Review
Release Date: 08.22.2007
Platform:
Xbox Live ArcadeDeveloper:
LlamasoftPublisher:
LlamasoftReviewed by
Justin Fassino on 9.15.2007
| Review Rating: 6/10 | User Rating: 7.67/10 |
A guy nicknamed "Stinky Ox" formed a game development studio called
Llamasoft and created
Space Giraffe. The gaming industry doesn't see that type of mammalian love too often, which can only mean one thing: the Xbox Live Arcade is now home to the newest from Jeff Minter (
Tempest 2000).
Space Giraffe is a shooter that was programmed using the Neon engine, the same technology that powers the Xbox 360's tripped-out media visualizer. While
Giraffe uses two analog sticks like other popular games in the genre on the XBLA, don't think it's the same as those games. Instead, the game takes place on a geometric shape amidst the glowing chaos of Neon. Your psychedelic character is supposed to be some sort of trance giraffe, and you can move that giraffe around the shape on the screen. Enemies attack from the back of the level (which is in the middle) and slowly make their way towards the rim of the shape upon which your giraffe lies (the outside). Shots fire automatically in a constant stream (though you can guide them left and right with the right analog stick) and as you hit enemies, you extend what is known as the power zone: a grid that takes the same shape as the level's rim. The more you extend your power zone, the slower enemies move and the more time you have to rack up a score multiplier, which is achieved by allowing enemies to reach the rim and then swiping into them with your giraffe, sending them off into space in a nasty fashion.
The game begins simple enough, but chances are you won't have any idea what to do because the tutorial lesson and text is utterly useless. In fact,
Space Giraffe is one of those games that some players simply won't "get" because of its sheer oddity. It plays unlike anything the game industry has seen in some time, and oftentimes it's hard to tell if what you're doing is right or wrong if you don't understand how to play the game. The levels start easy with one type of enemy slowly crawling towards the rim, sometimes shooting pellets (which can be shot and deflected back to the center of the level to earn point bonuses once the stage is completed). As you progress, you'll find that new enemies enter the battle and existing foes become more challenging. For example, flowers will "plant" themselves at the back of the level and begin to grow if they are not destroyed. As they grow, their stems will eventually reach the rim and provide a fatal barrier for your giraffe. By shooting the flowers, you can slowly make them recede back to where they germinated and eventually destroy them. And so it goes: each level ramps up the difficulty and the sheer visual chaos on-screen until you're either so confused you can't quite tell up from down, or the game has clicked and you're in the middle of a synaesthesic, otherworldly experience.
The other element of
Space Giraffe is its use of sound cues to help the player figure out what is happening at any given time. In the event that the visuals become so hectic and indecipherable you have no idea what's going on (and this will happen often), each enemy will emit a different noise that tells you if you're hitting them or killing them. This multi-sensual system works very well, once you get used to playing the game with both your eyes and your ears. And, in fact, this will be necessary in order to advance through the game; it takes an exceptional amount of focus to play. Everything works well, for the most part, until you reach the later levels in the second half of the game. Just as you're coming to grips with the new enemies and gameplay hazards, the levels begin to rotate, which throws control intuitiveness right out the window as right becomes left and left becomes right (and back again). Then add stages where there is simply no way to see what is happening, and you've got the makings of cheap deaths and frustrating game design.
For the hardcore shooter enthusiast, this game could be a wonderful audiovisual experience. The trance-like soundtrack, pumping visuals, and very deep gameplay mechanics all come together to form a cohesive, unifying factor that is not seen in many games today. However, the accessibility of the title caters really only to the most dedicated of gamers, and the massive, uneven difficulty spikes ruin what would otherwise have been an amazing chillout game with frustration and anger.
