14 DAY TRIAL // This week it's not only Nintendo's gamers that are getting a treat on their console's downloading service, but Xbox 360 owners too, via their respective service, the Xbox Live Marketplace. Word on the Internet is that tomorrow brings two great puzzlers to Microsoft's next-gen platform, one of which is an intricate puzzle game, based on real world physical interactions. Both go for 800 MS Points.
Word Puzzle is the other title, and we'll be discussing this one first. The official description says that it's more of a traditional pen-and-paper-word-search kind of game, but at a very high level as you can imagine, since no bad titles ever make it to XBLM (Not that other services such as the Virtual Console and PlayStation Network feature bad titles). InterServ's "brain-busting game" as the report claims, features some intricate 3D boards, exploding word bombs and a great array of "synapse-melting challenges" and of course special effects. There will be five game modes to choose from, while online (LIVE) support can handle up to four players as well as an Xbox LIVE Vision Camera.
As for Sierra Online's Switchball, this is a game where players have to conquer labyrinthine mazes (which by the way, they're said to be "breathtakingly beautiful") as they manipulate the physical properties of an "ever-changeable ball" to solve clever puzzles. Kind of like Mercury Meltdown I guess, only the ball stays round.
Players morph into the Metalball and ram objects out of their way, charge the Powerball to dash up ramps and jump over obstacles, switch to the Airball to float over physics based death traps or use the Marbleball for speedy rolling around action. This game too features five highly detailed 3D environments, as well as online and offline games modes for 2 (co-op) to 8 players.
Ball descriptions (as I found within an early fact sheet of the game):
Marbleball - all around ball good for rolling around quickly Metalball - dense, heavy ball great for moving objects out of the way Powerball - highly-charged ball, zap with energy to dash or jump Airball - airy, light-weight inflatable ball to float over obstacles
Remember, both Word Puzzle and Switchball go Live tomorrow for 800 MS Points each, from 9:00 a.m. GMT.