Indie developer Rascal Haven has put forth another effort on the Xbox Live Indie Games named Star Dash. This new title has the player taking the role of their own Avatar in a mad dash to collect stars for points while racing against the clock and the screen itself to complete each of the 100 levels.
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: Unrated
Developer: Rascal Haven
Genre: Platform / Puzzle
Pros: Price tag; Quick to learn; Retro style
Cons: Could be frustrating to modern gamers; Need friends to compete with
Price: 80 Microsoft points
Each level has a different layout that players must navigate their Avatar through while trying to avoid falling behind and off the screen, which will result in a life loss. At the same time players must contend with the ever present countdown timer. If the clock reaches zero then the player loses a life. Rascal Haven describes the game as a platformer, but I think Star Dash qualifies as a puzzle game since players must figure out a path on each level to complete said level. Once that path is learned, then the player can start refining their path through each level for maximum point scoring. Once a player is familiar with the level it can a bit of the old “Pac-mentality.” That is to say, the player must make quick decisions about going for risky points or just finish the level to move onto the next one.
Star Dash is easily learned with the help of the tips and tricks provided on the menu screen by Rascal Haven. Knowing how to play will get you started, but not until players are making their Avatar hop from platform to platform like a mad-person will they really understand the intricacies of Star Dash.
With a price tag of only 80 Microsoft points, I find this to be a very attractive title. Star Dash is a great time if you enjoy challenging your friends to an old school high score contest. The desire to outscore friends is a retro gaming characteristic that has not been lost on the developers at Rascal Haven. Even the high score boards resemble the old score arcade feel that I got from this title. To really keep me coming back, though, I think I would need to convince my friends to get this game for more personal competition.
The only problems I had with Star Dash were based around the play style of the game. Star Dash reminded me of Kid Icarus in one of the ways you can lose a life. If players fall behind during the forced progression of the level, a life is lost. Combining this with the ever ticking down clock can result in a lot of dying, of which today’s gamers may not be too familiar with and get frustrated. Fortunately, Rascal Haven must have planned for this as each player starts with 25 lives. This is no where near the frustration level of a Ghost and Goblins, but it’s more of a challenge to learn the level, something I fear some of the younger generation of Xbox players may not like.
Once again Rascal Haven has made a fun Indie game with a surprising soundtrack that I recommend with the few cons I have mentioned.
Popularity: unranked [?]
