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Review
XBLA is home to some of the more intriguing games available today, sure the AAA release titles tend to offer a more robust experience, but there really is something to be said for finding a hidden gem in the depths of the marketplace. Fusion:Genesis is one of those games that will likely go largely unnoticed but for those who dare venture the money on this title the reward is waiting for you.
Fusion:Genesis is a twin stick space shooter, a genre not hugely popular these days often due to the lack of depth or just overly-simplistic gameplay but Fusion: Genesis manages to break the shackles of a tired genre and inject a burst of energy with it’s unique approach, in-depth mechanics and vast array of choice.
The game pits you as the lab assistant of a brilliant scientist, after an unfortunate attack by the syndicate that leaves him dead, you escape, taking with you his prized possession, his Sentient. After you arrive at the hub world your tasked with joining one of five available factions and finding out what’s really going on in the galaxy. Story wise I found it difficult to really get invested in it’s goings-on, it’s well thought out and includes a fleshed-out universe but unfortunately it falls a little short of really grabbing you.
Gameplay wise you’ll spend the larger parts of the early sections in the hub world, from here you have full access to each of the five factions; The syndicate, The Praetoriate, The Domininion, The Revenant and The Consortium. Each faction has a reasonably length story that shows you the world from each of their own unique perspectives, doing these will grant you access to more advanced ships as well as providing you with currency and stat points to spend on new weapons and abilities.
The factions themselves are fairly distinct, each having their own unique aesthetic style as well as some marked difference in the ships they offer: Some factions favour ships with advanced shields but lower health, whilst others prefer the opposite. There’s a lot to consider when playing as a particular faction as you’ll have to take into account their strengths and weaknesses as well as they’re relationships with other factions.
Despite offering a surprisingly large amount of missions, I never really found myself feeling bored. Technically the missions will break down into the same basic objectives but there’s usually a differing factor that gives it a sense of being new. The result of this good design is that I happily sat for a couple of hours doing quests from one vendor before realizing that they actually offer a limitless cycle of jobs to do.
As with any space shooter, the combat is a key feature of the game and it’s something that Starfire Stuidos do very well. Thanks to an extensive choice of ships and an even greater choice of weaponry the combat is fast-paced, strategic and quite involving. There’s some issue with pacing in the longer skirmishes that makes them feel slightly monotonous but the smaller t0 mid length skirmishes are deeply enjoyable. A large part of the fun to be had with combat comes from the feel of piloting the ships, generally feeling the ships are fast and responsive making combat really quite pleasing. The larger vessels are slower, as you’d expect, but still manage to feel as responsive.
The level of depth offered is where I really found the game to excel, there’s a constant need to alter your playing style asyou’ll need to tailor it to the specific ship or faction your aligned with. Past this there’s an expansive leveling system, offering 100 levels, Stats and abilities to upgrade. The result is that every player will experience the game differently depending on your style, conversely it’s easy to sink further hours into the game by starting fresh and trying out something different.
Past the slightly under-whelming but ultimately enjoyable single-player lies an interesting and well though out multi-player. As opposed to simply offering the traditional team deathmatch Starfire studio’s did something more daring which really payed off.
After some progression through the standard game you’ll gain access to three separate modes, Warzone, Legion Raid and Ark raid. Warzone is an objective based game where opposing teams must try to take out the opposing teams flagships, utilising various map-based points along the way to gain advantage. Legion and Ark offer a co-operative mode where players must fend off against waves of enemy AI.
Though hardly the most inspirational offerings these modes have personality and can offer hours of fun. Far from being stand alone, these modes reward you with special tokens which can be redeemed for improved weaponry that’s only available with said tokens. There’s also a seamless co-operative element to the single-player where others can join in with your session and, depending on if you’ve switched PvP on, help or hinder you. Warzone comes out the best of the three as it will populate with bots in the event of low player numbers, Legion raid however can become a tiringly difficult affair if you’re trying to attempt it alone.
Helping along the fun gameplay is the games well designed and aesthetically pleasing graphics. It’s certainly not going to win any awards but it has a pleasing and cohesive art style that really fir the tone of the game. Accompanying this are some attentive flourishes, such as the way certain ships pull of a quick about turn, that really impressed me. Also the design choice to use a mix between top-down and third-person camera angle was well implemented. The soundtrack to the game is fantastic and has some genuinely atmospheric and well devised scores.
