Live Ware: Soulcalibur, Schizoid, Ticket to Ride and more

7/29/2008 9:08 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm
Developer: Stainless Games
Publisher: Sega
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Originally Appeared on: N/A

RECOMMENDATION:
Fry It

A word of warning to any parents out there: Despite its cartoony appearance and adorable title, Happy Tree Friends is definitely not for kids. These adorable but ultra-violent critters have been hacking, slashing, and disemboweling each other in a series of animated shorts for nearly 10 years now. Now, the friends are making their videogame debut.

Similar to the classic Lemmings, you don't actually control any of the popular characters. Instead, your job is to guide them through hazard-filled levels by activating features within the environment and issuing individual commands. The tools at your disposal include a generic "action" command (for pushing buttons and the like), fire, ice and explosive nitro. Unfortunately, some spotty artificial intelligence causes the characters to often react in ways they shouldn't. For instance, starting a fire along a path is supposed to cause the little guys to freak out and run from it. Occasionally, though, they'll immediately turn and run into the flames. Mistakes like this can often cause some premature deaths that simply aren't the player's fault.

Even if you overlook those bugs, the game can be finished in a couple hours and there is little replay value. Hardcore fans will appreciate the game-exclusive cartoon, but that's the best part of this title.

Ticket to Ride
Developer: Next Level Games
Publisher: Playful Entertainment
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Originally Appeared on: N/A

RECOMMENDATION:
Try It

Hey, look! It's yet another German-style board game for Xbox Live Arcade! Ticket to Ride joins titles like Carcassonne, Catan and Lost Cities in what seems to be one of the fastest-growing genres on the service. In Ticket, up to four (offline) or five (online) players compete to build the most train routes between cities. Each route requires a specific number of like-colored cards to complete, so the bulk of the game is spent drawing cards from a pile in order to get the proper hand. Once you've connected your cities, you can draw more destination cards that provide you with new cities to link.

Meanwhile, your opponents are attempting to do the same thing, turning the game into a race to claim the most track. There's not a lot of heavy thinking required to play Ticket, so it's a decent game to play while chatting with friends (similar to UNO). Of course, UNO costs half as much as this game.

Soulcalibur
Developer: Namco Bandai Games
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Originally Appeared on: Dreamcast

RECOMMENDATION:
Buy It

Soulcalibur was one of the games that helped get a lot of Sega's Dreamcast into players' homes. This sequel to the not-nearly-as-well-remembered PlayStation game Soul Blade quickly gained a large fan base and resulted in multiple sequels. In anticipation of one of those sequels (Soulcalibur IV, which launches at the end of the month), Namco Bandai has re-released the original Soulcali.

As it turns out, the original holds up remarkably well, nearly a decade later. There may not be as many features as the more recent entries, and the polygon count may be lower, but the fighting engine is still extremely polished and easy to get into. There are a couple of downsides to this port, however. The Dreamcast's Mission Mode, which added a lot of single-player replay value, is missing, and the fact that all the bonus goodies are unlocked from the start gives you nothing to work towards. There isn't even any online play added to the game, which is a huge negative. Given that Namco couldn't even get Mr. Driller running properly online, however, this may be a blessing in disguise. Even with these problems, Soulcali is still Soulcali, and it's still awesome. If you're looking for fighting action on XBLA, this is your best choice.