Moon Diver Xbox 360 Review

Moon Diver is a great platformer and I am very picky when it comes to platformers.  Developer Feel Plus was able to keep its classic 2D platform nature while adding elements in the game that made it much more than just your average platformer.  You can level up four different characters while the game has RPG elements to it, all while not over doing it.  The game also has drop-in/drop-out 4 player co-op which totally adds the fun especially with moves that can only be done cooperatively as well as making it easier to take on levels with more team-mates.  Everything about the gameplay is surprisingly so smooth and user friendly.  It kind of almost reminds me of a Bayonetta type of flow pushed into a 2D platformer.

When it comes to the RPG elements in Moon Diver, it seems to fit in perfectly as whether or not you complete a level or fail it, you still keep the experience you gained.  You can use points that you have earned from leveling up to upgrade which ever of the four characters you are using.  You can upgrade HP (Health Bar) WP (Magic/Special Ability Bar) or your overall Power (POW).  Each of the four characters start off with their own specific attribute levels and after choosing one you can upgrade their attributes where they need them as one is different from the others.  Each character can level up to 25 if I am not mistaken, while maxing out each characters level will net you an Achievement.  As you level you will continue to unlock not just points for upgrading attributes but new special abilities.  These abilities can range from a simple blast of magic to a health boost, to stunning an enemy or even going temporarily invisible.  There are also upgraded versions of some of these abilities and the list goes on with there being quite a lot of them.  You have four slots you can put them in, with those four slots being you D-Pad.  Once you have equipped the abilities you wish to use, you can then easily select them using the D-Pad and then just tap be to engage them.

Now when it comes to the mechanics of Moon Driver, everything is a fast paced hack and slash battle smoothly engaged by your movements.  It may take some getting used to but you can slide under enemies stunning them only to come back and hack them away or use a more powerful magic attack against them.  You can hang from ceiling while fighting only to jump up onto the platform you where hanging from to surprise the enemies above.  Just watch out for the exploding ones that tend to surprise you when you least expect it.  As smooth as this hack and slashing platformer is, it is not easy with the difficulty rising as you progress, you play until you die.  The levels are particularly long considering that you only have one life and one that HP bar runs empty you must start the entire level over again.  There are multiple sections to each level but once you die you start from the beginning of that level.

The game itself is impressive but has its low points like when you die at a boss battle and have to play the entire level over again.  Moon Driver has a unique art style that is a has sort of a modern industrious thing going on.  The graphics are sharp and pleasing too considering it is an arcade platformer.  You can also play Moon Diver with up to four people locally or online which is even more fun because there are certain moves/combos you can only do with two people as well as ones you can only do with three or four people.  This is a very unique feature that I don’t believe I have seen before which is pretty cool.  It is as easy as pressing the Start button if you want to jump into an ongoing local game.  By far the most impressive part of Moon Driver is how smooth it is and how quickly you will be sliding around, dangling from walls while killing numerous enemies at once.  The severe downside though is just how difficult the game becomes the deeper you get into it, so playing co-op is highly suggested as well as making it a lot more fun.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.