XBLA Review: Band of Bugs

A small scale war is now underway as we speak… Its the truth and actually taking place between the various tribes of bugs and now you’ve been drafted into their ranks to help out with that fight. NinjaBee has now revamped their Xbox Live Arcade title Band of Bugs and added in avatar support, thus throwing you right in the middle of all the games action now.

Developer:NinjaBee
Publisher: NinjaBee
Genre: Strategy and Sims
Price: 800 MSP ($10)

Band of Bugs was originally released back in June of 2007 and with their latest updates, this makes it the 2nd game from NinjaBee to have avatar support added, their first title was A Kingdom for Keflings;launched at the time of the New Xbox Experience, at which time the Avatars were introduced to Xbox Live. Now with their updated avatar support for Band of Bugs, this game is getting another look from those that have the game already and gaining some newer fans as well.

So have you ever wondered what it might be like to live the life of a Bug and what it takes to deal with those daily issues that they have to face? Ok your not going to really experience all that a bug goes through, but just the same, I think you’ll enjoy playing this strategy game and seeing your avatar as one of the playable main characters in Band of Bugs.

Band of Bugs is a turn based startegy game, made up of 20 challenging levels for the main story, and with various objectives that you have to complete in order to advance along in the game. In addition to the regular campaign is three expansion campaigns, available as Down Loadable Content from the Xbox Live Marketplace and each of these has 1o new levels of game play and with newer characters and features to explore.

Multiplayer versus action is available for 2-8 players via Xbox Live or co-op action via Local or Xbox Live for 1-4 players is also available and all of these with a number of game types like Capture, Defend, Elimination or the Spider Hunt modes to play. Talk about some real fun with up to eight Avatars running around and fighting each other now.

I remember trying out the demo when the game originally launched and I thought it was pretty cool back then, but now playing as my Avatar, I’ve found that I’m really enjoying the game a whole lot more. It’s fairly easy as far as a Strategy game goes to pick up and play and one I enjoy playing with my kids too. I like that its not a violent game and doesn’t have a lot of blood and gore involved. You beat a bug down and it fades away, only to come back and fight another day.

The game even has a pretty simple level editor included, allowing for all ages the ability to create various types of game maps and then share them with their friends. Its easy to see where you will have hours and hours of game play available out of this title. Then you throw in the extra DLC Maps that are available to purchase or some the ones that are available for free, you’ll have plenty of places to battle on with Band of Bugs.

The various game modes are a blast to play and its not so much about getting all of the bugs in every game to win. Some modes have you simply holding off a particular portion of a map for as long as you can. You stand with your Band of Bugs and face a wave of Bugs that clearly has the same odds the Spartans faced in the movie 300 and with no luck of winning the battle either, but if you last long enough at defending that wall, you’ll win that round and advance on in the game.

The dialog between the bugs can be fun at times and you’ll be surprised that your Avatar actually speaks various dialects of Bug. Unless you know how to speak Bug, you’ll have to read along with this game, a feature I like in most of NinjaBee’s games and being as a father of two andwanting them to learn to read more. I find games like this can entertain as well as give kids practice with other skills outside of gaming, plus some of the facts between loads are educational and fun to read as well.

In Band of Bugsyou command a number of Bugs during this turn based game play and each with various types of weapons, spells, and abilities to call upon. My favorite has to be the Ninja Bee himself when he shows up in the game, well next to my Avatar at least. It will take every thing at your disposal to win and beat some of the various levels with in the game. You have to know when and where to use just the right attack and who and when to sacrafice up from your Band to win a certain battle.

Now is the time to Attack, Defend, and Advance here with Band of Bugsfrom Xbox Live Arcade and NinjaBee has a clear winner and a favorite here for sure with the use of your in game Avatars. Who wouldn’t want to run around and whip up on some Bad Bugs or each other perhaps? If your looking for something different to play and thought about trying out a Strategy game as well as something that could be fun for the whole family to play together, then you should get Band of Bugs. (A)

- Robert Owens



One Response to “XBLA Review: Band of Bugs”

1. TXPaladin says:

   August 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm

   Hit me up on Xbox Live if you have Band of Bugs and we can wage war buggy style now.