Reviewed: February 5, 2006
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Reflexive Entertainment

Developer
Reflexive Entertainment

Released: December 15, 2005
Genre: Action-Puzzle
Players: 1-4
ESRB: Everyone

8
8
8
8
8.0

Supported Features:

The concept is simple. Take classic arcade games and independent PC titles and upgrade them to hi-def and tweak the controls and re-release them for about $5 each. And while gamers on a budget will probably scoff at the concept of paying for a game they can download for free to their PC or cell phone, those who really want a sample of past gaming goodness and a chance to add a few hundred Achievement points to their gamer profile will pounce on the opportunity.

Reflexive Entertainment joins the ranks of numerous independent PC developers who are finding a new and previously unattainable market for their games through the XBLA. Wik: Fable of Souls was one of the most ingenious and totally addicting PC games of the 2004 holiday season and now it tries to capture a new audience on the Xbox 360. It’s hard to put a finger on what makes the stellar hit that it is. It could be the gorgeous visuals, even though the game takes place on static backgrounds. It could be the unlikely hero, Wik, who looks like a reject from the Oddworld series of games. Or perhaps it’s the 125 levels of progressively challenging levels that blends classic arcade gameplay with thoughtful puzzle solving. I’m betting it’s all of these and more.

The coolest aspect of these modes are how well they complement each other. Playing through about half of the Story mode will give you enough basic knowledge to give you half a chance with the Challenge mode, and once you perfect the Challenge mode you can return to the Story mode for a whole new adventure with all new skills.

The actual gameplay is hard to put into words because the game is constantly evolving with each new level. The basics are simple. You play Wik, a freakish half-human, half-frog like creature with bulging orange eyes and a tuft of orange hair. His frog legs allow Wik to jump great distances and his frog tongue allows him to snatch bugs and other objects from the ground, tree branches, or even out of the air.

Wik doesn’t move like your typical arcade hero. In fact, controls are so simply you’ll wonder how they could make such a wickedly clever game when all you do is aim and press a button to make Wik jump from where he’s at to where you are pointing. The only other control you have to worry about is Wik’s tongue, handled with another face button. Again, just aim and fire and his tongue will shoot out and stick to ledges, dreamcatchers, or latch onto the insect, grub, or glob of honey.

Just figuring out how to move Wik around quickly and accurately will take you several levels to learn and even more to master, especially when it comes time to learn the all important swing moves where you latch onto an object with your tongue and hold down the mouse button then swing back and forth by moving the mouse. You can increase your arc and span great distances and collect a few goodies along the way.

Your primary goal, or at least one of them (your duties increase as the game gets deeper) is to collect a certain amount of grubs, these cute little green snail-like creatures. They will materialize all over the level, on the ground, on tree limbs, on rocks, everywhere, and it’s your job to collect them one at a time and feed them to your friend, Slotham. There are a fixed amount of grubs on each level so you can’t let too many escape or you might not pass the level. Some levels require a perfect run.

While you aren’t exactly on a timer, Slotham is slowly moving across the bottom of the screen and when he exits the screen you had better have collected enough grubs or you get to try again. You can slow Slotham down by snatching up globs of honey and tossing them in his path. He’ll slow down long enough to devour these before continuing his plodding pace.

As if collecting grubs wasn’t challenging enough, insects will fly onto the screen and try to carry the grubs away. At this point the game becomes much like the old arcade game Defender as you try to shoot down the insects by snatching up then spitting nuts or other bugs at the grub-nappers. If you manage to hit them they will release their grub and you can feed it to Slotham.

But that’s not all (I told you this gets complicated). You get to collect coins while doing all of this. Naturally, since the grubs are your primary objective and Slotham is always on a steady move you can't make coin collecting a priority, but you can try to collect as many as possible as you make your way across the screen collecting grubs. Often these coins will appear in positions and arcs that hint at optimum paths of travel.

But why stop at coins. Let’s add multicolored gemstones. Green, red, and white gems will appear at various locations on the screen. Some will float around in patterns. Coins and gems cannot be snatched with your tongue; you’ll have to actually touch them with Wik to collect them.

The environments are constantly changing presenting new challenges. Some levels will have branches that are totally inaccessible to Wik meaning you have to wait for insects to catch a grub then shoot it down before it escapes. Other levels will have you jumping up lengthy tiers of ledges, across rocks, or swinging from one side of the screen to the other with your snaking tongue.

Animation is simple but effective. Wik moves in quick leaps and sticks to where he lands. His tongue lashes out like some creepy whip and snatches up anything it touches. You can even stick it to a ledge and use it as a giant piece of flypaper to catch up to 25 bugs then shoot them out in a shotgun blast. Insects fly around in various patterns and Slotham is always plodding along the bottom of the screen munching on honey drops and any grubs you throw his way.

There is a plethora of special effects starting with nice sparkly effects in the menus then moving onto advanced lens flares and particle effects within the game. There are even some excellent lighting and shadow effects.

The HUD is minimal, kept to a small display in the top corner that indicates grubs saved and lost. Hint boxes will appear throughout the game as an ongoing tutorial outlining tips and new objectives. While not really taxing the power of the 360, the game does look phenomenal on an HDTV with crisp visuals that rival the PC version.

The music is outstanding, better than most of the music I’ve heard in major releases this year. It has a classic Tim Burton feel to it (much like the entire game); an eerie mix of storybook fantasy and sinister orchestra themes that can be charming in the menus and a bit unsettling in the actual game. The music also cues to the action, growing in intensity at Slotham gets closer to the exit or when you achieve the minimum grubs required to complete the level.

There are 125 levels and while some can be finished in mere seconds, you can expect at least 6-10 hours of gameplay for the Story mode and that much again for the Challenge mode. Of course you’ll then want to go back and play it again because it's just so much addictive fun. The game does a good job of locking out parts of the game until you complete other sections. Not only does this make for a good reward system, it insures you have the necessary skills before you tackle a new mode.

There are mutiplayer modes for up to four players on the same console, and 200 Achievement points spread across 12 challenging goals. The first two objectives are pretty easy but it gets much harder the further into the game you go.

When I initially reviewed this game for the PC I found it to be one of the most engaging and addicting titles I had ever played, and thankfully, Wik: Fable of Souls not only holds up under the pressure of steep 360 competition; it actually expands that addiction with new levels, new modes, intuitive console controls, and some of the best gameplay $5 can buy.