Band of Bugs

"A solid addition to the Live Arcade lineup"

Band of Bugs came out a while ago on the Live Arcade and it just doesn't seem to have been all that well received. However, I had tried the trial and really enjoyed it for it's simple srpg nature. Sure it isn't Disgaea but it's a fun treat if you're willing to actually play it past the tutorial.

Some eggs have been stolen from the kingdom so you are sent off to save them and find out what reasons the bad guys have for taking the eggs. It's a simple plot and the characters tend to be two dimensional. But it does have it's charms.

The bugs make very cute chittering sounds and while it usually annoys me it does remind me of the banjo kazooie games which I didn't find that to be an annoying factor for. The music is simple yet fitting but I never really gave it much thought.

The graphics are nicely done and very pleasing to the eyes. The colors that are used just pop out at you and the animations are fairly good as well. The only problem is that the maps are kind of small so not a lot of detail there.

The game play is very typical for a srpg. You have troops and you move them around and attack the enemy. You have mages, archers, flyer's and warriors. As you advance you unlock new types and there are some downloadable ones as well.

So the core game play mechanics are here but the problem is that it just doesn't try all that hard. The goals are simple and traditional be it kill all enemies or grab X item. There is also a capture the flag type goal which requires you to stay a round on a specific tile to stop enemies from streaming out.

What's odd though is that the game has no real level up feature so it never seems like you get stronger but neither do the enemies, they seem to just grow in numbers or change types.

I do like that you have an atb bar at the top that shows who will attack but the catch is that any character in that team can move during that spot but only one and only that one time until everyone has had a turn. I like this idea as it allows you to plan out your actions as the battle unfolds and doesn't feel quite as forced.

The game isn't long with only 20 story missions but there are 20 more available through downloads. Besides that you can create your own maps which is simple yet fun and you can share them. Also, the game has on-line play but my Live is acting up again so I couldn't access it right now.

Band of Bugs just might be what the srpg fan is looking for on the 360 as the console only has Command & Conquer 3 (which is great by the way). It's not all that deep but for fans and novices it might quench your thirst for now until something better comes along.

Story - 6/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 9/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/08

Game Release: Band of Bugs (US, 06/20/07)