Top 1 Xbox 360 Site

An independent project designed using the XNA development suite and rewarded with a publishing contract on Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace via a win at the Gamefest 2007 Dream-Build-Play contest.

Compete in the sport of robot badminton in Blazing Birds. Challenge sixty computer controlled opponents over three levels of difficulty. Invite your friends to play multiplayer matches or round robin tournaments with up to twenty players. The unique control scheme allows for blazing fast action and quick responsiveness. Score points using smash, drop, and clear shots with either manual or automatic aiming. Unleash seven deadly power shots including Meteor Strike, Firecracker, Hyperspace, Lightning Bolt, Dragon Flight, Hunting Season, and Wormhole. Only the best will face Signum IV.

Genre: Sports Action

Publisher: Vector2

Developer: Vector2

Online Play:

Local Play: 2 Versus

May 21, 2009 –
What was the last badminton videogame you played? Or for that matter, what was the last robot badminton videogame you played? That’s what we’ve got on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) this week. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as awesome as it sounds. Blazing Birds was developed with Microsoft’s XNA tools, and it would have been a pretty impressive XNA Community game. But on XBLA, standing next to games like Castle Crashers and Braid, it looks pretty amateurish. The riff on badminton has some appealing qualities, but the experience it offers is pretty shallow. Luckily, it’s only $5.

This was a winner of the 2007 Dream-Build-Play contest, and one of the prizes was a transformation from mere community game to full XBLA release. Its time has come, but while it’s nice to see indie devs get a chance at the big leagues I’m more interested in what developer Vector 2 will do next. Blazing Birds feels more like an experiment than a full game.

More in IGN’s Daily Fix Here! (HD available).

Blazing Birds follows the same rules as traditional badminton, but then mixes things up with wacky power-ups. This is a one-on-one game that takes place on a 2D plane, with each side volleying a shuttlecock over a net. Only the server can score a point, which is won by causing the ‘cock to drop on the opponent’s side. The first side to 11 points wins the match.

The triggers are used to smack the ‘cock: the left trigger will produce a soft return and the right trigger will give the bird a hard wallop. If you hold the left bumper and swing while the bird is high in the air your robot will hover for a moment and perform a slam hit. An icon floats above the robots’ heads, offering power-ups to the player that hits the shuttlecock through it. You may be able to send a Meteor Strike blazing over the net or a Hyper Space shot that will ricochet around the opponent’s side of the court.

Visually, the game is really not up to the standards of other XBLA titles. The robot designs are flat and uninteresting, and the backgrounds during a game are just some bizarre, random designs. There’s no cohesive theme holding the various parts of the interface together. The electronic soundtrack is above average, though.

Solo robots can work their way through 20 increasingly difficult AI opponents in Arcade mode, or play sudden death-style in Elimination. Then there are three multiplayer modes, but for some baffling reason these are only available locally. There is no online multiplayer in Blazing Birds.

Closing Comments
XNA developers need to be careful what they wish for. When making the leap from XNA to XBLA, there are two possible reactions gamers might have: “Wow, this looks great for an XNA-developed game!” or “Wow, this looks like an XNA-developed game.” Your reaction to Blazing Birds will likely be the latter. If there was some really compelling gameplay here the visuals would be easier to overlook, but this is a pretty simple badminton game with power-ups added. The lack of online play is also disappointing. You’ll have more fun slapping your own ‘cock around.

IGN Ratings for Blazing Birds (X360)

Rating Description

out of 10
click here for ratings guide

4.0
Presentation
A shallow single-player mode and no online multiplayer. This is pretty bare bones.

4.0
Graphics
Blazing Birds was developed with XNA tools, and it shows. The flat robot designs and ugly color pallet are amateurish.

7.0
Sound
A pretty good electronic soundtrack and a cool robot voice calling the game.

5.5
Gameplay
It’s badminton with power-ups. There is fun to be had here in limited doses.

5.0
Lasting Appeal
Not much to keep you playing the single-player modes for long, and there is no online multiplayer.

5.1
Mediocre
OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

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