Game Cover

Let's get a move on, I've got a feeling the best is to come!

Platform played on: Xbox 360 (HD)

# Review

The story follows Jade (Jodi Forrest), a resident of the planet Hillys which has been invaded by the DomZ, an alien species which abducts beings and drains their lifeforce. In response to the DomZ attacks, Hillys has fallen under the control of the Alpha Sections, a military dictatorship. Jade stumbles upon an underground resistance movement, the IRIS Network, and helps them uncover the conspiracy upon Hillys.

Jade

The story is pretty generic but the writing is very fun. I particularly enjoyed the wacky supporting characters such as Jade’s sidekick Pey’j (David Gasman). The writing has a good sense of humour and remains lighthearted throughout the entire game. The same lightheartedness also prevails in the world of Hillys, which is filled with cartoonish characters and lore. While the world is technically open, the plot is pretty linear. The gameplay is mostly in third-person and is pretty varied. There are sequences where the gameplay is a typical action game, where Jade fights off enemies; these sections are fun but aren't very original. There are also sequences where Jade pilots a hovercraft; I really enjoyed the vehicular combat and racing.

Hovercraft

My favourite parts of the game are probably the stealth parts where Jade has to sneak past powerful enemies. Overall the gameplay holds up well today and there are some interesting mechanics. One such mechanic is using Jade’s camera to help IRIS capture proof of the conspiracy on Hillys, as well as to capture pictures of different exotic species of animals on Hillys for collectibles. There are some very clunky and outdated mechanics also. One such mechanic is the one for firing the projectile weapon, which is the same as using the camera, making firing projectiles slow and inaccurate. Overall the game is very polished and not too repetitive.

Stealth

# Conclusion

A really solid action-adventure game.

# Overall rating: 8.1

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