Xotic isn’t your typical, run of the mill arcade title. Now whether that is a good or a bad thing, let us find out. For starters, Xotic is an FPS arcade shooter. The aim of the game is to wipe out hordes of alien lifeform called the “orb” off your planet, one stage at a time. Although Xotic does seem to have a strong storyline backing it, the game excels at what it was meant to do: “Improve your reflexes, refine your route, and master each level as you climb the ranks on 23 high-score leaderboards.” The game is developed by WXP Games (a Seattle based up & coming indie developer) and is available on the marketplace for $10 (800 MS points).
As noted, you play the game as a ghost-like creature (no better way to describe it) yourself, while attempting to destroy “scab plants”, “orb brains” and collecting all “orb essence”. You can complete the level without ever having to bother completing any of these main objectives however you score big points for beating completionist challenges. The way to complete a level is to kill every single alien enemy present on the map, after which, a portal appears on the map. Once you walk into the portal, you complete your mission.
The game awards you for killing all the scab plants (red glowy blobs), and fast. You start a terraform chain once you get going and you have about 5 seconds to kill another one to maintain it. You get bigger and better bonuses for the more scabs you destroy all while keeping your chain going. You can also collect little diamond-like orb essence placed all around the level which also help boost your score. Some of them however are placed in seemingly unreachable positions. You must collect them by pushing on your right thumbstick, which deploys a translucent hologram under you. You can ride these holograms around the map and explore the levels in ways you could never have imagined before. There are also discretely placed orb brains which give you good scores after destruction.
The game provides you with bonus levels after completing a bunch of rounds which have varied objectives, all without enemies to kill. These give a great break from the gameplay and without the worry of nasty orb enemies. Â The game also has mild RPG elements built into it such as upgrading your macroterra weapon with 8 different unlockable ammunitions with different levels of upgrades. You earn points used to upgrade by simply completing levels. There are also upgrades for your character as well, such as health bonuses, armour and the like.
After initially thinking the game to be a simple mind numbing grind, I started getting sort of addicted into beating my previous high score. Besides the core gameplay of Xotic, the visuals are simply beautiful. The maps have vivid detail, bright and colourful settings, something quite missing from most other FPS titles these days. Also the competitive scoring aspect of the game sets itself apart from the over saturated FPS gaming market of today. It feels like a nice break to just let go from the kill-kill-kill aspect of FPS gaming and take a more laid back challenging approach to it.
Moving onto the things that I did not particularly like about Xotic, I found that the game gets mildly repetitive after a while. Besides trying to find new ways to boost your score and alternate ways around a level, there are only so many times you can try before you get rather tired and need a much desired break. Another little oddity I found is that on certain levels, the framerate drops pretty randomly, albeit not to the point of unplayability but still rather annoying at times. And then comes the ambience styled music. Although it may seem justifiable by the developers to add a soft techno soundtrack, it doesn’t flow well with the quick paced gameplay. I’m not depreciating the music itself in any way, but rather the fluidity of the music with the game.
There is also one last thing I have to say about Xotic, is the “lean” feature of the game. By pushing on the X & B buttons, you can choose betweeen a left handed or right handed stance, which is a definite plus in my eyes. However, this is combined with a feature that is attached to the right bumper which gives you the ability to take cover behind objects/walls. What boggles me about this feature is that it doesn’t feel needed, perhaps it might be my specific playstyle, but I truly don’t see the point of it as I don’t even bother using it in-game. I tried messing around with it but I feel it takes more time thinking about setting up behind cover than to actually go ahead and wipe out the enemy. And in my opinion, the feature does not seem to suit the fast paced FPS action very well.
All in all, I found the game a nice break from the other XBLA games, it is pretty distinct in what it offers but it does not have that lasting appeal on me. A $10 price point is OK for the game but definitely make sure to check out the demo for the game before you make the jump!
