New Xbox Live Arcade game - Feeding Frenzy, very shmup-like!

[neojma]

Don't know if this game has been discussed here, I didn't see it. There's a PC version as well, but I played it on 360 after downloading it from Live Arcade the other day and it rivals Geometry Wars for quick twitch action. So yeah, you don't shoot anything. Nothing shoots at you. But hear me out, it's ABSOLUTELY shmup gameplay mechanics and your shmup skills will transfer very well to playing Feeding Frenzy.

You start out as a small fish, and can eat other small fish. Bigger fish can eat you. Once you eat enough you grow in size and can eat the fish that used to be able to eat you. Eat more, grow again and you can eat even larger fish, etc. That's the basic gameplay. It's in 2D, horizontal orientation, each level is a big rectangle a little bit larger than the screen (so the screen scrolls a little bit).

How is it like a shump? It's TOTAL enemy evasion and item collection. You have to dart through small openings just like bullet spray in a Psikyo game. You pick up score multiplier bonuses and point items. You have to worry about your "hit box" of your mouth - running into a small fish with your tail won't eat it, you have to get the mouth hitbox on the smaller fish. Even going after the small fish feels so much like picking up point medallions in a game like Giga Wing or a Cave shooter - you have to collect the good things and not run into the bad things. You also have to avoid some other onscreen items like mines/bombs, paralyzing jellyfish, etc. There are even special attacks (for later fish that you can control) that have a timer until you can use them again. For instance, you can suck in nearby fish but then your bar is depleted until a few seconds later when it pops back up to full. Feels so much like the Takumi games, or Homura's charge meter.

The game also has an interesting combo mechanic in which when you fill up your "frenzy" meter by eating several fish within a short time, you get a score multiplier bonus. You can fill the meter again to get "double frenzy" and an even better score boost. The catch is that you have to keep the combo going, if you wait too long before eating more fish your meter drains and you will go back to lowly 1x scoring. It's a nice little mechanic.

And I must say, I couldn't resist the deliciously fun realization that while Darius is a shooter series that borrows from aquatic life for its characters (that unhealthy fixation on mecha-fishies!), Feeding Frenzy is a game where the characters ARE aquatic life but borrows gameplay mechanics from shooters.

All in all, a nice little gem. It's got relaxing music and nice a nice pastel aquarium look to it as well. Totally worth playing, and I think shmup fans will appreciate it more than most people.

[PsikyoPshumpPshooterP]

yes i agree..very addicitng game..this and geometry wars will be the 2 games i will buy once i get some gamer points! thanks for the recommendtion!!!

[professor ganson]

Ha, sounds totally fun. Thanks for the nice description. I won't be getting a 360 for at least a year or so. Still nice to hear.

[Vexorg]

If you don't have a 360, you can try it out (there's a web version) at popcap.com. I haven't gotten around to it yet, I've been absolutely hooked on Jewel Quest for the past few days and haven't had time.