game.

After you have decided what you want to be, you pick a country to start in. Each country in the world has different stats regarding whether it's arid, humid, hot, cold, temperate, urban, rural, etc.  Also, they may have airports or seaports.  All of these are factors that you will use to determine how you can spread from country to country, and how you will infect the world.

After you have picked your country, you start by waiting.  You allow a few people to be infected, and as you do, you gain DNA points.  These points are spent to evolve your disease.  You may decide to boost your strength in hot countries, if you start near the equator. You may boost your water transmission if you need to get into a country that has a seaport, or is humid in general.  You can also spend points into abilities that slow down the progress made towards the curing of you.

As you infect more and more people, it spreads around the world.  If you find you aren't hitting certain areas, you can look at the information about hose countries and decide if you need to evolve to move that direction.  As you infect more, you can start to increase the amount and severity of your symptoms, ranging from coughing to sneezing to insanity to organ failure.  Some of these symptoms increase transmission, some cause death and some can delay the cure.

While you are developing, the game is pumping news at you, some of it regarding events that may cause you to rethink your strategy, or sometimes it's just humorous or interesting tidbits.

It's so awesome watching the world as it becomes infected with your disease!

Just one of the leveling screens, and even then, you can't see half of the stuff you can evolve from here!

What keeps me coming back to this game is that it plays well in short bursts, but also as a whole game, when played well, it only takes about 30 minutes to dominate the world.  It's that feeling of power that you are in control of this disease, and when you hit that awesome combo of transmission and symptoms and you just watch the Infected People skyrocket.  Then, as soon as you infect everyone in the world (6.8 billion people), you bump up the lethality, and you watch the number drop right back down.

All the while, you are trying to balance staying "weak" enough that you don't scare the world into finding a cure super quick.  Also trying to work around the fact that richer countries have access to better medicine in the first place.  As the world starts to work on a cure, do you try to kill those countries so they can't work on it?  Or do you spend your points in becoming more complex, causing them to work longer on curing you.

With all of the classes, the transmissions, the countries, the symptoms and the special abilities, there are several way to play each level, and it's fun just seeing what combos pop up as you progress.  The "oops" combo is triggered when you evolve to include sneezing and diarrhea!  Also, you can bump insanity and cause countries to nuke each other!  There is just such variety that it's hard to play the same game twice.  And even when you lose, you're left thinking "Man, I could have just tried this or tried that and I totally would have won".

Considering I don't have a lot of time to play, I have somehow found quite a bit of time to play this.  It's usually staying up too late, playing it bed to just try "one more time" to beat that level.   One thing I have found about this game is that even though there isn't a story build into it, you are left feeling like you just went on a huge journey and you can't wait to tell everyone about the story you created.  Often, my girlfriend and I will be playing at the same time, and when we are done, we just can't stop talking about what happened, and retelling the history of our disease.

I am definitely going to keep calling this one up for a while.. I just hope I don't catch something myself ;)

Monster Warlord (Android)

Time for another new format!  It has -nothing- to do with the fact that I haven't had time to play anything for review, nope, not at all...  Okay, it does.  But this sounded like a good idea anyways, so it's something I can throw in every now and then.  "...with benefits" are games that I have been picking up on the side here and there, getting a little action when I need it.  They are likely to be either casual games, or games that just don't have much story, so I can just pick them up for a few minutes when I get time.

...with benefits

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Gamevil -- Publisher: Android Marketplace

Monster Warlord is a Facebook-style casual game (for lack of better description).  You have "action" points to do a couple different things, but then you need to wait for them to recharge (or pay to recharge sooner).  It's driving mostly by still-shots and buttons to navigate and occupy your time for a few minutes at a time.  As you get "further" in the game, you increase your maximum points, which lets you play for a little longer as time goes on.

Considering there are a bunch of this type of game out there, this is really the only one that has really caught me so far.  The premise in this one is that you are a Monster Handler, a la Pokemon or Monster Rancher.  You start with 1 monster, and a handful of Action and Battle points.  You use Action points to do quests, at the press of a button.  They cost varying amounts of points, and reward accordingly.   Battle points can be used to attack other players.  It compares your attack value to their defense value and determines a win or lose. If you win, you gain a few extra points of experience, and a percent of their non-banked gold.  If you lose, you get 1XP and no gold.

