Xyanide: 2006 shmup release for Xbox

vtmobius · Post by **vtmobius** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 8:51 pm

Xyanide is an interesting game, I definetally like the cg in it. I find it a little hard to aim the lock for the missles and move at the same time. I think the missile thing is finicky too. The enemies all seem to home in on you instead of shooting, but minor complaint. The music seems kind of drowned out but the graphics are good. Really is fast moving in and out and through the levels kind of dizzing. The letterbox seems fine on my 32"so not really a worry for me. By the way it doesn't work on the 360, though I haven't connected mine to live in a month, I will tonight, but I doubt they updated the backwards compatible that quickly. Otherwise worth picking up for $20 bucks as it is something different from a run of the mill shooter.

sammaza · Post by **sammaza** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 8:57 pm

I just wish it would fill up my 25 in wells ardner monitor...its hard to play on my arcade machine...thats why i was so disappointed...i know eveyone doesnt play this way

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:49 am

My personal thoughts thus far...

Graphics- The graphics are pretty nice, with some interesting special effects used on the explosions, and a particularly nice lightning effect. There's good detail in the ships and levels, and I've yet to see the framerate drop because of slowdown. Though I do have to admit, it would have been nicer if the infamous "fog" could have been pushed a bit further back. Thankfully, it's not even close to what the N64 Turok games had, but it is there. A final note goes to the CGI work. It's surprisingly well done given that this is a budget title, with good models, and some nice animation work on the robes and such.

Sound- The sound effects are competent. Nothing overly grandiose, just effects that get the job done. The music is pretty drowned out, even with the volume in the options screen turned all the way up. What I've heard isn't superb stuff, but it's not grating or anything. It's a background beat that does just what that implies... stays in the background.

Control- This takes a bit of getting used to. Not really because of the Robotron-esque set up they used, but because of the way you select weapons and such. It's not overbearing, or insanely complicated, but it requires a bit more finger movement than a typical shmup. After a few games though, you get the feel of it, and the control scheme becomes more manageable.

Bosses- I know someone here said the bosses where too drawn out, but I like them. You won't win in a minutes or less, as each boss has various areas that have to be destroyed before you get a crack at the core. The attacks for the bosses I've seen thus far vary quite a bit, so the fights don't get dull with heavy repetition. While I've only seen the first two bosses thus far, I'm looking forward to fighting the others based on what I've seen so far.

A few things to keep in mind...

1) The purple bullet weapon is great for the smaller enemies. It fires small projectiles pretty fast, and it spreads out a bit, making it possible to hit several small ships at once. However, it's not very good against the bigger ships.
2) The larger shot version of the main weapon, is great for those larger ships and bosses. It can kill them a lot quicker, but it's not as useful against the smaller enemies.
3) The missile shot is REALLY handy against bosses and mid-bosses. If you want to get any kind speed in killing them, you'll need to use this. The way you fire it is a bit odd, but getting the hang of it is important. Coupled with the larger shot, this can make taking down bosses more doable.
4) Be ready to switch weapons regularly. You'll have small and large enemies on the screen a lot, and using only one weapon isn't going to help clear the screen or reveal all the needed powerups.

EdS25 · Post by **EdS25** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 2:04 pm

Unexpectedly good game (already got my $20 worth).

The Good : Totally unique, very addicting, I personally love the boss battles.

The Bad : I'm usually the first to complain when shmups are too damn short. However, Xy's levels are just too damn long. Level 4 up to the mini-boss in particular. 8-10 minutes (excluding bosses) really should have been cut to 5. This would have really, really tightened up the pacing and removed the repetitive nature of the non-boss portions of the game. Also, the special weapons are pretty confusing. Maybe I haven't played long enough yet but even with those icons I just hit a button and hope for the best.

The Ugly: As people have eluded to, Levels 1 and 2 are very similar. Well, not to spoil anything but that continues into Levels 3 and 4 as well. As in, looking at a single screenshot you probably wouldn't be able to tell what level it's from (my "shmup background variety" litmus test). Pushing back the fog (and maybe toning down the red HUD overlay) would have helped in this regard - I think the background design is probably more interesting and varied than you can actually tell in game.

