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Southpeak Interactive presents a buggy adventure about alien infestation, as examined by your family doctor here at AMN.
December 10, 2006 | 8:38 PM PSTby: Blake Leftwich
The Waiting Room
The touchscreen is a fantastic interface for a video game system, and Nintendo really knocked it out of the park with this innovation. A quick game of Kirby Canvas Curse or Trauma Center will make you a believer. This is why I am so puzzled when a developer chooses not to use this godsend of a technology. It seems sacrilegious. Now imagine a publisher pushing back the release date of a game created for the GBA so it can be simultaniously released on the GBA and DS, but only implimenting the touchscreen to display a map and status screen with limited touch control. Such is the case with Scurge Hive, so put on your scrubs and wash up. We will examine the patient and hope for a positive outcome.
Facts and Features:
Unique power ups and weapons can be found hidden throughout the complex, a weapon that freezes enemies, a tether for dragging objects, and more.
Over 350 highly detailed areas with more than 50 unique enemies and huge grotesque mutant bosses with unique attacks and energy alignments.
A sense of urgency keeps you on edge of your seat from start to finish. The action is fast, tough and never lets up.
The Diagnosis
It is my responsibility to help inform you, our beloved readers, of the pros and cons of software in hopes of saving you money and steering you in the right direction. Alas, this means the truth must come out and the picture it paints is not always a pretty one. At first I was able to get into Scurge because it had a charming simplicity that reminded me of games from the Super Nintendo era. Soon, however, it became apparent that the gameplay was not going to improve and the software's faults started to become real obstacles.
Treating the Symptoms
One problem is the map. The map is hardly necessary in the first couple of levels because the game is very straight-forward and linear gameplay is not necessarily a fault and in fact is a strong point of many popular titles. However, once the gameplay tasks become more complex the backtracking and key-hunting require the use of the map, which uses a key containing icons too similar to easily distenguish from each other. This caused problems when looking for way to replenish your health and save.
In fact, all of the graphics on the touchscreen are grey and hard on the eyes making it a challenge in itself to retrieve useful information from the map or status screen. Add to this the fact that the touchscreen functionality is only used during the game to move the map around, select different floors and for reading about weapons and attributes on the status screen, and the poor quality starts to become very clear.
Prescription for Frustration
Rapid fire is not rapid enough to fight off the hordes of enemies and it is impossible to shoot them before they enclose in on you. Also, the rapid fire ability is linked to a meter which depletes the longer you hold it down. Once empty, you can only fire one shot at a time or wait for the meter to refill, another creative way to stifle any possibility of satisfaction. You will take damage frequently and these play mechanics are frustrating.
Weapon power-ups change the effects of your blasts in such a way that make them more powerful against certain enemy types; however, this boosts the power of some enemies making them faster, and they take no damage at all. Even worse, the developers have actually used this as a way to create higher difficulty. For example, in one end-of-level battle the boss had to be shot with an attribute that increased the power of the minions around him creating more aggravation than fun.
Take Your Medicine
The graphics look adequate for a sci-fi themed game but the character design looks like that of a Nickelodeon cartoon. In addition, the isometric perspective make jumping and positioning difficult and there are some visual flaws. Early in the game, there was a floating platform I was supposed to jump onto. I leaped and landed on it, or so I thought, then tried to jump to my final destination, but could never make it. I tried again and realized that I missed the jump. The problem was that my character was visible even though I was under the platform! This glitch made it appear as if I was on top of the platform.
On a related note, the game is just plain buggy. Once, when I was jumping onto a higher level, I grabbed an invisible ledge. Confused, I pressed left and shimmied across section of the wall that was clearly not meant for it, jumped down and could never replicate the act again. Another time the game just flat out crashed, and I had to turn the power off and start from my last save.
The Cure
Now that the truth has come out, we can let that negative energy go, take a deep breath and concentrate on the positive. Here are the strong points of Scurge that may still warrant a purchase. The initial presentation is good, giving the feel of a B-rated science fiction movie with a great cut-scene intro and excellent music that draws you in. The music, as a matter of fact, is the best feature of this title, ranging from eerie pulses accompanied by synthesizers to cheesy rock riffs that really add to the mood.
The control is also very good. Players can jump, fire, shimmy, climb and use special weapons with ease and the designers have included some pre-set button configuration options which help with comfort in these areas.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
If you want an original science fiction action adventure, there are not many options today, especially if you remove the many licensed characters and movie crossovers from the equation. Although there are some universal truths regarding video games, one man's junk is another man's treasure and it all comes down to personal taste. Perhaps if you can overlook the lack of firepower, and have fun running from the enemies instead of fighting them, Scurge Hive could be just what you're looking for. Whachu talkin 'bout, Orbital?