As you level up and gain gold, you can buy more monsters (required to do higher level quests).  As you get higher level monsters, you can combine them and have a chance at an even higher-ranked monster.  The more strength you have in monsters, the more effectively you can battle.  You can also invest your gold into buildings that pay you an amount of money every hour.  Since many of the later monsters have upkeep (cost per hour), investing in these buildings is pretty important.

I think what keeps me coming back to this game is just that it's so simple, but there is a little strategy and complexity to it.  I can pick it up for literally 5 minutes, burn my points, but still feel accomplished.  I am able to know I just gained so many experience points, and completes so much of a quest.  Often, there are Boss Battles, which are monsters either summoned by the game or by other players.  They don't fight back, so you don't get experience, but they are great for farming gold.

Knowing that you are earning gold per hour, but others might be attacking you taking your "hard-earned" gold keeps you coming back as often as you can think about it just to dump your gold into the bank, keeping it out of the hands of other players.  If you keep your money low enough often enough, they start to realize you just aren't worth attacking.

Often, one of the catches to these games is that you feel limited if you don't dump real money into it.  While you definitely could make more progress if you "pay" for it, I generally haven't felt the -need- to drop money into it.  I will admit I have put a few bucks into it just to get a little bit further here and there, but I quickly realized how much that could add up, so I haven't done it in a while.  A dollar at a time doesn't seem like that much, but it's easy to just keep spending "just a buck".

There are also advanced tactics that I could try to get into.  Really trying to combine well, and focus on buying the right amount of monsters to win more battles, but that's not what I get out of this game.  If I spent much more time on it, it wouldn't be one of those on-the-side kind of things.

Considering I'm still actively leveling consistently, completing quests, and collecting monsters, I don't feel like I will be breaking this off any time soon.  It's just too easy to feel productive, but not feel like I need to invest a lot of time keeping the relationship afloat.  I will be reaping these benefits for a while to come.

        

So that's the first ...with benefits!  I'm not sure if they will all turn out to be this long, but they might.  Since they are games I have spent more time with, I feel the need to explain more about what I know about it.  Usually, I only know 10-20 minutes worth of the game, so I can only say so much.  Even with this game, I could probably just keep going, but I also never really plan on spending -too- much time with this blog.  That just isn't the point right now.

Halloween Extravaganza!

Since it's my first Holiday on this blog, I figured I would do something a little different.  I found 4 "games" to play to make an extended Hit it or Quit it!  I say "games" because it was hard to find 3 "Halloween" games, so the first is actually more like an XBLIG App.  Trick or Treat!  Hit or Quit!

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Daniel Steger -- Publisher: XBLIG

First impression:

All I know so far is the screen is showing me a bunch of differently designed pumpkins.  Probably starting with a blank pumpkin, and using stencils or hand drawn "cut outs" to design how you want it to look.  I'm not expecting this to last long, but maybe it will at least be a little fun!

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Fooled around for: 3 Minutes (Not even worth pushing the 7 minute limit)

Well, that was disappointing, even for having really low expectations.  There's no date in the credits, so I'm not sure if this is just so old, he didn't think to do anything more with it, or he just didn't.  There was no "carving" at all.  It was just:

-- Move the cursor to either:  Left Eye, Right Eye, Nose, Mouth

-- Pick a pre-designed piece

-- Repeat

I was hoping for some hand-drawn carving, being able to put the stencils where you wanted, change the size or shape of the pumpkin, turn the candle inside on or off.. SOMETHING!  There was nothing.  Being the trial, you could only pick the first three choices of any feature.  That's fine though, because you can't do anything with them anyways.  There could have been "save/load".  There could have been "Use this as your gamer picture".

The only options past the limited pumpkin "carving" was to turn the background ghosts and fog off.  Woo.  Oh, and change between different "creepy" soundtracks.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)

With even one of the afore-mentioned features, it might be worth even a buck.  As it is, no.  Quit it.  In his defense, maybe it's his first "game", maybe it was a school project.  Who knows.  I just know he's not getting my dollar.  In case that wasn't clear, again, Quit it.

