23 July 2010
Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade series already has a major hit
Xbox’s Summer of Arcade event has officially been kicked off with developer Playdead’s anticipated Xbox Live Arcade title, Limbo. Limbo is a sidescroller meets platformer, meets puzzler. Highly addicting, creepy, eerie, deadly, disturbing, and extremely enjoyable. If you like to rack your brain with challenging puzzles or simply enjoy a good sidescroller showcasing modern 2D art, than Limbo is for you!
Uncertain of his sister’s fate, a boy enters the world of which is no cheesy dance at a party but rather the edge of hell. This is not a nice world for a young boy to be exploring just to find his missing sister! Limbo comes from the Latin root limbus, the edge or boundary, referring to the “edge” of Hell. I’m frightened already and I’ve survived the horrors of Alan Wake.
Hit the title/read more to continue reading on an already successful new game on XBL…
The game starts out with your character lying in what appears to be some sort of black and white meadow. The player will have to press “A” to wake the young boy up and get him moving. You’re left in a cloud of mystery thinking to yourself who is this character and what the hell is he doing in this black and white world? Whatever questions you have starting the game may not be answered until you finish. You’ll be asking yourself even more questions once you’re a good distance in Limbo.
The Land of Limbo
This is not a friendly place - death comes easy and death comes quick. In your first hour of play you are most likely to die by drowning in a small puddle, bear traps that slice you in half, falling out of trees only to break your legs, giant spiders impaling you like Count Dracula, and crazy Limbo locals that will shoot poison darts at you putting you into eternal sleep! That’s not all, you have to be careful where you step or you might set off a booby trap causing objects to fall on you, or the earth to crumble away at your very feet. Throughout the game you will experience these hazards multiple times and that includes buzz saws that will turn you into insta-gibs.
Giant spiders, worms and other creatures along the way
The very first creature you will meet is the Giant Spider, and this thing means business. You will encounter this spider several times in the first hour until you eventually defeat the arthropod. In your first encounter you will want to make the Giant Spider attack you, but dodging his attacks. If you let Giant Spider pierce you it’s goodnight. When the Giant Spider attacks and misses you his leg will stomp the ground shaking a nearby tree with a bear trap. Have the Giant Spider attack you until you hear the clankity-clank-clank of the bear trap falling to the ground. Get on the left side of the trap and push it towards the Giant Spider, and have the Giant Spider attack you, smashing its Giant Spider legs into the bear trap.
As you travel through the world of Limbo you will find various creatures throughout the environment including locals, spiders, and flies, but no creature as interesting as the - “Mind Control Worm” – at least this is what I have dubbed the creature. This glowing worm swings from the ceiling and will drop down and attach to your head when you walk beneath it. Immediately your direction is changed potentially leading you back into danger, and you cannot adjust your direction until you walk into a ray of light, this then causes the worm to take you back in the original direction. You have lost all control of your character; there is nothing you can do. The only way to get rid of this Mind Control Worm is to survive through a sequence of puzzles to get a group of “Mind Control Worm Eaters” that you will need to jump up to, to have them eat the worm off your head. Aaahh back in control again.
Limbo lacks a true story, any dialogue, text hints, and even an explanation to why. Even with the lack of all these seemingly necessary story telling elements Playdead delivers an immersive and emotional connection to this boy lost in limbo.
The animations and sound effects are superb and the game is best played in a dark room with headphones. I recommend headphones while playing this game to hear the pitter-patter of your character’s feet in the water or on the ground. If you don’t have headphones for gaming I recommend you play Limbo when there are no extra noises in your house and don’t be afraid to turn the TV’s volume up it’s not a loud game by any means. You want to make sure you can hear too, because some of the sounds will give you clues on how to solve a puzzle. The animations that have made me laugh the most are when your character dies by head impalement from a tree branch. Yeah this game is brutal and not very nice to such a young protagonist.
In closing…
I honestly did not know what to expect with Limbo, I knew it was going to be a great game from the start as its a sidescroller with platforming elements and puzzles. The graphics are awesome and I absolutely love the black and white theme. Not only does this visual effect make everything creepier, but it’s very easy on the eyes and extremely fluid. I think most gamers would agree that a game that can challenge the mind is something to be thoroughly enjoyed.
If you’re still playing the Limbo Demo, go out and purchase the full version now it’s only 14.99 at 1200 MSP (Microsoft Points). It’s quite possibly the best game you will play on any system this summer season.
9/10
Bonus Tip
When first starting new games I like to look at the achievement list to see how I am going to approach the game and possibly collect some achievements that require more than just playing the game. In Limbo the very first achievement (easy to miss) you will earn is “Wrong Way,” simply walk left until you step on a glowing object that kind of looks like an egg. This will pop your very first Limbo achievement. Also anytime you see these eggs there is an achievement to be awarded.
