At a glance...

Reviewer	Platform	Publisher	Developer	Players	Screenshots
Matt Bailey	Xbox 360	Strawdog Studios	Strawdog Studios	1-2 (Split-screen)	Here
Requirements
None.

Space Ark review

As I said on our podcast, your first impression of Space Ark will probably be that it's a somewhat odd game. What you'll quickly discover is that this is certainly not a bad thing. Space Ark is a curious Xbox Live Arcade puzzle game, combining elements from a variety of sources, but primarily focussing on the main mechanic from arcade hit Breakout (or Arkanoid, or whatever version of the paddle-and-ball genre you remember). That is, you are aiming to destroy blocks and prevent an object from hitting the floor by batting it out of the way. That odd part is that its not a ball, but an animal. Well, an Arkonaut - creatures who seem to be visiting various planets that have been damaged by a black hole and transforming them back to state where they are again habitable. Yes, it's a silly story, but that doesn't really matter as the game mechanics are the all-important thing here.

As I mentioned the aim is to get rid of the blocks by bouncing around the Arkonaut but there is more to it than that. In a refreshing take on the genre, you are actually driven to focus on combos of same-coloured blocks. Taking out three or more of these is necessary to trigger a combo, and left behind, where the blocks were, are items of fruit whose value varies according to the size of the combo. In order to complete a level you'll need to attain a set combo score as well as clearing all the blocks in the more traditional manner. And finally your Arkonaut needs to escape from each level through a hatch that opens up when your objectives are achieved. Early in the game you will find yourself whizzing through levels and wondering whether the cute animals covered up far too simple a game. However, as you work your way through each world, transforming the landscape, and providing more hope to humanity, you'll notice the difficulty gradually creep up. In fact, it was so subtle that it took me rather by surprise when I failed a level for the first time. Suddenly I was no longer on cruise control, and every bounce mattered. I had to pay more attention to the combos I was getting; it wasn't about high scores, for which I care rather little generally, but for survival.

Having said that, the need to up my game got me rather hooked on Space Ark. By the very nature of trying to make progress I was beginning to earn more noteworthy scores. Soon I was flying up the online leaderboards, and then the inevitable happened; I couldn't stop playing. Achievements became my new addiction as I sought a "100%" ranking on one of the worlds. To achieve this you need to cross a points threshold, avoid letting any of the fruit go to waste, collect all the power-ups, and never let your Arkonaut drop to the floor and lose their combo. Essentially you need to get a Perfect on each of the 6 stages in a world. The drive to achieve this was fun and ultimately rewarding, even if it was 15 Gamerpoints.

In total Space Ark packs in 168 levels which you can replay at your leisure, some are noticeably better than others, but all generally provide a good variety both visually and gameplay-wise. If going through this in the main campaign isn't enough, you can take them on in Time Attack or through Survival where there is no room for failure. You can even take on levels with a friend via split-screen multiplayer, though sadly there's no multiplayer over Xbox Live. The only piece of online functionality is the leaderboards. The one thing that can hold you back from enjoying the game in the long term is that the game's overtly cute, possibly even childish graphics and music can become a bit grating over time. Played in small doses it is fine, but after a while you'll be loading in custom soundtracks in order to get through a new score run. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with the quality of the visuals; they are pretty much in-line with what you would expect from a modern puzzle title, with lots of bright colours and smooth animation.

Overall, Space Ark carries the appeal of a puzzler for the masses, with bright, flashy graphics ready to draw in the audience. But underneath there's a game there for score fanatics, and when you get far enough, a considerable challenge too.

Ratings

Overall	Space Ark is another example of a great Xbox Live Arcade game from an indie developer. It's a fresh take on the bat-ball-block genre, and one that provides much deeper gameplay than its cute visuals would suggest.	8/10

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