DIYgamer

Get What You Pay For… Link Attack [Review]

Reviewing an Xbox Live Indie can be a daunting task. For starters, unless the developer (which is usually a one-man operation) cares to share about his upcoming title, there will be no pre-release assets to view, no descriptions to read and basically know way of knowing what kind of game you’re approaching. I’m sure this is viewed as good to some but, as a reviewer, the sooner I can wrap my head around the game I’m getting into, the more confident I am that I will write a solid and fairly-judged review of it.

So when I sat down to play Suspect Software’s Link Attack, I really didn’t know what I was getting into. I took a quick gander at it’s Xbox Live Page and found out that instead of ravenous clones of Zelda’s hero attacking innocent civilians (which is what the title had me originally picturing), it was an avatar supported simple puzzle title with artwork overtones of Soviet Union Communist Propaganda.

Like I said, you can never tell what you’re going to get into with these things.

Gameplay

Link Attack offers up several different modes of play but they all boil down to the same thing, link together matching colored blocks to make them disappear and hinder the ol’ falling wall from filling the screen, similar to Bubble Bobble only you don’t add any new bubbles (blocks) into play, instead working with those that are presented.

I sampled every mode that was offered and quickly realized that, at least in the early stages, the game was way too easy. I connected lines and erased blocks to the point where often times I was starring at an empty screen waiting for the blocks to descend another line. What’s worse is the more proficient I became, the more glaring the issue became to the point of where it literally felt like I was receiving no challenge.

To be fair the game does pick up as you advance but it takes so long to get to that point there hardly feels like there’s any reason to try. It’s a game that fails to reach me, a 24-year-old core gamer, but certainly is the kind of title that would appeal to parents when introducing younger children to gaming. Well, at least the gameplay, not necessarily the USSR communist stuff.

Style

The game’s bright spot to me was the effective use of underground/rat rock music with the communist spray paint backgrounds and Soviet-ish fonts. It was certainly a joy to listen to and look at, if not play.

Story

While the game lacks a story, there’s plenty of motifs, overtones and other choices the developer consciously included into an otherwise bare bones puzzler. Particularly prior to the start of the games where both instructions and other advice are included.

Everything Else

The game does offer two player, which could certainly have some competitive moments for those who are into the endurance runs–though I didn’t get a chance to try it with another person.

In the end, I keep coming back to whether or not the $1 price tag makes this a worthwhile purchase. There’s plenty of style and some good listening that would have plenty of people dropping the buck, but the gameplay is so easy sometimes it nearly feels broken. It really depends on what you’re looking for in your bargain bin Xbox Live Indie.