Live Ware: Wits & Wagers, Assault Heroes 2, Penny Arcade Adventures and more
5/30/2008 6:08 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Have you been lost these past few weeks, not knowing how to spend those hard-earned Microsoft Points? Well, never fear. Live Ware is now a monthly column, so we have four solid weeks of games to catch up on, including the much anticipated release based on the Penny Arcade Web comic. So let's dive right in and see which new Xbox Live Arcade titles are worth investing in.
Wits & Wagers
Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Originally appeared on: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: Try It
Based on a 2005 board game,
Wits & Wagers is a different type of trivia game. All of the answers are number-based, and although some of the questions are standard trivia fare ("What year was the Watergate break-in?"), most require a fair amount of guesswork (unless you just happen to know how many paper towels there are in a standard roll). Each round isn't over when you give your answer, though. The real game begins once everyone had inputted their answer. From that point, all the contestants place bets on which of the given responses is closest to the real answer without going over.
This introduces a whole new element of strategy to a standard trivia contest. Even if you guess the wrong answer, you can still win big by betting on the person who you think got the right one (or by betting that everyone overshot the correct answer). Admittedly, however, this leaves the game relying more on luck and second-guessing the other players than on actual trivia knowledge.
The amount of enjoyment you get out of the game is also largely dependent on the people with whom you play it. Up to six people can play online and up to four can play locally. As with most party games like this, it's exponentially more fun playing with people sitting in your living room as opposed to strangers online. Outwitting someone is more enjoyable when you know the person you've outwitted, no? Playing against the artificial intelligence, as you might imagine, is dreadfully dull.
Wits is a pretty enjoyable game, and with 700 questions to play through the seven-round matches, it'll be a while before you've gone through them all. Still, its unique gameplay might be off-putting to someone looking for a "normal" trivia game.
Assault Heroes 2
Developer: Sierra Online
Publisher: Sierra Online
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Originally appeared on: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: Buy It
The original
Assault Heroes took a lot of people by surprise when it was released at the end of 2006. Even though it was from the Robotron/Geometry Wars school of top-down shooters that litter Xbox Live Arcade, it managed to set itself apart from the pack thanks to its (admittedly generic) military theme, variety of weapons, great level design, crazy boss encounters and smooth gameplay.
Not surprisingly,
Assault Heroes 2 doesn't deviate much from its predecessor. The graphics have been improved, there's a new weapon at your disposal (the ice cannon), there are more vehicles to control, and the boss battles are even more impressive. As usual, you control a heavily armed 4x4 through a gauntlet of aggressive enemy forces. If your vehicle takes too much damage, it explodes, forcing you to continue the battle on foot until another 4x4 spawns. You can also exit your vehicle at any time to sneak into tight areas or to swipe certain enemy vehicles like helicopters, tanks or the occasional mech.
