Nasty can be best described as a mash up between Contra and Flicky with a little hint of Pacman thrown in for good measure. Your main aim is to kill all the enemies on the screen in order to open the door to the next one. Throw in some point flavoured fruits and the occasional power up and you’ve got yourself a fun and addictive albeit somewhat flawed Indie title.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One of the main attractions to the Indie section of the XBLA is the price of the games; however this game is not a budget Indie game, coming in at 400ms points. Although the price has nothing to do with how good the game is, it’s obviously going to be a determining factor when considering a purchase of a game that is the same price as many XBLA titles, but without the features associated. For an Indie game however there is a healthy amount of content. With 100 levels and 3 difficulty settings, various multiplayer and a local highscore table. The difficulty of the game is reasonable on normal, however if you find yourself struggling or finding it too easy, the difficulty setting changes the number of lives and continues and also makes the enemies weaker or stronger respectively.

 

 
The gameplay is simple yet effective and can become increasingly addictive as the game progresses. The levels are varied combining an array of backdrops and many creatures to destroy, with boss characters appearing every 10 or so levels. As a result the levels never feel ‘samey’, which is a feet in on itself considering there are so many. Controlling the Contra-esque stars of the game is easy, although it may take a few deaths before you get the hang of holding the left trigger down in order to shoot diagonally without moving. The hit detection can unfortunately sometimes seem a little in the favour of your adversaries, and destroying blocks at certain heights can be really frustrating.

 

 
The graphics are nicely done, with the sprites looking reassuringly retro, with an overall colour scheme bright enough to keep you paying attention. The sound in the game is pretty good for an Indie title and never feels repetitive. The sound effects are again ok, with the exception of the clouds which make the most annoying sound imaginable, forcing you to destroy them before anything else. A great touch to the game is the humour, starting with the intro that states that you will confront things that are “so terrible they can make the strongest of men soil themselves”. Also quitting the game will tell you that “your parents are going to be so disappointed”. Simple humour admittedly, but adds to the game none the less.

 

 
Nasty is a competent game that plays well, for the most part, with well designed levels and a few jokes along the way. It certainly has enough content to keep you entertained until your next purchase, whether it warrants such a high price is really the main reason why the majority will unfortunately never play this title.

 

75/100

 
Update 1.5

 
So as a result of feedback from reviewers and forums, Fun Infused games have released an update for the game. But does it make the game better?

 
Even though the update rectifies some of the initial problems with the game, including such things as: More bullets on screen, Faster, less “floaty” jumping, Three new weapon types, More precise collision detection and Updated levels. The game itself still plays to similar to notice any significant change, The update is more than welcome though and it’s good to see that the developers are committed to the future of the game. All of the imperfections of the game, including the ones recognised and updated are easily overlooked when playing, but the high price point still remains as a significant factor as to why the game is still, despite the update, hard to recommend to purchase.