This week's Xbox Live Arcade releases include Capcom's Age of Booty and the China-produced Crazy Mouse. Here's my take on the demos.
Age of Booty
Capcom brings real-time strategy to XBLA with the pirate-themed Age of Booty, and from what I've played, it should please many. Play revolves around controlling your pirate ship -- followed by an AI companion -- around a map, as you plunder villages and try to blast away enemy ships. As you take control of villages, you start collecting resources that allow you to eventually upgrade your ship or the defenses of villages you control.
Playing alone is lots of fun, but multiplayer is where the game really shines. You can play either in 4-player split-screen or with up to seven other players online over 25 multiplayer maps. The demo gives you a 2-day timed access to multiplayer, but that should be enough to help convince you whether this is the game for you.
There's even an editor that lets you create your own maps -- or edit the ones provided with the game -- which you can then share with friends. Add to this graphics that look terrific, and I can't see any reason not to at least give the title a try.
Crazy Mouse
This action puzzle title comes to us from China -- the first Xbox Live Arcade game to do so, in fact
-- and based on that I was really hoping it would bring something new and fresh to XBLA. But having played through some of the single-player stages (the multiplayer is locked in the demo), I can't say that I particularly enjoyed my time with it. I really liked the colorful pop graphics, but the gameplay just wasn't fun. For a mouse that's described as "crazy," I found its movement to be slow, and even frustrating when you're trying to race your on-screen opponents. Playing with friends might prove to be more enjoyable, but I'm not willing to buy it to find out.
Age of Booty is priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), while Crazy Mouse goes for 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Both titles are available in all regions, except Japan for Booty.
Images courtesy Microsoft
See also:
