Difference in Opinion

To say I have been excited about the release of Hexic 2 would be the understatement of the century. I am without a doubt the biggest Hexic freak that has ever existed. From the first day that I discovered this free hidden gem on the Xbox Live Arcade, I have been completely and utterly addicted. It took me 9 full months to attain every single achievement for Hexic, but that black pearl flower finally made an appearance on my screen and my Hexic dream was complete. Then came Hexic 2.

Hexic 2 was released on 08.15.07 with a purchase price of 800 Microsoft Points (approximately $10). I think the cost of this game is appropriate as that is what the new titles typically run on the Arcade. I didn’t bat an eye when I hit that purchase now button, and you shouldn’t either if you are a Hexic fan.

Basic Game Play

In this sequel, the simple concept of Hexic is the same with a few twists added. While your ultimate goal of the game is still to create a black pearl cluster or flower, there are some new gems that have been thrown in the mix. The new gems are formed with various moves such as lining up a certain amount of the same colored hexes in a straight line. Along with the new gems comes the option of blowing them up. A simple button push will cause the gems to explode, thus clearing that area of the board for you which comes in handy if you find a bomb ticking away nearby. It definitely changes the game which makes it challenging and new but still feels like the same Hexic you know and love.

Game Modes

The same game modes from the first version of this game will welcome you in the menu : Marathon, Timed, and Survival. Along with the three you are already familiar with comes Battle Mode. In the single player version of this mode, you battle the computer with various weapons at your disposal. As you create your colored clusters, it fills up the corresponding bar and once it hits a certain amount, it then allows you to alter your opponent’s board or your own board in some way. Different attacks you can do include sending them a bomb and locking some of their pieces, and things you can do to your own board are dropping some of the pieces and making your playing side larger. Battle Mode is complicated as there are several different things you are doing at the same time, but with it comes an awesome amount of fun. This game mode is a great addition to an already fantastic game. Multiplayer is also an option now in Hexic 2 if you want to pwn some of your buddies (I know I do).

Graphics

This is where the negativity begins. I am very disappointed in the graphics with this game. The first Hexic was bright, clear, and wonderfully simplistic. The changes they made in the graphics department are all a frustrating disappointment. The background is now extremely busy and distracting and at times even causes me to become nauseated with the way it moves and waves. Worse than that is the cursor which shows which three pieces you are moving. What used to be a clear white easy-to-see graphic is now muted and at times, barely apparent. Several times while playing this game I couldn’t see which three pieces I was manipulating, which was highly frustrating to say the least. It is so faint that it affects your skill level in the timed mode and the battle mode when speed is fundamental. Another negative graphic element is the design of the new gems. In the first Hexic, the flowers and the black pearls were easy to decipher. With the new gems added, they went for varying shades of silvers instead of brighter colors and they blend in together, none of them particularly standing out. At first glance, they all look similar which is a negative. When your screen is full of different kinds of gems, you have to study them more closely than you should. The graphics pose more of a challenge than the game itself in some cases.

I would rate this game as a must have for people that enjoyed the first version. For anybody else, I highly recommend you try the demo first to see if you can make it past the challenges of the graphics to find the enjoyment that lies beneath.

Final Score
Game Play : 8 out of 10
Graphics : 5 out of 10