From the moment I saw Raskulls, I wanted to believe it was something special. I have a soft spot for 2D platformers, particularly modern ones, the likes of which have gone above and beyond their 8- and 16-bit ancestors.

And this new Xbox Live Arcade release pulls all the right strings -- colorful levels, charming characters, and funny dialogue.

Then the game started and I realized that I was playing...a 2D platforming racer?

What?!

Game: Raskulls
System: Xbox 360
Price: $10 (800 Microsoft Points)

Let’s back it up to those first impressions. This is a gorgeous game. The cel-shaded graphics on a 2D plane gives Raskulls a hand-drawn feel. Pokemon disgust me and Kirby makes me yawn, but there is something special in the multitude of sort-of-child-friendly characters. They invoke a sense of morbiditywhile remaining curiously appealing. A character with a skull for a head dressed up as a dragon is inherently interesting.

We'll skip past the discovery of its genre-bending nature -- we’ll return to it shortly. The game works from a pure platforming perspective. The movement, jump, boost, and actions all feel tight and responsive. The design is creative and clever, and the combination of controls and levels make for a lot of fun. It doesn't quite approach the joy of simply running and jumping in a Mario game, but it works pretty well.

So far so good. Now time to look at the elephant in the room.

I may be making too big a deal about this. Perhaps you see no problem with “2D platforming racer.” In fact you may see an interesting selling point. I can understand that. Between XBLA, the Nintendo DS and Wii, and the explosion of indie game development, 2D platformers have seen a renaissance. We have no shortage of excellent titles. You need a hook to sell something like this, and at least the core mechanic differentiates Raskulls from the rest of the crowd.

All that said, the first thing that went through my mind upon booting the game was “Ick!” Truly, the racing elements fall flat for me. I was just not able to tune into the idea of racing in a 2D perspective.

I will give the developer Halfbrick credit, though. They’ve done a lot with what I perceive as very little. They added a wide variety of events, and many of them are incredibly fun. Of particular note are the events where you must lead your character through a Tetris-like board while avoiding toppling blocks -- with a limited amount of pieces you can eliminate. They can be very tricky, and success will make you feel much more clever than you actually are.

If you are into the racing angle of the game, you’ll find plenty to enjoy. If that turns you off, like it did me, you may still have a good time, but you’ll be doing your best to avoid the main mechanic.