Archive for the ‘ XBLA ’ Category

Trials HD Review

I had planned to get this review up on Thursday or at latest Friday but here I am on Sunday night typing up my thoughts on this amazing little game. I have struggled to put the pad down long enough to type this thing. I’m horribly addicted to Trials HD, more so than I have been to any other arcade game. I should have anticipated this after being addicted to the old flash game versions. I’m sure at some point in your gaming life you have came across a Trials game. If not you basically have to ride your motocross bike across a series of obstacles and jumps and stay on until the end. Sounds easy enough but its surprisingly not.

Trials HD is the perfect example of a simple idea executed well. You use the right trigger for ignition, the harder you press the harder you accelerate. The much neglected brake is the left trigger which is only really used on the obstacles. For control you use the right analogue stick, pulling back will raise your front end and pushing forward lowers it. Sounds simple enough and it really is but these controls will help you conquer some of the most soul destroying challenges you will ever face.

Trials

After each one of these obstacles there is a checkpoint that you can respawn at by pressing B. This makes some of the harder challenges possible…just. If your going for a top notch time then you can press the back key which will restart the level. Just don’t do what I have done numerous times and press it instead of B. Nothing worse than losing all your progress on an Expert level.

The game starts out on beginner level then rather steeply shoots up to expert. The game leaves you stumped at quite a few points with no help. You have to learn what to do by just repeating it over and over again which may be too much for some people to take. You get 30 minutes and 500 respawns to complete a level. It may seem like a lot but I managed to max out both trying to complete one of the extreme challenges. If you need help you can jump over to the leaderboards and watch the replays of the best players. This sometimes helps but can just leave you feeling dumbfounded.

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The leaderboards are where the addiction lies in this game. Every time you complete a level it shows your score in relation to your friends. You could put a time down that your really happy with to see your rival a few tenths of a second faster than you. I have spent hours trying to chase down a friends score. Studying every jump to find the perfect transition to give me the speed for the next. No matter how good you do you know you can always go faster.

If you’re getting too annoyed at a particular track you can always go and play some of the mini games. These range from jumping your ski bike as far as you can to trying to break as many bones as possible by launching your poor rider down some steps. Hill climb is my favourite mini game by far. The further you drive your bike up the near vertical wall the harder it gets to keep it under control. Seeing your friends name just above you on the hill makes you want to find that last shred of energy to push past their score. There is also a tournament mode that involves you completing a series of tracks in a row. I have dabbled a little with the level editor and it seems really good. I’ve never been great at level editors but I do enjoy playing user created content and I think were going to see some devilish creations.

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The game looks and sounds as good you would expect it to do with a 1200 MP price tag and HD in the title. The music is pretty much non existent as I turned it down and just listen to the bike. Brandon Dicamillo and Rake Yon of CKY and Jackass do the voice over work which was surprisingly annoying. It made me chuckle the first time I heard it but after awhile I just turned it off.

Trials HD is one of the best arcade games I have ever purchased and I can see myself playing this well into the future. I seriously recommend that you pick up this title. Its a great game with tons of replay value.

Hi-Score – Simple controls, Leaderboards, Addictive gameplay, Great graphics

Lo-Score – Hard later levels, Annoying voice overs, Life endingly addictive

Final score – 9 out of 10

2009
08/16
CATEGORY
360
Review
XBLA
TAGS



3 comments

Trials HD competition

The most addictive game ever has landed on XBLA and as more and more people download Trials HD we (read, Crying Scotsman a community member) have decided to run a competition. With 1600 MS points up for grabs, 800 from CSM and 800 from Hi-Score all you have to do is head over to our forums and sign up with your gamertag.

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Here are the rules;

Sign up at the forums no later than Sunday 16th August if you are interested in taking part in a little Trials HD Comp.

The comp will run until 9pm Sunday 23rd August.

The competition will be played over the following:

Smooth Jumps (easy track)
Wheres the Ground (medium track)
Background Cup (tournament)
National Bike Cup (tournament)

These tracks have been selected purely for the reason that most should have them within a very short period of time and can therefore enter the comp.

3 points will be awarded for the person with the fastest time on each track, 2 points for the second fastest and 1 point for the third fastest.

The person with the highest total score at the close of the comp will win 800 MS Points.

General Rules

– Any bike can be used on any track (well, any that the track will allow)
– You can try for the fastest time as often as you like
– Only the fastest times at 9pm Sunday 23rd August will be used for the scores
– In the event of a tie, the person with the lowest cumulative time will be declared the winner

How to sign up

Post your gamertag in the forum thread, no later than Sunday 16th August. I will then add you to my friends list and be able to monitor the leaderboard (it may also be useful for people to add each other and then you can check the leaderboard throughout!)
At the close of the comp, I will log the scores from the leaderboard (and take photographic evidence, in the case of cries of shenanigans!)

