So a little about how the game plays. You must avoid different strains of infections at all cost or it's game over. There's 7 different strains that all have their own abilities and you have to pick up rocks across the map in order to kill the strains. Once you throw a rock you must go collect it again, if it's safe, so you can throw it again. You can collect a few rocks at a time so it's not always shoot once, collect once. To shoot you have to hold one of the face buttons (A/B/X/Y) and you get a cursor which you can use to help you aim. The only drawback that keeps this from being an enjoyable experience is that you're froze while trying to aim. You can shoot directly in front of you while moving but without a cursor it's impossible to hit anything reliably. The only way to really kill things is to just get close enough to them so they chase you, and get your cursor lined up so they walk into your shots. The strains randomly move around so killing them while they aren't chasing you is near impossible.
The game offers a ton of custom options that make any and every game you play different. You can change how many strains there are, the difficulty, the speed, the map and the list goes on. Maps are randomly generated based on options so that always gives a fresh feeling to the gameplay. I tried playing on Insane difficulty and everything is faster than you so if a strain sneaks up on you you're dead because you can't turn around fast enough to do anything. Maybe it's better in multiplayer where someone can watch your back.
The game offers up to 4 player local co-op/versus which is pretty neat because once one of you gets infected you can chase your buddies around and slow them down so the strains infect them also. Since there's no high scores or stat saving, besides and end of round results, playing with friends is a must to enjoy the game over a period of time.
Rating - 6/10
Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteIt's humbling to report that I should have listened to the feedback I received when I tested 7strains. I've thought a lot about this, and I feel that I cannot move forward until I improve my game. I'd like to think that I have a high quality expectation for the things I release, unfortunately, due to my excitement of releasing my first game, 7strains fell below that bar.
I plan to address:
-- In-game achievements
-- High scores (local & possibly global)
-- Aiming while moving
-- More customizing options
-- Player stats (per gamertag to show all game averages: kills, throws, hits, rocks picked up, rocks thrown, players killed, etc.)
All these changes may take weeks to months, though it's something I must do. I'm about making fun games and if people don't like them, then there is no point. Expect a radically new version of 7strains soon!
Thanks again for your review!
~DustinTigner
Twitter: @DustinTigner
Using the word achievements is illegal so make sure you call them awards or awardments as some people do.
ReplyDeleteI thought the stats at the end of each round (accuracy and such) were pretty cool but they just got erased so there wasn't much concern for trying to do well.
I'm glad to see some people caring enough to make something fun and enjoyable and even modify existing games but make sure you realize that you can never please everyone!
Ah, I didn't know I couldn't call them Achievements, that's rather odd. I guess Microsoft doesn't want to confuse players with the real achievement system. Thanks for the warning!
ReplyDeleteI'll do my best to please everyone, though know that sometimes you have to drop a feature for another feature, which leaves someone unhappy. Well, such as life.
Thanks for the reply!
~Dustin Tigner