Tag Archives: Wreckateer

Wreckateer (Xbox 360)

Wreckateer

Developer(s) – Iron Galaxy Studios

Publisher(s) – Microsoft Studios

PEGI – 7

Released back in 2012, Wreckateer was one of the few games released exclusively for use with the Xbox 360’s ill-fated Kinect motion sensor peripheral. Providing a fairly unique twist on the premise of Angry Birds, I happen to think it is better. Though not without its flaws.

Graphics – 5/10

Conceptually, the game perpetuates the medieval fantasy archetype, and there’s nothing present to make it stand out visually to any great extent. On a technical level, the graphics are just below the standard of what players would have been used to at the time, which was surprising to me, since Microsoft Studios published the game, and around that time, there was more effort focused on Kinect games than there ever has been since, with the release of games such as Fable: The Journey, and more Xbox 360 games than ever being given some form of compatibility with the sensor; including Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim.

Gameplay – 7/10

The concept of the game is to try and steer cannonballs into castles using the Kinect sensor and try to decimate each castle in each level as much as possible. There are several different types of cannonball to use, and several different challenges throughout the game. The different types of weapons make for an amount of variety on par with Angry Birds, but in my opinion, it’s a lot more enjoyable, as well as more challenging and rewarding.

Controls – 10/10

In many games to use the Kinect, I’ve had quite a few issues regarding how it works and how difficult it can be to cope with at times, and has since made me extremely skeptical of it; especially against the Wii, which most likely compelled the creation of both the Kinect and PlayStation Move. But Wreckateer is so far the only game I’ve played that makes adequate use of the Kinect and poses no complications in the process.

Originality – 6/10

Although this game was heavily based on an already existing concept made popular by Angry Birds, Wreckateer took it into the realm of 3D and did a fairly good job of it, whilst also taking advantage of an unconventional control scheme, which is even more impressive. So whilst there isn’t a great deal of uniqueness in terms of visual design, there is indeed a fair bit in terms of both gameplay and controls.

Happii

Overall, Wreckateer is a fairly decent title, and in my opinion, one of which was in 2012 unfortunately. And unfairly fell through the cracks along with the likes of Dishonored and Mark of the Ninja. It may not be the first game to play out the way it plays out, but in my opinion, it’s so far the best.

Score

28/40

7/10 (Fair)