Live Arcade Games

[moycon]

I haven't been able to get any Arcade games since my Elite ethernet port got blown out. I have to get it fixed before I snag anymore games. I got the demo for the new Pac-Man and it is fun as hell but I'll have to wait though to get the Full version I guess. On the demo I noticed that you can indeed get massive points chaining ghosts, I had it up to 3k+ a pop. I think it maxed out there but don't know for sure.

 

BTW ... Has anyone tried out the new Prince of Persia?

[Shannon]

Have not had a chance to try the new POP. Too hung up in pac-man.

 

The reason I ask about strategy is because the more ghosts you "eat" the faster things get. Whereas if you stick to the dots your multiplier goes up. I'm just not sure if ghost speed is based on score or the number of blue ghosts you've eaten.

 

I like the idea of leaving on energizer. I'll have to try that on the 5 minute one. On the 10 minute tournament they overload you with a bunch at the beginning and then it's slim pickings for several rounds.

[Gabriel]

It's not an Arcade game, but I tried the demo of Project Sylpheed. I wasn't expecting much, and the game delivered only what I expected.

 

Sylpheed is very pretty. It has some really nice visuals. It's too bad they're absolutely overwhelmed by a mess of neon targeting reticules. I have to also admit I have no idea what my enemies looked like. I only knew them by the targeting reticule on them and their neon red engine trails.

 

Beyond that, I don't know. I found myself too overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crap going on. The demo puts you in an extremely large battle. Normally that would be a ringing endorsement. However, I felt more like a spectator instead of participant. It was impossible to make anything out amid the sea of engine trails and reticules. I could only follow the yellow arrow which pointed me to my current target and start firing. Beyond that, the controller vibrated constantly like a porn prop on overdrive. I honestly have an easier time picking out targets in Tempest 2K when the screen is crowded with particle clutter.

 

Someone will like this game. I'll just wait for Ace Combat 6, though.

 

Oh, I also tried Prince of Persia Classic. I liked the graphics. I didn't like the game at all. Then again, that's no surprise. But I gave it a shot.

[Jess Ragan]

It's kind of weird seeing the Sands of Time Prince in this very old-school Prince of Persia game. It seems to play a little better than the old versions of the game, but not by much.

 

I'm surprised that GameArts still insists on making Silpheed games. You'd think they would have learned their lesson after the last one on the Playstation 2...

 

JR

[Gabriel]

I'm surprised that GameArts still insists on making Silpheed games. You'd think they would have learned their lesson after the last one on the Playstation 2...

 

Well, I think the lack of quality in the Playstation 2 game can be summed up in one word: Treasure.

 

As for Project Sylpheed, there is absolutely nothing about it which is the slightest bit similar to the original Silpheeds other than a name resemblance.

[NE146]

Purchased the new pac-man game yesterday. It's wicked fun.

 

So what strategy do you all use? The eat as many ghosts as you can, or the eat as many dots as you can without dying?

 

Combination. I eat all 4 ghosts throughout the first 6 power pellets.. chaining all of them for 3200 pts all the way through. Then, I just go for dots.. eating them as fast as I can, until the key level (where there's 3 power pellets on each side and barely any dots) at that point I chain all 6 dots again which happens super fast. Then, it's back to just eating dots as fast as possible. If you do it well, you'll get to a point where it's the 3 power pills on each side again, after which you can eat ghosts or just go for the bonus item. By that point your 5 minutes have passed.. if you even make it that far.

 

My high score is about 330k in the regular 5 minute game.

[Lord Helmet]

I start out early on eating as many ghosts as I can, trying to keep the blue time in effect for the bigger bonus. Later in the game, especially the last minute or two, you can really rack up points by clearing the dots and eating as many bonus prizes as possible. When the crown starts showing up points in a hurry.

[StormSurge]

On extra mode 1, I made it to the 5 second mark. This game frustrates me as much as any game I've ever played.

 

BTW, I realize I suck.

Edited June 18, 2007 by StormSurge

[Gabriel]

Band of Bugs this week.

[Lord Helmet]

On extra mode 1, I made it to the 5 second mark. This game frustrates me as much as any game I've ever played.

 

BTW, I realize I suck.

 

Hang in there and you'll get it. I was always really good at the original game. Took me an evening to get all of the achievements unlocked.

[Jess Ragan]

I'm surprised that GameArts still insists on making Silpheed games. You'd think they would have learned their lesson after the last one on the Playstation 2...

 

Well, I think the lack of quality in the Playstation 2 game can be summed up in one word: Treasure.

 

As for Project Sylpheed, there is absolutely nothing about it which is the slightest bit similar to the original Silpheeds other than a name resemblance.

 

(shoots a cold, icy stare at Gabriel)

 

My understanding is that Treasure was only peripherally involved with the development of Silpheed on the PS2. And the excellence of Gradius V casts a lot of doubt on your theory that the company ruins anything it touches.

 

JR

[StormSurge]

On extra mode 1, I made it to the 5 second mark. This game frustrates me as much as any game I've ever played.

 

BTW, I realize I suck.

 

Hang in there and you'll get it. I was always really good at the original game. Took me an evening to get all of the achievements unlocked.

 

Thanks. I'm trying, but damn, it really tests my patience.

[Gabriel]

I tried a few battles in Band of Bugs this morning.

 

The game has a story mode. Your units have individual character names, and there are mentions of how your units will level up. So, the game leans more towards a tactical RPG than an Advance Wars/Field Commander style pure wargame.

 

The graphics are fairly nice. Things might be a bit too colorful. Units blend into the terrain a bit too easily. Then again, I was playing after just having woke up, so that might have something to do with it. The camera is a bit iffy. Units have a respectable movement range, and it never seems to be possible to move the camera to an appropriate spot to properly survey this.

 

Overall, if you've played Final Fantasy, Vandal Hearts, or Disgaea, it's very familiar, and easy to adapt to.

 

The story mode starts out with three tedious tutorials. Luckily they're over in short order. The only two actual missions I played were one where the goal was to simply kill everything on the board, and another where my goal was to capture an enemy spawn point (by moving on it and standing there for a single turn). Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

The interface is old hat to these games. You move a unit and then get a menu for other actions to perform. After you're done, you get to select your facing. When moving, each valid square to move to is outlined in blue. After moving, each valid attack square is outlined in red. It's all pretty standard stuff.

 

Really, if you've played these games, you know the drill. Attack enemies from the side or rear and from high ground. Your archers are your best friends. Don't let your leader die. Play the zone of control games you've practiced in other examples of the genre.

 

So far, it's about what I expected. It looks like they copied from some solid templates. There are some multiplayer modes and map design stuff. There's really nothing new here. So, if you don't like the genre, then you won't care for this game. However, if you like games like this, it's just $10, and you get multiplayer and a map designer, so that's pretty cool.

[NE146]

yeah I just tried Band of Bugs... it is a pure CLONE of Vandal Hearts!

 

I like it already. Sold

[cimerians]

yeah I just tried Band of Bugs... it is a pure CLONE of Vandal Hearts!

 

I like it already. Sold

 

REALLY??!

 

Great! Im sold too....

 

BTW, anyone who asked...I downloaded Prince of Persia Classic and its great and faithul to the original with some added touches. Except for the combat, its trickier than the original and quite frustrating to figure out the "patterns" of sword weilding. Besides that if your an old school PoP fan then I highly recommend it.

[Gabriel]

I just discovered that Puzzle Quest is coming to XBox Live Arcade sometime... in the future. Old news, I know, but new to me.

 

Galactrix (what I'm guessing is the space themed Puzzle Quest sequel) is also coming to XBox Live Arcade at some vague, undetermined point in the distant future.

[Gabriel]

With Carcassonne, another Euro-boardgame comes to Live Arcade. That's not necessarily a bad thing. People often deride boardgame to video game adaptations as pointless with some degree of justification. However, anyone who has ever played Othello on the 2600 can see a good example of the advantages. Video game adaptations allow you to skip the tedious mucking about of boardgame busywork and instead allow you to focus on play. Carcassonne follows in Othello's footsteps.

 

I had never had any experience with Carcassonne before downloading the trial off Live, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Having played it, I can't wrap my head around how anyone could ever enjoy playing it in its actual boardgame form without being absolutely overwhelmed by the bean counting of scoring. Luckily, the Live version has the 360 handle all that stuff, and the player is left with the sweet tootsie roll center of the tootsie pop. The core of the game is good, and that's what matters.

 

Simply put, gameplay progresses by each player drawing and placing a square tile in turn. Tiles have to match up along the edges, so if a tile with a road has already been played, you must place a tile so the road continues to legally play your tile there. In addition, you have the option to place followers, which more or less claim areas for you. As the game progreses, you gain points for areas you successfully claim. Most obviously, this occurs with cities. Once a city is completed, whoever has a follower in it receives points for it. The same also applies for roads, and monasteries. Finally, at the end of the game, bonus points are scored for any territory you lay claim to. Cities and roads allow you to double dip to a degree. You also get points for open fields you lay claim to during the game. It's a game of strategic placement of your resources, and no luck is involved at all (beyond the shuffling of the tile deck).

 

Those looking for Live perks will find multiplayer of both online and local varieites, leaderboards, and achievements. It's pretty standard stuff. I didn't try online multiplayer for the obvious reason that I don't care to have a Gold membership, but local multiplayer was just fine allowing me to play with a friend and also include some AI opponents.

 

After playing a few games of the trial edition, I decided to pop for the full version. This decision was only by a slim margin, and the ultimate decision was made merely because the game had local multiplayer and I had someone available who wanted to try the game out. We played 3 complete games with 2 additional AI players before we had to quit and continue with our lives. Obviously, we found the game played quickly. I imagine fans of the boardgame would find that it removes practically all the tedium of the original, and cuts playtime by 75% due to the lack of bean counting. We found the camera a bit awkward, but we could usually fumble around until we got it where we wanted. When placing a tile, you then have an option to place a follower on the tile. For whatever reason, my friend and I often unintentionally ended our turn by hitting X instead of placing a follower as we intended by hitting A. I don't know why we had this mix up, but we both did it consistently during our first two games, resulting in quite a bit of cussing.

