See what I did there?

Anywho, I finally found a topic worthy of my blogging efforts. E-mother fuckin'-4, whose full (admittedly long-winded) title is Every Extend Extra Extreme. It was the newest addition to the Live Arcade yesterday and I could not be happier right now.

For anyone who has read my blog before, you may have noticed that one of my favorite games of all time is Rez. That wonderful little gem of a game was an amazing rhythm shooting game euphoria. E4 was developed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his Q? Entertainment, the same team behind Rez (and Space Channel 5 and Lumines... pretty much every sweet ass rhythm game know to man). You should be excited. I didn't get a chance to buy it or play it last year in its PSP incarnation (E3 - Every Extend Extra), so these are fresh impressions from a complete newcomer to the game series (if you can call it that). Also, from what I understand, they added a brand-new game mode to this version for less than the PSP version. Win.

Basically, the title is a reverse shooter. If that makes sense. It looks like a trippier version of Geometry Wars (which is arguably hard to believe) as you guide a little diamond around the screen. You have a limited amount of shield time before you become vulnerable (which can be expanded with pick-ups). Before you become vulnerable you have to explode and hope to set off a crazy chain reaction amongst the enemy shapes (yes, the game promotes suicide bombing) in order to whipe them out. The game doesn't tell you that outright, though. You hafta figure everything out, which was frustrating at first but which also created half the fun.

As you explode, time runs out, though, so sometimes it pays to... wait for it... REVERSE EXPLODE (edolpxe, if you will) and magically reform so you can grab crazy power-ups like shield enhancers, time lengtheners, point boosters, and quickens. I have played the game for hours and have no clear sense of what the fuck a quicken is. All I know is that more = better. And in this case, better = more points.

The game is simply insane. Yesterday was my first experience with the game and after playing on the infinite mode and scoring over 19 TRILLION points, my face melted. See Exhibit A.



Above: Exhibit A) For reals.

Anyway, yeah. That happened to me. The game is INSANE. It is by far the best value on Live to date. The game costs $10 and has four songs, each representing a different aural and graphical level. This plays a HUGE part in the gameplay because when you explode, if you explode on the exact beat (there's a meter that helps you AND the controller shakes, too) you get multipliers that result in huge points (as if 19 trillion wasn't enough). Stringing perfect explosions back to back makes the multiplier go higher. The shit is bananas. See Exhibit B.



Above: Exhibit B) B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

If infinite play and four songs isn't your cup of tea (and honestly, the shit IS infinite... I played my first round for an hour and 50 minutes and died on purpose 'cause I needed to put my face back on and go to a meeting) then the game has you covered. The game also offers a timed mode, with each level representing a different time limit. This is a legit oversight, as choosing your limit and which level you play on is key for people who find the beat of a different song more pleasing (my self included).

This is nitpicking, though, because the game also offers you the ability to upload ANY SONG YOU WANT and play it. Yeah... you read that right. Any song. Fuck yes. Why don't more rhythm games (I'm looking at you, Guitar Hero) do anything like that? For free, mind you. I don't know the actual mechanics as I have yet to try it (Block Rockin' Beats as cliched as it sounds FTW), but from what I understand, you upload the song in the game, it analyzes it, and then you can play it like any other song/level. SICK. This infinitely expands the replayability of the title instantly.

As if an actual infinite game mode AND an infinitely customizable game mode weren't enough (coupled with the aforementioned timed mode) there is also a classic mode where you shoot your enemies instead of exploding on their faces. I'd say see Exhibit C here, but I don't wanna visit THOSE types of sites on my school's computer. Catch my drift? I have yet to play this mode yet, so I don't have impressions of it. If it's like anything else I've played, though, it's amazing by default.

For the tech buffs, the game never lagged, the graphics were artsy and amazing, and the gameplay was simple yet addictive (two buttons and a joystick). All good stuff. The important stuff was the stuff mentioned above.

All in all, the game is a true experience. I played on a 7-foot projector screen with a bumping surround sound system and was mesmerized. The game is intense, weird, trippy, awesome, and wholly original all wrapped into one. I cannot recommend it enough. It has to be seen to be believed, but if you're anything like me, once you see it, you will dream about it.

Best game on XBLA. Hands down.

Now, go buy it, damn it.