Friday, March 02, 2012

Game Review (Nexuiz - Xbox LIVE Arcade)

--This is not a full review, as I've only played the trial so far.--

I had no idea this game even existed today until I saw an advertisement on the XBL Dashboard. My friend downloaded it, and so I decided to as well. After playing for about 20 seconds, I was already impressed. Nexuiz (Pronounced Nexus) is a game that I'm glad to have downloaded. While the likes of Battlefield and Modern Warfare are all fine and good, there hasn't been a game like Nexuiz for a decent while now -- at least on the 360. When I first saw images for this game, I quickly thought of Halo, Quake, and Unreal Tournament. It turns out, Nexuiz was originally a Quake mod from several years back.

And a really good one at that, I guess. For $10, you're getting 9 maps (6 of which are TDM, 3 are CtF), several guns, over a HUNDRED power-ups, a bot-mode, and a rather refreshing experience in a game market that has been flooded with more modern military shooters recently. The only problem I have with Nexuiz, and it's the same that I have with every XBLA game... I'm just not sure how long the community will last. I suggest that if you're planning on buying, just buy now. Think about it. $10 for a game that you'll be able to have forever, or spend about that same amount to rent a game from Blockbuster for just a week. Even if you only play Nexuiz for a couple weeks, the playtime you get out of it will make it worth the $10 ... especially if you have a small squad of friends to play with.

As I said, I have a bad feeling that Nexuiz's online will be virtually dead in a month, but before that happens, do yourself a favor and get it. I think this game will be overlooked by many, and that's a shame. It may not be a ground-breaking game, but it's certainly one worth playing when you're growing a bit tired of others games you tend to play.

4/5

+: Great graphics; surprising depth -- especially for the $10 price; nice variety in maps.
-: More than likely will have nobody playing the game online by April.

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