Downloadable Content Review Wrap-Up! (Page 2 of 3)

Omega Five (XBLA)

Looks aren't everything, which is an important thing to remember when deciding whether or not to purchase Omega Five, a new title on Xbox Live Arcade. Gamers are sure to be blown away by the dazzling graphics and frenetic pace, but after a while it's obvious that Omega Five is the Jessica Simpson of games - pretty to look at but without much substance.

Back in the day, side-scrollers dominated consoles. If you were an Italian plumber or a blue hedgehog, you could only move to the right - the gaming equivalent of Zoolander. Omega Five has made old school new, taking the side-scroller into breathtaking 3-D. The stunning visuals are on full display from the start, with attacks coming from all sides as the screen slowly moves right. The characters, two to start with and two unlocked later, are also easy on the eyes. There's Ruby, a leggy, blond babe is reminiscent of Seven of Nine, and Tempest, a four-armed freak so confident, he only uses two arms to shoot. It's a visual feast and a sweat inducing challenge, but the fun doesn't last.

The gameplay gets old quick. Shoot, scroll, shoot, scroll. Lather, rinse, repeat. Omega Five falls victim to the glaring weaknesses of the worst side-scrollers of old - enemies always do the same thing in the same place, making creative thinking verboten. The redundant gameplay combined with the poor save system, absent online multiplayer, and incomprehensible plot makes for a game that's all beauty, no brains. --Terry Terrones


Graphics: 5.0
Sound: 3.0
Controls: 2.5
Fun Factor: 2.5

Pinball FX (XBLA)

It's an established fact that pinball has been underused in video game history. Until recently this sad legacy extended to XBLA; however, this has all changed with the release of Pinball FX, perhaps the best pinball game we've seen in recent history.

Pinball FX is just the kind of typical pinball game you'd probably expect. No special frills are really included, just three tables with the full game, along with two downloadable tables (one of which is free). The tables themselves are all fairly good, with some nice variation - you've got a car themed one, a hip-hop themed one, and a secret agent themed one included in the stock game. However, while they are nice enough, they are all fairly cramped, giving you a little less space all around than you might think would be included in a real pinball machine. There's also the fact that they don't include the kind of variety you might expect to see in real pinball machines, rendering them a little blander than might have been hoped for. Thankfully, one of the earlier problems with the game - the lack of tables - has been somewhat resolved with the release of two new tables since Pinball FX came out several months ago, though players will undoubtedly take issue with the rather tardy release of new tables. -- Andrew Dagley


Graphics: 4.25
Sound: 4.00
Controls: 4.0
Fun Factor: 3.75

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