All in all Fusion:Genesis does what it does well, it’s hardly going to be a best seller but it’s definitely an interesting and unique game. There’s a real depth to the it that means those who find themselves really getting into it could easily spend days trying to concoct the best ship they can, then take that ship and decimate, or help, others. It’s unfortunate that the main story wasn’t stronger but this is made up for with the faction and side missions. If you find yourself itching for some fast-paced space action then this could definitely be your thing, for the rest though this will probably go unnoticed.
About the Author
I am getting problems with the mission wherever we raid the Reaper foundation on Rannoch. I am attempting to get legion to add the Reaper code with the fleet backing off. I have adopted the steps
(1. In ME2 Legion need to live. If Legion is not offered in ME3, no peace is possible.
2. You must get at minimum 3 “plot points” in ME2. Efficiently defending Tali and NOT finding her exiled in ME2 is value 2, destroying the Heretics in ME2 is worth 2, and efficiently reconciling Tali and Legion’s loyalty is value one.
3. IF you have much less than 5 plot factors after ME2, then you should do the adhering to in ME3 to attain a complete of five: 1) Ruin the Geth Fighter base on Rannoch (this is worth one). 2) Conserve Admiral Koris (and NOT his men) [this is also well worth one].
4. Make a very hard Paragon/Regade check when Legion will begin uploading the Reaper code.)
Everything is great but when I go to say “Rally the Fleet” its greyed out. This could be simply because of my reputation level. It is fifty percent way through the 2nd last bar (or marker or whatever). Can somebody allow me know how substantial my reputation (Or paragon or renegade) must be to un-grey this option.
1. Do the clones have some variety of grudge for the Jedi? Why did they comply with buy 66 immediately without even considering otherwise?
2. In the animated series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, how come the clones have far more emotions there. They felt sad, they joked each other and they even act like standard individuals as opposed to in the movies.
3. They stated that the stormtroopers are also clones but I saw in a single of the comic guide novels, when they took off their mask, they looked different all together. Make Clear please?
4. Also, what happened to the top-notch clones like Commander Cody and Captain Rex in the galactic empire? I saw in the starting of Star Wars 4, the 501′st (Rex’s Legion) raided the ship of Princess Leia but Rex wasn’t there simply because I did not see his trademark blue shoulder pauldron.
5. What happened to Ahsoka Tano? Did his master just destroy him and not have any feelings about it or did Anakin permit her flee or flee on her own?
I would be genuinely grateful to any person who solutions any of these.
I’ve searched this many situations and I know common solutions are reverse pickpocketing grenades/C4 and killing whole towns. I Am allied with the Legion and I previously raided NCR Camps all in excess of the location (mostly Camp Forlorn Hope – so much entertaining sniping NCR sniper and taking their ammo and rifle) but it is getting a little monotonous now.
Are there calme quests to do?
Cool points to see (camps, towns, etc.)? I’ve received all the vaults raided.
Anything please…
Note: I’m a Legion Sniper at Lvl 22 and I Am ready to enter the ultimate quest
It Is the warm season here and i get pleasure from summer season fruits. I’m no “Martha Stewart” so still left more than fruits are in the garbage – and there are bananas on counter, etc. The fruit flies are legion this year. I hate to use RAID for such a very small lot, but they are so thick right now! – if i can help it, i do not want to maintain working to the unpleasant outside the house rubbish – cuz i fill massive plastic bags – it would not be practical or that sanitary either.
What can i do to deter / kill off these pests (they never even treatment that much if there is foods – they congregate on white surfaces, etc. So Annoying!)
Please never say a 10-gauge cuz they are a lot also speedy for that.
Thanks in advance. If there is absolutely nothing natural, then make sure you inform me what you have utilized that is Mild and perhaps not as sturdy as RAID. Thanks!
TANKS for these excellent suggestions!
fluffernut – interesting, never heard this one. thanks. i was bout to bomb the home with a thing disgusting like that and depart – so, yeah, great tip.
It’s the warm season here and i enjoy summer fruits. I’m no “Martha Stewart” so left over fruits are in the garbage – and there are bananas on counter, etc. The fruit flies are legion this year. I hate to use RAID for such a tiny lot, but they are so thick right now! – if i can help it, i don’t want to keep running to the nasty outside garbage – cuz i fill big plastic bags – it would not be practical or that sanitary either.
What can i do to deter / kill off these pests (they don’t even care that much if there is food – they congregate on white surfaces, etc. So Annoying!)
Please don’t say a 10-gauge cuz they are much too quick for that.
Thanks in advance. If there is nothing natural, then please tell me what you have used that is MILD and maybe not as strong as RAID. Thanks!
TANKS for these great suggestions!
fluffernut – interesting, never heard this one. thanks. i was bout to bomb the house with something disgusting like that and leave – so, yeah, good tip.