There has been a definite theme of cute and quirky family friendly games with the releases of Games for the Holidays. The final game in this cross promotional trilogy is ilomilo. ilomilo is the story of two tiny friends who wake up every day at opposite ends of an ever changing park and spend much of their time making their way through obstacles to reach each other. This puzzler can be played with either one or two players and takes a simple concept and put its own imaginative spin on it.
Gameplay:
ilomilo starts off each level with ilo and milo on two opposite ends of a complex structure of interconnected blocks. Moving only one at a time, ilo and milo must alternate moving various objects in the environment around to aid the other in meeting at a center point.
A simple enough sounding concept right? Well the level designers took this and ran with it in a way that they were able to create some incredibly challenging puzzles along the game’s 49 levels.
Some blocks pop out and block the way while others can be picked up and moved, extending bridges or launching ilo and milo over gaps. Through the levels, ilo and milo are guided by their friend Sebastian as they not only attempt to reach each other, but collect hordes of, well, collectibles along the way. These collectibles unlock music and artwork as well as other stages and pieces of letters that help further explain the backstory of ilo and milo’s friendship.
Raskulls has been one of those XBLA titles coming in just under the radar since its initial reaction at GDC 2010. With only an image of the game’s iconic King who is also featured prominently on the game’s artwork and the simple minded Dragon, Raskulls has made its way to consoles with an underground following, having been mostly promoted through trade shows such as E3 or PAX. It wasn’t until December when it was announced as a part of the cross promotional Games for the Holidays from XBox Live Arcade alongside ilomiloand World of Keflingsthat people found out that Halfbrick meant business when they were coming up with Raskulls.
Gameplay:
At first glance, Raskulls looks like a simple side-scrolling racing game. Even in the first seconds of the game, players will quickly realize this is far from the case. Similar to a game like DigDug, players are able to blast out bricks next to them to carve a path across maps. Unlike DigDug, Raskulls is an incredibly fast paced game where up to four players at a time are smashing through series of bricks while combating each other with special bonus item powers as bricks topple down around them at the same time.
The most basic modes of Raskulls revolve around racing. Players must either face off against single or multiple opponents or in a timed checkpoint race, hoping to earn the fastest time to success. These races can be compared to a platforming version of Mario Kart. A player is never really down and out as obstacles often impede whoever is in first place to give others a fighting chance. All the while, various weapons are deployed to help stun opponents or blow blocks out of the way faster.
Were you ever one of those people who enjoyed Warcraft or Starcraft where you spent all your time building up an epic base with fully upgraded squads only to become annoyed when a group of invaders would come by and disturb your perfect little kingdom? Well, if so, then A World of Keflingsmay be the perfect title for you. And there is no pesky Zerg rush to worry about.
Gameplay:
A World of Keflings brings together the charm of the original Kingdom for Keflings title using a player’s dashboard Avatar to manage resources, build structures and assign tasks to three different locations of the Kefling world. A player begins their career as a hulking giant amongst a world of pintsized Keflings which they can interact with by either emoting, assigning to jobs or kicking. While the kicking can be entertaining at times, anyone with a heart will begin to feel bad for mistreating their miniature friends, especially once they have begun giving them names.
Instead, most of the time is spent either assigning jobs to Keflings like mining ice, transporting ore or sheering sheep. A player can also perform any of these actions themselves with the added benefit of their size. While a smaller Kefling may only carry a few of an item, the player can carry larger amounts. This becomes a great benefit when massive undertakings like new buildings must be completed.
Both the player and Keflings can be upgraded during the course of play, with witch’s potions improving the player’s attributes and Keflings leveling up over time by repetition of the same task. These upgrades become beneficial as structures begin requiring more advanced materials to complete. And of course, if a Kefling isn’t working hard or fast enough, there is always the option of kicking them into shape.
Players are also given a group of special larger Keflings who act as personal assistants. As a player progresses, more of this family is unlocked. These Keflings will help carry building components and stockpiles of resources behind a player, allowing for faster construction. Once a player has completed a structure, the helpers will be able to complete buildings on their own by mimicking what they saw a player do based on the blueprints at hand.
Last week, Microsoft Games Studios revealed their big holiday push for XBox Live Arcade with three unique, quirky titles. The three games, World of Keflings (December 22nd), Raskulls (December 29th) and ilomilo (January 5th) will not only be coming out in the heart of the holiday season, but they will all be tied together, a first for the downloadable platform.
As you will see in the trailer below, all the titles will feature cameos from characters from the other games. In ilomilo, characters can be dressed up as Keflings while the Raskulls can be invited to live in the Keflings world.
Check out all of the new trailers for XBox Live’s upcoming holiday games after the jump.
There has been a definite theme of cute and quirky family friendly games with the releases of Games for the Holidays. The final game in this cross promotional trilogy is ilomilo. ilomilo is the story of two tiny friends who wake up every day at opposite ends of an ever changing park and spend much of their time making their way through obstacles to reach each other. This puzzler can be played with either one or two players and takes a simple concept and put its own imaginative spin on it.
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