XBLA – Schizoid Review: A psychedelic venture in Uber-Schizoid-Ness
Is it the most co-op game ever ?
By GrathiusXR
© 2008 Arthur Kotsopoulos
“`A game with a simple concept, as the blue ship your objective is to destroy the blue enemies while dodging the red enemies and as the red ship you must do the same while dodging blue enemies. Yet this comes with a twist… both ships must work together to save each others back side.
Schizoid is the first game to be created with the full XNA Game Studio Express and boasts 120+ levels to complete where you can earn gold, silver or bronze and can be done in the various modes topped off with a simple yet effective menu and some intriguing levels.
Before I go on I must warn you, this game requires the use of your brain, to conduct strategy. The first couple of levels start off simple and easy so that you can get the hang of how everything plays out. The more you play and the further you progress levels start becoming trickier, with multiple ways to tackle them, varied and more complicated enemies and a lot more of them on the screen at once. Luckily there are power ups through out each level which disperse of enemies much easier and faster then simply flying into them.
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The various modes allow you to attack each level you have unlocked with a different approach. Wingman Bot puts you in control of the blue ship and the computer as the orange ship. Of course you cannot talk to your A.I ally but Torpex Studios have worked long and hard to make sure that it plays and thinks almost as if you were playing with a friend or someone on Xbox Live.
Xbox Live of course gives you the chance at working with a friend to complete level after level. Which means that it requires great communication which would allow you to not only progress but also work better together in the harder levels and play the game the way it was meant to be played.
Only thing though that is bad with Xbox Live mode is that there are not many users who play it online so it takes some time to find people hosting, but the best option is to have a friend or 2 on your friend list who have the game as well to play with.
Uberschizoid is for the hardcore of gamers, why you ask? Because it gives you full control of both blue and orange ships. Using the left thumb-stick to control the orange ship and the right thumb-stick to control the blue ship, this mode gets frustrating if you do not have good co-ordination and is made a lot easier with the addition of a coloured line that trails behind each ship.
Despite being frustrating at times, a checkpoint system has been included in the game so that once you pass a certain amount of levels you are able to continue from that checkpoint. Also if you attain gold in say 3 levels in a row, when you choose to do Wingman Bot and continue those levels get skipped. So there are a few lifelines in the game to ensure you to continue playing.
Schizoid isn’t the prettiest XBLA available to date but it does hold it’s own with its glossy look, vibrant coloured enemies, techno spacey portrayal and the extravagant explosions created when multiple enemies are destroyed but the explosions come with a drop in frames on many occasions. The techno rock and rolls song does get annoying after a while but it suits the look and feel of the game, while explosions and power ups are satisfying to listen to every time.
Going at 800 MSP does make it look like not a worthy purchase but by all means try out the demo first and try to get some friends to do the same, co-op is a blast and there is heaps of fun to be had. With some easy levels and many complicated levels that you will make you think twice before going in all Rambo, Schizoid truly is a psychedelic venture in uber-Schizoid-ness.
“7.5/10
© 2008 Arthur Kotsopoulos
Media Blowout
Filed under: Console gaming, XBLA News-Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | "Schizoid reviews", "torpex games", "xbla schizoid review", XBLA Reviews, Xbox Live Arcade
