Living LIVE 11.01.09: Issue No. 45 - Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure, Inferno Pool, Frequency, More
Posted by Trace Aber on 11.02.2009
Featuring reviews of Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure, Inferno Pool, omg cats game@#, Guns Loaded, Tiger Storm and one of the best indie platformers in a long time - Frequency. Check it all out inside!
So, has anyone played the Left 4 Dead 2 demo yet? I got it the other day and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I was on the fence about the game since I didn't think there would be a whole lot added, but I can admit when I'm wrong. Yes, the basic gameplay is there and not too much has changed about that, but they did change some subtle things such as the HUD and it seems to me that movement is a lot smoother. The new zombie types are great, with the charger providing some of the most devastating tackles I've ever seen. I probably like the jockey the best though, only because everytime somebody gets attacked by one for the first time something along the lines of, "What the hell is riding my face?" gets asked. I'm looking forward to the full game and can't wait to check out everything the new game has to offer.
I have been chipping away at Uncharted 2, which has yet to become boring at any point. I have learned it's best not to quit playing when you're in the middle of a huge area because the first ten minutes or so suck once you start playing again. I died in those damn ice caves four or five times before I figured out where I was. I have also managed to find some time to play Forza 3, which I'm currently in the process of reviewing. I was nervous about the game at first since I'm not a huge simulator guy, but they have really made the game accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level. Expect that review later this week if all goes well.
I'm Trace Aber and this is Living LIVE.
Arcade Games
This week saw the release of a new spin on billiards and a remake of a Taito classic. Both games have unusual premises but try to make the best out of them – the real question is whether or not they were successful.
Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure (800MP)
Taito has recently been releasing updated versions of their old arcade classics and releasing them on LIVE, and this week we get the Bubble Bobble spin-off, Rainbow Islands. The story features Holly's Comet, which will grant any wish to whomever locates it before it runs away. I don't know where this comet has to go, and to be honest I don't exactly understand the comet lifestyle, but Holly is in a hurry. After choosing either Bubby or Bobby, you'll be trying to climb the top of this huge tower all while being chased by some of Dr. Crescent's machines. The entire game is about the battle between magic and science, which apparently is pretty important to Dr. Crescent.
The adventure takes place over 10 areas that are completely littered with enemies and a machine chasing you. Instead of a normal life system you are given a certain amount of time to clear each area and every time you make contact with an enemy you lose those vital seconds. Luckily, some enemies will leave gems behind that actually give you additional time, so they're not all jerks. Your only defense is the ability to project rainbows from your body, which can be used to eliminate enemies and as a platform to reach higher ground. Finally, you are able to shatter them to rain down stars or use them as a shield. While the game features four modes, they all consist of the exact same thing – climbing to the top of the tower.
Yeah, this tower is huge.
Graphically, the game looks very colorful and vibrant, which will certainly appeal to the younger crowd. Which is really where this game will find most of its fanbase – the children of LIVE. I can't imagine an adult playing this game and having a good time, and to be honest most of my time playing it was pretty miserable. But, with rather simple controls and a kid-friendly environment, this is decent attempt at reviving an old classic. I'm just not sure if it's really worth reviving. Rating: 6.5
Inferno Pool (800MP)
There haven't been a whole lot of billiards games that really capture the essence of the pool table. It's hard to compete against having a physical pool table and some friends to play with, and it's even hard to try to come up with a story for a billiards game (which some have sadly try to do). For me, personally, there will never be a better game of billiards than the mini-game featured in Super Monkey Ball, but that's just me. In what I think is the first billiards game on LIVE, Inferno Pool promises to provide a "revolutionary, simultaneous multi-player Pool action game." Unfortunately, things don't always work out as well as we had hoped.
Besides the obvious 8-ball and 9-ball modes, there is also the Inferno mode, which I'm assuming is the revolutionary part. Essentially you and up to three others play at the same time on your own table with nine balls a piece. Racing against both the clock and your competition, you'll race to pocket every ball, though there are a few twists. Each time you pocket a ball you have the ability to send it over to your enemy, and they can do the same to you. Unfortunately, as fun as that sounds, the controls of Inferno Pool really drags things down. The biggest problem is lining up your shots just right, which is pretty important in a game such as this. No matter what camera angle you use, how you adjust your sensitivity, or any trick you can think of – the movement is far too sensitive. Couple that with the fact you're racing against the clock and the mode simply becomes random shots and whoever gets lucky wins.
