CarneyVale Showtime

Indie Game (IG) under Review: CarneyVale Showtime
Developed by: gambitsg (MIT Gambit Game Lab)
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Platformer
Version: ?
Cost: 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00)
Download Style: Full Game/Trial Game
Download Size: 62.70 MB
Learning Curve: 10-45 Minutes (hours to master)
Overall Rating: 9/10
Main Features:
- Players 1
- HDTV 720p
Other Features:
- 20 built-in acts (levels)
- Unlock 12 Trophies
- Unlock Concept Art
- Unlock Ranks by getting more stars in each performance
- Unlock new abilities as player progresses through acts
- Voice work (done very well)
- Map Editor (create and play)
Puzzling:
- Maps cannot be shared online
- Only eight custom maps can be created
- Maneuvering character (in any way) can sometimes be awkward
Rating:
Violence – 1/3
Sex – 0/3
Mature Content – 0/3

COMMUNITY GAMES INTRO:

Please Note: Unless otherwise specified, I have bought and played all aspects of the games I review.

Downloading Indie Games:
1. Turn on Xbox 360 and sign into XBOX Live.
2. Navigate to: Game Marketplace=>Explore Game Content=>Community Games
3. Look around and download games!

Important Indie Game Reminders:
1. They are NOT rated by Microsoft or the ESRB.
2. They can only be played while connected to Xbox Live.
3. They can only be played for four or eight minutes before the trial ends (depending on when released).
4. Some features may be locked in the trial mode.

REVIEW INTRO:

CarneyVale Showtime is a platform game that stars the circus acrobat Slinky. In this vertical ragdoll game, the player tries to rise up the ranks by performing a variety of death-defying stunts. As his fame increases, Slinky must perform in increasingly complex arenas.

GRAPHICS: 10/10

CarneyVale Showtime has some of the most impressive indie graphics on the Xbox Live Indie Game Marketplace. From the character animations and physics, to the particles and flames, the game does not disappoint in this department. With my time playing the game I have never encountered a graphical hiccup or file failing to load (or lagging). The colorful art scheme just screams circus style down to the very lighting effects in the buildings. Every building, menu, and screen has been created with the circus theme in mind, as have the levels. CarneyVale Showtime offers twenty well-designed levels which offer branching paths within the levels. As Slinky rises to fame, the level backgrounds change and become more extravagant to show he is getting more recognition.

The title screen for CarneyVale Showtime.

Slinky's caravan serves as the main hub for the game. Here you can view awards, concept art, and select a level to play.

This is a scene from a level in the game. "Balloon Basher" is a stunt that is performed when enough balloons are collected.

This is a scene from a level in the game. Slinky is attached to the rocket for a limited time (they eventually blow up in smoke).

MUSIC: 10/10

The music is outstanding and the voice acting is superb. The circus music is really high-quality and fits the theme of the game perfectly. The announcer will announce what tricks Slinky performs, and even hearing the same lines being repeated doesn’t get old.

STORY: 8/10

“This is a story of a very special circus known as CarneyVale.” This line still sticks out in my mind because of the excellent voice work. CarneyVale Showtime follows Slinky (an inhuman circus acrobat) and his rise to fame. What gives life to Slinky? He is animated by the raw magic from the CarneyVale circus. Slinky is unlike the other non-human objects because he has dreams and aspirations. He dreams of becoming the most famous acrobat in the world and so the game follows his rise to fame. As Slinky rises to fame, he moves from the Lowntown circus area to the Casino to the Restaurant to demonstrate his increasing fame. The story is good in setting the backdrop for the game, but does not build on it as much as it could.

GAMEPLAY & FEATURES: 8/10

CarneyVale Showtime is a vertical platform game with a lot to offer. From the twenty built-in levels to the map editor, there is little that disappoints. Let’s start this section with the game play.

