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.