EDIT- YOU CAN ALSO ENTER HERE BY PUTTING YOUR GT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!!!! 😀

2009
08/14
CATEGORY
360
Blog Post
Competition
XBLA
TAGS



7 comments

Problems and Promise

Where to start……Dear me, what happened EA?
I’m assuming by that first line you know what I’m referring to, but for those who need some enlightening let me shed the light. Wednesday 8th July saw the release of Battlefield 1943 on XBLA, an event that has been widely hyped in preview sections and on many podcasts. Falling onto our dashboards priced at 1200 points, people across Europe and the world were ensuring that they had enough points in their balance and getting ready for war.

As a big fan of the Battlefield series I was armed with the points and ready to download it as soon as it was up. Then it appeared, kind of. The first problem of the endless list was that the game would only download from XBOX.com or the spotlight section on the dashboard, not a huge problem, I grabbed it XBOX.com and it started downloading. With my new game settling in it’s new home I hit the A button and launched it for the first time. I was greeted by a fantastic menu system with triumphant music, this was before I entered my first match and experienced horrendous lag.

Bullet lag, characters that seemed animated by Aardman (stop motion style) and walking forward five steps only to lag backwards four steps, the game was unplayable. It was broken, for an online only game to not work online is a big problem and I wasn’t happy. After a few measly attempts at getting a few games on my new purchase I gave up for a while. After posting my thoughts on Twitter I gave it one more go and, Success! There I was standing on Wake island, no lag, no issues, time to fight.

And what a great fight it is, with stunning graphics for an arcade title and epic gameplay usually reserved for retail games, Battlefield 1943 is a fantastic edition to XBLA. A capture the flag mixed with territories style game is the only mode to play at the moment, but there’s no issue there. It’s a great game mode that always seems to keep the scores close and the games finish with only a small margin between teams. Choosing one of three classes to fight as, scout (sniper) infantry (gunner) and rifleman (name says it all) you will rank up your profile as you capture flags, kill the other team and blow up planes and tanks. With destructible scenery too, everything is here for a great game.

However, the problems came back, the lag struck again. According to the Twitter account of the developers it was an issue with packet data and would be finished within a few hours…..and it was. Then the servers failed. It seems, despite what EA and DICE say, the interest in Battlefield 1943 was underestimated and there weren’t enough servers to cope with demand. Games couldn’t be found in the search function, friends couldn’t play together and if you managed to get into a game you were kicked from it swiftly. This continued for some time and the Twitter feed of the Devs kept spitting out excuse after excuse.

We are now some five days after the launch of the game and despite most problems being fixed, there are still a few left behind.

Arthur Gies from Eat.Sleep.Game and Rebel FM said this on Twitter just yesterday; Battlefield 1943 is completely fucked. we couldn’t even do a private game without a hitch.

After trying to arrange a community game yesterday, former 1up writer Nick Suttner said this; Wow, that was a massive failure. Sorry everyone. We had a full room, too! Back to the fully-functioning PS3 version…alone…

This really isn’t good enough on EA’s part, releasing a game on XBLA that is quite obviously broken and in need of removal. But what really gets my goat is how we, the gamer, have received no apology on the situation. Surely under consumer law EA should at least part refund these games as people have paid for them in in worst cases have lost five days of their purchase. I’m utterly speechless that a game that was so hyped can have been so underestimated by it’s own developers and publishers. When Battlefield 1943 works, it’s a beautiful combination of gunplay and teamwork that plays amazingly, But it doesn’t work and that’s just sad.

2009
07/13
CATEGORY
360
Blog Post
PS3
PSN
Rants
XBLA
TAGS





2 comments

Sam And Max Save The World

Sam is a dog, I’m not entirely sure what type of dog he is, but he’s definitely a dog. Max is a rabbit, a ballsy, sociopathic, one sandwich short of a picnic type of rabbit. They each form one half of the freelance police, each walk on their hind legs, each talk smack to one another and they’re each as funny as ever. Although Sam and Max look to take on the traditional comedy routine of straight man, funny man, it’s more like funny dog and slightly unhinged but witty sidekick, obviously the latter role is taken up by Max.

We first met Sam and Max in their videogame form when they ‘hit the road’ back in 1993, a point and click adventure with a quirky sense of humour. Fans clamoured for more of Steve Purcell’s creations and ‘hit the road’ was re-released in 2002 for PC. Originally produced by LucasArts their contract with Purcell expired in 2005 and Telltale games managed to swoop in and pick up the rights to make more games featuring the lovable duo.

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Telltale created Sam and Max save the world for PC, which arrived in an episodic form and each episode made up an underlying story arc that formed “season one” Now that season has found its home on XBLA, priced at 1600 Microsoft points, is it time to put these adorable rouges to sleep? I for one hope not.

Sam and Max save the world is broken down into six episodes and each is extravagantly titled. Throughout the episodes you will meet the supporting cast who are varied and original; each plays their part well in the story. Bosco, runs Bosco’s inconvenience store, Cybil pandemic changes her career in each episode but is a close friend to our heroes and Jimmy two teeth, the criminal rat who lives the wall of the office. Although these characters are humorous, they are lacking compared to our protagonists. In fact the script as a whole could be much better; there are many recurring jokes that after time are met with a roll of the eyes rather than a smirk.