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Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: BandanaGames -- Publisher: XBLIG

First impression:

It can only get better from here, right?  I sure hope so.  This is another randomly-found Indie Game though, so it could really go either way.  If this is worse than Pumpkin Carver though, I'm not sure I'm even going to be able to continue today.

So far, it's just holding on a title screen, with a picture of some emo little lady and the Press Start thing.  And the music is creepy.  Not "real" creepy.  Just you know it's supposed to be creepy.  But it's abrasive and annoying.  Just not balanced well.   Maybe I should turn the lights off and set the mood...

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Fooled around for:  7 minutes (Indie Game Demo Limit)

I can at least say this was better than Pumpkin Carver.  It turns out it's a screen-by-screen "text" adventure game.  On each screen, each of the four button causes an action.  The story is that you are summoned by your distant aunt to come stay the night and find her at her mansion, and you will receive her inheritence.  Totally normal, right?  

Then, as I mentioned, you just go screen by screen and try to find your way through the house, surrounding areas, puzzles, etc.  It was pretty "easy" and straightforward so far. There was one death from trying to take something from the dog.  Nice to know you can die, but a little worrysome for getting later in the game.  It looks like you should be able to save though. Probably a tough game to pick back up later and know where you left off though.

The only really graphics or animation was the background changing as you went from room to room.  Not much, but at least it's something, considering the type of game.  This could easily be converted to text-only and not need anything.  Unfortunately, the music that would be the only other thing to experience was almost non-existent.  Even a little bit would have helped set more mood.  There were sound effects for some actions though, which was nice too.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)

I was actually pretty engaged by the time the timer shut it down.  I was getting anxious as I knew the time was approaching.  I almost thought about running through again, trying to get further in the 7 minutes, but I won't.  The game seems simple enough so far, it would be fun enough to just see how the rest of it turned out.  I probably wouldn't pay any more than a buck, but for a buck, I might actually buy this and finish it up!  Hit it and make it Halloween Scream (the likely one sitting it would take to finish it, at least)!

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Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: EXOR Studios -- Publisher: Cyberfront Corporation

First impression:

Being an XBLA Game, there's actually a demo video to watch.  Looks like a top-down driving game.  Drive around and take out zombies.  That sounds like some Halloween fun!  Well, it's not really Halloween-y.. just Zombies.. but like I said, it was tough finding actual Halloween games!  

I'm a little concerned it may be tricky controlling it, or the cameras may be weird or something.  Huge bosses.. Missles.. Explosions.. Flamethrowers..  Could certainly be interesting.  Let's see how it actually plays out!

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Fooled around for: ~25 Minutes (and still had at least another level in the demo to play)

Pretty big demo.. Two hefty levels, and a third I still could have played.  I would guess that would be that last one though.  Overall, definitely could even just play the demo again and get something out of it!

As for the game, it is indeed a top-down driving game, where you just mow down bunches and bunches of zombies.  It's like a mix of Carmageddon and Grand Theft Auto.  Each level has a primary objective and a secondary objective.  As you complete them, you earn upgrades you can buy for the various cars you are collecting throughout the game.  It looks like it won't even just be "oh, new car, never use the old one" since they have different stats for different missions, and even different passenger limits, for when you have to rescue people.

The story is that you are stuck in the city, but the military isn't allowed to come in, so they are directing you to give them a hand.  You complete stuff, they buff you.  You can also destroy fences, cars, etc, and earn more cash for buying upgrades.

The graphics are really nice, everything looks super good. The zombies splatter nicely.  The only thing is that the view is pretty high out so you can see a lot, but it makes everything pretty small.  It can be hard to see where all the zombies are sometimes.

As I was worried, it's a little difficult to control, since you are trying to pinpoint your driving to run into zombies.  When you have to clear out the 100 in the area, it can get a little frustrating that you just barely missed a couple of them, then you have to reverse, try to hit them, miss, turn around, etc.  The weapons are also hard to aim because they just shoot forward, but you can't just turn the car without actually driving forward.

