Aegis Wing is a free game that you can download off of XBLA. The backstory was that it was created by 3 interns (before XNA came to be) and so Microsoft is giving it away for free. It’s a basic side-scrolling shooter, and I’ve never been good or enjoyed that genre. It showed the first time I played it, when I used up my 4 lives without getting anywhere in the first level. The game is pretty basic otherwise, there are only I think 6 types of enemies, and your ship has a regular blaster plus can pickup some special items that give it consumable special attacks or defense abilities.

As it turns out, Aegis Wing is not meant to be played by one person! It’s a multiplayer game. When up to 4 people are playing, you can combine the ships into a larger ship that your overall health and the power of your special weapons. It is much more fun this way, and Pauline and I have been playing it like this. When we combine our ships, one person (usually me) navigates to avoid the attacks, and the other person has an omni-directional turret. We also have separate specials, so usually one person has a defensive ability, and the other has an offensive attack. It’s through the use of these abilities at timely occasions that allow you to survive long enough to avoid being destroyed, and it’s fun working together to pass the game (which we haven’t done yet).

It gets repetitious after awhile, but it’s a fun coop game while it lasts.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: arcade, games, xbox