Sometimes an Xbox Live Indie Game comes gliding out of the blue and hits me smack in the face, leaving a knowing smile upon my bonce. However, never before has this happened where the game in question involved avatars. AvaGlide is an avatar gliding game, and it definitely left an impression on me.

Taking on a very Wii Sports Resort-like environment and general feel, AvaGlide features numerous game modes, multiplayer action and full scoreboards, and feels fantastic the entire time. Let me explain why you should spend 80 MS points on this lovingly crafted beauty.

GAMEPLAY

AvaGlide puts you at the wings of a hang-glider, soaring above forested areas and boiling volcanos. Controlling the glider is exactly how you’d expect – pulling back will aim your avatar into the sky, while pushing forward will make the glider dip and zoom towards the ground. It’s instantly noticeable that AvaGlide is a joy to control, and within a minute you’ll be zipping around the blue sky with ease.

Dotted around each level are gusty areas which will boost you into the air, and it’s essential that you aim for one of these when your altitude is getting a bit too low. Rushing up through the air isn’t just tactical – it feels great, too.

There is a Free Flight mode for aimlessly floating around the game’s three worlds, calmly taking in the sights and enjoying the relaxing experience. If you’ve been looking for a game to simply kick back and chill with, this is your guy.

Of course, if action is more your kind of thing, there are a variety of different modes on offer that will test your pilot skills. First up is Ring Dash, which places a number of rings about the sky, and asks you to fly through each one in sequence, collecting stars along the way. This is the most enjoyable of the bunch, and I found myself playing levels over and over again in an attempt to top the highscore boards.

Delivery Dash sees you dropping boxes onto targets below, with score awarded for each successful drop. This mode requires you fly a little lower in an attempt to hit the centre of the targets, and puts a whole new spin on the game. It’s possibly a little too tricky, as some of the platforms are quite high up, but there’s still good fun to be had.

Finally, there is Star Smash mode, which is fairly difficult to master. Stars are scattered all over the map, and you’ll need to dive in, grab them, and quickly pull up again if you want to take as many as possible before the time runs out. Extra time can also be collected so you’ve got longer to soar about the place. The majority of the stars are really quite close to the rocks and ground, so getting a big score is quite a challenge.

Apart from these excellent modes, there is also local hotseat multiplayer, which allows up to four players to take it in turns getting the highest score possible. It would have been nice to have splitscreen gliding as an option, but I’m still pretty content with what’s on offer.

For those who are looking for glory, AvaGlide also features scoreboards for every mode and level, which are extremely easy to navigate. I can definitely see myself going back to the game in the future and trying to bag some top scores.

The only niggle I really had – and believe me, it’s a slight one – was the number of levels available. Each of AvaGlide‘s three worlds are gorgeous and feature some great level design – even giving you the option to fly at either day or night – but it would have been nice to have a couple more areas to soar around.

STYLE

It’s impossible to comment on AvaGlide‘s overall style without mentioning Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort. Haiku Interactive has created something which could easily have fallen straight out of Nintendo’s best-seller – the look and the feel are so very alike. Yet it doesn’t ever feel like AvaGlide is a cheap knock-off – this is a carefully crafted game and deserves recognition of its own.

The levels look wonderful, and create a gorgeous atmosphere which definitely adds oodles to the experience. Seeing your little avatar guy or girl soaring along is also very nice – I don’t always approve of the inclusion of avatars into random scenarios, but this particular one works for me, as it doesn’t feel like the avatar has simply been stuck in to help sell the game.

Where sound is concerned, it’s actually less Nintendo and more Sega – in particular, the adorable and stupidly addictive Super Monkey Ball series, with an announcer shouting as you score. In fact, throughout play the whole game slowly began to remind me of the Monkey Target mode from the original SMB titles. Note – this is a very good thing indeed.

STORY

There is no story, but heck, when you’re gliding along so pleasantly, who needs a reason, eh?

OTHER

So then, reasons why you should buy AvaGlide: It oozes charm and style, there are lots of clever game modes to fall in love with, scoreboards and hotseat multiplayer will keep you playing, and it costs – wait for it – a mere 80 MS points. That is a single dollar.

A dollar. This is an Xbox Live Indie Games steal, right here.