Fusion Genesis (XBLA) Review

Posted by David Porter on 11.17.2011

More than just a simple twin-stick shooter, Fusion Genesis will guarantee you hours of content. Are all of those hours fun though?

Game: Fusion Genesis
Developer: Starfire Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Space Shooter/MMO
# Of Players: Up to 4 in Co-op, Up to 8 in PvP
Rated T for Teen



Fusion Genesis is a new downloadable game for Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade. At first, it may seem like another top-down, twin stick space shooter, but with elements of an MMO and even some Strategy elements thrown in, the game turns out to be surprisingly complex.



The game starts you off as a professor’s assistant, an errand boy if you will. In what is basically the tutorial section of the game, Mr. Professor sends you to do random tasks that in turn teach you the mechanics of the game and how to play. My first surprise came during this section when I found out that you can mine various asteroids for ore, an element found in most strategy games. Starcraft especially came to mind.


After your last favor for the professor, in which he has you fetch a special item for him, the bad guys come in to close down his operation and get a hold of said special item. As it turns out, the very key to the universe could be in this special item.



After you escape the lab, the game really begins. You are free to join one out of five factions, each with their own set of goals and missions. Don’t like the faction you’re in? Joining a different one is as simple as going to their base and saying hello. As you complete more missions and mine more materials from asteroids, you are able to upgrade your ship. You start off with the traditional twin-stick shooter mechanics, but as you upgrade your weapons you can unlock powerful beams and rockets that require you to hold down the Right Trigger until you lock onto an enemy and then let go to fire. It takes a little getting used to, but the rewards are worth the learning curve.

You can also unlock Sentients, robots that fly with your ship and provide assistance. There is a Tank Sentient which provides defensive abiliies, a Healer Sentient which restores health when needed, and an Attack Sentient which fires additional blasts at enemies.



In order to gain XP and Credits to upgrade your ship, you must do missions for whatever faction you decide to join. There are hundreds upon hundreds of missions available in this game which in turn will guarantee you hours of gameplay. At first, this is no problem but I quickly learned that these missions get repetitive and even boring at times. This may be more bearable when played with friends in co-op multiplayer, but here is where I found another problem.

The multiplayer in Fusion Genesis is confusing, to say the least. When I tried to have a friend join up with me, he didn’t spawn on my location. We had to search the galaxy for each other. When we finally did find each other, the game never seemed to let us join a mission together. The same goes for the PvP . I could rarely find anyone else playing the game, let alone anyone on an opposing faction willing to battle. I suppose a lot of this can be attributed to the fact that this was released around the same time as Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim.



The graphics seem simple at first, but each area of the galaxy has it’s own unique look to it and the top down look gives an illusion of 3D wihout the headaches. As for the soundtrack, it’s stellar. Gives a good sci-fi vibe without feeling generic. The voice acting, when used, is performed very well. Starfire Studios was formed by some ex-employees of Rare and this game has the same humor in the dialogue as you fondly remember from such games as Donkey Kong Country and Banjo Kazooie.



Pros:

- Tons of options in upgrading your Ship and Sentiels will allow for hours of gameplay
- At 800 MS points, you really get your bang for your buck
- Graphics are better than you would expect from a game like this
- The soundtrack gives a sci-fi feel without sounding generic
- The voice acting and dialogue are performed very well and that same humor you expect from ex Rare employees is there.


Cons:
- Missions can get very repetitive
- Story can be hard to follow. If you read a lot of science fiction novels, you might be able to follow it better than I did.
- Multiplayer is a mess. Co-op is almost impossible to do and it’s hard to find anyone to do PvP

The 411:

Fusion Genesis is definitely one of the more complex games on Xbox Live Arcade. At 800 MS Points, you definitely get your bang for your buck. Hundreds of missions will guarantee you to put hours into this game. On top of that, there are a ton of options for upgrading your ship and Sentinels. The graphics are very nice looking and the soundtrack and voice acting are done very well. Some things get repetitive such as mining, and the typical fetch, grind, and escort missions can bore you to tears after a while. The multiplayer is confusing, but hopefully after enough people have had their fun with Skyrim and MW3, they don’t overlook this game. Overall, I was expecting a little bit more from Fusion Genesis and I wish the multiplayer was more user friendly.

Graphics	8.0	Better than you'd expect from a game like this, you almost get the illusion of 3D effects.
Gameplay	8.0	More than just traditional twin-stick controls, learning how to use more powerful weapons takes some getting used to.
Sound	9.0	The soundtrack is superb, as well as the voice acting.
Lasting Appeal	10.0	For 800 MS Points, you get a ton of content that will last you for hours
Fun Factor	6.0	Your typical fetch, escort, and grind quests get boring after a while. My experience with multiplayer really hurt my experience as well.
Overall	7.5   [ Good ]