Bit Boy!!
First impressions had me saying "thank goodness I knew what I was buying". Bit Boy!! is a high score chasers game, and that seems to be the extent of it. I will repeat- Bit Boy!! is a game where the goal is beating the high score! But, dammit, it's unique. If you're unaware of Bit Boy's premise let me fill you in (as best I can do). Bit Boy!! takes you on a journey through the different eras of video gaming- the first world is 4-bits (Atari style), the second world is 8-bits (Nintendo style), then 16-bits (Super Nintendo style), and you get the idea, all the way to the 3D world of 128-bits. So far, I have played up until 16-bits (Super Bit Boy!! it's called), and I am enjoying the trip down memory lane as Bplus has done a great job of taking the specific characteristics of each generation of gaming and putting it into Bit Boy's design.
The object of Bit Boy!! is to go around a map/maze and collect items (ala Pac-Man) without getting hit by the enemies. It starts out in very small maps, and it gets bigger as the generations progress. This game is not easy. I haven't played it long enough yet to label it as hard, but I can definitely tell you that it is far from easy. Again, the goal is to get the high score, so there are fruits and other various items around to collect to add to your score aside from the items that are necessary to move on. You have three lives, and once you get into 8-bit land, you can start attacking enemies (with a very limited number of attacks). You can continue, but that drastically lowers your score, so obviously you want to avoid continuing whenever possible. There are no online leaderboards, which you might think would come standard on a game about getting the high score, but Bplus has left this out. But, I have heard word (thanks to Frog!) that they're is an online forum to post your high scores on the Bplus website. This can add to the spirit of competition if none of your friends own the game.
Overall, my first impressions of Bit Boy!! are very good. I look forward to going through the rest of the game, and then to start competing for the high score. There seems to definitely be a strategy in this game, and it's going to be fun to start figuring out more than I already have. I like Bit Boy!! quite a bit, and I think Bplus has delivered a very good, if not great, WiiWare title. Give it a try if you like high score games.
bit.Trip: Beat
Aaaahhhh, bit.Trip. I first came across this game while watching a stream on Backloggery, and I was intrigued ever since. I love music...I love old school games...I should LOVE bit.Trip! Well, let's just say this is the first game (that I can recall) that once it began, I just started smiling, and couldn't stop until I finally got a game over. This game is a blast! The music is stellar, and controls are intuitive. Gaijin Games has made a masterpiece here (and I've only played it a little while so far), and I am very glad that the Backloggery stream introduced me to to this gem. This game, again, I feel focuses on attaining a high score (even though they are no online leaderboards here, either), but I hear that there is an ending to the game to play for (correct me if I am wrong, please).
bit.Trip: Beat is kind of like if Pong and Guitar Hero had a love-child; it's a rhythm game through and through, and you are in control of a pong-like bar that goes up and down by twisting the Wii Remote. You have to bounce the objects back to the other side of the screen as the come at you in time with the music. That's really all there is to it. The game starts out very simple, and heads to the crazy level quite quickly. This, too, is not an easy game, but one that, with practice, can be mastered. bit.Trip: Beat is unique, the music rocks, and it simply made me smile. For 600 points, even though it's short (from what I have read about it at least), it's very worth it. Great job, Gaijin Games!
With 1200 points spent today (though I added 2000 points afterwards) I think I did a great job of taking advantage of the special games the WiiWare has to offer. These are both fun exclusives that deserve a play.
Please feel free to agree or disagree with me by posting a comment or sending an email. And, please correct me if I have any inaccuracies in my posting above; I know I am not perfect.
Thanks for reading.
1 comment:
Yeah, you have the basic idea with Bit Boy!!. Although it's a high score game, I feel the core experience is lacking, REALLY lacking. Collect friend, and boost your score by moving around, no this isn't Pac-Man, but it has been tried, and it's pretty stale now, using concepts like this in a retro execution doesn't do well because the genre doesn't age well in my opinion. What they could've done is show the TECHNOLOGICAL and processing capabilities of these eras, such as a scrolling psudeo 3D in the 8-bit, or refining acting within 3D parametres starting in 32 bit and moving on, seeing concept refinements through each era. For BIT.TRIP BEAT, you have the right idea, keep in mind that there's a pattern in everything, even in the second level, when you begin to wonder if it's completely random. Yes, it's short, but the soundtrack's so great, that keeps me coming back for more.
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