Up to 4 Player Drop-in/Drop-out Co-op Online or Local

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.

Watch For Exploding Enemies

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.

Moon Diver, the 2D brawler which saw release on the PlayStation 3, has been released on XBL. Moon Diver feastures side-scrolling perspective for up to four players locally or via online cooperative play. The Xbox 360 version of Moon Diver is now available for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Stay tuned for a full review of the Xbox 360 version.

The game sees you progressing through a series of 2D arenas as you hack, slash and magic your way through hordes of enemies. If you’ve ever played a side-scrolling beat ’em up before, you’ll find Moon Diver instantly familiar. The game controls well and is easy to get into with the standard jump, attack, charge attack and MoonSault attacks being easily mapped to the face buttons on your controller. MoonSault attacks are the equivalent of magic in Moon Diver and you can have four MoonSault attacks hot-keyed to the directional buttons at any one time. They add what little strategy is involved in Moon Diver and lend an impressive variety to the proceedings. They can also be fun to track down in the levels and are numerous in numbers. Good look trying to get them all.

It’s easy to jump in and out of a co-op game; unless you’re host that is

What differentiates Moon Diver from other titles in the genre is its impressive co-op. With both local and online four player drop-in/out co-op, Moon Diver only gets better the more people you play with. As you level up you get the opportunity to invest points into your HP and MP reserves or your attack power, with the four different characters levelling up the varying attributes at different rates. It’s a simple system that means your three co-op companions will never be exactly alike.

Playing with friends also allows you to charge up and perform co-op magic attacks. It adds an element of teamwork to the game, but has its share of problems. The annoying thing is that, when you use charged up MoonSault abilities, the game pauses for a few seconds to show you an attack animation. Whilst the animations are decent enough, it really disrupts the pace of the game. What makes Moon Diver so addictive is its snappy pace and non-stop action, a feature that is often broken and annoyingly shattered by these animations. The problem also extends to online co-op breaking up the proceedings. Despite my love of the drop-in drop-out co-op, your session still ends if the host happens to leave. An incredibly annoying oversight on the developer’s part.

Don’t even bother playing solo. The later levels are hard; and not in a good way

Those who wish to conquer Moon Diver in its entirety will find that the game has a large amount of content to show off. There are a lot of stages to go through, but levelling up your characters and locating all the MoonSault abilities will really give completionists value for their money. The difficulty is a little more difficult to praise. Co-op features a frustration relieving revive system where, upon dying, you get tangled up in spirit chains that your partners can break to restore you to the game. Solo play is a more frustrating endeavour, seeing you sent straight back to the beginning of the increasingly long stages every time you lose your HP. Few things have boiled my blood in quite this way for some time.

The presentation of Moon Diver is a somewhat hit and miss affair. The game runs smoothly, with the general visuals and level design being pleasant and distinctive. The character designs, on the other hand, are bland and repetitive. The fact that the enemies and player characters all seem to look and act in a similar manner, means that you can get confused with which character you are controlling at times. The audio too, in spite of some satisfying sound effects, is marred by an unremarkable soundtrack.

Look conusing? Trust me, it is

Possibly the most tacked on element of Moon Diver has to be its story. It revolves around some kid with Elf blood attempting to wipe out humanity with a bunch of elite ninjas, the eponymous Moon Divers, seeking to stop him. Trying to cull this much information from the narrative though, was like squeezing blood from a stone. The way the story unfurls is needlessly cryptic, with only a series of seemingly unrelated static images progressing the plot. It’s a real shame more couldn’t have been done with it but it is, in all honesty, seemingly irrelevant in a game as action orientated as Moon Diver.

If you happen to have a couple of real or online friends (local co-op for the win) who have an unsatisfied passion for no nonsense side-scrolling brawler action, then Moon Diver might be up your street. It does come with an advanced warning though. Expect many moments of repetition and confusion, and don’t even think about playing it on your own. If you can get over these issues, Moon Diver is an exciting and fairly satisfying arcade romp.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

Square Enix announced today three new DLC content expansions for Moon Diver on the PlayStation Network. Pricing and availability for the Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 will be announced at a later date.

DLC schedule for the PlayStation Network:

• Moon Diver DLC Pack #1: New Player Character “Silence” and Score Attack Mode
• Release Date: April 12
• Price: $0.99
• Description: Unlock Silence, a character you once battled countless times. Use your former nemesis to execute amazing acrobatic feats. Try your hand at Score Attack Mode and SCORE ATTACK! 1 “Flow,” a special stage designed just for it! Go for the high score on side-scrolling stages featuring powerful enemies! This is a single-player mode, but experience points earned here are applied to Story Mode.

• Moon Diver DLC Pack #2: New Score Attack Mode Stages: “Orbit” and “Rage”
• Release Date: April 26
• Price: $0.99
• Description: SCORE ATTACK! 2 “Orbit” and SCORE ATTACK! 3 “Rage” are now available in Score Attack Mode. Go for the high score on stages that never quit scrolling. Your main objective is simple: kill as many enemies as you can! This is a single-player mode, but experience points earned here are applied to Story Mode.

• Moon Diver DLC Pack #3: Chain Kill Mode
• Release Date: To be announced at a later date
• Price: Free
• Description: Introducing Chain Kill Mode, a new mode where you try to kill multiple enemies in quick succession! See how many Chain Kills you can get within a limited area before your HP runs out. A brand new world awaits if you are able to survive the attacking hordes! This is a single-player mode, but experience points earned here are applied to Story Mode.

Square Enix announced today that its highly anticipated digital release Moon Diver  is now available on the PlayStationNetwork. Developed for both the PlayStation Network and for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Moon Diver delivers frenetically fast-paced gameplay and a classic side-scrolling perspective for up to four players locally or via online cooperative play. The PlayStation Network version of Moon Diver is available today for $14.99 as this week’s new title in PlayStation Network’s ongoing Spring Fever event. Pricing and availability for the Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 will be announced at a later date.

Here’s some info on Moon Diver by the devs themselves:

“While Moon Diver certainly pays homage to its side-scrolling ancestor with hordes of enemies and gigantic bosses, the game innovates in a number of ways, including: entirely modern three-dimensional graphics; a dynamic and intuitive character experience and leveling system; four-player local and online co-op with the ability to instantly drop in and out; and finally, a number of unique, selectable, upgradeable and cooperatively combinable character special abilities called “MoonSault Combinations,” which can dramatically alter the field of play at any moment – from powerful area-of-effect attacks to critical passive power boosts to simple, yet effective, invisibility.

The Moon Diver Story:

At the dawn of the 22^nd century, an evil power brought inanimate objects to life, and they turned on humanity. Bridges, automobiles, cities – the whole of humanity’s creations were all compelled to turn on their makers. Mankind’s fears of apocalypse became reality!

Hidden amongst humanity’s survivors, an elite unit of specially trained ninja known as Moondivers has been lying in wait for orders to reclaim the planet.

Today, those orders arrived. Today, the battle to retake Earth begins.

Product Highlights:

·         The Diver System allows players to jump in or out at any time, for a maximum of up to four players total. Guest players are awarded experience points for helping out.

·         Combos increase in power and intensity based on the number of players. Collect new combo moves by picking them up on the map or fulfilling certain requirements.

·         Adjust the difficulty level at any time with the Chaos Accelerator. Higher levels are rewarded with enhanced visuals and greater experience points. Players set the challenge rating as they see fit.

·         12 stages to explore and master.

·         Local and online co-op for up to four players.

·         Character designs by Roberto Ferrari (Tatsunoko).”