Exit

"A good port of a good PSP game"

Exit was originally released on the PSP and to be honest I'm surprised to see it ehre on the Live Arcade. It's a good title though and this release actually might be better than the original PSP version.

Exit really doesn't have a story. Mr. ESC isn't your every day superhero. Frankly, he is just a normal guy who calls himself Mr. ESC. At the beginning of each world (there are 10 "worlds" and they each world has 10 stages), the game tells you a little bit of story. Nothing overly complex. It's kind of funny at times, in a cheesy sort of way. It's all told through little comic panels. Yes, this game does pile on the cheese. Let's just say the game even has an alien theme...

The graphics in Exit are very simple. But it is one of the charms of the game. The levels are bright and colorful. It's easy to make out what objects are. It does have a very comic book feel. Each theme is nice as well. For those who have played the old Genesis title "Comix Zone" or whatever it was called (if you played it, you know what game I'm talking about), it reminds me of that minus the whole panel thing. Character models are nice and it's easy to tell a fat person from a normal person, a kid from an adult ect.

The sound in the game is hit or miss. There isn't much voice acting. Just the text is spoken by Mr. ESC during the opening scenes. Nothing beyond that. The music fits the hectic theme of the rescues. It did feel a bit grating near the end because the later levels require a lot of retries because of the way the game is set up. The true problem in the sound area is the sound bits of the people who need to rescue. Each type of character repeats the same annoying thing over and over. They all seem to have 3 total lines to say. Very annoying when you have to keep repeating stage after stage.

The games controls seem to be a bit better this time around when compared to the PSP version. They seem just a little bit tighter but they are still stiff at times. Mr. moves a bit too slow for my liking but it's easier to stop him and he seems more responsive to your commands. The controls aren't as simple as they could be but after a few stages you should have it all down.

Like I said before Exit kind of plays like Lemmings. The game is broken up into 100 levels. You can only access for the first 10. Once you beat those first 10 you get the next 60 all at once. You will then need to beat 7-10 to unlock all of world 8, 8-10 to unlock all of world 9, 9-10 to unlock the last 10 levels. . Yes boys and girls the game has a whole freaking lot of stages. Most take 5 minutes or so to beat but I doubt if you will beat most on your first try.

Exit is a game of trial and error. You need to survey the level and see what you need to do and in what order. The amount of people to save depends on the level itself. Sometimes there is one and sometimes there are 5. It also varies from that but you get the idea. The whole idea of the game is to get the people to the exit. You will need to put up rope ladders, unlock doors, set off sprinklers, put out fires, and put injured people on gurneys. It does get kind of complicated but the first 10 levels are set up as training stages and really prepare you for the main basics. It does fail to show you how to use the light saber and there are little things that do escape your mind. One stage took me forever to beat because I didn't remember that when you're in an elevator you need to hit up on the D-pad.

It really boils down to a lot of micro management in the later levels. Oh and did I mention that each stage has a time limit. I never actually ran out of time during my game but the better your time, the better your score. Scores don't matter though but most of the time I got 85% or more. I think this was due to so many trial and errors.

No matter what, a person does have to admit Exit has a lot to offer when there is 200 stages. Not only that but some recent expansions have been released that add even more levels to this zany adventure.

For those who have played this on the PSP I will just say to skip over this as a few extra stages (that you must pay for) really aren't worth paying for this game again. On the other hand this is a fine addition to the Live Arcade line up but to be fair it still has some minor control flaws and the trial and error game play just won't be for everyone.

Story - 6/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 6/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 8/10

Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/08

Game Release: Exit (US, 10/24/07)