On Reflection

If you want to show the world that great, innovative games are what you want, download this today. Each of us on X360 have downloaded this ten times each just to show our support. Okay, okay, you only have to pay once if you do that, but that’s not the point. One of, if not THE best XBLA game. Until Rez HD comes along anyway.

The Score

Typical, isn’t it? Jeff Minter creates perhaps one of the best games on Xbox Live Arcade and hardly any sod is buying it. It makes us weep big tears of frustration, it really does. On the other hand, Minter didn’t really make things that easy for himself, as he’s saddled Space Giraffe with one of the most unhelpful tutorials to ever grace a videogame. It’s a dizzying kaleidoscope of colours that doesn’t really explain what you have to do and will have most newcomers feeling frustrated, bewildered and instantly wanting to spend their 400 points elsewhere. Granted, while you can use the argument that this is an old-school arcade game where you’ll have to learn the mechanics, the vast majority of gamers aren’t interested in doing that. And why should they when every other game on Live Arcade doesn’t require them to?

Still, get past that incredibly pointless tutorial, and you’ll quickly discover that there’s something very special about Minter’s latest release. Although it initially assaults your senses with its vicious combination of scarily psychedelic visuals and trippy music, you soon learn to look past the flashy exterior so you can see directly into Space Giraffe’s heart, and it’s a thing of beauty. It may appear to be a derivative Tempest clone at first, but Minter has added more than enough bells and whistles to make Space Giraffe feel amazingly fresh and new. If you’re looking for a gaming experience that is unlike any other on Xbox Live Arcade, then be sure to give Space Giraffe a whirl. You’ll certainly be glad you did.

9 out of 10