X06: Mini-impressions -- THP8, Lumines, Fuzion Frenzy 2

A quick round up of some of the other games at Microsoft's X06 party tonight:
- Tony Hawk's Project 8: The marquee new feature, already well-known, is the ability to slow down time to perform individualized tricks, using an analog stick to control each leg. The timing takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few minutes you'll be busting out some ridiculous combos -- and actually understanding what goes into the tricks to boot. Besides that the game seems like the same old Tony Hawk, though being able to choose the desired difficulty of each goal on the fly is a nice improvement.
- Lumines Live: The Xbox Live version of the PSP puzzler is actually significantly harder to control -- neither the analog stick nor the digital pad are precise enough for quick moves. Playing on a big screen is nice, but it actually makes it harder to take in the whole playfield with one quick glance. And the new mission mode seems intriguing, but there are only five levels available unless you purchase an additional mission pack. Yikes!
- Fuzion Frenzy 2: Only three mini-games were playable, though there were 43 listed in-game. My favorite was Sumo Paint, featuring rolling, bumping spheres battling for position and control of floor space. Seems like a decent enough drinking game with friends in the room, but not as appealing over Xbox Live.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Usedtabe @ Sep 27th 2006 11:20PM
Fuzion Frenzy 2 FTW!!
Sorry, loved the 1st game
007craft @ Sep 27th 2006 11:21PM
that fuzen frenzy 2 game you played has been on marketplace in demo form for 3 days now. You need to buy a 360 instead of just getting joystiq to pay for your trips for news coverage.
I do hope to try Tony hawk 8 tho.
Iced_Eagle @ Sep 27th 2006 11:36PM
I LOVED Fusion Frenzy for the original Xbox.
I'm glad to see they brought back some old classics (I loved "Twisted System" for the original where you had to jump/duck to avoid getting hit. I'm glad I saw the same concept being ported over to FF2 (It was listed in the mini-game list)
gamesarefun @ Sep 28th 2006 7:48AM
I just want my Lumines for Jebus' sake. D'oh!
Blake @ Sep 28th 2006 2:34AM
I actually excited about a Tony Hawk game for the first time since number 2!
Blake @ Sep 28th 2006 2:35AM
No I'm not asian that was a typo!
Kenofthedead @ Sep 28th 2006 5:31AM
I miss the days when pulling off hard combos and getting high scores actually meant something for Tony Hawk games.
Oh well, that was last century, who cares now. It's all about bullet time now.
Is the speed issue for moving blocks in Lumines Live a controller issue or a game issue? Because I can always get another controller to make up for it.
OtakuCODE @ Sep 28th 2006 10:36AM
Was there any sign of Shadowrun anywhere on the floor? I saw a quick clip of it on one of the press briefing videos (might have been one of the Japan-exclusive ones, I'm not sure) and I'm desperate for more! Please if you see it, snap some shots and get some info!
Rootbeer @ Sep 28th 2006 12:10PM
Oh wow you can see the company logo on the rubber tread on the bottom of his sneaker now! This is a revolutionary step forward in fun and gameplay!
Stephen Almada @ Sep 29th 2006 7:30AM
i love lumines, but hate PSP so this should be a great way to get my fox without playing cheap flash representations.