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Hit it or Quit it? (800 MSP)

Controls aside, the aesthetics and feeling of the game are great.  I love the idea, and even playing it some.  I just don't know if I have the patience for the controls.  For the 10 bucks I could spend on this, I could get something else on my Buy list that will probably fit me a little better.  It looks like there might be a pretty hefty amount of game underneath all of this though.  I don't know if I have been quite in this predicament yet.  I want to Hit it, I just don't want to pay that much.  I'm not sure how that rates.  I guess I'd Hit it, with reservations, but I wouldn't pay for it...? hm.  At least I can just play the demo again!

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Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Doublesix -- Publisher: Square Enix

First impression:

I'm interested to see that Square Enix is tied to this.  Just as publisher, but still a decent sign, since they wouldn't want to publish garbage.  No video on this one, but the screens suggest a co-op run around and shoot things kind of game.  I'm wondering if it will give me CPU allies, or if I will just be on my own.  Looks like upgrades, and weapons and zombies.  Maybe even kind of like Zombie Driver, except more "friendly" looking.. and not in a car.

The music on the title screen is pretty darn awesome though. Funky spooky with a little rock guitar in there.. Maybe a good sign for the feeling of the rest of the game.  Sounds like a TV show theme..

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Fooled around for:  ~15 minutes

It was indeed somewhat similar to Zombie Driver and to my guesses in general.  It doesn't fill in AI allies, but that's fine.  The setting is definitely a lot more humor oriented than ZD.  ZD was super serious and swearing and realism.  This game reminds me of Grabbed by the Ghoulies.  I don't think I played much of it, but it's a similar art style. 

It also has twin-stick elements.  You move with LS, aim with RS and just take out zombies.  The best part right off the bat is just punching the zombies to death.  Especially when four of them are just right in front of you want you are wailing on them.  Looks pretty hilarious, but also very satisfying.  

Then you talk to the robot gate, they tell you to find a shotgun and kill a bunch of zombies.  Then it will let you through.  Shotgun is, of course, awesome.  I'm guessing there will be a bunch of weapons, a bunch of zombie types, and a bunch of humor throughout the rest of the game.  Considering this could be the end of the world, or at least of just you, the game is somehow still lighthearted about it.

My biggest problem was that in the second stage, I don't know if it was a glitch, or my RB not working (it seems to be on the fritz), but I just couldn't get my shotgun back out.  It was supposed to be the Switch Weapon button, but it just wouldn't trigger.  I will have to check my button in another game, but I'm pretty sure it still works, I just have to press it harder.  I tried that several times and it still didn't do anything.  This caused me to get run over by zombies and I was sad.

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Hit it or Quit it? (800 MSP)

For the same $10 I could have spent on Zombie Driver, I would much rather get this.  This one will actually end up on my To-Buy list.  I am super interested in the rest of the humor this game presents, and also to just mow down zombies with a bunch of weapons.  I enjoy twin-stick shooting way more than car-shooting.  Hit it, while I make Zombie Driver watch.

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Final Note:

So, that's my Halloween Extravaganza!  It definitely started more Halloween-y than it finished, but whatever.  Zombies are close enough.  Also, I could have used these games to help fill out the rest of the week, but oh well.  There are plenty of games to play, it's just trying to find the time to fit them in!  I wonder if there will be any Thanksgiving games to do for that next holiday...

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure HD (XBLA)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Capcom -- Publisher: Capcom

First impression:
"Bizzare" definitely seems accurate, the more of the intro screens I see.  After a few seconds, it looked like it might be a beat 'em up, but then it switched screens, and it's actually a fighter.  Haven't done one of these yet.  Let it be known now, that I'm not a huge fan of fighters.  Especially 2d, cartoonly ones.  Just something about them never really clicks with me.  It was surprising enough that the new Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur 4 grabbed me for as long as they did.

