A rivalry as old as the world itself... a war that pits brother against brother, father against son, neighbor against neighbor... In what is probably the most important decision you'll ever have to make, where will you place your support? Pirates or Ninjas?
For extra added enjoyment, if you're one of those and can't choose between pirates or ninjas, there are robots and zombies as well. There's a themed map with appropriate music for each faction as well.
Blazing Lizard was proudly displaying their upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, at EIEIO 2008 this past weekend and I got my hands on it. Personally, I fall on the Ninjas-always-stomp-pirate-ass-so-STFU side of the debate, so I was more than happy to wade in with my mask, katana, and face-crushing dodgeball skills. The game itself reminds me of an old Nintendo game called "Super Dodgeball." There's no 'court,' there's no line dividing the teams or 'prisons' where your struck party members will go. It's an open field of jumping, sprinting, katana vs. cutlass, broken-glass dodgeball carnage.
The games I played were 2v2, and from the controls and feel of the game, it's going to fit perfectly on XBLA. There's nothing super-complicated about the game. You can run, jump, catch the ball, pass the ball, slash with your sword to stun, throw the ball at some poor bit*ENEMY'S* face, and use special attacks when your meter has filled up-- I didn't really figure out what fills the meter... I was too busy laughing while imagining the virtual bruises I was leaving on my victims... but there is definitely a meter that fills up. [Ed. -The meter fills up when you run around not attacking someone. It will drop when you do.]
There's a fatigue meter as well for each member of the team. Once you have the ball in hand, you'll start to tire. Eventually, you'll slow down and end up as fresh meat for the other team. Effectively, this keeps the nice people on the interwebs from hogging the ball all the time.
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball - I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. If you decide to pick it up I suggest you go Ninja. If not, you need to watch for me, because I'm coming for your [Ed. -edited for inappropriate content].
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 11 and 13 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
