XBOX LIVE ARCADE WEDNESDAYS – POKER SMASH

This week, Xbox Live Arcade brings us another original title in the form of Void Star Creations' Poker Smash. What we've got here is your standard "match the objects" puzzle game mixed with everyone's favorite card game poker.

I was originally hoping the game would play more like the old Poker Solitaire game found on the Atari 2600 cartridge Casino, but while that little dream may have been crushed, Poker Smash does present an interesting twist to the standard puzzler and offers some fun gameplay all of it's own. Gameplay is simple enough, poker cards appear in columns that are moving towards the top of the screen. Your job is to move cards around sideways from column to column in an attempt to form poker hands. As you create hands, the cards are removed from the column and the game continues until one of the columns reaches the top of the screen. Players are also given the ability to destroy specific cards they target as well as change the speed of the columns movement. Put it all together and you've got a pretty decent puzzler.

Title: Poker Smash
Developer: Void Star Creations LLC
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 2/06/08
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1-2 / 2-5 Online
Full Game: 800 points ($10)
Rating: E (Everyone) Mild Language
Demo?: Yes

From the Xbox.com product description;

"Poker Smash™ is an action-packed puzzle game with a poker twist. Poker Smash expands on the traditional match-three puzzle mechanic with elements of one of the world's most popular card games: poker. Make vertical and horizontal matches by forming poker hands, and play in seven different game modes, including multiplayer. Fast and fluid controls paired with radical features such as super-slow motion and card-blasting bombs make this game a whole new puzzle experience!

• Innovative gameplay: Match-three gameplay with a twist. Create poker hands and form chains to rack up the big score.
• Seven game modes: Intense game modes include action, timed, puzzle levels (55 of them), practice, custom playlist, split screen head-to-head, and multiplayer tournaments.
• Multiplayer experience: Two-player offline and multiplayer over Xbox LIVE® is featured.
• New leaderboards: In addition to the traditional leaderboards, Poker Smash features never-before-seen rivalry tracking and even movie recording with shared playback. 
• Immersive environment: The next-gen 3-D graphics feature eleven different highly detailed environments and background themes, coupled with thirteen new original soundtracks for play." – Xbox.com

As for last week's Live Arcade releases, I'm going to keep this short as I've been experiencing technical difficulties all day long here and just want to get this up on the site…

As I mentioned in last week's post, I'm not the person to judge Chessmaster Live, so I have nothing to say about how well it plays a game of chess. You're still on your own on that one. Rez HD on the other hand, maintains all the trippiness of it's predecessors while still being a quality rail shooter. Try the demo and I'm sure you'll agree.

XBOX LIVE ARCADE WEDNESDAYS – BOOGIE BUNNIES

Xbox Live Arcade brings us an original title this week in the form of Sierra's Boogie Bunnies. I'll say that again slowly to let it sink in… Boogie…Bunnies.

Initial shock aside, what we've got here is some type of puzzler with mass bunny dances thrown in for good measure. I'm not quite sure if someone (*cough* Sierra *cough*) is trying to cash in on the popularity of the Rabbids or what, but they certainly seem to be banking on the cute factor helping to sell this one.

I'm not going to pass judgment on Boogie Bunnies though, as I really don't know what to expect from it besides puzzle-style matching, dancing rabbits and an 800 point ($10) price tag. It's because of this, I'd highly recommend trying the demo of the game before purchasing it.

Title: Boogie Bunnies
Developer: Artech Studios
Publisher: Sierra Online
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 1/16/08
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1-2
Full Game: 800 points ($10)
Rating: E (Everyone)
Demo?: Yes

From the Xbox.com product description;

"Help the Boogie Bunnies achieve their dream of superstardom as they shimmy shake their way through exotic, colorful destinations all the way to Hollywood. Only you can ensure they make it. In this revolutionary match-3 puzzle game, Boogie Bunnies lets you match up these wacky disco fur balls from three different sides—left, right, and from the bottom. Score chain combinations and watch them get their groove on. Let's get the party started!

• Multiple game modes: Play this great match-3 game with a twist at your own pace in three different game modes, Classic, Arcade, and Endless.
• Exciting destinations: Travel with the bunnies to the Arctic, Amazon, and Hollywood as they adopt the local culture.
• Stylish 3-D bunnies characters: Discover new bunnies along the way from designer sunglasses-wearing bunnies to completely outfitted diva bunnies.
• Fancy dance animations: Set up extensive chain combinations to trigger the bunnies' creative dance moves to catchy tunes.  
• Family fun play: Join the party online or offline in two-player cooperative or competitive mode for the whole family to enjoy." – Xbox.com

So what about last week's Live Arcade titles? Well, let me start off by saying that Tron is just a travesty. How they could have picked control schemes that bad for the game is just beyond me. The main culprit in this crime against a classic is the use of the right analog stick as the spinner – it just feels unnatural and makes playing the game a bit of a chore. Since that aspect wouldn't affect the light cycle mini-game, they also chose to add in the usual control issues to make that more difficult than need be.

