Hexic 2 and Ecco available on XBLA

I'll be trial-ing Hexic 2 when I get my 360 back.

Too bad that they didn't include the original Hexic HD colors here. The default colors for Hexic 2 are ugly.

Did anyone else have great times with Ecco The Dolphin when they were a kid? I did.

I remembered Ecco being kind of cool when I d/l'd it for the VC...boy was _that_ a waste of $8.

anyone have any comments on Hexic 2.... i was totally addicted to the first game for awhile and would really love to hear from someone that has already downloaded it!

@5.
I'll try the demo in a few and get back to ya!
As for the state of XBLA as it stands..I don't know about you guys, but I'm not assuming we'll ALWAYS have twofers on Wednesdays. I know it's been going on for quite some time now, but I remain cautiously pessimistic that we'll return two one release a week, if that, sometime after the new year.

That's based on nothing but pessimism, but right now, two a week sounds too good to last. We'll see how long this great streak runs!

(Streets of Rage, Puzzle Quest and Castle Crashers me ASAP)

Chris...I'm so gaming Castle Crashers with you and Knuckles...LOL

Downloading Hexic 2 now..it's funny that the more expensive game of the two this week is the smaller file (56mb as opposed to Ecco's 67mb)

@ 5.

Okay, here's my little 'drive-by' review of the trial version of Hexic 2.


I love the original Hexic, so based on that, I wasn't sure if these new changes would be worth $10. I still don't know, really. Here's my impressions of what I saw; take them for what you will.

The first and most dramatic change is the speed. Compared to the first Hexic game, I feel as if I'm being rushed or that I suddenly drank too much Game Fuel or something. Tiles fall quicker, matches disappear faster, and I don't know if I like that. One aspect of the original Hexic I love is it's slower, calm, chill speed.


The game has a decidedly much more 'tech' feel, with 3D everywhere and darker colors or muted colors to things. Colors aren't nearly as bright or chromatic as the they were, in general, in Hexic. If you want to make yourself really sick, take the right stick and swivel it around; the background moves! Blaaaaah!

Besides Marathon, the other game style I loved in Hexic was Survival. In Hexic 2, the locked tiles don't seem as obviously 'locked' as they should, and it took me a few milliseconds longer to realize which were 'locked' in place and which weren't. The 'locked' pieces appear to get some sort of metal 'boot' on them, like if you parked your car somewhere illegally and the cops booted you in place. The tiles' colors don't mute or get darker.

Is this worth ten bucks? Try it and decide for yourself. I'm still debating it myself. The biggest change is multiplayer, something I didn't try in this demo, but with the speed and ADD nature of Hexic 2, I can imagine I'll end up with some small stroke if I was in competition with someone. I don't think Hexic should be rushed, personally.

~Whiskey

@6

actually there was no twofer last week when they only released track & field...

@ 5.
Okay, here's my little 'drive-by' review of the trial version of Hexic 2.

I love the original Hexic, so based on that, I wasn't sure if these new changes would be worth $10. I still don't know, really. Here's my impressions of what I saw; take them for what you will.

The first and most dramatic change is the speed. Compared to the first Hexic game, I feel as if I'm being rushed or that I suddenly drank too much Game Fuel or something. Tiles fall quicker, matches disappear faster, and I don't know if I like that. One aspect of the original Hexic I love is it's slower, calm, chill speed.

The game has a decidedly much more 'tech' feel, with 3D everywhere and darker colors or muted colors to things. Colors aren't nearly as bright or chromatic as the they were, in general, in Hexic. If you want to make yourself really sick, take the right stick and swivel it around; the background moves! Blaaaaah!

Besides Marathon, the other game style I loved in Hexic was Survival mode. In Hexic 2, the locked tiles don't seem as obviously 'locked' as they should, and it took me a few milliseconds longer to realize which were 'locked' in place and which weren't. The 'locked' pieces appear to get some sort of metal 'boot' on them, like if you parked your car somewhere illegally and the cops booted you in place. The tiles' colors don't mute or get darker.

The biggest change is multiplayer, something I didn't try in this demo, but with the speed and ADD nature of Hexic 2, I can imagine I'll end up with some small stroke if I was in competition with someone. I don't think Hexic should be rushed, personally.

Check out the demo for yourself, because, as LeVar Burton says, "Don't take my word for it!" (Ba dum-bum!)

~Whiskey

i agree with magic,
the game speed is increased DRAMATICALLY, almost to the point of a twitch puzzler.

it's an interesting concept, building off the original, but it was a little too chaotic for me to see purchasing.

i would definitly label this one a try before you buy.

Well I played the demo before work and all I can say is, I'm on the fence. I was a huge fan of the original. My biggest complaint is the look. I think adding the "mechanical" look does not add any value the game. It's like the games artists got bored one day and convinced the developer that everything needed to look more complicated.

I find I lose my cursor alot and it's take me a little longer to find matches, problems I didn't have with the first game. Maybe it just takes a while to adjust to the graphics? Although I didn't think it would be a problem on my HDTV.The new game play elements in battle mode seem like they have a lot potential.

In conclusion I wish the graphics weren't bothering me so much but they do. I wouldn't be surprised if more causual gamers who like hexic 1 were turned off by that alone. If they had put the classic look in as an option I wouldn't have anything to complain about I guess. And I wanted to love this game!

I hope that, in an update, the highlight would be brighter on the tiles your cursor is on. I lost my place like Odog4ever seemed to.

I agree with your reviews also.... I got home from work yesterday and downloaded the full version and i have to say i did love it... but... the look is totally off... they should have not changed the look on the hexagons... other than that i think its a MUCH deeper game than the original... LOVED that i could play against someone online!