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Defy Gravity (Xbox LIVE Indie Games)
The Xbox LIVE Indie Games channel is filled with a lot of games. While many of them are not even worth taking a look at, some interesting games show up once in a while. Defy Gravity, developed by Fish Factory Games, is one of them.
Defy Gravity’s story is really thin. You are on a space mission, looking for a way to save mankind. One day, you see a strange alien artefact that could possibly help you accomplish your mission. Your character then decides to go on an adventure to collect this treasure. While it may sound very basic, it doesn’t really matter. The story is present just enough and leaves all the room to the game’s brilliant mechanic.
Defy Gravity is a sci-fi mix between the platforming and puzzle genres. Using a mechanic in the spirit of what was done with Portal, you must travel through 17 stages by using a gun that shoots both repulsive and attraction force fields. This tool will help you climbing high walls, floating over lasers and many other obstacles. The player also has the power to activate an anti-gravity shield that makes the player immune to any gravity change caused by the force fields. Some levels even require you to go through multiple obstacles with the shield turned on at all time, which brings a little more challenge.
Throughout the adventure, the player will face progressive challenges. It starts from a jump over a small wall to trying to stay in mid-air while dodging projectiles. Sadly, the game ends when the levels start to be challenging. Also, going through the game will take about an hour for an average player. Luckily, the game only cost 1$ on Xbox LIVE Indie Games (80 Microsoft Points) so the amount of content you get for your money is okay.
On the presentation side, everything is kept simple. The visuals are not impressive compared to other titles available on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games, although it is worth noting that the background images are clean and beautiful. As for the audio, the sounds fit well in the sci-fi type of game and the music makes you feel like you are in space, which is perfect for this game.
In short, Defy Gravity is an interesting game that will keep you busy for a short while. A little more levels would have been greatly appreciated, but the game’s mechanic justifies the dollar it will cost you to play this game. This is a game that deserves a spot on your hard drive if you like games that try new things.
Defy Gravity is available on the Xbox LIVE Indies Games channel for the Xbox 360 for 80 Microsoft Points (1$) and for PC for 4.99$ at http://www.defygravitygame.com/.
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Positives:
- The game mechanic is brilliant
- The levels are challenging and require you to think
- It only cost one dollar (80 Microsoft Points)
Negatives:
- The in-game visuals are not impressive
- The fun ends when it gets interesting
Story: 3
Gameplay: 7.5
Visuals: 6
Audio: 7
Lasting appeal: 7
Innovation: 8
Final Score: 7
Game experience at time of redaction: Game cleared.
Redacted on: February 9th 2011
Uploaded on: February 9th 2011