I find myself playing a lot more Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Indie games nowadays. This particular game stands out amongst other indie titles. So much in fact, I just had to write up a review for it!
In just two weeks we’ve had the pleasure of two video games featuring mechs as the stars hitting store shelves (the download space in this case).
Who would have thought the 80 Microsoft point ($1) Explosionade would have been better than Square Enix’s $60 farce that is Front Mission Evolved?
Well, it is.
The platforming shooter stars Atticus -- or, as he’s affectionately known by his superior officer, Fatticus.
After clogging up his bases plumbing system, he happens to find a prototype mech suit while looking for something to fix the clog. He quickly hops in and heads to the sewers to fight some snake bats with his new toy.
During his trek through the sewers, Atticus encounters Horronym soldiers and all sorts of monsters and contraptions the alien forces are cooking up. So, under the direction of Colonel Douche…err, Bouche, (Atticus doesn’t like his commander too much) players must fight their way through 40 “challenge room” style levels to stop the invading force.
The story isn’t much more than a basic premise, but it gives a nod to old NES style cut scenes and features somewhat funny dialogue between Atticus and Bouche during the roughly one-hour adventure. In fact, I’m pretty sure this is the only video game that references the Truffle Shuffle.
Silly dialogue aside, Explosionade really excels in the gameplay department.
The prototype mech, GRenaDOS, is easy to control.
The game features a dual analog approach to piloting the mech with the left analog in charge of movement, and the right providing aiming as well as firing when pointed in a desired direction.
Players can also jump, hover for a brief periods, shoot rechargeable MegaNades and use a shield for a limited amount of time.
The shield is as fun as it is essential. Not only is it a must for surviving the many grenades, rockets and bullets spewed at you, but it’s also important for traversing the levels.
If activated before landing a jump, the shield will rocket players to normally unobtainable heights to help finish levels, avoid attacks or collect gold and other score boosting items.
It’s a fun little mechanic that should have been required more in the often too small levels.
Another mechanic that is greatly appreciated is the ability to zoom in and out. Zooming in makes the game more challenging (as it is harder to see enemies right away) and the detail in the graphics really pop out the closer the viewpoint is.
However, zooming out to see the whole stage at once -- kind of like Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, though not quite to the same eye-straining extreme -- gives the game a whole different dynamic when trying to go for speed runs of the levels for higher scores.
It also makes the game somewhat easier as each enemy is easily spotted and subsequently dispatched or avoided.
The point of each tiny stage is to make it to the exit in one piece. Enemies, electric panels and breakable walls all stand in the way of Atticus.
On occasion, screen filling bosses will offer up a new, and welcome, challenge. These ugly, tentacle and horn bearing big round balls of alien doom are often preceded by hilarious trash talk from our hero and are a lot of fun to go toe-to-toe with -- even if each boss is essentially the same.
Aside from simple, yet enjoyable gameplay mechanics is the slick visual presentation of the game. The hand-drawn graphics are a sight to behold and seem inspired by the Metal Slug series -- a definite plus for any 2D game.
Rounding out the package are awards for players to earn -- similar to achievements -- and online leaderboards for each stage. If you feel like shooting some aliens with a buddy, a second player can simply plug in a controller and hit start.
For an indie title, it doesn’t get much better than Explosionade. If anything, I wish the play time was a little longer.
The gameplay is simple, yet effective; the story and presentation are silly and slick. Plus, it’s way better than the other recently released mech game for Xbox 360...and it was made by mainly one man.
The good: Slick graphics, easy to get into, co-op play, funny dialogue.
The bad: Short play time.
The ugly: Picturing Atticus doing the Truffle Shuffle...
