So on the heels of our resident xbla junky, I figured I’d do some thunder stealing to talk about some XBLA of my own.  Namely, the recently released demos for Eets Chowdown, and Pinball FX.

These two games are very very different experiences, and by any test, make for a solid Wednesday offering for XBLA.  As far as Eets goes though, I just don’t know.  Maybe I’m just not philosophical enough for a game where you never control the protagonist, but instead influence him by affecting his emotional state.  Or- spit him out of a whale. 

The basic concept of the game is not entirely unlike Lemmings.  Eets wants to get to the puzzle piece.  If he can also eat some presents along the way, all the better.  Your job is to help him do so by placing and controlling items throughout the board.  The demo contains a limited selection of these items, amongst which include a whale that you can use to suck Eets up, and send him up and away in a predictable arch pattern; some little dude that makes Eets have a panic attack when he eats him, and thus prevents him from jumping off cliffs; and another dude that throws "stuff" that pisses Eets off if he gets hit with enough of them (letting him jump longer distances), and also comes in handy for blowing other stuff up. 

Basically, the gameplay consists of deciding where to place the items in your inventory to help Eets get from his starting point to the puzzle piece, and having him scoop up as many presents along the way as possible.  I’m betting that there’s much more to this game past the incredibly short demo, but from what I saw, I just wasn’t all that blown away.  The boards (which admittedly were mostly a tutorial), felt repetitive, and the solutions didn’t seem to involve much room for creativity, in other words, if you don’t place this whale here, and this dude here Eets isn’t getting that puzzle piece, no matter what else you come up with smarty pants. 

Maybe someone who bought the game can tell me how wrong I am?  I love innovative games, and I really want to love Eets, but based on the demo, I just can’t get behind it yet.  All that said, the graphics are very entertaining.

Now, as far as Pinball FX goes, I have to say wow.  I’m going to say it right at the outset, I think 800 points is a wee bit steep for 3 tables, but I also spent way too much time playing the demo, coming back to it for just one more round again and again.  As far as I’m concerned it’s the best pinball sim out there.  The table in the demo was a pretty clever table that, while not the most advanced offering of paddle and steel out there, was far from bare bones.  The physics is just about dead on, although the vertical spin on the ball had a touch more "English" on it at times than I’ve seen on any real table, it’s still the best thing out there.  The only complaint I have is the plunger mechanic.  The ball launches (at least on the demo table) with a single button press.  There is no analogue or even semi-analogue control of this, and for such a realistic pinball sim, this really seems like an oversight.  Determining how hard to launch your ball is part of the game, as it’s your first opportunity to direct the ball to a particular spot, and some tables even have hazards in case you screw that process up royally.  All-in-all though, I’m on the fence on this one, not because it thinks it’s cooler, trendier, or more in touch with it’s emotions tan I am, but merely because it’s ten smackers, and I have no idea how much additional tables (which I am sure will be released), will cost.  Even so, I might have to take the splurge, just to get that one more round.