Recently, I have been in love with all the small downloadable games off the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.  I honestly believe these games are better values, and many times better overall games, than the big release games like Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV.  This is because they are relatively inexpensive, quicker and easier to play, and I don’t have to schedule two or more hours to feel like I’ve actually completed some of the game; I can turn on my TV and play for twenty minutes and feel satisfied.

The game is as solid as a downloadable game gets; it has great 2-D graphics and effects, great surround sound, vast weapon choice, and exceptional online play.  The best part, in my opinion, with these types of games, is that there is little to no story other than run around and have fun; I think it’s been made clear by myself that the majority of video game stories don’t interest me (it’s that the story does not make the overall video game more interesting).  The graphics are very rich and detailed for a 2-D graphics game, and when you kill your opponents (or you die), their body explodes everywhere, which is always cool and fun.

In short, you are tiny man whose job it is to kill opponents.  You can fly in spurts using a jet pack.  There are many primary weapons—rocket launcher, shotgun, machine gun, grenade launcher, and sniper rifle.  There are 3 different types of grenades and two secondary weapons—c-4, hand grenade, mines, pistol, and knife.   There are also vehicles you can use to splatter and destroy opponents.  Playing single player basically prepares you for what is to come during online play; the bots you play against are fairly stupid and bad shots, but until you get used to the controls and idea of the game, they can have their way with you.  During the single player you become acquainted with the maps and weapons and figure out which weapons you like the best.

But, playing online is where it’s at.  There is not much different than the single player, in Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, other than the people you are playing are usually a bit better.  But playing Espionage and Sabotage are more fun if you want some other objectives.  All the games are very easy; Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are obvious—you kill as many opponents as you can—But in Espionage your team either has to go to different stations throughout the map and download data from the opposing team, or you have to stop the other team from downloading your data.  In Sabotage, your objective is either to bomb several different stations or protect the stations from being bombed.  Both are fun, but I tend to stick with Deathmatch because I love killing people with no other objectives in mind.  Once you begin, players can join and leave when they please, and if there are empty spots, the Bots will take over control to keep the teams even until someone else joins.

All in all, the music is bad-ass, the weapons are bad-ass, watching your opponents explode is bad-ass… the game is just bad-ass.

Overall: 9 out of 10

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