My Own Summer (Shove It?) of Arcade!!!
By jakob187 24 Comments
I've always stuck to retail discs. It's nice to hold a product that you own in your hands, they happen to be shiny (thus distracting as Hell), and they are usually the games that we WANT WANT WANT! I've stayed away from purchasing XBL Arcade games for two reasons: ownership issues (not a big fan of not having a copy for myself) and the fact that I play on an Xbox at my workplace...which leaves any points I don't spend vulnerable to kids who might decide to buy that new World at War map pack. Instead of buying a regular game at around $50 this past week, however, I went for a 4000 points card and decided to get in on some Arcade action! I had quite the time trying to decide on what to purchase, going to the point of starting up a thread to hear what YOU guys thought I should dig into. So, here at my decisions and a little mini-review for each of them:
- 'Splosion Man - This was the game that made me decide on buying points in the first place. There's been a lot of hype around Giant Bomb for the game, and I've gotta say I wasn't disappointed! 'Splosion Man goes back to the old 2D side-scrolling puzzle platforming style that...well...it felt like an absolutey insane version of Prince of Persia at times...just in terms of "platform the fuck out of this puzzle". I do have a few issues with the game, such as how steep the difficulty curve ramps up after the first area of the game (there are three areas with a total of 50 levels). There's also a handful of trial and error portions that just frustrated the Hell out of me and made me question the accessibility of the game. On the bright side, the game is seriously challenging in its own way...and it's completely bonkers. Imagine if Freakazoid and Bonkers had kids, then those kids were raised by the Animaniacs. It's kind of like that. Great game overall, and I highly recommend it for 800 points.
- The Maw - Since I was getting 'Splosion Man, I decided to try out TwistedPixel's other game. It's cute like a Pixar movie, it's not very complex to grasp, but it's still a lot of fun and quite relaxing. There's something inherently awesome...dare I say MAWsome for the use of an overdone pun...about a giant blob with sharp, nashy teeth looking to eat everything it can. I haven't beaten it yet, like I have with 'Splosion Man, but I've enjoyed my time with it and I'm in no rush. I like the relaxation that it offers.
- Bionic Commando Rearmed - I loved the original Commando and Bionic Commando. I also loved the new Bionic Commando. Therefore, it only seemed logical that I would love Rearmed. Guess what? I do...but the feeling is a bit stilted at times. Everything I could've hoped for is present: excellent music, excellent graphics, 2D perspective, "Rad" Spencer, and a whole slew of awesome platforming to swing your way through. However, it's something that I KNOW I've played before because I can feel it, and it just makes me yearn to play the original all over again. Either way, it's an excellent update that I suggest to everyone.
- Castle Crashers - It was a difficult decision for me to make: 1200 points for a game by The Behemoth plus a 400 point classic game...or grab two games for 800 points each like Mega Man 9 and Castlevania: SOTN. Well, folks...I haven't played a good old fashioned beat-em-up in a long while, so Castle Crashers won out in this battle to the death! So far, I'm loving it. There's enough challenge to keep me coming back, the RPG elements are a nice touch, and even playing through the same level some twenty times doesn't get old. I think a lot of that has to do with the amazing art style that Dan Paladin has, but it's also a simple fact of easy-to-grasp gameplay wrapped around a real crazy game idea. I will say that I was surprised by the Abandoned Mill level, though. O_O
- Doom - Seriously, who doesn't love some Doom fragging fun? The single player is just like I remembered it being: fun and addictive. The graphics obviously haven't aged well, and it's a bit awkward in this day and age of FPS gaming to not have the option of looking up or down with your controller, but it goes to show how tight of a game that id Software made all those years ago. If we could only get Ultimate Doom thrown onto the Arcade, I'd be in Heaven! I haven't tried the online for the game yet, and I'm almost positive that it'll be dead, but I still want to check it out.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchases, and it's led me to wanting more. I'll be picking up another 4,000 points for the release of Shadow Complex and the Red Faction DLC coming the week of August 10th.
I want to thank everyone that posted in my thread asking for some game-buying advice. Most of the community should know that I don't care much for it when people say "OH WHAT GAME SHOULD I BUY"...but I was at such a loss because of all the amazing games. Sometimes, in my indecision, I need to talk things out with other people to finally get to a point of saying "yes I will buy that thank you good night".
Until next time, piece!