Bloody Good Time

« A funny sort of cat-and-mouse first person shooter with an original premise and style. An absolute bargain at the price, and a game that gives more expensive XBLA titles a run for their money. There's plenty of fun to be had, and Bloody Good Time certainly live up to its name. »

« Outerlight (The Ship) came up with a boosted version of its favorite genre : the murder game. And works rather nicely ! For 5 euros / 400 Microsoft Points on Steam and Xbox Live Arcade only ? Seriously: it's a good deal. »

« The game feels unique, looks good, and adds a new twist not seen in a lot of multiplayer games. »

« Bloody Good Time is the spiritual successor to The Ship. It maintains its quirky style of action and strategy combined with a Sim-like gameplay. At its current low pricepoint it's hard to pass up on. »

« Freaky, ironic, disrespectful, Outerlight's game is a nice FPS and a funny lesson on how to kill people in strange manners. Not a masterpiece of Xbox Live, but a worthy experience for multiplayer games addicted, at a cheap price. »

« This unusual first-person shooter barely boasts enough content to justify even its budget price tag. »

« With a more refined combat system, BGT would be a fine prospect at its slim price tag. As it is, it doesn't quite live up to its title, but then Fairly Good Time doesn't quite have the same ring to it. »

« Some nice black humour but way too tedious gameplay. »

« As a big fan of Outerlight's previous PC-only offering The Ship, I don't mind admitting that I was seriously looking forward to BGT when it was finally announced. The concept is an interesting one - the primary game mode is 'Hunt' - you wander the (very well designed) maps waiting for the Director to announce a target for you - someone you must then kill. Different weapons (ranging from a Frying Pan to an Assault Rifle) will award different 'style' scores (measured in stars from 2 for a mundane weapon to 5 for a stylish one) depending on how frequently and recently they've been used. Kill someone who's not your target? You'll be penalised, either in stars, a forced time-out, or ultimately the dreaded boot from the game. Of course, it'd be silly to think that just because you're hunting someone that you're in the clear - someone is hunting you too, and they're unlikely to just walk up to you and tell you (although they get a bonus star if they do!), so you have to be on your guard at all times. Added to this mix are the security guards and cameras, who'll come down hard on anyone seen acting antisocially, plus the odd change in game mode to either a free-for-all deathmatch, a infection-based 'tag' game, and the 'grab an item and hold it as long as possible' mode. Upon playing it, my reactions are mixed. The good? The gameplay is still fresh, fun and gets better with friends. The bad? It's massively light on content, buggy and the combat is in serious need of refinement. The bad things first - the control scheme is pretty poor. Combat often dissolves into two (or possibly more) players running round in circles swinging their melee weapons wildly in the hope of scoring a lucky hit. If you get your hands on a firearm, congratulations, but hitting anything with it is another matter altogether. I'm no 1337 pr0, but I've been playing FPS games long enough to know when it's my aim and when it's something else, and this is something else. There is a 'lock-on' system, which makes things infinitely easier, but it's a little erratic and imprecise in a crowd. The content issue is inexcusable. The game has been in development a bloody long time (no pun intended), and to take that long to roll out just three maps is a pretty poor show on the part of Outerlight. If you're wanting people to play your game for a long time, you have to give them plenty of variety, and three maps isn't even close to enough. As for bugginess, it may be a lag issue, but I've had several occasions where the camera has trapped me in third person view, unable to do anything but walk about and wait for death to reset me back inside my body. More worryingly, the game has completely locked up on me several times now, forcing a hard reset of the console. However, in spite of all the faults, it's difficult not to be charmed by the game. The 'needs' meters (your character's desire for food, rest and, well... 'evacuation') are a fantastic way of keeping players on the move rather than killing their quarry and then camping a corner for two and a half minutes, and the dreaded decisions on whether to kill that player who *might* be following you in order to kill you, but *might* just be headed the same way get no easier with time. The weapons are all well-balanced, with the more powerful ones having very little ammo to compensate, and there are no obvious gamebreakers in the mix, which is always good. Games are occasionally tough to find, and sadly, as with many games on Xbox Live, there's always the odd idiot who doesn't want to play by the rules, and takes a little bit of the fun away. However, get a group of friends or clanmates together on voice chat and start hunting each other, and I promise you, you won't find more bang for your buck - it's an absolute riot. »