So, yeah, lots of crazy japanese yelling already.  Some of the fighters look like they are just standing behind some sort of being they are controlling, instead of fighting themselves.  Also, one of the still shots shows some guy holding a gun out, except his fingers are coming through the gun in places they shouldn't be.  Someone hand-drew this, and let that slip?  I don't understand.  I have a feeling I'm not going to understand this game in general.  This seems pretty obviously to be a remake, but why, I'm not sure.  Being a Capcom fighter, this probably has some huge cult following I don't know about.  We'll see if they convert me.

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Fooled around for: 15 Minutes (Played each of the available demo characters)
Again "Bizzare" is definitely right.  And I still feel like I'm missing some inside joke about all of this.  It's just sooo anime and crazy, it has to be from a Manga or show or something.  If not, good job guys back whenever this was made on coming up with such ridiculous material for a game.

The whole guys-controlling-things mechanic I mentioned actually turned out to be pretty interesting.  They are called Stands, and you can summon it during the fight to basically fight in front of you, presumably blocking damage and causing extra damage.  They also come out during some special moves without being summoned directly.  They have their own little health bar, and when it runs out, they just go away.  The bar refills quickly and you can summon them again.  It was cool to have something like that to manage, but when both fighters had Stands out, the screen got a little too chaotic.

Otherwise, it was pretty much a straightforward 2d cartoony fighter.  Light, Medium, Heavy attacks, blocking, dashing, special moves, crazy combos, etc.  The biggest draw was those Stands.  Otherwise the game seemed pretty difficult to me, but I also haven't played many of these that long to really learn any general tactics.

The music was pretty awesome though, definitely kept you pumped.  The stories for each character seemed to weave into each other.  They all definitely seemed aware of their Stands, though one said his was a "demon within".  Crazy animations, crazy expressions, random Japanese here and there.  Again, bizzare.

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Hit it or Quit it? (1600 MSP)
Whoa!  I didn't even noticed how expensive this was until I looked it up for this section.  How did a 2D fighter get priced at 1600 points?  $20!?  Really just makes me think still there is something I'm missing.  Maybe this was the greatest game ever in Japan at one point or something, otherwise, I'm just confused why it needed an HD remix, and more confused at such a high price point.

I wouldn't let my Stand hit this.  I probably wouldn't even hit this for 80 points, let alone 1600.  It's just not my kind of game.  Quit it.

Dust: An Elysian Tail (XBLA)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: HumbleHearts -- Publisher: Microsoft Studios

First impression:
You can definitely tell this is an Arcade Game versus Indie Game.  Like Double Dragon, the production value is already way higher.  Since I've been playing so many indie games, I still find this to be a little bit of culture shock.  There's no demo screen, unfortunately, but the music is nice and pretty on the title screen.  The logo is looking like a fox.. in a hood.. with a sword?  I'm guessing Action...RPG, perhaps?

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Fooled around for:  ~30 minutes (Demo ended after the second "boss")
It was a side-scrolling action RPG!  With crazy combos, a fair amount of loot drops, and an overall sense of "beating the crap out of everything".   The combo meter often ended up in the 100+ range using a few special techniques.  The fighting felt solid and like you had awesome skills and were really tearing it into everyone.  There is leveling, and upgrades, and equipment and everything!

The graphics are really nice, hand-drawn everything, great animations.  Sounds are as fulfilling at the visuals are, and the music really adds a good atmophere.

The only weird thing is the story.  You're just some fox thing with a Raiden hat.. and a talking, floating sword comes up to you and says you awakened him.  Then a flying squirrel thing comes up and ends up helping you out.  The splash screens say you are trying to find your purpose, blah blah.  In the meantime, it's weird.  And the voice acting is humorous.  It seems to be tongue-in-cheek cheesy, but sometimes it's just cheesy. It has a fair amount of clever little bits already.  Like destroying a secret wall releases a "Wall Chicken" that you can eat for a bunch of health.  And the characters make fun of each other and such.

Even just adding this picture to the post makes me want to play again!

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Hit it or Quit it?  (1200 MSP)
Two awesome, buy-it-now games in a row.  If these Arcade Games keep this up, it could be disastrous for my wallet.  I don't think I would jump on this -quite- as fast, just because the price is a little steeper.  The game is probably worth it's price, I just don't have too much money to just go around spending $15 on a game out of nowhere.

