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xyzzysqrlGame: Xotic
Played Before Now: I don't remember doing so!
Time played: 4 hours
Finished? Not quite.
Will I Go Back? Uhm. I don't know.
How Much is it Right Now? $10
Did I pay that? Bundle, so no.
Recommended? ...uhm.
So... Okay. Xotic is a game where the Macroterra, which is a sentient bug-arm weapon, fights an evil hyperevolved planet-mutating orb for control of the universe. (Note that YOU are not the Macroterra. The Macroterra is your gun. YOU are a conduit for the Macroterra and do not matter one BIT. Screw you, this is a story about your weapon.)
To do this, you have to terraform the worlds lost to The Orb by shooting sparkly energy at the corruption until it goes away, and shooting all the agents of the Orb by circle-strafing at them and spamming leftclick. It's a FPS.
It's also a speed-running arcade game. You collect all the points you can as hard as you can from every possible source everywhere. Just about anything you shoot or pass by fountains points in a gushing spray of little balls, which you collect. Racking up chain combos gives you points. Jumping around and shooting stuff gives you points. Completing goals gives you points. And then you get on the high score board. It's just that it's all wrapped in terms designed to make you sound like a sitcom character explaining video games to their grandmother. ("If I jump here I get an Aerial Combo Fly Kill off the Megabrain and that spawns the Damage X2 Multiplyer so I can take out the Champion with my Bomb Bug.")
So... I usually prefer MORE STORY in my games, but the reason I didn't bother finishing this before writing it up is, the story isn't about your bug gun at all, the story is "Did you get points? YAY YOU. Go get on the leaderboard." So it's just an arcade game really, and that's cool and all. I guess games don't really need story, even if they are really lushly designed and highly visually-biased and all about destruction and corruption by a force outside reality and stuff.
The thing is, as an arcade shooter, Xotic... falls kinda short. I don't want to say that, guys! I want to tell you all to go look at the pretty pretty -awesome- visuals and shoot everything and run around, but ... no. You jump around and occasionally get stuck to polygons or you'll pick up the Triple-Jump power-up but not see it and then it wears off, or you'll try to use the Hologram Platform to boost your jump and get stuck halfway inside it. You'll end up going "Wait, why did I just die?" a LOT. You'll get lost in the levels and hunt for that ONE DAMN THING you need while the time bonus ticks away.
The thing is, I am BAD at this game. I know because I'm constantly down in the 1000-4000 range on the leaderboards. I could practice and probably get a lot better. But... I don't really know if I want to.
So I'm having a hard time blaming the game for that. I like it, and I'm probably going to play more of it, but it's just not something I can really... advise other people play. Luckily that's not what I'm here for. I'm just providing my opinions.
Played Before Now: I don't remember doing so!
Time played: 4 hours
Finished? Not quite.
Will I Go Back? Uhm. I don't know.
How Much is it Right Now? $10
Did I pay that? Bundle, so no.
Recommended? ...uhm.
So... Okay. Xotic is a game where the Macroterra, which is a sentient bug-arm weapon, fights an evil hyperevolved planet-mutating orb for control of the universe. (Note that YOU are not the Macroterra. The Macroterra is your gun. YOU are a conduit for the Macroterra and do not matter one BIT. Screw you, this is a story about your weapon.)
To do this, you have to terraform the worlds lost to The Orb by shooting sparkly energy at the corruption until it goes away, and shooting all the agents of the Orb by circle-strafing at them and spamming leftclick. It's a FPS.
It's also a speed-running arcade game. You collect all the points you can as hard as you can from every possible source everywhere. Just about anything you shoot or pass by fountains points in a gushing spray of little balls, which you collect. Racking up chain combos gives you points. Jumping around and shooting stuff gives you points. Completing goals gives you points. And then you get on the high score board. It's just that it's all wrapped in terms designed to make you sound like a sitcom character explaining video games to their grandmother. ("If I jump here I get an Aerial Combo Fly Kill off the Megabrain and that spawns the Damage X2 Multiplyer so I can take out the Champion with my Bomb Bug.")
So... I usually prefer MORE STORY in my games, but the reason I didn't bother finishing this before writing it up is, the story isn't about your bug gun at all, the story is "Did you get points? YAY YOU. Go get on the leaderboard." So it's just an arcade game really, and that's cool and all. I guess games don't really need story, even if they are really lushly designed and highly visually-biased and all about destruction and corruption by a force outside reality and stuff.
The thing is, as an arcade shooter, Xotic... falls kinda short. I don't want to say that, guys! I want to tell you all to go look at the pretty pretty -awesome- visuals and shoot everything and run around, but ... no. You jump around and occasionally get stuck to polygons or you'll pick up the Triple-Jump power-up but not see it and then it wears off, or you'll try to use the Hologram Platform to boost your jump and get stuck halfway inside it. You'll end up going "Wait, why did I just die?" a LOT. You'll get lost in the levels and hunt for that ONE DAMN THING you need while the time bonus ticks away.
The thing is, I am BAD at this game. I know because I'm constantly down in the 1000-4000 range on the leaderboards. I could practice and probably get a lot better. But... I don't really know if I want to.
So I'm having a hard time blaming the game for that. I like it, and I'm probably going to play more of it, but it's just not something I can really... advise other people play. Luckily that's not what I'm here for. I'm just providing my opinions.
