Rocky & Bullwinkle hit the XBox Live Arcade today for 800 MS Points ($10). Here’s a brief look at the game and a verdict on whether you should buy it, stick with the demo, or shun it altogether.
Rocky & Bullwinkle plays very similarly to Wario Ware and similar micro-game collections. If you’re not familiar with the genre, here’s how it works: A brief intro screen will flash up that shows you a scant idea of what you’re about to have to do. Then you launch directly into a mini-game that typically will last five seconds or so. Once you succeed or fail at that game, you’ll move on to the next micro-game. Lather, rinse, repeat. Each of the little games usually is controlled by only one or two buttons or analog sticks on the controller, so everything you do will be very simplistic. The challenge is in being able to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing while playing.
Rocky & Bullwinkle sets up the mini-games in the framing of “episodes.” You progress through episodes by successfully completing a mini-game until you have enough successes to complete the episode. You also have a limited number of lives that diminishes as you fail the games, so the overall goal is to get through the episode within the available number of lives.
There’s an option that lets you build your own episodes out of mini-games, and there’s an in-game store where you can unlock things with credit you build up by playing. Overall, it looks like there’s a decent amount of content, and the Rocky & Bullwinkle theme makes it a fun time, especially with the inclusions of Fractured Fairy Tales and other recognizable shorts and characters from the R&B universe.
The only real complaint I have about the game is the price tag. There’s been a trend lately for every non-retro XBLA game to cost at least 800 MS points, and this is one of the many games following that trend that just doesn’t feel like it’s worth a $10 investment.
The Verdict: Rocky & Bullwinkle is a pretty fun game, but it’s not worth paying 800 MS Points. Download the demo and give it a play, but don’t buy the full game.