The presentation is excellent and is truly one of the game's strong points. Everything has a sort of dirty look to it, though the detail in the designs are nice. You can almost feel the disease on the table while you play, which now that I've said that I'm not sure if that's a positive or a negative. Regardless, Inferno Pool had a lot of potential that was ruined by an overly-sensitive control scheme. Rating: 6.0
Indie Games
This week we have a avoid the walls game, a couple shooters and one platformer that is extremely interesting. One thing I noticed this week about the indie games is that a lot of them don't try to immerse the player…many of these games don't have the "it" factor. I understand they're limited in a variety of ways, but I've played plenty of Indie games that accomplish this. Sometimes it seems like people are just trying to make a quick buck rather than a good game.
omg cats game@#$ (240MP)
A few weeks ago you may recall that I reviewed a game called, "Spider Evader." The game featured the worst premise for a video game ever: avoid the walls. And, to make it even more irritating, if you for some reason decided to play through the game it would try to scare you with a pop up image and a loud noise. Even though I called it one of the worst games ever, the creator of this game seemed to have loved the idea first explored in Spider Evader. Instead of spiders you'll be avoiding cats, and from what I can tell you can actually see the entire level, something SE simply did not feature. But, after beating a few levels, a "scary image" will appear for some reason. At least Spider Evader had the decency to be 80MP, but the developer decided this game was worthy of 240MP. There is nothing fun about moving around a cramped area while avoiding walls and cats. Who the hell made this and thought people would want to do anything other than commit suicide?
Seriously, screw this game Rating: 0
Guns Loaded (240MP)
Guns Loaded harkens back to the day of classic horizontal space shooters – complete with a bunch of enemies and bullets flying everywhere. Not much story is given, but I guess you don't necessarily need one when all you really want to do is blow stuff up in space, right? You're equipped with missiles and a machine gun, both of which recharge over a short period of time. The ship's shield acts as your health, though don't worry too much because the game starts you off right where you die. This is handy, though doesn't particularly say a whole lot about the challenge of the game.
Only in video games could a little ship destroy that monstrosity
Players will traverse through three locations, though only one was unlocked in the demo. The graphics look good and the action is always fast and frantic, but not once did I feel immersed in the game. I never felt into it or even worried about my progress. While a fun shooter with nothing inherently wrong, there's just something about it that doesn't allow me to enjoy it as much as I would like to. Rating: 5.5
Frequency (240MP)
If there is one thing I have learned through video games, it is never to name anything Nemesis since odds are it will turn on you and nearly end the world. Unfortunately, the scientists in Frequency never picked up on this lesson and now the entire continent (of wherever they are) is overrun by robots…and three scientists. They reactive an old robot who happens to be able to switch colors (based off the face buttons of the controller, with the exception of green since ‘A' is jump) with the hopes of it being able to overcome the odds and defeat Nemesis and all of the other machines who are trying to kill off humanity. Kind of an odd seeing as how a robot turned on them the last time, but it's not going to happen twice, right?
I was going to point out that this game has multiple endings, but this screenshot when ahead and did it for me
Anyways, the main feature here is the ability to switch colors. Each color has its own ammo/health bar and when all three of them run out you're dead. Seeing as how ammo runs out rather quickly, the developers are introduced a very unique aspect of the game – the ability to absorb color into ammo/health. Anything that has color to it, be it a car or a wall, can be absorbed to fill your bars back up. Though it's a bit weird to get used to, within a few minutes you'll be refilling and shooting like it's your damn job. Mostly because it is.
The game is divided up into screens, each with a couple of enemies and a platforming element to figure out. Though the demo only let me get past the very mini-boss, I must admit I was extremely impressed. Gameplay is smooth, the story is interesting and the overall presentation is excellent. For fans of platformers and shooters, this is a must have…and for the price you're getting a hell of a deal. Rating: 8.0
Tiger Storm (240MP)
Imagine you're on a team featuring the absolute best military technology in the world – so far things are sounding pretty sweet. But then, one day and for a reason never explained, they turn on you and all hell breaks loose! So now you (and if you have a friend, another person they've betrayed) must travel through their base and destroy their technology while reaching the area target. It's a classic tank shoot ‘em up and despite all of this, it's still just not that great.
Yeah, so that seems fair
First off, I believe Tiger Storm has the longest load time in any indie game I've played. I actually thought it froze for a bit before it finally loaded. Once you get on the playing field you'll notice you really have no idea what to do. Yes, you're supposed to shoot things that shoot at you, but why? And how am I supposed to win when there's gunfire everywhere and there are enemies that you can't even shoot? Well, despite playing through this game, I never really got my answer. I reached the end of the level, the "area target" but then I somehow died. I would try again but this game doesn't give me much reason to. There's no context and even less instructions…despite the decent presentation the game doesn't deliver. Sometimes, it's best to let the betrayal happen and drop it. Rating: 5.0
Check back next week as I review the newest arcade and indie games and let you know what's worth buying, trying, and skipping. Also, don't forget to bookmark 411Mania! And a note to all of the Indie Game developers out there – if you have an upcoming title that's going to be released soon drop me a line at traceaber@gmail.com and let me know. I'll write a full review of your game to be posted on 411Mania.com, which is a great way to get your game promoted!
