Friday, July 11, 2008 8:29 AM
by
Nelson Rodriguez
What We're Playing
When I use the word we, I'm usually only referring to myself. Some call it the royal we, but I tend to think of it as the "Nelson we". In this case, I am actually talking about multiple people, because this week's game is Schizoid. Just released on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, Schizoid is notable, not just for being an incredibly intuitive coop game, but also for having been built on the XNA platform.
Sadly, if you've messed around with XNA and only got to make a bad rip off of the first level of Pong, Schizoid is proof that you're just lame and the tool is damn good.
You play as a buglike spaceship trying to avoid enemy bug-ships of an opposing color, while hunting down ships of your own color. If you have no friends, a computer-controlled partner watches your back, but the game really opens up when someone else is at the controls. The wife-lady and I have been enjoying the game for over a month, and it is still one of our all-time favorites.
You can actually play alone in true schizoid mode and control both ships, one with each thumb, and see how quickly your head will explode. The game was originally designed for this mode, but I dare you to try it. Wear a bib.