XBL Indie Game Pick: Crate Expectations (Haiku Interactive)
Available via Xbox Live Indie Games for 240 MS Points ($3), Crate Expectations sees players sliding crates around and placing ice blocks in an attempt to get their deliveries finished before everyone else.
It's a lovely strategy title which I found myself glued to for a good few hours tonight. The action is turn-based, with 5 moves permitted per go. These moves can be used to slide your crates, build new crates at the starting area and place ice walls (either to help your cause or hinder others' progress). I'm not exactly a huge fan of strategy games, but I have a lot of respect for this one - it's great fun to play with a friend.
There's a bundle of bonuses to keep the game fresh too. Both local multiplayer and play via Xbox Live are included, with a drop-in/drop-out system in place, so players can hand control to a bot, or vice-versa. The AI can be set to a number of different difficulties, ranging from stupid to stupidly good. Throw in over 60 diverse levels and you're onto a winner.
Crate Expectations can be downloaded via the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Comments
Looks like such an old concept, which has been done to dead. If I had an XBox, though, I'd actually concider getting this. The look'n feel of the game is just great. It gives off the same feeling as those winter mornings of sledding on the hill and riding go-carts through frozen dirttracks. God knows how they captured that spirit in those graphics.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 27, 2009 3:15 AM
Yay! A lovely review for us. Thank you!
Anonymous - if you're thinking we're a puzzle game like Sokoban then you're very wrong I'm afraid.
Crate Expectations is a game about screwing your buddies over to get ahead. It's all about breaking their routes up and getting in the way while you try to storm ahead. I think if you had an Xbox you might like it ;)
Alex
Haiku
Posted by: Alex Waterston | October 27, 2009 1:26 PM
Wow, multiplayer sokoban! My dreams come true! Or not. Or maybe it's just the video; whatever.
Posted by: bakaohki | October 27, 2009 10:49 PM
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
It's categorically not sokoban in any form. I promise!
Posted by: Alex Waterston | October 27, 2009 11:04 PM
looks like a cracking game to keep the kids going on christmas afternoon :D
Posted by: Paul D | October 29, 2009 10:14 AM