Nexuiz (pronounced Nexus) started off back in 2005 as a free to play, community built Quake mod by the team known as Alientrap Software. It was the type of game that everyone chipped in to build and it was widely accepted. Now, seven years later, the small team at Illfonic has brought it back for not just Xbox Live Arcade, but the Xbox Live Block party.
While story is near non-existant in Nexuiz, they do provide you with a small snippet of information in the beginning of the game:
“For centuries the Kavussari and the Forsellians have waged war. They have a fragile truce but due to their seething disgust of each other they still pit their warriors against each other in arenas rather than on the fields of war.
Those episodes of lethal combat are now broadcast throughout the galaxy, as entertainment… a spectacle known as the Nexuiz Competition: An arena based first person shooter where you can alter the rules of the match and laws of physics while you dominate opponents in ever-changing hostile environments bleeding with hatred.”
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Gameplay:
Nexuiz brings back the classic PC “twitch gaming” that has been severely absent from console gaming. The uber fast-paced action and split-second decisions are something we normaly don’t see on console games, but Nexuiz does very well. Across nine gaming arenas you’ll play either Capture the Flag or Team Death Match in the extremely fast paced game play. Your starting weapon is a very powerful – and very bad ass – double barrel shotgun. Other weapons are placed throughout the map, with snipers, rocket launchers, and other awesome things, there’s always a new way to kill. With 12 or so weapons I expected things to be overpowered in some areas, but everything it totally balanced. Each weapon has a counter and you can take down anyone with anything. The team over at Illfonic certainly spent a good amount of time balancing things. Ammo is strewn throughout the map also, but I honestly never noticed a time when I actually needed it.
Your “shields” in game come in the form of pick up items. Throughout the map are “shield shards” that will raise your shield level, with a full shield bar effectively doubling your health. The shields help, but won’t ultimately save your life in a combat situation.
The biggest difference in Nexuiz from other first person shooters are the mutators. Throughout the game you’ll notice floating mutator orbs that will give you a choice of three mutators ranging randomly from five categories: Everyone, Your Team, The Enemy Team, Yourself and WTF. Most of those being self explanatory as to who they can affect with simple things like from infinite ammo, double strength, and nuking the playing field. Some of the more creative ones range anywhere from de-saturating the entire game or making it “insta-gib” where every player has snipers that do instant hits. The WTF mutators are the least seen in game play, but certainly the most noticeable. Anything from replacing every characters head with the lead animator’s sprite, spawning a giant whale that gives a giant point bonus to whomever kills it, or making the entire game totally 8-bit.
While the weighting for every mutator can be high or low, depending on how powerful it is, you have a say in it. Using the points accumulated in game play you can “pib” a mutator, making it more likely to show up in your selection of mutators.
Nexuiz also brings “pogo-ing” into the game, holding the jump button will have you bounce constantly as you move, gaining speed as you move forward. (Pro Tip: Pogo up ramps for a major speed increase.)
With no flaws that I noticed in my vast time with Nexuiz, I’d go as far as saying it’s some of the most fun I’ve had playing an XBLA game – even an FPS – to date.
Presentation:
When beginning Nexiuz the first thing you’ll notice is the beautiful Victorian art style that has fused with a futuristic look to provide something more unique then anything around. The graphics look beautiful with the utilization of CryEngine3. The textures gleam with a look vaguely reminiscent of Halo’s Covenant and the lighting is perfect in every situation. Each of the games mutators icons look superbly drawn and each has a wonderful charm. The backround music is a continous loop of a techno tune, which isn’t quite catchy, but isn’t annoying. Not something you’d listen to on a drive to work, but it gets the job done.
Final Thoughts:
Nexuiz is truly one of the greatest first person shooters available on not only the Xbox Live Arcade but also the Xbox 360 as a whole. In a world of rather slow and repetitive “camping” shooters, Nexuiz brings fast-paced PC style gaming to a console. Nexuiz is one of my top rated XBLA games and I certainly recommend it, and for ten dollars, you can’t go wrong.
Nexuiz releases Wednesday, February 29th for Xbox Live Arcade and will also be available on PSN and PC later in the year.
[Nexuiz – Xbox Live Marketplace.]
“And our new game will be called NEXUS!”
“That’s taken? Nexuz? No? Nexxuz? Also no? Shit, what’s left then?”
(When they show the logo, I can’t help reading it as “ka-nex-you-eez”.)
Just checked this out this morning, *high pitched voice* It’s awesome!!1!