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Axel And Pixel Review

By Tamizander - November 20, 2009 - 03:43 UTC

I was in heaven back in the early 90s. Back then, adventure games were running rampant and providing the best entertainment. Recently, we’ve been reintroduced to the genre with the amazing Sam and Max series and Monkey Island games. Now, I know that adventure games aren’t FPS or even open world RPG games, but they do provide an excellent distraction to the bevy of cookie cutter shooters. When I heard about Axel and Pixel, a new IP from Silver Wish Games and 2K Play, I wanted to check it out. More so than any other genre, it’s hard to break into adventure games. Unfortunately, it’s when the game attempts to mix other genres into the gameplay that the game starts to break down and become confused.

The story is rather straight-forward, as adventure games go. Axel and his dog, Pixel, fall asleep and are locked out by a strange purple demon while in their dream world. Assisting the demon is a snow giant. To get the key back, they need to follow the demon through 24 levels of their dreams. While doing so, Axel unlocks and discovers, subconsciously, the things missing in his painting masterpiece. These levels consist of a one screen scene with a theme of one of the four different seasons. Your goal is to reach the exit using the cursor and investigating the scene. Once you reach the exit, you can continue through the dream, getting closer to finding the key.

I know what you’re going to say. Yes, that is standard adventure game fare. However, where Axel and Pixel really shines and grabs your attention is with the imaginative art direction and design. The game is presented as a mix of animation and pictures of real life objects, all mixed together. With Axel being an artist, it’s understandable that he’d have impressionist dreams. Somehow, even with the hodge podge of items, they fit completely to create interesting levels. I only wish that more games would switch from trying to present AAA graphics and go down this creative route. Furthermore, Axel speaks a gibberish language. Now, this is a game for multiple regions but I feel that this made him a more endearing character, rather than have him speak each of the localized languages.

I was a bit disappointed at the ease of the gameplay. Quickly, the game becomes one in which you need to go across the screen hunting for the object to interact with next. While there is a timer that calculates your score, there is no penalty for selecting the incorrect objects. There are also three hints per level as to what you should do next. This “no fail” gameplay may appeal to those new to adventure games, but veterans may want something a bit more difficult. While most games have the ‘what do I need to combine to proceed” formula, here I see a “where do I need to click on the screen to proceed” formula dominating the levels.

I mentioned earlier the mash-up of genres. There are three distinct mini games that exist in this game. At the end of each of the first three seasons, Axel has to paint a vehicle to proceed to the next season. As you may have guessed, his travel to the next group of levels is played out as a mini game. He paints a monster truck, a hot-air balloon and a sailboat. Some may welcome this distraction, but I dreaded playing these levels. It seemed that every time I got into my adventure game mode, I was knocked out and taken to an action segment.

Sadly, once you’ve beaten the game, there isn’t much else to do. This game is on the shorter side, lasting only two or three hours. The mini games have a few more levels that can be replayed for a high score, but there isn’t much that would bring you back to this game after the conclusion. In the future, you may decide for another run, but it isn’t a game you’re going to play a week after you’ve beaten it. The extra content isn’t there.

Overview:

While Axel and Pixel isn’t a perfect game, it shines for what it does accomplish. It’s a solid and inventive adventure game and it introduces us to amazing and appealing characters. I was sad once the game was over and disappointed that I couldn’t continue an adventure with this strange couple. It’s an amazing and solid start to a franchise. If it would only concentrate on its adventure elements, this franchise could be the next big thing with adventure games. In the end, you’ll love the game for the strange design and lovable characters, but you’d also feel as if the short story and easy gameplay held it back from becoming what it could have been. Axel and Pixel is on the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points. It’s definitely worth a play by all adventure game fans. It’s also forgiving enough for one who wants to ease themselves into adventure games.

But, in the end, it’ll leave you wondering what it could have been with a bit more attention to the adventure game side of things…

Score: 7.5 – Good