Child of Light

Child of Light is a downloadable ($15, roughly 2.31 GB) game available on multiple platforms.  I played it on the Xbox One.


Child of Light puts you in the roll of a princess of light trying to return light back to the land of Lemuria.  The gameplay is sort of reminiscent of Grandia, with a semi turn-based action bar battle system.  You can gain advantages by interrupting enemy attacks (if you're lucky enough).  You are paired up with one other character at a time and usually face 2-3 enemies.  Some enemies have weaknesses to certain elements.  Certain attacks are slower than others (a good chance to use your firefly buddy to either heal yourself in battle or slow the enemy down a little).  There is also a crafting system (adding bonuses to weapon, armor and/or accessory slot).


Overall, I spent about 11 hours on this game playing on Normal (and dying more than I would like to admit, but I hate using items - on Normal, there isn't really a "death penalty").  I wish it would have been a little less expensive, but overall it isn't that bad of a deal.  I'm not sure what replay value there is, but there is a Game + mode after you beat it and at least one other difficulty.  


I kind of hope that this generation will have more of these types of games (I could go for some full turn-based JRPG style games at about this price point).   

My First 1,000 GamerScore Xbox One Game

i never thought that I would actually ever get a 1,000/1,000 GamerScore game on the Xbox One, but last night I finally did.


So, what was the lucky game? 
Nutjistu. 


It took me 9 hours (according to SmartGlass) to do it, I kind of suck at that game.  You only need to get to level 23 not level 25 to unlock the last achievement.  The 1K isn't hard, it's just a little time consuming. 

Nutjitsu

What is Nutjitsu? 


Nutjitsu is the second (i think) ID@Xbox release (and the first by developer Ninja Bee on the Xbox One).  If you have Windows 8, this is available from the Windows Store for Free (pay-to-play type game).  i didn't like how you had to "draw" on the screen to move in that version. 


In this game you play as a squirrel trying to save acorns from a pack of fox interlopers.  In some ways this plays a little like Pac-Man where you go through mazes collecting acorns and completing "missions" - like collect 15 acorns, etc.  Unlike traditional Pac-Man there are power ups(nothing as good as power pellets though, at least that i have access to) - like a freeze bomb (freezes the "ghosts" in their place for a few seconds), smoke bomb (you can evade enemies), speed boost, etc.  There isn't a coherent story here... you just take it level by level attempting missions (usually a single mission doesn't last that long).  There is also a Survival mode (which i haven't attempted yet).  


Unfortunately, like Pac-Man this game has control issues.  It is not always a smooth path around the mazes (especially with the thumbstick), i think the d-pad is a little better (it never got "stuck" on me).  The controls feel a little sluggish. 


If you want the full GamerScore, it is going to take a lot of grinding to get up to level 25 (relatively low XP rewards for completing missions).


This is the cheapest game currently available for the Xbox One ($6.49 US).  It doesn't have the Game DVR option. 


  

What to Do With Rare

After the not so successful release of Kinect Sports Rivals (I think this title is more of a seasonal seller anyway), several people were let go at Rare.  Some on-line message boards lamented and called the death of Rare, again.... 


i never had a Nintendo console, so i don't know about the "vintage" Rare.  A lot of what they did under MSFT (that wasn't cancelled) seemed to be trying to replicate that success they had with Nintendo a little too closely.  i think they were trying to sell their games at too high a price.


What is my view of Rare and what do I think should happen with them?


I see Rare as being miscast as a AAA developer.  I think of them somewhere between Turn 10 and Twisted Pixel (so maybe AA, in minor league baseball parlance).  Their games should be aiming for the $29.99-$39.99 price point (not $60).  Yes, I would love another Kameo, Viva Pinata and collect-a-thon Banjo game.  I would also love someone to port all the 1st party Kinect games to Xbox One (Fable Journey and Kinect Adventures being my favorites). 


So what would I do if I owned Rare
* Separate into 4 teams
  - Kinect Team
  - Free to Play Team (eventually I see Lift London getting merged into Rare)
  - Port/Remake Team (deals with getting Rare IP on the Xbox One.  Not just Rare IP, MSFT IP)
  - "Retail" team: making/prototyping retail games, new IP.  Maybe some actually getting released.