Graphical overloads come in pairs.
I’ll preface this with: I am a cranky old bastard who doesn’t like the idea of buying games as download versions, because having physical media around makes me feel all secure and comfortable and safe and stuff.
On the other hand, Jeff Minter put out a game on Xbox Live Arcade. This makes me suck it up and deal with the idea of a download-only purchase.
And it (Space Giraffe) is goodness. It is shooty and musicy and all the things one wants from a Minter game. It is also bloody hard and I die a lot after about level 10. This is also kind of as expected from a Minter game.
I had to buy 1600 Microsoft points to buy this 400 Microsoft point game, so I had 1200 Microsoft points left over. I bought Geometry Wars.
Geometry Wars is also goodness. It doesn’t have the Minter touch, but it is also shooty and musicy and very much a “zone” game.
Hmm. Could “Minter” be a genre? You could stick stuff like Geometry Wars, Robotron X, maybe Rez into the “Minter” Genre and they would all go together fairly well.
It fits neatly into the standard game genres between “Fighting” and “Puzzle”. A gap which, I think everyone can agree, needs a little filler.
I still have 800 Microsoft Points to spend. I’m thinking that I’ll probably break down and buy the Street Fighter II HD version when it finally comes out, since I haven’t bought a new Street Fighter II game since the 3D0.