-- Blake Leftwich
The touchscreen is a fantastic interface for a video game system, and Nintendo really knocked it out of the park with this innovation. A quick game of Kirby Canvas Curse or Trauma Center will make you a believer. This is why I am so puzzled when a developer chooses not to use this godsend of a technology. It seems sacrilegious. Now imagine a publisher pushing back the release date of a game created for the GBA so it can be simultaniously released on the GBA and DS, but only implimenting the touchscreen to display a map and status screen with limited touch control. Such is the case with Scurge Hive, so put on your scrubs and wash up. We will examine the patient and hope for a positive outcome.
Facts and Features:
The Diagnosis
It is my responsibility to help inform you, our beloved readers, of the pros and cons of software in hopes of saving you money and steering you in the right direction. Alas, this means the truth must come out and the picture it paints is not always a pretty one. At first I was able to get into Scurge because it had a charming simplicity that reminded me of games from the Super Nintendo era. Soon, however, it became apparent that the gameplay was not going to improve and the software's faults started to become real obstacles.
Treating the Symptoms
One problem is the map. The map is hardly necessary in the first couple of levels because the game is very straight-forward and linear gameplay is not necessarily a fault and in fact is a strong point of many popular titles. However, once the gameplay tasks become more complex the backtracking and key-hunting require the use of the map, which uses a key containing icons too similar to easily distenguish from each other. This caused problems when looking for way to replenish your health and save.
In fact, all of the graphics on the touchscreen are grey and hard on the eyes making it a challenge in itself to retrieve useful information from the map or status screen. Add to this the fact that the touchscreen functionality is only used during the game to move the map around, select different floors and for reading about weapons and attributes on the status screen, and the poor quality starts to become very clear.
Prescription for Frustration
Rapid fire is not rapid enough to fight off the hordes of enemies and it is impossible to shoot them before they enclose in on you. Also, the rapid fire ability is linked to a meter which depletes the longer you hold it down. Once empty, you can only fire one shot at a time or wait for the meter to refill, another creative way to stifle any possibility of satisfaction. You will take damage frequently and these play mechanics are frustrating.
Weapon power-ups change the effects of your blasts in such a way that make them more powerful against certain enemy types; however, this boosts the power of some enemies making them faster, and they take no damage at all. Even worse, the developers have actually used this as a way to create higher difficulty. For example, in one end-of-level battle the boss had to be shot with an attribute that increased the power of the minions around him creating more aggravation than fun.
Take Your Medicine
The graphics look adequate for a sci-fi themed game but the character design looks like that of a Nickelodeon cartoon. In addition, the isometric perspective make jumping and positioning difficult and there are some visual flaws. Early in the game, there was a floating platform I was supposed to jump onto. I leaped and landed on it, or so I thought, then tried to jump to my final destination, but could never make it. I tried again and realized that I missed the jump. The problem was that my character was visible even though I was under the platform! This glitch made it appear as if I was on top of the platform.
On a related note, the game is just plain buggy. Once, when I was jumping onto a higher level, I grabbed an invisible ledge. Confused, I pressed left and shimmied across section of the wall that was clearly not meant for it, jumped down and could never replicate the act again. Another time the game just flat out crashed, and I had to turn the power off and start from my last save.
The Cure
Now that the truth has come out, we can let that negative energy go, take a deep breath and concentrate on the positive. Here are the strong points of Scurge that may still warrant a purchase. The initial presentation is good, giving the feel of a B-rated science fiction movie with a great cut-scene intro and excellent music that draws you in. The music, as a matter of fact, is the best feature of this title, ranging from eerie pulses accompanied by synthesizers to cheesy rock riffs that really add to the mood.
The control is also very good. Players can jump, fire, shimmy, climb and use special weapons with ease and the designers have included some pre-set button configuration options which help with comfort in these areas.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
If you want an original science fiction action adventure, there are not many options today, especially if you remove the many licensed characters and movie crossovers from the equation. Although there are some universal truths regarding video games, one man's junk is another man's treasure and it all comes down to personal taste. Perhaps if you can overlook the lack of firepower, and have fun running from the enemies instead of fighting them, Scurge Hive could be just what you're looking for. Whachu talkin 'bout, Orbital?
-- Blake Leftwich
November 20, 2009
