Family Reviews are done with the family in mind. In these reviews, the casual player and young ones have a say, as well as the older mature gamers. This allows the reader to balance the comments and come to a more accurate conclusion based on the opinions of a variety of gamers.
So, rock polisher, you think you have what it takes to be a Wreckateer?
Iron Galaxy Studios brings us a delightfully destructive Xbox Live Arcade game utilizing the Kinect sensor. The last few years have seen many Angry Birds games and their clones flocking to our consoles, PCs, and smartphones. But Wreckateer may owe it’s lineage to a different series, Crush the Castle.
If Crush the Castle were a kinect game, it might look like Wreckateer at first glance, but the comparisons end with castles and crushing. Wreckateer brings a creative twist to the destruction genre and it has the potential to appeal to the whole family.
Gameplay
The story isn’t much to speak of, and isn’t really needed, but it helps to explain (kind of) your reason for wrecking shop on all these goblins.
Two wrecking crew masters take you on as an apprentice. You learn the ropes and are on your way to being a “wreckateer”. As a wreckateer-in-training, it is your job to destroy the many castles and cottages that grace the hills. To do this, you use a ballista, a medieval artillery weapon. Since this is a Kinect game, you get to work this ballista with good old fashioned elbow grease. You step forward and “grab” the ballista, stepping backward increases your tension and therefore your shot power. You can pull to the left or right, up or down, and spread your arms to “let go”. Your projectile will fly towards your (hopefully intended) target, and you get scored based on the results. Once airborne, you have few ways you can interact with the shot to guide it in mid-air, from whacking it sideways or giving it a speed boost.
High scores increase your multiplier, and when your last shot is scored, you will be given a bronze, silver, or gold medal according to your performance. Along the way from your ballista to your target, there are icons that can provide a powerup to your shot. There are also score icons that give you an easy 5000 or 10000 points here and there.
Your ammunition includes normal stones, flying shots (where you stick your arms out like a human airplane and guide the shot in), bomb shots (boom!) and others. The variety is quite nice and the effect they have on gameplay and strategy is welcome.
Logan, age 11, played Wreckateer and, being a fan of Angry Birds, was immediately infatuated with the destruction and scoring mechanic. He told me, “I feel like I want to give it 5 stars, but I haven’t played the whole game yet. But I really like it so far.” Logan doesn’t typically like Kinect games, but found it fun to control the shots after launching them, and listed that as his favorite part of the game.
When asked what his least favorite part of the game was, Logan couldn’t think of anything. I asked him if he thought his friends would like the game. He responded, “If they have Kinect, I think people would enjoy it.”
Graphics
This is an XBLA title, and a Kinect one at that, so don’t expect eye melting visuals. What you get with Wreckateer is a clean looking arcade game with a splash of character (mostly provided by the goblins and your own avatar). Textures range from smeary to serviceable, though this is offset by the very smooth framerate. Visually, Wreckateer is simple. No skyscrapers lining the horizon. No city dwellers to draw or animate. It’s castles and bombs and goblins.
Sound
I was pleasantly surprised by the sound in Wreckateer. From the funny, if dumb, banter that comes from your trainers, to the subtle voice overs at the map screen, I enjoyed the voice work. It’s level of camp was fitting for a game of this scope.
The explosion sounds and other effects get the point across, there is always a sound to go with a visual cue. Like the graphics, the sound in Wreckateer is simple but effective.
Multiplayer
There is a nice mode for those of you who still like local multiplayer. You take turns with one another trading shots at your target castle. It’s pretty much the single player levels, but now you only get to shoot every other shot. Whoever has the highest score wins. In my case, that was Logan.
The shot leaderboard is very cool and shows you a shot by shot comparison with you and any friends who have played Wreckateer. I found myself going back and playing levels to be the top of the leaderboard. This adds replay value for you competitive types.
FameStar
Wreckateer is the first new title to utilize Avatar FameStar. This is an achievement hunter’s new favorite thing. You get weekly challenges, with the prospect of unlocking special avatar goodies. You get points for completing challenges. Other games will feature FameStar in the coming weeks, but you see it here first.
Parting shot
If you have a Kinect-loving bone in your body, you owe it to yourself to try Wreckateer. It’s 10 bucks, kids dig it, you wreck stuff, it’s good clean fun. It’s easy to get into and tough to master. Whether you will still be playing it 3 months from now remains to be seen, but it’s fun now.
Four out of Five