CarneyVale Showtime tasks the player with getting from Point A to Point B while performing stunts, collecting balloons, trying not to die, and finding the hidden star. A level begins with Slinky condensed inside a little cannon and ready to spring. The player is able to move the cannon’s firing angle in order to get the best shot. Once fired, Slinky sails through the air at wherever the player has fired him towards. Hopefully it is a grabber. Grabbers reach out a certain distance and can pull Slinky in. From there, a grabber can be spun around or stopped at a certain angle. Letting go of the grabber button will send Slinky flying again. Slinky must make his way all the way to the top of a level where he must enter the “Ring of Fire” which signifies the end of a level. Once Slinky passes through, the level is completed and the stats for that level are tallied. Slinky is judged in 5 areas (1-5 stars):

1. Getting through the Ring of Fire (finishing the level)
2. Collecting all balloons (hundreds of them sometimes – vary by level)
3. Never lose a life
4. Finishing the level under a specific time limit
5. Finding the hidden star

Finishing the level and finishing it under a time limit is a common theme in games, while the others are not. Collecting balloons adds another fun game dynamic that offers replay value. Another replay value item involves finding the hidden star within a level. Doing this usually means sacrificing other judging areas, (e.g. never lose a life) because hidden stars are hidden out of the way and behind elaborate traps. Finishing the level without losing a life is easy early on, but gets really difficult as the levels progress.

Levels are made up of grabbers and many other objects that help give each new level a unique feel. Because new abilities for Slinky are introduced as he progresses through the levels, (which can be used on earlier levels once unlocked) and because new objects are always being added, the game succeeds in giving the player a new experience throughout. Example objects include:

1. Grabber
2. Lives
3. Balloons
4. Rotating flames
5. Electrical barriers
6. Much more!!!

Moving past game play we come to the little things that add to the game. Besides the twenty in-game levels, the game comes with twelve trophies to unlock, concept art to unlock, higher ranks to unlock, and a map editor.

Let’s start with the unlockables. The trophies task the player with completing a certain feat before they are unlocked. One example trophy wants the player to gain a number of fans. How does Slinky gain fans? Gaining more stars and performing high-end stunts will gain Slinky more fans. Concept Art is unlocked as Slinky ranks up. Slinky ranks up by gaining more stars in the levels. What happens when Slinky reaches the top? We won’t spoil this for you, but it is a nice little treat. Here is the rank tree (best at top):

1. Legendary
2. Magnificent
3. Awesome
4. Great
5. Acrobat
6. Newbie
7. Unknown

Another little addition occurs at the end of levels and has newspaper style quotes based on how many stars Slinky received which I thought was neat. The only problem with the quotes is that they lack variance and repeat after a few levels of getting the same number of stars. Now let’s move on to everybody’s favorite (or at least my own), the ability to create custom maps and play them. Maps have the ability to be customized by:

• Map name
• Theme (Lowtown, Casino, Restaurant)
• Level Height/Width

After that initial set up, a cursor (controlled via Analog Stick) is used as the placer. Objects are created and placed using an intuitive menu. As Slinky progresses through the game, more objects are unlocked and ready to be placed. Objects can be rotated and scaled, and placed wherever. The game offers the player the chance to create their own eight level circus using the map editor (just play them in order). Eight maps is high, but why the limit? If we are drawing off of the Xbox 360’s memory, why can’t we have a much higher limit, or no limit? Besides that the map editor allows trophies to be unlocked. This is not good or bad, but if someone really wants a trophy badly, they now have a chance to create a “glitch” level to get it. Why would someone do that though? Not only does it ruin the fun, but who’s going to see the trophies anyway?

My main complaint with the map editor is that maps cannot be shared online. I know this is because Microsoft won’t allow servers to be created to host files, but Easy Golf Course Architect (Barkers Crest Studio) and Zoomaroom (Four Bros Studio) managed to pull it off. Maybe Gambit could have created a gamertag to host people (in the friends list) who own the game so that they could find each other and share maps.

Moving past that complaint I come to my last one. Sometimes controlling Slinky can be awkward and clumsy. This mainly happens after he loses a life. The game advertises that Slinky is still controllable, but he gets pushed away by the life-taking object (usually into another one). The game tried to do this so that Slinky would get out of the area and not lose another life, but it fails and frustrates when it just pushes Slinky into another life-taking object. Another example of the awkward control involves the use of the special ability (has to be unlocked) that jumps Slinky. While in the air, Slinky can push himself in a direction indicated by the player. This is used a lot. Where does the problem come in? The Analog Stick is used to do this so the slightest error and Slinky flies in the wrong direction. Very frustrating at times.

Other than that, this game is well worth the occasional frustration.

OVERALL: 9/10

CarneyVale Showtime is 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00) of fun. With all that it offers there is no reason to pass it up. Sure, it could use a little more polish, but it is still a must-buy.

Other Games by gambitsg (MIT Gambit Game Lab) (as of 6/15/09):

- None