Stryctnin Rants Episode #20: 30 Days of Xi 2 Review.

Written By Stryctnin; PSHG Co-Founder.

I had written an initial review of Xi 2 a week after its release.  At that time, it really wasn’t much going on.  In fact, it had been 7 days and 4 of those days were nothing but reading emails.  It had become a disappointment and an apparent waste of money except, of course, you get an apartment (Vertigo) with it.

Over the course of the month that Xi has taken place for me, I kept waiting for something to happen.  I felt like it was building up to something and the next day would be better.  Unfortunately, it never got better.   It dragged on and I felt that they could have easily cut down on the days and consolidated it. 

The sad truth of it is:  There are too many days where I am told to read the Holomail and after reading one or two emails I am told by a voiceless Jess “That’s all of your tasks for today agent, enjoy the Continuum until tomorrow.”  I guess the “enjoyment” comes from running around searching for one or two fragments to fill in a note that, after halfway done, is very readable.  It doesn’t make much sense as to why bother searching for them.  There are 100 in total and it is a challenge to be checked off, but everyone already knows that there are absolutely no rewards in Xi 2.  Unless it opens up another part of the Vertigo apartment, then it’s pointless to be looking for these things that are becoming more of a nuisance than anything.  Some have become glitched, like one has for me.  No matter what I do, where I search, it just isn’t there.  I’m not the only with that problem as I’ve heard others reporting it as well.  So searching for the fragments seems as mundane and useless as anything I can imagine and you’re not even getting any satisfaction out of it.  Days have turned into months and God knows how many hours I have spent digging around for these fragments only to come to the realization: IT’S NOT GOING TO MATTER!!!

Even if it opens up a new section of Vertigo what’s the point?  You can’t decorate the damned thing.  The doorway leading up to the section with the ice pond looking thing is too small to get any significant sized furniture through and there is only one spawn point for furniture. And I like the space.  I really do.  It’s actually the only redeeming quality about this Xi 2.

So, let’s back up and talk about the fragments again.  If obtaining all 100 doesn’t reward you a piece of Vertigo, then it’s a deep possibility you will earn new character cards to use in that card game.  And again, I have to say:  What’s the point?

Pretty much like the fact of the challenge to win 100 multiplayer matches unlocks 2 new character cards.  That perplexes me beyond belief.  Why are you going to reward someone with something at the end of something?  Who will want to continue to play it when you’ve done all you can with it?  OOOH, I’ve got two new cards to now play in this mediocre Magic the Gathering type of game, I must play more now!

It’s not that I care if I get a reward like a t-shirt or an outfit.  I want satisfaction from the game.  I want to feel like I accomplished something and it mattered.  I want a better feel from it.  A better storyline.  Better gameplay.

So far, the highlight of Xi  came on Day9.  It was a game involving IP addresses.  It was fun, it was challenging and it got the community working together on it.  That was the heart of the original Xi.  See, Day 9 came a couple of days after I had written my first review and I thought; “Oh, wow, now we’re getting into the juicy stuff.”  Then it died like a seagull with a heart attack in mid-flight.

Where are the games like we had in Xi?  Where are the mazes?  Where is the hoverbike game?  Where is the museum of mini arcade games?  Not here, not in the Continuum.

At the time of my first review, I said, give it time, nDreams will surprise us like they do and make something magical.  A part of me still wants to believe that, but it’s fading out fast.  So I ask myself now:  Is Xi Continuum worth buying?  And the answer is no.  I feel like I just blew 100 bucks on a date, brought her home, got all excited, turned on, and she blue balled me.  ”Sorry agent, that’s all for today, enjoy your time in the Continuum.”  Merry Christmas.

And that’s the truth.  I’ll get excited about something like Oh Merylsilvertongue, Tiberius, and the evil Stapler just dropped in.  Then they never do anything.  They don’t even move.

You have this build up to fight Eatflamingdeath.  You beat her and nothing happens.

Stapler becomes a bomb and they threaten to blow up the damned Continuum.  Huh?  Wait.  What?  Wasn’t there a bomb in the Vertigo apt at one time?  Weren’t we going to blow it up ourselves?  Blow the damned thing up for as much sense as it’s making.

Xi 2 Continuum:  The game that doesn’t matter.