Axel and Pixel Review (live arcade)

Point and click adventures are nothing new, but in the world
of video games, there hasn’t been to many for a while. Microsoft seem to have
been on a mission to rectify that problem this year, what with the release of
Secret Of Monkey Island, Wallace And Grommit, Sam & Max (review for chapter
2 is forthcoming) and now Axel and Pixel.


The very nature of point and clicks is a hard, scratch-
your-brain-for-half-the-night puzzle. Humour is nearly always prevalent, and
much time is spent wafting your cursor round the screen like a mad man, or
trying to give a bit of cheese to a mouse, only to realise you should have put
it in a bucket. Or something. A&P redresses that balance and lowers the
difficulty level, aiming itself firmly at the younger market. An entry level
point and click adventure then.


The eponymous protagonists, poor things, get themselves
stuck in a dream- world, and a rather large icicle smashes up their house. Not
good. To make matters worse an evil red rat seems to have some kind of key that
will enable you to wake up. He sneers and promptly legs it. The game is afoot
and you and your faithful mutt (Pixel) must traverse from level to level to
catch the nefarious rodent.


Each level is comprised of several chapters, with each
chapter being no more than a screen in size. The object is simply to traverse
from left to right in the pursuit of your quarry. Each screen has a number of
small puzzles to be solved which will unearth either the way forward, a bone
for your canine counterpart, some paint to help you finish your masterpiece, or
even a stunning vista to immortalize in graphite. Once in a while, the puzzle
solving is broken up by way mini games that are simple enough, even if the
controls are a bit of a nuisance from time to time.


The game isn’t a long one, but it is a fun enjoyable
experience. Graphically it is simply beautiful, offering 2d characters into a
gorgeous 3d world. The style is certainly unique and realised so well that at
one point I swore the background was just someone getting carried away in
Photoshop. The sonic backdrop to accompany this is good enough, with Axel
himself offering what sounds like French gibberish. It is as though the devs
stopped just short of making him go “haw-he-haw-he-haw” with a chain of onions
round his neck. However, this is a small slice of a healthy sense of humour
running throughout the game. There is never a ‘laugh out loud’, but you will
find yourself with a smile on your face at regular intervals.


Axel and Pixel is certainly not the easiest game in the
world. It can be sailed through in a couple of hours with little or no problem
(For example, I didn’t use one of the generously afforded clues at all). But
then, the younger target market may find there to be more of a challenge. Don’t
let this put you off though, as there is plenty here to whet the whistle of
gamers of all ages. Sometimes, amidst the realism, the sims, the blood, and the
saving the universe from alien invasion it’s refreshing to go a little
old-school, if only for a couple of hours. Whilst this certainly feels like it
would sit well on a console from a couple of generations ago, as it stands now,
it makes a very welcome addition to the Live Arcade





8/10

I felt like I was on drugs, when I played the trial of this.

I've never taken drugs, but that's probably what it would be like.