« I have to admit, I'm extremely surprised at the lack of coverage and attention this indie game has received from the media. It is certainly under the radar, but the team has solidified both the game's concept and their credibility with their publication of the Half-Life mod, The Ship. Regardless, Bloody Good Time is simply what its title implies. It combines a well-polished (if initially confusing) multiplayer format with amusing graphics and comedic tendencies for an altogether enjoyable experience. The premise is outrageous enough: you cast yourself as any one of several movie character archetypes to perform in Director X's new film. He's been a hit recently and you quickly find out why: all his sets are playgrounds of murder in which the actors vie for the lead role by way of eliminating their competition. The trick to this conceit comes in the way the game is played. In the basic format, you are given a quarry whom you must murder discretely. Meanwhile, someone else has you pegged and is gunning to take you down as well. All this must be done hidden from roaming security guards and with an array of silly weapons (such as a roaming rat-bomb, frying pan, or lethal syringe). Once your quarry is murdered, you'll received a new one. Depending on the weapon you use, whether you boast of your murder and/or humiliate your opponent, you'll accumulate a certain amount of fame stars that make up your score. Simultaneously, you must keep yourself well-fed, well-rested, and well-evacuated by making use of the various food stands, beds, and lavatories scattered across the elaborate levels. All that sounds a little convoluted, doesn't it? Therein lies the game's biggest problem: accessibility. The game lacks a play-through tutorial and opts for a series of eleven instruction screens that sum up the gameplay. They're informative, sure, but the game would greatly benefit from a hands-on single-player guide to situate you in the gameplay easier. You can play offline but the bots are no match for tricky human opponents so it's a bit of a moot point. Still, you shouldn't shy away from the online play due to confusion. You'll get owned for a round or two but you'll begin to navigate the game's complexities relatively quickly and sort out a bit of strategy to the whole mess. That's the thing that sets this game apart from other multiplayer FPS games: the unique blend of strategy, skill, and insanity that make it just so damn fun to play. Even a skilled player will be victim to each level's many traps and wacky scenarios that simply defy mastery (in a good way). The only strong drawback is one frustrating game design - when playing the Hunt mode, if your quarry leaves the game, you'll be stuck with nobody to kill. Also, being such an under-the-radar release, there's only so many games going on at once. Still, for five dollars over XBox Live Arcade, your money couldn't be better spent. This is a quick-hit Arcade thrill that puts every penny to use. Graphically, it milks Valve's Source engine much as Team Fortress 2 does. Energetically, you'll find the gameplay unmatched by many other indie multiplayer efforts on XBLA. And with three diverse levels of constant insanity and many modes of gameplay (plus bonus scenes), you'll find yourself returning to this title a hell of a lot longer than you might think. »

« I quite liked Bloody Good Time. At first I was a bit skeptical, oh no another First Person game, but I'm liking the fact its done at a different angel, with some unique weapons. With a tongue in cheek sort of Cartoony hybrid of No one Lives Forever and the Sims, Graphical look, also with a hint of Team Fortress 2 about it. It makes a refreshing change from all the tactical military based shooters. The only negative i'd say is it can move a bit slow at times, another could be the aspect of a Sims-esque, need to pee, eat food and go the toilet routine, which for some people might see it as a different aspect, the Sims with violence, to some others it might hinder their flow and gameplay, but personally I think it adds a little dimension to it. Then the hypnotic sheep, the exploding rats, nice to have some different weapons. For the 400g, its a good price »

« A great simple (yet difficult to master) and fun MP game, with 3 varied and intelligent maps for only 5 dollars! Up to 8 players at time with varied MP game loadouts. The company is now defunct but this was their last project, after the well received The Ship in 2007. They expertly used the Valve steam engine,looks great as well as plays smoothly. Pick it up and support independent gaming-It does a body good! »