On the surface, spending 800 points on Xbox Live Arcade for a seemingly full-featured turn-based strategy game seems like a good deal. Band of Bugs has a solid single-player campaign, a number of multiplayer modes, and a bunch of maps. The problem isn't that there aren't enough ways to experience the gameplay as much as it is that the gameplay isn't satisfying enough to be worthwhile. If you're a strategy enthusiast, you might be able to look past the simplicity to find some enjoyment in here. But more casual fans of Ninja Bee's prior efforts will probably be surprised by the inconsistent pace and frequently frustrating story mode.
The incoherent story isn't going to involve you, though it features cute dialogue that is good for a few chuckles here and there. There's some stuff going on with special crystals, unusual black bug jelly, and a powerful boss bug that wants to crush your little band of warriors. But it's merely a backdrop to a series of missions that pit your small force of insects against teems of creepy crawlies by dropping everyone onto a grid-based map and letting you have it. In each round, your bugs get one turn, and you can use them in any order you want. A typical turn involves moving your unit to the best square available, attacking an enemy or casting a spell, and then rotating your unit to face the direction that leaves it least vulnerable. Wait for your opponent to take a turn; then, rinse and repeat.
MINIMUM
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800MHz Processor
256MB RAM
2GB Hard Disk Space
Nvidia TNT2, GeForce 1, 2 or 3, ATI Radeon 7000, 7200, 7500 or 8500, or Matrox G450 Video Card
DirectX Compatible Sound Card
DirectX 9
MAXIMUM
Windows 7/Vista (32 or 64 bit)
Intel i7 Quad Core 2.8Ghz or AMD equivalent
3GB System RAM (High)
30 GB Hard dDisk Space
nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX / ATI Radeon HD4850 Video Card
Direct X 9.0 compatible supporting Dolby Digital Live
DirectX 9.0 - DirectX 11
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