The Xbox Live arcade is now open for business! In a bold move bringing the niceties of the online gaming world to consoles with bite-size treasures, Microsoft has indeed done right by subscribers. For roughly the price of a meal you get something a lot more enjoyable for a lot less calories and a lot longer than mouth-to-toilet time spans. Now, not only do you have behemoth games on disc to pop into your system but at a moment’s notice you can switch to these insanely easy-to-play treasures from or inspired by the arcade and PC gaming arenas. Today we focus on the more modern of these, the quirky and lovable Outpost Kaloki X.
Obviously inspired by the Sims, Outpost is a game that throws you in the shoes of an intergalactic contractor who tends to get himself in the strangest situations. You will find yourself building a myriad of stations catering to entertainment, information, nature, trade, etc., and each mission revolves around the proper balancing of these categories for your station in question. Of course you will also have other variables to deal with among the plentiful scenarios and stories but I won’t ruin the surprise there. What is important here is that a strategy fan can easily pick up this game and get addicted without having to do too much (like sending your Sim to the bathroom every 5 seconds, curse their cyber bladders!). Eventually during the story modes you will have many different processes going on and the action gets fast and furious as you’re trying to build that last key structure seconds before the clock runs out.
What is really appealing in addition to the gameplay is the sense of humor present here. It’s the quirky, off-beat jokes that keep the chuckles coming and cause you to smile while attempting to complete your objectives. Here the leaders don’t quite know what’s going on and the hero has to deal with their incompetence at every turn. One running joke that stands out to me in particular is during this scenario where you are attempting to build and maintain a profitable station whilst withstanding a constant barrage of meteors. Each time the meteorites assault your station the president of the station contacts you and in some way tells you each and every time that his scientists have informed him the danger has subsided. Apparently leaders in other galaxies are as inept as some of ours.
Visually of course Xbox Live arcade games are not Fight Night Round 3. Regardless, Outpost is not a disappointment by any means. One of the best looking games in the Xbox Live arcade library thus far, the game delivers unique, "cartoony", visuals falling somewhere between Nickelodeon cartoons and handheld Tony Hawk games in outer space. True to the humor present throughout, only Kaloki or Ren and Stimpy could see me taking commands from a humanoid with a fish for a head. Only one question remains, however: how does a humanoid with a fish for a head communicate?
Again, being that these games are so simplistic, don’t expect a feast for your ears either, but that’s what custom soundtracks are for! Seriously though, for what the game does put out for the ears, it’s nothing but entertaining. The schmaltzy, mad-cap theme that plays throughout the story is quirky and supports the fast-paced, multi-threaded nature of game play provided here.
Picking up the controller for Kaloki you have to deal with about a five to ten minute learning curve because let’s face it, strategy outings have never been easy on consoles, but after navigating the rather intuitive menu systems based on symbols it’s extremely easy to get a hold of things. One button will switch you over to comments that your patrons are making while the other brings you into your option menu should you want to check your objectives or change game settings. Shoulder buttons control time flow for those of you super genius types who can do things at high speeds and/or super impatient types who don’t want to wait for something to build, and finally the default controls see you navigating about your build sites.
If Outpost Kaloki X were a burger, it would be like ordering a 99 cent cheeseburger and finding a Double Big Mac on your tray instead; that is how much meat you are dealing with here. Already loaded with two storylines and multitudes of scenarios, there is a great base to take up weeks of gameplay if you were only playing this title. Then as of this writing there are three brand spanking new scenarios to download: one for the measly price of 200 points and the other two for absolutely nothing! You should have downloaded these yesterday! Also like any Xbox 360 game there are achievement points to be earned in order to compete with your friends, or if you’re like me, compete with your editor, who relentlessly plays any and every game in order to further the gap between his score and yours. His time will come... In any event points can be earned for beating certain chapters of the story mission or by beating chapters within a certain time limit and so forth and such.
The great thing about any and all of these Arcade games is that you can try them beforehand for, get this, absolutely nothing! So at my favorite price, what do you have to lose? If you’re reading this, I know you have an Internet connection. So sign on Live and download some arcade games. While you’re at it, strategy fans, download this title for a chance to unleash your inner control freak for a while. You know you want to.