Aside from not dropping that cash now, it's definitely going on my To-Buy list, to be able to Hit It hard someday.  I might even just play the demo a few more times here and there just to scratch that itch.

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Side Note:  Turns out I don't really have any other XBLA demos downloaded already, so I will be finding some random ones for the rest of the week, so we still may see some garbage!  XBLA has a higher standard than Indie Games though, so they likely won't be pure garbage.  Maybe just games I don't happen to like.  Guess we will see how it goes!

Double Dragon Neon (XBLA)

This week is still XBOX Live Demos, but we will be seeing XBOX Live Arcade games, specifically.  Slightly longer of an experience, and a higher cost in the end, but will they be worth shelling out that extra cash?  We'll see!

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: WayForward Technologies: Developer: Majesco

First Impression:

From the description and screen shots, the gameplay looks like pretty standard Double Dragon beat 'em up. What's interesting it that's a crazy looking cel-shaded art style. Also, it looks like there may be some shopping/upgrades involved.  Text says the game has 10 levels, I'm expecting to be able to play the first one.    I'm hoping for solid controls, maybe even some decent combos, otherwise pretty much just walk and fight, walk and fight.

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Fooled around for:  20-25 minutes, Demo ends right before 2nd level boss

Hm, where to start.. How about HOLY CRAP THIS GAME IS AWESOME!  It's not even just that I've been playing 20something year old games before graphics and even design could catch up, many of those still really fun, just lots of them aren't.  Best Double Dragon ever!  It was so much more than I even expected.  It has this ridiculous 80s vibe throughout, and the graphics style is so fitting.  It's cel-shaded, but everything still has depth and weight to it, so it really feels like you're actually hitting them.  

There are power moves and stat upgrades via Cassette MixTapes, that you collect, and the more your collect, the more that particular move upgrades.  Each Mixtape even has a song that plays as you select it, and those are almost good enough to just listen to themselves.  You can equip one power move at a time.  They are all pretty sweet so far, and help get you that edge.  The combos are fluid, and string well together.  When you successfully dodge, you get Gleam, which grants double power for a few seconds.  

The music is awesome, and cheesy, the sounds and voices are great.  There is a shop to buy MixTapes at, though they look like they can get pretty expensive versus just finding them.  The text throughout gives the impression that it knows how cheesy it is. 

Co-op is called Bro-op, if that gives any indication to how this game views itself.  And when you play Bro-op, you can tilt the right stick at the same time to do a high five.  Depending on which direction, you can share life, steal life, or something else I forget right now.  I think something with Gleam and double power.

Okay, I need to calm down, I'm just so hyped on this game.

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Hit it or Quit it? (800 Microsoft Points)

Not only would I buy this game, but I'm also going to leave the demo on here as a reminder to buy it, and also to just play the demo every now and then, it's that awesome.

Hit it like Jimmy and Bimmy hit Marian from the front and the back.. at the same time.

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One quick side note:  

I was looking up something about this game, and stumbled across the IGN review.  They only gave it a 3, saying it was awful.  They said the controls were clunky and the platforming was miserable.  They said they disapproved of the difficulty, basically saying it should have been easier, since it was a new-school remake.  Maybe later in the game, these things become more apparent, but for now, I'm sold.  It felt like Double Dragon++ so far, so if it's a little hard, whatever.  It's not any harder or more annoying than the earlier ones.  Also, they complain that it's 10 bucks for an hour's worth of game.  Yeah, grinding for MixTapes may get boring, but there is some replay in that, just to see how powerful you can get.  Also, people pay out the ass to go be entertained for 2 hours at the movies, so $10 bucks for a 1 hour shot that you can still pick up whenever you want doesn't sound like too bad of a deal.  

On the plus side, the community has it rated at 6.4.  G4 has it at 4 stars, and metacritic is sitting at 75%.  Not super awesome great, but certainly not 3. Wtf.

The Fall of Gods (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2011 -- Developer: Geex -- Publisher:  XBLIG

First impression:

Looks like an SNES-era action RPG.  Sprites are a little small on the screen and it makes the whole screen feel a little crowded and distracting, but maybe it won't feel like that in the game.  I have a feeling that 7 minutes of this isn't going to get me anywhere, but we'll see what comes of it.

