Friday, September 11, 2009

Bailout! - 80 points - Xbox Indie Game



The rundown from Xbox.com:
When the rich get poor they get a Bailout! Collect as much money as possible as it falls from the sky while avoiding suicidal stockbrokers. Don't forget to kick the homeless before they steal your free government money and use it for medical treatment. Get a job, hippies!


Pros:

- Great '8 bit' soundtrack
- Great '8 bit' graphics
- Humorous 'tongue-in-cheek' premise
- Money looks like tacos and cannonballs.
- Thorough, but easy to understand instructional guide.
- Decent amount of depth in the form of purchasable upgrades to your wallet, etc. and a timed 'sprint' button to grab money, or dodge danger.
- 'Classic' gameplay - dodge the falling objects while collecting other objects. Simple and fun premise that has stood the test of time.
- At only 80 pts ($1), it knows it's a quick diversion.

Cons:

- Difficult demo. I had to restart it several times because it boots you after two lives. Gamers with less diligence might just give up.
- Not THAT much depth. You're just running around, chasing a high score overall.
- No leaderboard to compare with friends or other XBL users.

Overall:
B-

Click here to add trial version to your download queue.
This review was based on the trial version of 'Bailout!'
EDIT: The lack of a leaderboard is a restriction of XBN publishing, not of the game developer. It's still something that would add to the game however!

2 comments:

  1. This should be pitched as a "lost" game based on the 1980s stock market crash.

    Good, quick breakdown of pros & cons. I would question the "8-bit" designation. What does the 2600 count as? 4-bit?

    ReplyDelete
  2. According to the interwubs, the 2600 was 8-bit. I had to fact check it myself before posting this article.

    ReplyDelete