However the story is entertaining and fun, it holds twists and turns that will genuinely surprise and the satire found on display is excellent. This is at its high point in the episode- Reality 2.0. This episode is easily the most fun and you will find yourselves in a virtual reality which pokes fun at the internet and everything that comes with it.

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In terms of puzzles, each one is as original as the plot. Some are particularly tricky but some digging around and talking to Max will soon reveal the answers you’re looking for. Even after being ridiculously stumped a few times through my progress the full game took me around ten hours to complete, this to me is still great value. Unfortunately by episode three I found myself struggling to carry on, despite different storylines, new characters appearing and then making cameos later on there is a distinct lack of atmosphere. There’s no real appeal to want to go back and find out what happens next and I believe this is due to the layout of the game world. Other than characters changing their looks, nothing else really changes and starting an episode becomes routine. This makes the opening of each part a chore.

Unfortunately you can add to these few low points, there are moments when the sound cuts out and speech is missed and there are many framerate problems too. However the first season of Sam and Max is an enjoyable romp that fans of the series will enjoy and non fans will likely be converted. The technical problems certainly don’t ruin the game and if you overlook some repetitive features you can have a lot of fun with Sam and Max and for the cost of 1600 points you can’t go wrong here.

Hi-Score – Great one liners, enjoyable story, fun characters.

Lo-Score – Graphical issues, can become monotonous, jokes become repetitive.

Final Score – 6 out of 10

2009
07/03
CATEGORY
360
Review
XBLA
TAGS


1 comment

Rocket Riot

Blasting its way onto XBLA on Wednesday 17th June, Rocket Riot is here to blow you and everything else to kingdom come. XBLA games often have a simple premise and Rocket Riot is no different. You play in an 8-bit style world of pirates and destructible environments; it’s your mission to defeat the “evil” pirate Blockbeard. Sounds like a pretty standard affair, did I forget to mention that none of the characters have legs? They have jet packs stuck to their rear ends……Oh and each enemy, and you are armed with rocket launchers. You’re more interested aren’t you, you should be.

Rocket Riot is developed by Dutch company, Codeglue and is published by THQ. This title, that seems to have come from nowhere, is only comparable to titles like Worms. With a side on view of the action, fully destructible scenery, power ups and full on action, Rocket Riot is a serious contender to take on games such as Worms and Bomberman for LIVE time.

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A simple premise leads to simple controls. Using the left stick to fly at great speeds through each level and using the right stick to fire your rockets. Holding the right stick will allow you to build up power in your shot and pressing the A button will allow you to use the many power ups within the game. Power ups are varied and can increase explosion, shoot three rockets rather than one, allow you to fire large rockets, create a forcefield around you, heal yourself and the list goes on. However watch out for the power downs too, that will fire dud rockets or even just a flag with BANG written on it.

With a single player campaign that spans 80 levels, there is a serious amount to play through. Each level throws different aspects of the game at you. Whether it be a deathmatch affair where you’ll need to survive an onslaught from Blockbeards pirate henchmen or an objective level that sees you needing to destroy a fixed amount of cannons (that fire pirates) in a fixed time. Each level you play through is a blast (pardon the pun) however it can get repetitive after time.

As you progress through the campaign mode you will unlock many different playable characters, each are customisable in colour of clothes and aiming reticule. By using an 8-bit style of graphics each character and level looks wholly original while sparking memories of retro platformers and shooters. Each aspect of this game is constructed with blocks, in a pixel style and when objects, scenery or characters blow up, they are blown to smithereens.

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So now you’ve played the single player and unlocked some characters, but Rocket Riot comes into its own on XBOX LIVE. With a raft of options to play with friends, co-op, deathmatch and many more you’ll be busy blowing each other up for weeks to come. To accompany deathmatch you’ll find Rugby Riot, a capture the flag style game, grab the ball and score a goal before anyone else. You can also play a form of infection where you’ll have to try to hold onto a golden suit for as long as possible.

Each game I’ve played online has ended in a chorus of laughter and even applause. With games full of frantic explosions and power ups you’ll create fun rivalries with each other and the game itself has the “just one more game” feeling to it.

For 800 Microsoft points, you really can’t go wrong here. Sure the single player campaign can be a little repetitive but Codeglue could’ve released this as an online only game and it would still be worth the price. Rocket Riot could easily become one of the most played games on XBOX LIVE and with no noticeable lag even across the Atlantic, nothing can hold this game back. Rocket Riot is the game that will remind you of how much fun you can have with games, after all, isn’t that what they’re for?

Hi-Score – Superb art style, addictive gameplay, an XBOX LIVE gem.

Lo-Score – Single player gets repetitive

Final Score – 9 out of 10

2009
06/26
CATEGORY
360
Review
XBLA
TAGS


1 comment