Other notes:

MS needs to update this for the 360 RIGHT NOW. 720P = Drooool.

People who don't like the music : change it! The game supports custom playlists so you can have anything you want.

The game almost has a Kenta Cho feel to it. I can't help but think that if it had been made by a higher profile developer people would right now be going absolutely ape**** over it. I'm confident it's going to find its audience eventually.

antron · Post by **antron** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:28 pm

EdS25 wrote: MS needs to update this for the 360 RIGHT NOW. 720P = Drooool.

i am wondering why it doesn't support 720p already. no 360 needed.

a great game indeed. now I have another use for my halobox, other than as a media player.

EdS25 · Post by **EdS25** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 5:07 pm

*smacks forehead* good point antron!! or even 480P for that matter!

Lastblade · Post by **Lastblade** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 5:35 pm

I just got this game too a few days ago and enjoying it alot. It is definitely a different type of shooter, kinda like an on-rail FMV shooter + Robotron. I find it hard to lock on and move at the same time, but I am sure I will get better as I play more. Definitely worth $20.

Btw, I love the deep bass this game pumps out, if you have a nice subwoofer, this will rock your house.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:00 pm

Is this game set up to be played in one sitting, or does it feature save points and all that jazz? Estimates on overall game time would be helpful as well.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:11 pm

According to Gamespot's review, the game will take multiple hours to beat. And from what I can see, it's a single sitting game. No save points, and no passwords.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:17 pm

None of the 10+ stores in my surrounding area is carrying this, so I don't see this one selling even as well as Shiki II sold locally. It sucks having to order this; I want to pick it up now.

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 9:19 pm

My local gamestop has plenty of them in stock, I just picked one up an hour ago. Only diehards like us at shmup forums will buy it anyway. If anyone absolutely can't find one P.M me and maybe I can be a nice guy and buy it and ship it to you. The game is alot of fun by the way.

Defcon 5 · Post by **Defcon 5** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:27 pm

Where to order it online? Plz TELL me NOW !!

Lastblade · Post by **Lastblade** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:41 pm

Defcon 5 wrote:Where to order it online? Plz TELL me NOW !!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FU ... 63?ie=UTF8

LSU · Post by **LSU** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:33 pm

Well, I liked this game more than I thought I would, but I do think it has enough faults that stop it from being great. The control just doesn't feel anywhere tight enough, and the boss battles are a little dull. But the main part of the waves is surprisingly enjoyable, and as lots of other people have said, it's different enough to most other games out there to definitely warrant a purchase.

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:57 pm

I can't stop playing this game. It takes a while to fully understand the weapons system and upgrades, but once you do it's alot of fun. This game rocks if you have a nice sub woofer.
Give this game a chance people, it's great.

al138 · Post by **al138** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:58 am

malcolm wrote:I can't stop playing this game. It takes a while to fully understand the weapons system and upgrades, but once you do it's alot of fun. This game rocks if you have a nice sub woofer.
Give this game a chance people, it's great.

That goes double if you have XBL! I played for two hours straight last night just to lift myself into the top ten. I am disappointed that the Scoreboard lumps all difficulty levels together. My thought is that if you can't handle Normal, you don't belong on the board.

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:47 am

I've only reached level 3 on normal but my ship is getting some crazy ass mutations, I can't wait until the later levels.

gameoverDude · Post by **gameoverDude** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:29 pm

I ordered my copy of Xyanide from NCSX.

It's not bad at all. If I had one thing to gripe about, it would probably be that the first four level backgrounds look a little too similar with the mechanical style.

The CGI scenes are pretty good. Aguira transforms into one ugly mother fucker as you defeat her Xyanide-spawned minions. The plot is one of the more original- you're the executioner Drake, carting Aguira off to her execution for witchcraft. Things go haywire when a big asteroid full of Xyanide hits your ship. Aguira wants away from you- and the Xyanide makes her thoughts reality. Now she's busy dreaming up all manner of enemies to hold you at bay.

