[xy_game]Redd: The Lost Temple was the final game in the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Summer Uprising promotion, how did it check out overall? Read on to find out.
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Redd: The Lost Temple falls into the Action & Adventure category, with the main aspect being to explore a temple, and its various corridors to uncover an ancient relic to cleanse the forsaken lands cursed with a plague of everlasting toxic fumes. From the very beginning of the game, you’ll be introduced to the main character Redd, and his researching colleague Allia both equipped with some surprisingly well done voice acting for a three dollar title, and even though dialogue is rare, it is great to hear. Along with the guidance from his scientific peer, Redd navigates the temple pathways with little more than torch in hand, as well as his trusty supply of dynamite in his bomb bag to clear paths, and destroy enemies (ala Zelda).
With torch and bomb bag in hand, you’re tasked to find the various stone keys scattered across this mysterious temple by using your instinctive path-finding skills while avoiding anything that aims on killing you by placing dynamite (plus incredibly similar tools of destruction) in their path, and that’s just about all of the game-play. OK the game-play varies a little bit more than that, but it’s the same concept all around, dodge enemies, place dynamite and trek onwards toward your goal; at least Blazing Forge Games decided to throw in a good variety of enemies ranging from a movement-sensitive revolving ball of fire, to your standard giant ant-lion or your occasional Indiana Jones love-letter trap puzzles consisting of boulders, fireballs, and false platforms. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t say the game-play and controls are bad for Redd but they can be incredibly frustrating at times when you’re trying to navigate around enemies, you’re bound to get close to the edge and fall off half of the time. Besides the somewhat aggravating physics when standing near a ledge the will suck you into the depths below, the controls are solid and response paired with some well thought-out mazes and traps.
Coming into Redd, I never expected such quality graphically especially for a Xbox LIVE Indie Game title. That said, the advanced lighting system and smooth, detailed graphics mix together to form a delight for your eyes from the beginning, to the climactic ending. Not convinced by the screenshots above that Redd boasts beautiful, detailed dungeons? Download the demo and feast your eyes on graphical quality exceeding that of some of the Xbox LIVE Arcade titles out there (yeah I said it). Well, what good adventure game doesn’t have a deep, ambient, and eery soundtrack to go with you in your travels across the dank and dark caves? A bad one, because Redd certainly delivers in the musical department with music that adds to the intense visuals providing a creepy (Indiana Jones-esk) sound-scape. Not an incredible amount to say about the soundtrack, but it’s a very fitting accompaniment to the wonderful visuals Blazing Forge Games painstakingly crafted for you, the humble gamer.
Now, you’re thinking as always if this game is worth your time and 240 :MSPoints: or three dollars, right? As usual with most of the Summer Uprising titles released it’d be a crime to miss out on the quality and measure of game-time Redd offers for the ultra-low price asked. If you’re looking for a very enjoyable 4-5 hours of solid dungeon-crawling, coin gathering, and key collecting game-play you can’t go wrong with Redd: The Lost Temple and even with its minor issues. It doesn’t damper the overall great experience presented for a price lower than that of a sack of potatoes! Now, if you feel like taking my advice feel free to check out the demo and full title over at the Xbox.com Marketplace.
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