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.

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.

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.