Joystiq review: Joust demo, thy game is over

by Christopher Grant { Nov 19th 2005 at 6:00PM }

In addition to Gauntlet, Midway has brought the esteemed Joust over to the 360's Live Arcade service. Like Gauntlet, it has undergone some cosmetic touches; however, there is some debate at Joystiq HQ over the fidelity of the loft-to-button-press ratio. There is a delegation that believes this version plays poorly because it is too hard to keep your trusty ostrich afloat while another thinks this is exactly how the original played, that the other delegation has poor memory, and that this is all a result of using an ostrich as a vehicle.

The demo offers a limited numer of waves (levels) where you are tasked with bouncing on the heads of competing jousters. This isn�t really how jousting works but we�re willing to overlook this infraction. It makes sense that this classic title would be on the Arcade service; it offers compelling gameplay and enough nostalgia to make anyone feel like a little kid again. When titles like Geometry Wars cost the same $5 though, it�s hard to recomend Joust for more than retro-appeal.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Steve-in @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM

ooo first post

Cacophony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM

Joust is one of the best arcade games ever made, in my opinion. I lived in SF until recently, and there was a vintage Joust coin-op in arcade in the Sony Metreon. Anyone know of an original in NYC?

Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM

I hope that, when asked for feedback on the 360 from Microsoft, you tell them to fix downloads so that they can continue to download while you do other things like play an offline or arcade game.
This is the only real flaw I've seen to the system so far. 500+ MB demos you'd have to let sit overnight (or at least during a long dinner) It doesnt make much sense that you shouldnt be able to watch a DVD or play a game in the meantime.