xbox live indie game reviews

Though this site is geared towards Community Games, we're big fans of independent games in general. As you can imagine, we've played our fair share of Arcade titles, and I have to say Carneyvale: Showtime is better than a lot of them. This is the most well executed, polished game I've seen on Community Games to date, and most of the offerings don't even come close.

Your goal is to propel a ragdoll acrobat named Slinky through a ring of fire in as little time as possible--without dropping him on the ground or smashing him into any hazards. This is accomplished mostly by flinging the poor little guy from robotic arm to robotic arm, though you do have some control over his flight in mid-air (moreso once you unlock the "dash" move). This is a fairly simple mechanic, but rather than try to do too much the developers really honed in and polished that one action to perfection. Though it's not a "tricks" game in a Tony Hawk sense, an announcer calls out whenever you perform a special aerial maneuver ("High Flying!" is the most common, though I'm pretty fond of "Terminal Velocity"). A big star is hidden somewhere on each level, so besides the time trials there's some incentive to fling yourself around and see what's lurking in each level.

The sound and art are both great, and both support the gameplay. There's a level editor that I didn't bother too much with (it would be really fantastic if you could download other people's levels, but no such luck). If I had to complain about something, it would be that there are only a handful of levels to play (18 total). That's enough to keep you busy for a very enjoyable hour or two, though, and very much worth the 400 points.