Living LIVE 11.16.09: Issue No. 47 - NBA Unrivaled, 0D Beat Drop, Lemonade Ltd, More
Posted by Trace Aber on 11.16.2009
Featuring reviews of all the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade and Indie Games, including NBA Unrivaled, 0D Beat Drop, Lemonade Ltd and more!
I, much like everyone else in the world it seems, have been playing Modern Warfare 2 all week long. While it's not perfect, it's pretty damn close. Although I am a little worried about having to choose between Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 starting this Tuesday, but I've faced harder decisions in life before (though I can't seem to think of any at the moment). With that said, I'm trying to play some MW2 so let's get this article out of the way.
Arcade Releases
This week saw three very different games get released under the arcade banner. Ranging from a retro-styled basketball game to a rhythm puzzle to a game featuring mini games, it's an interesting week for Xbox LIVE. Let's see if any of the games are actually worth playing though.
NBA Unrivaled (1200MP)
Remember the days of arcade basketball games? When games such as Arch Rivals or NBA Jam reigned supreme and you didn't need to master overly complex controls to win a game? Yes, they were great times and many hours were spent battling my friends, and when I found out that a new retro-styled basketball game was coming out I was happy as hell. I told my friends about it, downloaded the demo and when we sat down to play we were all…terribly disappointed.
The main problem with NBA Unrivaled is that the basketball aspect of the game is horrendous. As you can imagine, this takes a lot away from the game experience. Throughout the one game I painfully finished, at no point was I ever interested in what was going on. Animation is sloppy and jerky and when there's more than two people in the same area it's next to impossible to tell what's going on. You'll have fouls called on you for no reason and you'll probably feel obligated to strangle the dumb-looking referee in the game.
You'll get three modes with your fifteen bucks here. Quick play is your standard game where up to two players can play. Which is another thing – why, in this generation, is there a basketball game released that only allows for two players. That's ridiculous. Xbox LIVE play manages to ruin the idea of online gaming by having animation glitches, turn invisible, and generally doing not but terrible basketball. Challenge mode, despite sounding semi-interesting, is actually just a list of NBA teams to face that have no special stipulations or goals – just win.
NBA Unrivaled is certainly unrivaled in the category of the worst sports game on LIVE to ever be released. Easily one of the worst games released on the service of all time, as there is nothing redeemable about it. Sure, the momentum aspect of the game is a good idea (score a bunch of points and your team gets special abilities) but considering the AI is so awful it doesn't even matter. There's no reason to spend $1 on this game, so you know $15 is a horrible waste of money. Rating: 1.0
0D Beat Drop (800MP)
As long-time readers will know, I'm pretty tired of Tetris clones and at first glance I was preparing myself for yet another Tetris clone. After giving it a few minutes, it seemed like the game was a Tetris clone with some pulsating music. Then I kind of got into the game and now see it for what it truly is – a Tetris clone with some pulsating music that tweaks the genre a little bit and manages to be entertaining for a little bit longer than the typical clone.
0D Beat Drop has players matching clusters of shapes on a grid and one must stack three or more of the same color to get them off the screen. During this rather invigorating gameplay, you'll be slammed with some techno beats that, while it may throw some off at first, it's actually integral to the experience. In order to get rid of the same-colored clusters you have to press the X button in synch with the music. If it works, you get rid of some stuff. If you don't time is properly, however, then you'll just have another cluster of shapes. For those of us who aren't musically inclined, there's also a slider to watch and the controller vibrates to let you know when to drop. Like most puzzle games, you'll get multipliers with each successful beat drop but they get harder as you go up in rank. Mess up and you're back at zero.
While there are five different game modes, available for both single and multiplayer, most of them consist of pretty much the exact same thing. The biggest feature of the game is that you can import your own music from your harddrive or any other source and have the game create its own beats for it. It really does increase the longevity of the game since music is such a key factor.
For puzzle fans who aren't tired of matching three shapes of the same color, or people who really enjoy matching things to music, 0D Beat Drop is a worthy recommendation. Some might be turned off by the amount of things going on the screen at once, however (and there are a lot), but that's only a minor complaint. Rating: 7.0
EnclevermentExperiment (800MP)
Thanks to the Nintendo DS, the "brain game" genre was born. While I have played a few titles in the genre (most notably the "Brain Age" games), I never got into the whole thing. Regardless, it's pretty popular and a lot of rip-off games have been made. The thing about this game is I'm not sure if it wants to be a party game or a brain game…either way it fails.
There are sixteen mini-games in all, broken down into four subcategories; memory, pattern recognition, mathematics and reaction times. Most of the time you'll be answering standard IQ test questions, except the IQ test is done on MySpace or Facebook so probably not the most accurate. The reaction time games are the most interesting, but that's not saying a whole lot. While some parents might find this to be a fun game for the kids, I don't see too many people turning to the LIVE arcade for edutainment games anyways.
There's just not a whole lot to say about EnclevermentExperiment. It's a brain game with a made word in the title, bland graphics, and just isn't too much fun to play. Whether you want a party game or an edutainment title, you'll be disappointed. Not worth the ten bucks at all. Rating: 5.0
Indie Games
Lemonade Ltd (80MP)
I remember in my elementary years a lemonade stand simulator that was unreasonably fun. A few years later I saw one online and it had even more lemonade-related stats to worry about. Fast forward to today when I stumble upon Lemonade Ltd, an indie game version of the online simulator. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like it, I just can't.
When you load things up you'll have a chance to name your Microsoft Paint-created stand, which is probably the most exciting thing about the game. As typical with games such as this, you'll be tasked with figuring out the price of your cups and how many signs you want to put up based on the weather (which isn't always accurate, by the way), and that's it. Other free ones will allow you to adjust other details such as the amount of sugar in them, which granted this is all pretty petty but why pay for an inferior product when you can get a superior one for free?
When you decide your business plan for the day, you'll be treated to a screen of your stand with various glasses of lemonade. If you do well, the glasses disappear and you get the results of the day. Repeat this cycle thirty times and you have the full game. The one benefit is it's only a dollar, but I'd rather play the online ones. Rating: 4.5
Alderman (240MP)
One thing I love about indie games is the ability to play new games in old-school 3D graphics, like really old school. That's what Alderman brings down to the table – really old, almost humorous looking graphics. That's about it, though.
You'll spend your time in the game running around on a wooden horse using your javelin projectile at knights who look like they're made out of Lego blocks. I really can't describe it any other way. The entire game consists of this…you run around with the environment popping up everywhere. It looks terrible, plays terrible, and just isn't any fun whatsoever. There's nothing in this game besides pressing one button and hitting enemies. And there's seven levels of this, too! Rating: 1.5
Flytrap (400MP)
Flytrap is a pretty weird game, to be honest. Based off Galaga and Space Invaders, you play, for what has to be the first time in video game history, as a Venus Flytrap. This times, however, you'll be fighting against bees, frogs and other weird ass things. You use some sort of squirt gun thing to shoot the oncoming enemies, which will either piss them off or stun them. If they're stunned, you can inhale them to take them off the playing field. If they're pissed off, well, keep hitting them. This goes on for levels and levels and it never gets interesting whatsoever. It's kind of fun for a little bit, but after the second level or so you're not going to notice any difference except a different enemy or two. Even then, they pretty much act exactly the same. Waste of time. Rating: 2.0
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!
