Nov 29, 2010  It will take you 7 minutes to read this review. Let’s just say it: Axel & Pixel is a Samorost clone. There’s no point beating around the bush, as comparisons of Silver Wish’s lite adventure puzzler with Amanita’s classic are obvious and inevitable: both are wordless, one-screen-at-a-time journeys through photorealistic natural environments populated by surreal hand-drawn characters. Oct 14, 2009  Axel and Pixel is definitely a simple game, and a quick 200, so there really isn’t much to prevent you from the almost Monty Python-esque animation in.

I've played some good point-and-click games and some horrible ones. Thankfully, the new XBLA title Axel & Pixel is a wonderful game and most definitely worth the 800 MSP that it costs.

You play as Axel, a painter, with your faithful dog Pixel. You more directly 'control' Axel, though you occasionally do get to 'control' Pixel. It is a fun and very relaxing game that has a decent amount of time you can attach to the game, especially with finding the collectibles.Graphics - The graphics are great for an artsy-style XBLA title. They are not supposed to be cutting edge or anything fancy. Just a creative, fun art style that sometimes looks like a beautiful collage (you'll see what I mean in the last chapter).

As far as I know, a lot of the stuff is hand-drawn.Gameplay - While the game is not difficult overall, there is a chapter here and there has a nicely hidden element that is crucial for moving on. It helps spices things up. Finding just the essentials is only half the fun. It is quite enjoyable to click on everything possible in each chapter to see what happens!Sound - Great music, entertaining dialogue from Axel. Not much to say here other than the sound fits the game perfectly.Presentation - Just a great game overall. The story is great and the addition of the mini-games that are longer, more fun versions of the story-related mini-games are a good edition.

While the story may be a bit short, it is definitely worth more than one play-through (or to at least watch someone else play through it).I would definitely give this XBLA title 5/5 and highly recommend it to anyone into point-and-click games, relaxing games, or just an enjoyable game that doesn't rely on massive amounts of violence (this is a great game for younger audiences!). DescriptionAxel & PIxel is a point-and-click adventure game set in a fantastical dream world. You primarily play as Axel, a human artist, and occasionally as Pixel (his dog), as you traverse 24 different chapters in an attempt to escape from dreamland and back to reality.I've got a soft spot in my heart for point-and-click games (Sierra was my favorite video game company of the 1990s), and so I like seeing that the genre still shows up from time to time. Vector 21 hot tub. Axel & Pixel is a decent foray into the genre, but it definitely isn't top-tier.Graphics/Sound (7/10)The art is everything in this game. Its visuals, many hand-painted, set the dream-world mood and offer up a great deal of variety (especially since there are seasonal themes to the chapters). I really enjoyed the look of this game. Its unique art style serves as a nice foil to either the super-real aesthetics that many high-budget games strive and the low-res, low-quality output we see from many of the rest.

The visuals just work for this game, and work well.Sound. The background music seemed to want to invoke a sort of dream-world feel, and in a way it does, but it also felt repetitive and in some cases jarring. It almost sits in the background and is unobtrusive, but on occasion I'd take notice of a strange musical refrain or chime that had nothing to do with an in-game action I took.Another sound issue I had was with the voicing. Axel 'talks', but he speaks gibberish. I believe it's an attempt to make him sound foreign without actually giving him a real, alternative language. I suppose this was to add whimsy, but I found it just annoying.

LEGO games (the pre-voice ones), demonstrated how well you can tell intent and emotion through miming. This game would have been perfect for that, but instead we get garbly-mime. Garbly-mime is more abomination than funny.Controls (7/10)As a point-and-click game, the controls are simple to understand and work pretty well. The pointer tool clearly highlights when you are properly aligned over something you can interact with.

While a few things were placed so that selection required some slight degree of precision, very rarely was it actually to a frustrating degree.The controls do lose some points for the mini-games, however. Each mini-game has a different playing mechanic, and the controls feel tighter in some than others. You really start to notice this when going for the mini-game score achievements or trying to do the collectibles in the mini-game sections of the story. I'm not really surprised that the controls were inferior for the non-point-and-click parts, but they should have known better and just left those out.Story (6/10)The story is about average. Going into a dream world is hardly unique, and given the lack of narration you're never provided any sense of meaning. There is no 'why'. You are given enough information to convey that you are chasing after a rat with a key, and you need the key to get back, and that is serviceable for getting you into playing the game, but it could have been so much more.Walking Dead showed us that point-and-click in today's age is best used to tell a story.

I'd have much rather they done so here rather than embed three mini-games.Replay Value (3/10)There is hardly any replay value. The puzzles don't change, so going through the story again would only be to get through it faster (and it's already a short game). The only real replay element belongs to the three mini-game modes that unlock as you progress through the story. Given those are outside the point-and-click genre, though, many who would otherwise like this game will not find those very entertaining. Those who love the idea will probably be annoyed at the lack of variety, as only the car mini-game has multiple maps (and only three at that).Those wanting to 100% the achievements can easily pull it off in a day (I spread it out over two and did not have to strain myself with any exhaustive play). One trip through the campaign can get you everything except for the three high-score achievements related to the three mini-games. Those will probably be the most frustrating, due to control mechanics, but even the worst one for me (sailing) only took a few tries.'

Fun' Factor (7/10)I am glad I played this, and I did have fun. I just recognize that it could have been so much more. The art is great to look at, but you can only look for so long. The puzzles are overly easy for a point-and-click game, the chapters are short, and the mini-games just don't add much to the title. Star fox snes ebay. So, it's an enjoyable little game, but it lacks enough meat on its bones to ever be notable.Overall, I'd say get this game if you can get it at a good price. I acquired this game on sale (160 points); I think given its length I would only recommend it at 200 points or less (or 400 points if you absolutely need to get a point-and-click fix).

Walking Dead and the Monkey Island games are far better XBLA point-and-click experiences, however.Overall score average: 6.0Score-to-Star Translation Guide:5 stars: 9.01 to 10 (out of 10)4.5 stars: 8.01 to 94 stars: 7.01 to 83.5 stars: 6.01 to 73 stars: 5.01 to 62.5 stars: 4.01 to 52 stars: 3.01 to 41.5 stars: 2.01 to 31 star: 1.01 to 20.5 stars: 0 to 1.