Xotic Review
Xotic sticks out like a sore thumb amongst other shooters. A simple glance at a screenshot will prove this. There are colours barfed up everywhere and it appears that more familiar weaponry such as a standard barrel-and-trigger gun, has been replaced with a large fly. You are bound to question exactly what it is that you are looking at and how many drugs you have taken. But while Xotic may look a million miles away from your typical shooter, it is arguably more of a shooter than the current majority in the genre. You are probably more interested in the fly though, aren’t you?
So let’s get the question that is bugging you the most out of the way; why the hell is a giant fly being used as a gun?! The truth is, that is still a bit of a mystery, but in the game this ‘gun’ is actually the only thing that can save the world! Rather B-movie don’t you think? You play as an alien being that has been created with the Macroterra weapon attached to your arm — the giant fly of your curiosities. With this, you have to do a spot of, what I like to term, speed gardening. This may sound like an old man’s sport, but allow me to elaborate for it really lends itself to some very satisfying gameplay. So there is this giant Orb floating around fouling up planets by infecting them with evil plant life; I know, what a bastard. Your basic mission is to get through the mess that the Orb has left behind before taking the giant zit out yourself by the game’s end. Armed with the Macroterra weapon, you shoot your way through the various levels, with most of your time being spent popping off scab plants, turrets and collecting gems on the way, rather than going up against enemies as such. There are enemies though, but they simply act as a minor distraction from the core gameplay which is to build up the highest score possible.
How much more arcade can you get? Every thing that you shoot adds to the tallying score at the top of the screen and the slightly odd and admittedly cheap-sounding voice over guy will tell you when you shoot a Mega Brain or perform an Aerial Combo. It is very bizarre indeed, but only on the side of its presentation. Speaking of which, the game is not going to blow you away with its textures or modelling. But the gushing liquids that exuberate in the sky as you burst the aqueous plant forms, combined with the mesmeric haze of reds and greens is a mouth-opening marvel. Psychedelically beautiful, even. The game-play will sober you right back up though as it requires a speed and precision that we have not really felt since the days when Quake was the online shooter. To build up the biggest score the player will need to be quick on the trigger finger and move not only across the levels but to all kinds of vertical heights.
Exploring each of the wondrously varied levels is initially counter-intuitive though. Unfortunately the jumping is very floaty; which is good when attempting to pass through a cluster of floating gems but pure bile when climbing up or trying to land on a precise spot. But wait, there is a solution! Utilizing the Holograms the player can create platforms underneath them as they jump – this basically grants an all access pass to the level. It almost feels like cheating. It isn’t however, and proves to be an invaluable tactic to shoot everything possible in the level, and at a decent speed as well. If anything could be described as drive-by ballet, this would be it.
Each level comes to a close when all the enemies have been defeated, or the timer runs out. At this point your accuracy, time remaining, amount of objects shot, and the difficulty level all adds to your final score. Of course there are global leaderboards that you are slotted into and are going to want to climb. This age-old, score-based feedback derives straight from the arcades and fits Xotic perfectly. Combined with the addictive shooting mechanics, the game becomes hard to put down. There is just something about the way the scabs pop in a domino effect, and speed running to get the highest score that gets the pleasure center part of your brain craving for more. Perhaps the ultimate sense of satisfaction is keeping a chain reaction going for as long as possible to reach the highest scores. It’s a scoregasmic experience.
Just to make sure you are determined to keep on playing, you also earn experience points after each level which can be spent on upgrades to the like of armour and health as well as new ammo types. Although the latter sounds like a good idea and unlocking them all is certainly a driving factor behind your inevitable addiction, they do not actually turn out so well in-game. The reason for this is that scrolling through the ammo types is too awkward and most of them only really help you with taking out the relatively small number of hostiles in the levels. As should be obvious by now, your main focus is shooting the rest of the environment and by far the quickest and easiest way to do this is to use the default ammo. The other types are quite fun to use though if you want to just try them out; a personal favourite being a small fly crawling up to the front of your weapon to be fired as a homing missile. Another reason to stay with the default ammo is that there are power ups to collect around the levels that work best with it – the speed shot turns it into a fully automatic machine gun.
Aside from a few technical errors which the developers are quick to alleviate when told about them, Xotic is a rather fun and addictive shooter. It is certainly more visually appealing than anything else with a marine shouting “Hoorah” in it. Players will soon find that the gameplay is as satisfying as popping all the bubbles in a sheet of bubblewrap. After a few levels you will feel the need to shoot something that pops again and again. Not only will that be driving you to come back, but finding the perfect run through each level in the fastest time is going to pull you in for several hours, the replayability is astounding especially when you consider the small price tag. Xotic is different and bizarre enough to work, and its adherence to the arcade shooter is a welcome change in the overcrowded genre. Looking for a new addiction and love the feel of classic shooters? Then give Xotic a try, especially under the influence of hallucinogens…that may not be such good advice actually.
Review summary Pros:
Visually pleasing if bizarre, addictive leaderboard-based gameplay, varied levels, different from everything else
Cons:
Some technical errors, gun upgrades don't feel necessary, jumping is floatable although this can be worked around
Rating: 87%
More info on Xotic and WXP Games can be found at the official website.