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Fooled around for:  14 minutes (Two cycles of demo limit)

This is the first time I have actually ran the demo limit twice.  I expect to do this generally for RPGs when it allows you to save, so I can get a better feel for the game.  The first run, most of the time limit was taken by just watching the story intro.

Speaking of, the story was actually pretty interesting.  Kind of a creationist, how the world started, thing, but with magic and the corruption of man leading to the Fall of the Gods (see what they did with the title?).  

My feeling was pretty much right with the graphics though.  The sprites are too small, and the movement isn't grid based.  This isn't always bad, but considering it looks retro, I would rather walk on a grid than free-form and not be able to get around a tree because my hit box is catching too much.  This also leads for some tricky sword swinging.. am I close enough? am I lined up? etc..

The script boasts that there a several dungeons and maps, and lots of puzzles.  This is fine and actually sounds pretty good, except you need to be a super good puzzle designer for so many puzzle to not feel crammed in.  The "puzzles" so far seem that way.  It leads to to exactly what you need to do, except then there is one small piece that is so vague, it's just confusing.  Not because the "puzzle" is tricky, but because the pieces just weren't designed well.

So.. Graphics are okay, controls aren't that tight, and the puzzles have been more annoying than clever.  So much for that interesting story :(

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)

Considering how many retro RPGs I see pop up here and there on XBLIG, I'm guessing some of those are probably tighter than this is.  They may not be action-RPGs, but a tighter turn-based RPG would be more appealing.  I might come back to this someday, but I have a feeling there are plenty of hours of RPGs out there to play before I need to come back to this.  So quit for now, but maybe not forever.

O.C.D. (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: PouncingKitten Games -- Publisher: XBLIG

First Impression:

So, on the back of yesterday's Obsessive Collecting Disorder, here is a game with a similar title.  This one is officially just "O.C.D." but I believe it stands for the same thing.  My XBOX isn't even giving me screenshots on this one though, so I can't say how it's different at all.  I'm assuming it's not just the same game.  The title icons are different, showing a grid of a bunch of swords or something.  Guess I will just jump in and see what happens.

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Fooled around for: 7 minutes (XBLIG Demo Limit)

Ahhhh!  Just when I was starting to get into it, the 7 minutes cut me off.  It's definitely not the same as the last game.  OCD actually stands for Optimal Character Development in this.  Basically, it's an RPG boiled down to some very core mechanics.  There's no story, no wandering around, no maps.  Pretty much just grinding and looting.  And to actually do the grinding and looting, you just play a simple version of something similar to Bejeweled.  As you loot, your loot is based on the types you match.  So you loot a bunch "weapon" and then you get enough to trade in for an actual weapon.  You grind for "level" or "skill" points that you can trade for stats.  As you get more money, items, etc, you can mix recipes, and just keep leveling, building your character, etc.  All without that pesky script to get in the way!

The music is fitting, and just sits in the background.  Might even be better to run your own soundtrack though, since you are just sitting on the same few screens doing the same thing over and over.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)

This game is perfect for me.  Instant gratification towards leveling an RPG character, grinding, looting, etc, is all I really like in my games these days anyways.  I don't have time to watch a 40 hour movie, so to boil the progress down to the basics is great.  I would totally hit it again.  Definitely worth the 1 dollar, probably even more.  I have the points, I'm almost about to just to buy this right now and keep playing... 7 minutes with no save on the demo just isn't enough to really get into this.

Obsessive Collecting Disorder (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: Super Smith Bros -- Publisher: XBLIG

First impression:
This will be the last time I mention it for XBLIG games, until something changes and I do get a description, but this has no description after already being downloaded.  Maybe as I download the demos, I will make note of the their description or something.  Or just keep playing blind with some screenshots as my only source of impression.

