PixlBit

I feel sorry for Fusion Genesis. Right out of the gate, this game just has too much going against it. It has an unfortunate name that brings to my mind thoughts of mediocre Xbox launch games and inferior 16-bit consoles. It’s a digital release that not only had the misfortune of releasing during a season crammed with some of the biggest games in recent memory, but it comes in the wake of some truly stunning XBLA releases already, like Bastion and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. And beyond that, the best game I can compare it to (Armada on the Dreamcast) is a game that no one bought for a failed console from ten years ago. No, at first glance, Fusion Genesis is at a severe disadvantage. But look closer and you’ll find a pretty great XBLA game that deserves your attention.

If you perked up at the mention of Armada, I commend you. Fusion Genesis takes the concept of Armada to its natural conclusion. Where that game was a space shooter with some light RPG elements, this is an RPG that uses the vehicle of the twin stick shooter as the basis for its exploration and combat. You’ll start off simply, piloting a mining vessel and doing some odd jobs (see: tutorial missions) for a scientist you work for. Things go belly up pretty quickly however, and you’ll find yourself on the run from a malevolent threat, seeking shelter with one of the five factions found in the galaxy. From there, you’ll have to make a name for yourself, doing missions, fighting against the enemies of your chosen syndicate, and keeping an eye out for the evil forces that seek to blast you out of the skies.

So far, so good. You control your ship with the left stick, while the right stick fires your default weapon. However, there are many different types of weapons that you can purchase, and these may be lock-on missiles or beams that are aimed with the stick and fired with the right trigger. Your HUD gives you most of the vital information in a ring around your ship, which also doubles as your radar. It all works pretty well once you get the hang of it, but Fusion Genesis doesn’t do much to really teach you what’s going on. The “Help and How to Play” sections of the menu are surprisingly sparse considering how deep this game is.

That depth is the greatest strength of FG as well as its greatest weakness. You can buy new ships (if your faction level is high enough) and fit them with new weapons (which are ranked by color, Blizzard-style) and Sentients. Sentients are little helper ships that resemble the MAGs from Phantasy Star Online. They come in three flavors: Tank, Healer, and DPS, adding some MMORPG elements to the game mechanics. The Sentients can level up by taking in crystals, which you’ll find as you mine for ore and other loot. They have their own set of attribute points, as well as skills that you can purchase and map to the D-pad. In addition to all of that, your pilot gains levels and has a set of attributes and skills totally independent of your ship and Sentient. Oh, and your ship can be slotted with items that improve its defense, offense, and abilities.

Whew! Are you still with me? That’s a lot to take in, and I haven’t even explained how factions work, not to mention the special multiplayer missions.

With each hour I spent with Fusion Genesis, I learned a little bit more about how the game works, but most of these discoveries came from me poking around the multitude of status screens and menus found within. While I admire this game for having such a core RPG foundation (outdoing many retail RPGS in terms of stats and mechanics), I wish the game did a better job of communicating what options were available to me. Your HUD will give you the occasional message, like “check Sentient stats and level up,” but Fusion Genesis follows the Call of Duty school of rewards. You’ll constantly be getting xp for something, and so the game dangles that carrot on the stick for the leveling treadmill as good as any other RPG. It’s cool that every little thing you do counts towards your levels, but information can get lost in the shuffle of constant loot and xp rewards.

If you can wrap your head around all that (which probably depends on your penchant for old-school PC RPGs), you’re going to find a lot to love here. Like I said, the game does a great job of leading you to one more mission, or one more round of mining. You’ll have to grind side missions within your faction to unlock story missions, but this too serves the greater good of the leveling treadmill. You can switch factions at almost any time, and each one has its own unique story. As a matter of course, you’ll be introduced to the multiplayer aspects of Fusion Genesis, which include a Horde-type mode, PvP, a faction vs. faction team battle, and one more type that I have yet to unlock. These modes are surely where developer Starfire Studios wants the player to spend the bulk of his or her time, thanks to independent points and rewards available for each mode. I had fun with them, but the game doesn’t do a good job of differentiating between NPC and player ships, so you never feel like you’re playing against another player, besides seeing ships that are higher levels than you are.

I have to hand it to the art team at Starfire; Fusion Genesis is a beautiful game. You’re never in deep space, and so the game doesn’t fall into the trap that Armada did of having your ship against a boring star field for large chunks of gameplay. Each area of this vast galaxy looks unique, and the detail in the environments is gorgeous. The ships all have unique designs, and as you learn the way the game works you’ll know exactly what type of enemy you’re dealing with on sight. Fusion Genesis also sports a lovely soundtrack that would fit nicely in a Final Fantasy game. It may be an odd choice for a space shooter, but the haunting themes would stay with me long after I powered down the game.

This is definitely something you should try before you buy. I loved the heavy RPG elements, lush visuals, and orchestral soundtrack, but Fusion Genesis takes a long time to get going, and even then, the game is slow. Your ship will feel like it’s in slow motion when you first start playing, and it takes a long time before you gain enough levels with the Afterburner ability to be able to zip around the galaxy. This, coupled with the aforementioned opaqueness to the game mechanics limits FG’s appeal. But I had a lot of fun, and I’ll be returning to it whenever I can. Fusion Genesis got lost in the holiday deluge, but this really is a diamond in the rough.