Wednesday 12 May 2010

XBIR: A Fading Melody

A platformer interspersed with evasive story snippets. I will undoubtedly buy this.

+:
A lovely soundscape. Chimes when enemies are struck, piano bgm and rain pouring down... the mood is pensive and thoughtful, making the story somehow meaningful.
-:
The 'movement' felt wrong initially with no acceleration to speak of, instant stops and little bounce after jumping on an enemy.

I was almost ready to write the game off when the trial first ended but I played it again and then - now understanding the 'darkness' mechanic and the ramnifications of the new rolling skill - a 3rd and 4th time, eventually managing to complete level 2 within the time limit.

Lesson: Carefully chosen sound and music can do wonders in setting a mood. I found the character's animation a little jerky but having the graphics all adhere to the same restrained mood gives the game a weight that made me more eager to retry it.

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