I have to say, my favourite "innovation" of this generation is downloadable games like those available on XBLA. They've brought back the kind of so called 'simple' games of years gone by that wouldn't have a shot in hell of being a success if you stuck them in a shop for £40, that's if shops would even stock them.
Fez is latest game to be released on XBLA, and it's got me very interested. At first glance it could be any old 2D platformer from the 8 bit era as the graphics are very simple, but the art style is fantastic and of course they've been HD'd up and as a result the game looks beautiful.
As was the case with a lot of NES era games the simple visuals seem to mask what is a much more complex game. The 'twist' in Fez is a literal one, as you can manipulate the 2D plane to give a new perspective on the environment allowing you to discover unseen items or find a new path to continue through the level. This gameplay mechanic has the potential to turn into a puzzle game nearly as much as a platformer.
Fez was released yesterday for 800 MS points so somewhere around the £6 mark, cheaper than I expected given that most high profile Arcade games come out for 1200 points. I've downloaded the free trial but haven't given it a go yet, if anyone has then feel free to post your thoughts below. I'll be sure to buy the full version once I get some points loaded onto my account and will have a full review once I complete it. That could be a while given my stack at the minute! Reviews for the game have been mostly glowing so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it.
Why not download the free trial and let me know what you think? It's free and you might discover a gem. Thanks again for reading.
Phil
I was sort of interested in the game after hearing about it years ago. Unfortunately I can't get over the behavior of its creator so I will not be buying it. Hope you enjoy it though!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard the full story about this but he does seem to be getting a lot of hate for some reason. As I understand he was an asshole in some interviews, but to be honest I'll not let that put me off a potentially fun game. Plenty of actors and movie producers are assholes but I still enjoy their movies!
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