Xyanide

One of the most oft-delayed Xbox games, next to Half-Life 2, I honestly didn’t have much faith in Xyanide actually being released. Well, Xyanide is finally out and after getting my feet wet with the preview build, I’ve got a final copy in front of me, so read on and find out if it was worth this long wait.

Believe it or not, Xyanide has a story, yes a simple 2D game like this has a story. Before even getting into the game, a lengthy, but visually appealing seven-minute cutscene vaguely fleshes out the story of the game. A basic summary of the story is that you play as Drake, a space pilot who is selected to escort a witch named Aguira to a black hole when things go wrong. An asteroid made up of xyanide collides with the ship and Aguira is now full of power thanks to the xyanide, and she plans to make your life as difficult as possible.

Xyanide is a dual-stick shooter, so for fans of games like Smash TV and Geometry Wars, Xyanide is right up your alley. The game offers two main weapons, which you can easily switch by hitting R; one is a mechanical machine gun, while the other is a biological spread gun. Knowing when to use which weapon is part of the challenge, as some weapons will work better for certain enemies as opposed to others. Hitting L, will allow you to aim and shoot a missile, but doing this will cause you to not be able to control your ship, which requires you to learn how to aim quickly.

The level design of the game is unique thanks to the game’s blending of 2D gameplay with 3D environments, but at times it can be cumbersome. Sometimes my play was hindered, as I wasn’t sure if where I was going to move would kill me or not. The environments don’t have much variety and do tend to feel a bit on the similar side. The ability to pick up powerups (which are assigned to the face buttons) and upgrade your weapons adds a healthy bit of depth to the game.

Also part of Xyanide’s appeal is the fact that it’s a very challenging game. Strewn throughout each of the game’s six stages are a myriad of enemies, minibosses and an end boss, whom will definitely take some time to defeat. The game is easier to play through if you play with a friend, because like any good shmup (shoot 'em up), Xyanide supports co-op play. Xbox Live support is here in the form of Scoreboards, in addition to Xbox Live Aware.

The graphical look of Xyanide is hard to pinpoint or relate to any other game precisely, but it definitely has a futuristic/sci-fi flavor to it. The visual effects won’t wow you, but they’re not ugly by any means. The environments are different enough to work, but some more variety couldn’t have hurt. One odd omission is 480p support, which is supported by around 98% of all Xbox games, but not Xyanide. Surprisingly, even without any sort of HDTV support, the game sports a slick widescreen presentation, (hey Microsoft, this title just begs to be playable on the 360, make it happen!) The graphics of Xyanide make the music an expected, but fitting choice of techno. The techno music is not something that you’ll be paying attention to, so as background music, it works pretty well. Custom soundtracks are supported as well if the techno music isn’t your cup of tea.

Xyanide isn’t the best shmup I’ve played, but it does something different and it does it well, so props to Playlogic there. Blending 2D gameplay with 3D worlds. As one of the last Xbox games, this one stands out due to the genre it's in; it’s simple to pick up and play, but difficult to master. Unlike other genres, Xyanide literally has no competition unless you import, making it all that much more approachable. It’s a fresh take on a genre that seems all too stagnant sometimes and it’s a fun romp that should keep you busy for a while, not to mention being at $20 pretty much makes it a must-buy.

Gameplay: 7.8
There’s nothing we haven’t seen here in past iterations. The combat is pretty repetitive, but the strategy elements are easy and intuitive.

Graphics: 7.2
Nothing here really stands out, but Xyanide isn’t a shabby looking game by any means. No 480p support is a disappointment.

Sound: 7.1
Generic techno music and explosions are about all that’s going to be found here. The music is alright for “background noise”, but at least custom soundtracks are supported.

Difficulty: Hard
Xyanide is a very challenging game, the game’s difficulty adds to its replayability, requiring multiple playthroughs to achieve a higher score. People with short tempers should probably avoid Xyanide for the sake of their controllers.

Multiplayer: 6.7
The pretty much standard two player co-op is here, but alas, there’s no online play for this title.

Concept: 8.4
It’s the only game of this genre the Xbox is going to see, unless you can play import titles. It’s a healthy, welcome addition to the Xbox library.

Overall: 7.7
Xyanide is a good title and it’s got the odds in its favor as it’s only competition is in the form of Japanese-only games. Xyanide’s unique take on the shmup genre and the fact that it’s not only fun, but the only one of its kind make it very approachable. At only $20, you could do a lot worse, so do yourself a favor and pick up Xyanide, it’s one of the last worthwhile Xbox games there will ever be.