In a nutshell, I'd compare this to Forgotten Worlds minus the shopping but with a bit of SDI mixed in due to the way you use the lock-on weapon. IMO you don't really need the lock-on against the small enemies at first, but it sure helps with larger stuff when you're in the Mechanical mode. The Organic mode Lock-On does make itself useful in later levels when you see enemies in the background beginning to swarm and decide to give them a warm welcome when they come into the foreground.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 1:30 am

Is it true that the levels are 30 minutes each??? The guy who reviewed the game for OXM liked it well enough-- he gave it 7.0-- but he really hated how long the levels are. I thought he might be exaggerating when he said they are 30 min. long.

al138 · Post by **al138** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:27 am

professor ganson wrote:Is it true that the levels are 30 minutes each??? The guy who reviewed the game for OXM liked it well enough-- he gave it 7.0-- but he really hated how long the levels are. I thought he might be exaggerating when he said they are 30 min. long.

They are long, but certainly not 30 minutes!

Bishamon · Post by **Bishamon** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 1:22 pm

I picked it up last night, and I'm enjoying it so far. I do find the choice to run it letterboxed and yet not support widescreen televisions a bit odd. I can alter the aspect ratio and zoom since I have the XBox running through a DVDO iScan HD+, but to have a game widescreen formatted and yet not support widescreen sets makes no sense.

Lastblade · Post by **Lastblade** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:51 pm

professor ganson wrote:Is it true that the levels are 30 minutes each??? The guy who reviewed the game for OXM liked it well enough-- he gave it 7.0-- but he really hated how long the levels are. I thought he might be exaggerating when he said they are 30 min. long.

Stage one was relatively short, maybe 4 minutes? Stage 2 is much longer, maybe double that. I have not gotten to end of stage 3, but it seems to be longer than 2.

jp · Post by jp » Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:46 pm

Can this be played on the 360?

Savory · Post by **Savory** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 4:15 pm

jp wrote:Can this be played on the 360?

Not yet unfortunately.

Grindie · Post by **Grindie** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:23 pm

Has anyone completed it on one credit yet? I can get to level 5. Every time I feel like playing through again, I have to make sure I have over an hour free, which is really annoying.

The levels are so damn long! It wouldn't be as bad if they didn't have those bits in the levels where nothing happens for a while. And the bosses just take too long to beat.

I still enjoy it though, and playing through with my own soundtracks is mighty fun.

Lastblade · Post by **Lastblade** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:26 pm

Grindie wrote:Has anyone completed it on one credit yet? I can get to level 5. Every time I feel like playing through again, I have to make sure I have over an hour free, which is really annoying.

The levels are so damn long! It wouldn't be as bad if they didn't have those bits in the levels where nothing happens for a while. And the bosses just take too long to beat.

I still enjoy it though, and playing through with my own soundtracks is mighty fun.

You are good, I am only at lvl 3.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:23 pm

Just got this and had a few minutes with it. Pretty nice looking, if a bit on the dark side, color-scheme wise. Definitely going to take some time to get used to it. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and indeed I wasn't even getting beyond the first level. Seems pretty fun, though. More challenging and distinctive than I could have hoped for. I probably won't spend much time with it right atm, as I'm playing some really old-school stuff these days.

GateofThunderforceIII · Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:56 pm

R Kelly's favorite videogame intro ever. Cool game by the way...

Lastblade · Post by **Lastblade** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:27 pm

This game is addictive. I am now on level 4 (with continues) and having a hard time playing anything else until I beat this. I really like the sound effects in this game, the deep bass put me into the space shooter universe and learning how to target/move at the same time is a good skill to have. And the branching paths really force you to gamble (risk/reward for powerups). I am loving this game and hope everyone who still plays the Xbox to get this!

jp · Post by jp » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:55 pm

I may run out and buy it despite it not being backwards compatible. Especially since I've been assured people are working on it.