 

Tiles are drawn randomly, so there will always be a feeling that you lack control of what's coming up. Your placement is entirely up to you, though. Further adding to this are followers. Followers can be placed on the tile you just played on a road, on a city space, on a monastery space, or in a field. Each position has different advantages. It isn't Candy Land, where the game has already been won once the deck is shuffled. There's some genuine strategy and head scratching tactics here. Oddly to many American gamers, there are no dice in sight. Placing your tiles and managing the resource of your follower pool is everything here.

 

The bad comes in from the tile deck itself. When you lose, you can't help but feel you were a bit screwed over by the randomness of the tiles, rather than anything else. I guess many other games have the same problem. Luckily, there's usually a feeling that you could have played your followers better, or more aggressively played your tiles to foil the plans of other players, so I guess it's a pretty minor quibble overall. The only other glaring complaint is another one common to many boardgames. Sitting and waiting for your turn is boring. Depending on how much other players have to think about their moves, you might be waiting for a while.

 

I think this game will depend on who you're playing against. During the three games I played with my friend, the best part was when he played a tile which simultaneously screwed me over and which netted him big points immediately and was going to reap even more reward later in the game. I sat there agape and then cursed him, his ancestors, and his descendants, and then we laughed about it the rest of the game. If the computer AI had done the same thing... well, it wouldn't be very fun, because there would be the feeling it was too convenient. Existing fans of the boardgame may just be happy to have an AI opponent to practice against.

 

If you haven't been able to tell yet, I'm on the fence about this game. Checking one of my favorite stores of such games, I see that the boardgame's MSRP is $25. So, the XBox Live price of 800MSPts/$10 is a respectable discount. The game is fun and strategic, but is it really THAT good? I think people who take the time to get into the game and play it with some buddies will probably end up liking it. It's solid, but it's not jumping up and down in joy type of good.

 

As usual, there's a free single player trial. Try it and see if the subtleness of the game clicks with you. If so, then the multiplayer full version will probably be worth it and have you hating all your friends in no time. In other words, it's not one that Gabriel wholeheartedly recommends, but it's worth a look.

[moycon]

I'm really digging these in-depth reviews of Live games.

Even though we don't always see eye to eye on the games themselves, your honesty and dedication to reviews is commendable.

[Cobra Kai]

I'd like to see alot more boardgame translations brought to Live, I think they would just work so well. It's not the easiest thing in the world to find players for board games in real life, but with Live, it's just too awesome to have players all the time whenever you want them.

 

Some games that I would like to see would be Acquire, the classic game of stocks and acquisitions. Also, I would drool for a good adaptation of Axis & Allies, something that I think could go over real well, or go over abysmally if you get stuck with complete nincompoops.

 

Please, just not Monopoly, cripes.

Edited June 28, 2007 by Gunstarhero

[StormSurge]

Axis & Allies would be fantastic.

[cimerians]

I wouldnt mind some boardgames. I heard Talisman will be heading to Xbox Live sometime.

 

http://games.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1707/Talisman/

 

If your old enough to remember this game.

[Gabriel]

Missile Command this week. If the Centipede/Millipede redo was any indication, this one should turn out all right.

 

This is one of those times when I think the redone graphics should have gone for the neon look (like Centipede did).

[Lord Helmet]

Missile Command this week. If the Centipede/Millipede redo was any indication, this one should turn out all right.

 

This is one of those times when I think the redone graphics should have gone for the neon look (like Centipede did).

 

I dunno...MC is one of those games that I simply don't like without a trackball. I do think that this game is well suited for graphical updates.

[Gabriel]

I downloaded the trial of Missile Command. It looked nice, if sparse. My main problem was the control. It felt a bit floaty to me. Therefore, I didn't commit to buying it.

 

It's one of my favorite games ever on the 2600, but I've realized over the past few years that none of the other versions really do much for me.

 

Did anyone decide to spend the 400 points? Any observations or judgements to share?

[Shannon]

I'll try out the demo. But chances are it will be too short for me to even bother to commit.

 

They either need to let us play more waves, or pick the starting wave or something so we have an idea of how it plays in the higher levels. Or even a time limit like that one PS3 puzzle demo.

 

Well it was just like I said. They don't really let you play enough levels to determine whether the controls are good enough for an overall balanced game. BTW the controller sensitivity can be set in the options section.

 

I like the way they have the leaderboards set-up and the modernized version is pretty neat. Interesting movie. Anyone else think they've stolen a few ideas from the latest pac-man release? But again they don't let you play long enough to really determine if it is good enough. You don't even reach a level with the smart bombs. They should at least let you play it thru one whole cycle.

 

The sound in classic mode is crap. The original does not sound like that at all. The only thing right is the pfffft sound of the missiles launching and that's about it. Can't say anything about the smart bombs (or whatever they are called) because they do not let you get far enough.

 

In fact I would highly suggest just picking up the Atari Anthology for the xbox. It's backward compatible with the 360. I'm sure it could probably be picked up cheap. The sound is much better and you can even login under you 360 user tags and compare your scores with other people.

Edited July 6, 2007 by Shannon