Thankfully, all was not lost as Omega Five, despite a few notable issues, is quite a fun shooter. It's a game that really captivates with it's look and follows up with some solid gameplay. If I had to take issue with it, my only two complaints are the size of your avatar (too large for the playfield – and quite confusingly, your legs don't seem to count as collision points) and the inability to switch between weapon types. Beyond those gripes, what you've got here is a fun shooter that, in my opinion, is worth the 800 point ($10) price. Don't' take my word for it though, download the demo for yourself and give it a try!

XBOX LIVE ARCADE WEDNESDAYS – SUPER PUZZLE FIGHTER II TURBO REMIX HD

This week only sees one Xbox Live Arcade release, but it’s one of the games that many people have been waiting for – Capcom’s Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Remix HD has arrived in the Xbox Live Arcade with several new features to set it apart from it’s predecessors and an 800 Microsoft point ($10) price tag.

I’ve never been a fan of the Puzzle Fighter series, so I really don’t have much enthusiasm for this release, but I’m sure the series has enough fans who are willing to shell out ten dollars for the game. For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a cross between a puzzle game and a fighter. Players use different combinations of gems to perform attack moves against their opponents. It’s by far more interesting than your standard puzzler, but it’s no Puzzle Quest if that’s they type of experience you’re expecting.

Title: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 8/29/07
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1-4
Full Game: 800 points ($10)
Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Violence
Demo?: Yes

From the Xbox.com product description;

"One of the most popular puzzle games of all time is back with high-definition graphics, dazzling elemental effects and a new rebalanced X’ game mode! Super Puzzle Fighter™ II Turbo HD Remix brings together Capcom’s coolest fighting characters to provide extremely addictive puzzle mayhem. Enjoy single-player, local and online versus play, and spectator modes!

• Classic arcade play: The game features all the classic elements from the original arcade game, including traditional X Mode. Think fast on your feet as gems fall into your character’s playfield. Don’t let the stack get too high.
• New X’ Mode: The new X’ Mode has been rebalanced with adjusted drop patterns and damage to level the playing field.
• Y and Z Modes: Y Mode challenges players to connect three or more gems horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Z Mode has you group four adjacent gems and rotate them to join to other same-colored gems.
• Stunning new graphics: Beautifully detailed high-definition backgrounds and character art come from the talented artists of Udon Comics.
• New elemental effects: Gems and Crash Gems interact with dazzling new effects.
• Hidden characters: There’s Akuma, Dan, and more.
• Online play: Get online with Xbox LIVE® and challenge other players to Ranked and Player Matches. Follow your progress on the leaderboards, and try to score the twelve all-new achievements!" – Xbox.com

While I passed on Street Trace: NYC last week, I did pick up Space Giraffe. The best way to look at Space Giraffe is to consider it an advanced version of Tempest mixed with some form of hallucinogen. It’s the type of game you definitely need to play a few times to get a feel for and I’d highly suggest you try the demo to see whether it’s going to be the kind of game you’ll enjoy.

The biggest criticism I have of the title is that the backgrounds tend to be a bit too over the top and detract from the gameplay experience a bit. It would have been a nice addition to the title if the ability to turn off or tone down the backgrounds had been included. Regardless, odds are that if you’re a huge Tempest fan, you’ll get a real kick out of Space Giraffe.

PLAYSTATION STORE – PIYOTAMA

Sony has made Piyotama, a new PlayStation 3 "match the falling objects" type puzzler, available for purchase via the PlayStation Store. I know that’s not exactly the most descriptive of explanations, but I just watched a video of the game and I really can’t think of any other way to explain it. In short, colored eggs fall from the top of the screen and the player must shift around the horizontal rows of eggs at the bottom of the screen to create matches using the Sixaxis tilt controls.

Still confused? I don’t blame you one bit. The official product description listed below isn’t much help in that regard either;

"Hidden deep within the Hotai forest, you’ll find a family of playful and mysteriously colored creatures known as Piyos. Every spring Mother Piyo “PIYOMAMA” lays a few eggs to fill the forest with new colorful Piyos; however, this year she got too excited and laid too many eggs! Help her hatch the eggs before they overflow the nest!" – PlayStation Store Piyotama product description

While Piyotama may be priced at a very reasonable $2.99, my advice to those of you unsure of whether or not to purchase this one would still be to check out this gameplay video over at GameTrailers.com – hopefully it will let you know if this is your kind of game or not.

• Piyotama – Piyotama page at PlayStation.com
• Piyotama Egg Hatching Gameplay – GameTrailers.com

CUBRIUS

Back in the day, there was a game on the Sega Genesis called "Shove It!" where you took the role of a worker who had to maneuver boxes in a crowded warehouse. It was an interesting little puzzle game, and Cubrius reminds me of it quite a bit. The only difference is that Cubrius adds all kinds of special blocks to make the puzzles more devious. Since you’re already feeling brainy from playing Ultimate Sodoku, why not head on over to the Cubrius website and give it a shot?

ULTIMATE SODOKU

Don’t have a Nintendo DS but still wan’t to keep your brain sharp? Well then, here’s a free version of the classic numbers game Sodoku – one of the games included in Brain Age – Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. Click here to play it.

WARBEARS

Another not-so-new link, but Warbears is a little web based graphic adventure game that you shouldn’t miss. Help the Warbears team end a hostage situation in a bank and bring the baddies to justice. Head on over to Newgrounds to try this game by Gionatan Iasio.