Otherwise, the title sounds interesting to me.  I feel like sometimes I have this Obsessive Collecting Disorder.  In most games, I am the one who will make sure to clear out the whole map and get everything I can before I move on.  I hate feeling like I forgot something that might be important later.  The screenshots make this game look more like the "collecting" is just grabbing all of the coins in this crazy deathtrap platforming levels. You are a stickman, which is nice and simple.  The graphics in general are pretty simple, but it looks like some pretty intense obstacles.  Hopefully the controls actually hold up and make this fun.

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Fooled around for:  6 minutes (Demo levels ran out before the 7 minute XBLIG limit)
This was definitely a clever little game so far. Unfortunately, there aren't too many levels to play in the demo, but what is there is pretty fun.  The start screen scrolls a mock-up of the first Super Mario Bros. level, as the stickman reaches the castle, it is labeled Craperture Science, a reference to Portal.  The game is kind of set up like Portal as well, in that you are in a testing facility as they test the effects of Obsessive Collecting Disorder.  As you collect the final coin in each stage, it turns into a Portal and takes you to the next stage.

There are a few other references to other games such as a text reference to GTA4 and shooting the pigeons, but also level design references such as timed "disappearing" platforms ala Megaman.  With so many more levels in the full game, I'm betting there are all sorts of references sprinkled throughout the game.

The controls weren't too bad, considering I was worried about them.  They are almost a littttle too tight, causing some overshooting when trying to make fine adjustments.  Thought not perfect, I wouldn't say they are a game-breaker.  The levels are definitely bound to get insanely hard though.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)
Considering I have some OCD myself, I'm not sure this is quite the kind of "collecting" I feel the need to "obsess" about.  This is just collecting for the purpose of finding the right path through level and collecting the coins along the way more as checkpoints that you are playing correctly.  Not really scouring to find them all so you haven't missed something.  That said, it is pretty fun, though a little tricky.  I am really interested in seeing what other references come about in the game though, so I would hit it.  If it caught me at the right time, I might even spend a couple bucks, rather than just the one.

Vidiot Game (XBLIG)

Hit it or Quit it?

Year: 2012 -- Developer: GZ Games -- Publisher: XBLIG

First Impression:
The name definitely makes a first impression.  Vidiot?  Isn't that an 80s term for someone who watches too much TV or something?  The "icon" picture looks 8-bit and 80s-ish.. and creepy.  Past that, the XBOX is still not really loading any info.  I swear it's supposed to.  Some of the other icon images aren't even loading on the game selection screen. I think something is wrong, but whatever.  As long as the game plays, I guess I don't need a first impression.  Still a little odd/frustrating though...

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Fooled around for: 7 minutes (XBLIG Time Limit)
....wtf.  I'm not even entirely sure what I just played was a game.. or a completed game, at least.  Considering the title, and the game icon, I'm guessing this is just the way it's supposed to be, but it was.. odd.  The whole game is ugly as hell, by design (presumably).  There are built-in graphical glitches, and the colors are nasty and mismatched.  The music is 8-bit and annoying.

Overall, the whole game just doesn't make sense.  It's almost trying to be a mini-game game.. except from one screen to the next, you are left with "What the hell was that..and what the hell is this..!?".  You start by building a character that may or may not matter.  You pick a few basic details that I'm not sure end up actually affecting the "game" because the game consists of things like scratching a lottery ticket that you do or don't win, coming across a foe that you just choose one of three choices, and seem to end up with a random answer, and all kinds of crazy garbage.  What you do doesn't seem to matter, but maybe it does. Maybe there is a way to "win" but if there is, you only know it because you have played it enough to get it wrong and remember what you did.  Past that, it just feels like the ROM got corrupted and the game doesn't even know what it's doing.

Imagine this, except the text is wobbling and you can barely read it.

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Hit it or Quit it? (80 MSP)
Since I believe this game was built to cause that "wtf" effect, it certainly accomplished that.  The problem is, I can tell if it did that instead of having a real "game" in there.  It's actually kind of a relief to find an XBLIG game that I will quit, just so I know my dollar isn't worthless, but at the same time, it is "only a buck".. and maybe there is something to this game that I just don't "get" yet.  I'm going to err on the side of "no" though, and quit.  I'd really just rather play something that makes more sense.  Or any sense, for that matter.

This.