iHaveNet.com
Video Games: 'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)
Online Breaking News Headlines Single Source to Headlines Breaking News Current Events Top Stories. Find out what is happening in News & the World. Check out iHaveNet.com for the latest news & current events articles plus Movie Reviews, Wolfgang Puck Recipes, NFL Previews Analysis and Politics. Your Single Source to News Articles, Current Events & Reviews.
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews

'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)
Robert Workman

HOME > VIDEO GAME REVIEWS

 

'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)
Video Game Review: 'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

A lot of Xbox Live Arcade games are overlooked each year. Some are merely overshadowed by bigger releases - or retro titles with smaller price tags. Others are unfortunately released at a time when bigger and better retail games hit the market, as everyone is busy playing them.

Among these overlooked games is "Fusion: Genesis," a top-down space adventure made by the team at Starfire, made up of former Ensemble Studios members. (That's the team behind "Halo Wars.") It's a shame that this didn't pick up on the masses (at least, not yet), because sci-fi fans of "Firefly," "Battlestar Galactica" and other epics would be right at home here.

The game starts out slowly enough, putting you in control of a drone as your bothersome trainer walks you through the essential basics of the game, including shooting, mining and other skills. But just when you think it's going to lull into a sense of formula, an attack leaves you lingering on your own - and racing just to get out alive. From there, your real adventure begins, and how deep it goes depends on how much time you put into it.

When Starfire released this game, it described it as a "twin stick MMO," which didn't make much sense at the time. Can you possibly concentrate the values of an MMO-style game with the kind of controls that would be best suited for "Geometry Wars" or "Super Stardust HD"? But upon getting into it for a few hours, you could see where this description makes sense. The game has the fundamentals of an old-school shooter, not to mention the handling, but its sense of speed and timing is slow and intricate, building into something far more tremendous. And that alone makes "Fusion: Genesis" a valuable commodity.

You can do all sorts of nifty stuff in "Fusion," such as choosing which weapons or goodies to harbor, whether you're up for being an all-out war machine or mining like a money-grubbing gold-panner until you've got enough assets to build an armada. The tools at hand diversify quite a bit, so no adventure really plays the same way twice, even if you're used to a certain style of play. What's more, new ships are available, so if you prefer something big and bulky to slow and speedy, then trade up. The shop alone will keep you busy for hours at a time, and you'll be surprised what strange allies - and enemies - you make in space.

Not everyone's going to be crazy about the game's pacing - it takes some time to really get where you're going - but "Fusion: Genesis" does provide a lot of depth, and for 800 Microsoft points, that's a lot of dollar value.

Furthermore, Starfire gives "Fusion" plenty of graphic oomph. It may be a top-down approach, but the way the galaxy travels beneath you, from multilevel structures to moons that whiz right by, is amazing. They really stand out on an HD screen, enough to make you stop and gaze every once in awhile. (Just make sure you're not surrounded by enemy troops when you do.) The audio is equally impressive, with worthwhile MMO-style music (almost sounds inspired by "Starcraft") and good voicework - although some characters don't really have much to say. Ah, well, the life of a lonely space miner. . .

Seriously, if you embrace science fiction in any form or need a different kind of shooter, "Fusion: Genesis" is worth the investment. There's production value galore here, and the gameplay has so much replayability that it's ridiculous. Take to the stars already.

 

Twitter: @ihavenet

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

 

Videogaming & Video Game Reviews

  • 'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)
  • 'Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Patriots'
  • Fourth 'FIFA Street' Game Breaks from Its Past
  • 'NASCAR Unleashed'
  • 'Dezaemon Kids!' (PlayStation Network)
  • 'Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'
  • 'Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone'
  • 'Pirates of Black Cove'
  • Thought Leaders: John Laird
  • High School Teachers Make Video Gaming Academic
  • PC Gaming in Motion
  • 'F.E.A.R. 3'
  • 'From Dust'
  • Gears of War 3 Achievement Challenge
  • Top 11 Video Games for Fitness
  • Dust 514 Brings MMO EVE OnlineM Into the FPS Market
  • Watching End of Nations Fall
  • Thought Leaders: Greg Kasavin
  • 'Zenonia 3: The Midgard Story'
  • 'The Longest Journey'
  • Puzzle Dimension
  • A Rage Like No Other
  • MMO EVE Online Expands Into the FPS Market
  • Fallen Enchantress Is Set to Rise: Part 2
  • A Gamer's Education
  • Future for Slates, Tablets and iPads
  • 'Terraria' and 'Universe Sandbox'
  • 'MotorStorm: Apocalypse'
  • Cakewalk Case Studies: Sean Murray and Tim Wynn
  • Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
  • Chatting With John Martin of Reallusion
  • 'Galaga 30th Collection'
  • The Way of the Samurai: Chatting With James Russell of The Creative Assembly
  • Audio for Games Reimagined: SONAR X1
  • 'Hunted: The Demon's Forge'
  • Baseball Simulation in MLB 2K11: Part 2
  • Video Game Thought Leaders: Matt Ployhar
  • Daggerdale - Talking With Tim Ernst of Bedlam Studios
  • Fallen Enchantress Is Set to Rise
  • 'Mortal Kombat' and the First Amendment
  • 'Infamous 2'
  • 'Fable III'
  • E3 2011 Showcases a Big Year for PC Gaming
  • Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Chatting With Emotional Robots
  • 'Fate of the World'
  • 'The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'
  • 'L.A. Noire'
  • PlayStation Network: After the Fall
  • Value Proposition - PC or Console Games?

 

Video Games: 'Fusion: Genesis' (Xbox Live Arcade)

Copyright © 2011 GamerLive Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.

 

Share / Recommend

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

Your Favorite Comic Strips Online

Daily Comics & Your Favorite Comic Strips Online

Your favorite comics strips Animal Crackers, Annie, Bound & Gagged, Brenda Starr, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy, Broom-Hilda, Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Gil Thorp, Housebroken, Loose Parts, The Middletons, Pink Panther, Raising Hector, Sylvia, 9 to 5, Bliss, Bottom Liners, Love Is..., Pluggers all online at ComicStripNation.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Your Ad Here
Your Ad Here
  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

Video Games: 'The Saboteur' - Xbox 360

 

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy