Hands-on: 0 Day Attack on Earth (XBLA)
by Xav de Matos 
{ Oct 1st 2009 at 3:15PM }
Hidden in the back of its large TGS booth, Square Enix had three Xbox Live Arcade titles on display last week, one of which was 0 Day Attack on Earth.
A twin-stick shooter -- finally! -- 0 Day puts players in control of a fighter jet fending off an alien attack. Throw darts at a board littered with game premises and this is where many of them land. The problem isn't that the game mimics the mechanics of so many other titles available on XBLA -- because twin-stick shooters can still be good -- it's that 0 Day Attack on Earth just isn't compelling.
A twin-stick shooter -- finally! -- 0 Day puts players in control of a fighter jet fending off an alien attack. Throw darts at a board littered with game premises and this is where many of them land. The problem isn't that the game mimics the mechanics of so many other titles available on XBLA -- because twin-stick shooters can still be good -- it's that 0 Day Attack on Earth just isn't compelling.
Gallery: 0 Day Attack on Earth (XBLA)
The game does feature co-op play; and three computer-controlled ships flank the player's as support when playing offline. This is arguably 0 Day's best (if only) original feature. Players fly through an environment with a view comparable to the recently released Star Trek: D.A.C. and attack large, incomprehensibly-designed alien invaders.
0 Day may not present an interesting experience, but it does manage the tight controls needed for a solid twin-stick shooter. As enemy ships rotated and shifted position, I followed alongside in a tight circling pattern, rotating the game's camera with either trigger. However, even the most daunting of enemy raiders went down with barely a fight, which made surviving less a game challenge and more a battle against my personal interest. The game suffers from very slow gameplay, and even my ship's boost ability couldn't break free up this tortoise pace.
It doesn't appear that 0 Day Attack on Earth is on track to release outside of Japan, but if Square Enix does decide to bring it to North America and elsewhere, the publisher needs to ramp up the game's generic gameplay to compliment an otherwise engaging visual style.
0 Day may not present an interesting experience, but it does manage the tight controls needed for a solid twin-stick shooter. As enemy ships rotated and shifted position, I followed alongside in a tight circling pattern, rotating the game's camera with either trigger. However, even the most daunting of enemy raiders went down with barely a fight, which made surviving less a game challenge and more a battle against my personal interest. The game suffers from very slow gameplay, and even my ship's boost ability couldn't break free up this tortoise pace.
It doesn't appear that 0 Day Attack on Earth is on track to release outside of Japan, but if Square Enix does decide to bring it to North America and elsewhere, the publisher needs to ramp up the game's generic gameplay to compliment an otherwise engaging visual style.
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CapNJunkie @ Oct 1st 2009 3:20PM
Finally! A twin stick shooter for XBLA!
xuchaoxio56 @ Oct 28th 2009 9:58PM
http://www.voguemalls.com
_________________________$$$$$$$__________
________________________$$$$$$$$$$________
________________________$$$$$$$$$$$_______
_________________________$$$$$$$$$$$______
__________________________$$$$$$$$$$$_____
_____________________________$$$$$$$$$____
___________________________$$$$$$$$$$_____
________________________ $$$$$$$$$$$$$____
________________$$$______$$$$$$$$$$$$$$___
______________$$$$$$$$_____$$$$$$__$$$$$__
_____________$$$$$$$$$$_____$$$$____$$$$$_
___________$$$$$$_$$$$$$$$__$$$$______$$$$
__________$$$$$_____$$$$$$$$_$$$$_______$$$
___ _____$$$$$_________$$$$$$$$$$$$_______$$$
_______ $$$_____________$$$$$$$$$$$________$$$
_____$$$__ ______________$$$$$$$$$$________$$$$$$
wholesale shoes,jean,cap,handbag,sunglass,short,ha...
All products sold at the website with good quality,free shipping,the price is competitive. which can accept paypal. I have bought products from them.
sneaker: airmax 90, 95 etc $28-35 free shiping.
boots: UGG etc $35 free shiping.
Jeans : polo etc $28-35 free shipping
T-shirts : A&f etc $11-18 free shipping.
hoodies: 5ive etc $28-35 free shipping
handbags: Ed hardy etc $35 free shipping
Sunglasses: LV etc $8-12 free shipping
Belts: BOSS etc $8-12 free shipping
Caps: red bull etc $8-10 free shipping
Watches:rolex etc $40—80 free shipping
============ http://www.voguemalls.com =============
....
.........
Big D. @ Oct 1st 2009 6:18PM
The visuals are very cool. I love the look of it. But if the gameplay sucks then it's obviously wasted.
Dr.Nerd @ Oct 2nd 2009 1:15AM
Great graphics.
SABCA @ Oct 2nd 2009 2:51PM
Squeenix makes an arcade game, and it looks... like any random 360 game that takes place in towns or cities.
Bah, it looks so uninspired for a Japanese-developed game. I mean, the graphics are good quality, sure, but it's just ships and towns with greys and browns... -sigh-
But maybe there's some story or... something that we're not seeing. A commentary of "generic gameplay" doesn't mean much in this case, If there's some hidden scoring depths, or the gameplay feels spot-on, then it could still be pretty cool. Awesome that we get playable demos for each XBLA release!
So far, I think Gyromancer looks to be much more well rounded than this. Yet, this still looks worth a good try.
360 is easly the system of "Ain't broke, don't fix" when it comes to game genres...