Game Stooge

This Week’s Arcade Titles: Elements of Destruction, Sea Life Safari

• Scribbled on June 17th, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
• Filed in Casual Gaming, Microsoft Xbox 360, New Release(s), Strategy, Xbox Live Arcade

Major Nelson has announced the releases this week for Xbox Live Arcade, Elements of Destruction and Sea Life Safari! It’s okay I’ve never heard of them either, but I’d never heard of Hexic before either and it turned out okay - because it’s impossible for me to get 6 black pearls. If you don’t know what these two new games are, and you don’t know if their worth the 800 points each that Microsoft wants for them, and you don’t want to be bothered with downloading the demo? Good thing we’re here.

Elements of Destruction is, of all things, a port of a DS game originally released last year by THQ. In Elements, you are Mother Nature (or Father) and it’s your job to show your uppity offspring, mankind, who is still in charge: You! Command tornadoes, lightning, earthquakes, thunderstorms, fires, etc. You can ravage cities, suburbs, the countryside as well. Apparently, in order to make the game less cool, there are also weather harnessing enemies to contend with as well. No one can just make a game about blowing stuff up can they? I certainly hope they didn’t try to work in some sort of story to this one. I’d say buy it if this was a 400 point title. Iffy at 800. I like destroying stuff just as much as the next guy but I don’t know if you’re going to take more than an hours worth of enjoyment out of this title.

Sea Life Safari also came out last year but on the PC. When I first saw the information on this game I figured it came out right after Finding Nemo did, in order to take advantage of the free undersea marketing, but no. (Of course it could have gone into development shortly after Finding Nemo and just taken 4 years to make). Sea Life Safari is exactly what it sounds like, you go virtual scuba diving and take pictures of virtual sea life. There is no harpooning mini-game. For some reason the developers didn’t think this was enough to get people to buy their game (it isn’t), so they added some backstory about helping a professor prove fish (and other sea creatures) have personalities, and then created a bunch of fish characters for you to interact with under the sea as well. I suggest if you want to experience scuba diving and take pictures of under water creatures, you contact PADI and do it for real.

There you go! One “maybe” and one “I’ll pass”. Here’s looking towards next week (where are you Bionic Commando Rearmed?)

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