Wreckateer is a game whose appeal is rooted in the fundamental human truth that smashing stuff to bits is brilliant fun. It's essentially a Kinect-powered first-person Angry Birds - the main differences being that you're using a ballista rather than a slingshot and your objective is to bring down the structures that house your green-skinned foe (here it's goblins rather than pigs) than the smirking enemy themselves. It's a decent idea, but it lacks the immediacy of Rovio's game while sharing all of its flaws.
At least the controls aren't an issue. It feels like damning a game with faint praise to say its controls work, but it's an important distinction to make when it comes to Kinect. To fire a shot, you step forward, clasp your hands together and step backwards, adjusting your aim by moving left and right or holding your hands higher or lower. To release the projectile you spread your arms, before influencing its trajectory while airborne. For standard missiles it's a case of moving a pair of onscreen hands to pat it in any direction, while a winged shot can be steered by holding your arms out like an aeroplane. Sure, it's best played with the curtains shut, but you'll rarely be left cursing Kinect.
Sadly, it runs out of ideas by the halfway point (there's no online play), offering little more than increasingly steep medal targets that put you at the mercy of the game's rather inconsistent physics. Worse still, some levels have very rigid solutions, which sit awkwardly next to the knockabout, anything-goes approach of the early game. By this stage you're left with a one-trick pony that's too stubborn to do the one thing it's good at any more. What a pity.
Words by Chris Schilling. Tempted despite the downers? Buy Wreckateer here for 800 MP.
3 comments so far...
Decent_Jam on 23 Jul '12 said:
What flaws do you think this shares with Angry Birds?
I think the fact that games like this come out with a good idea (admittedly not original) and then don't run with it is a real disappointment. Sure when Kinect was brand new then something like this might be forgiveable, but to make such basic mistakes as not pushing the envelope with a game is just disappointing.
Thos. on 24 Jul '12 said:
Sounds like a direct clone of Boom Blox on the Wii, which introduced many different mechanics in different levels, and is massively fun. Odd how they'd drop the ball (so to speak) when they had such a classic to copy.
MICHAEL.PEARCE10 on 5 Aug '12 said:
I notice that one of the main noticed item in the original reqiew would show that this item shares some flaws with the ever so popular Angry Birds. I too would like to ask how this is conciveable? Angry Birds is a game built around mathmatical equaitions, in the simplicity if you have a great grasp of these equations then it becomes very simple to have massive sucess with the game.
From the short time that I have spent with this game I see no real comparison with this thought from Angry Birds and that of Wreckateer. Wreckateer stands alone in its simplicity of game play, ideally suited for those of a younger age or maybe as a group game to add some sort of competition aspect to this.
As with all games of this type it seems to descend from the same mechanics of its predecessors with a slight twist on the 'story' (a term used very lightly) to the artistry used to colour in your screen. There does not actually seem to be any real replay value to this game which is a bit of a shame as it had the workings to of been very successful, but as with most kinect XBLA game there seems to be a recurring feel of each game being rushed slightly.
The mechanics seem to run very smoothly with this game, I did notice some slight lag with the later stages which did frustrate me somewhat, but in turn it will keep you entertained for the first hour or two. With its lack of replay factor an the ease of game play it will not take very long for this to become another item clogging up you Xbox 360 hard drive.
Not to say that this is not a fun game, because as I say it will be to begin with..... then it gets repeatedly more repetitive for repeated repetition of the repeat which is repeated levels that get another repeated go.
So really this is simple, its a great beginning game an had the recipe to be something more then it repeated, but unless you are playing in group settings to add some sense of competition then this will very quickly leave your mind, unless it repeats itself of course.