Death By Cube

Death By Cube (デス バイキューブ, Desu Bai Kyūbu) is a twin-stick shoot 'em up video game, released on the Xbox Live Arcade service on January 20, 2010. It was developed by Premium Agency and published by Square Enix.[1]

Death By Cube
Developer(s)Premium Agency
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Platform(s)Xbox 360
ReleaseJanuary 20, 2010
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The game uses a top-down visual scheme. Players assume control over the amnesiac robot Leo, controlling his movement using the left thumb stick and aiming and firing using the right thumb stick.[2] Additionally, a dash move can be executed using the left trigger and a shield can be deployed using the right trigger.[3] The player must eliminate all of the enemies on the map, many of which are cube shaped, while avoiding getting hit by projectiles fired by the enemies.[2] Enemies that are killed explode into large gushes of blood-like red oil.[1] Some levels have additional objectives, such as defending a base or surviving with only one life. Players acquire computer chips, the form of in-game currency, by performing well enough in a level to receive a bronze, silver, or gold rating. Chips are spent on upgrades to Leo or to unlock additional levels.[2]

Development

Yosuke Shiokawa cited Heavy Weapon as an inspiration for the game.[4] The team was not big enough to release the game on multiple platforms. This, combined with the facts that the team did not have market information on either the PlayStation Network or Wiiware, led to the decision to make the title an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive.[5] The title was created by Square's western branch, as the title was designed with a western audience in mind. According to Shiokawa the final title was "born jokingly" although Shiokawa has admitted to not seeing the humor in it.[4]

Reception

Prior to its release, Death By Cube was set up for demo play at the Square Enix booth of the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, where several reviewers commented on the game as being exceptionally bloody.[14][15] Kotaku Australia's Stephen Totilo praised the game for requiring more strategy than other twin stick shooters, and remarked that "This little game might well have been the bloodiest game at the Tokyo Game Show".[15]

Death By Cube received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] Critics took issues with multiple aspects of the game, including wildly fluctuating difficulty levels, a threadbare plot, poor visuals, and that additional levels had to be unlocked by grinding through the initial levels.[1][2][3] Brett Todd of GameSpot summarized the game by saying that "While the action can be gratifyingly frenetic for a few minutes here and there, the overall game design is simplistic and repetitive, the varying difficulty is incredibly frustrating, and the look and sound of the game are too primitive to hold your attention for long."[2]

References
  1. Miller, Greg (January 21, 2010). "Death By Cube Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  2. Todd, Brett (January 26, 2010). "Death By Cube Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  3. Whitehead, Dan (February 1, 2010). "Death by Cube". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  4. Spencer (January 22, 2010). "On Designing Death By Cube". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  5. Spencer (January 27, 2010). "Director Explains Why Is Death By Cube [sic] Only For Xbox Live Arcade". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  6. "Death By Cube for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  7. Neigher, Eric (January 21, 2010). "Death by Cube Review". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  8. Edge staff (March 2010). "Death By Cube". Edge. No. 212. Future plc. p. 97.
  9. miniblob (February 3, 2010). "Test: Death by Cube". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  10. "Death By Cube". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. April 2010. p. 83.
  11. Price, Tom (January 20, 2010). "Death by Cube Review (Xbox 360)". TeamXbox. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  12. Teti, John (February 8, 2010). "Death By Cube". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  13. Hargreaves, Roger (January 2010). "Death By Cube (360)". Teletext GameCentral. Teletext Ltd. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  14. Ekberg, Brian (September 25, 2009). "Death By Cube Hands-On". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  15. Totilo, Stephen (September 26, 2009). "Death By Cube Impressions: One Of TGS' Bloodiest". Kotaku Australia. Allure Media. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
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