I think most; if not all who review this game will suffer the same conundrum. How does one review that of which is free? This is the case of Dorito's Crash Course, an arcade game released free for all to play on Xbox Live Arcade, complete with leaderboards and online multiplayer, oh and not least of all, achievements.
Crash Course is a side-scrolling platformer, similar to that of Super Meat Boy or Trials HD, with the familiar goal of starting at point A and reaching point B as fast as possible, however, instead of rows of deadly spikes, saws, exploding barrels and other contraptions of death & destruction, Crash Course opts for the more family friendly obstacles, placing your avatar likeness against trampolines, giant swinging punching bags and ropes - imagine the old 90's bad reality show Gladiator and you get the idea.
With 3 stages comprised of five levels, each gradually increasing in difficulty, the game is very short... with the entire single player run able to be completed in one hour-long sitting, and replayability being only in the players desire to 'go for the gold' and get that 'perfect' time in an effort to beat their friends times to gain top spot on the leaderboards, other than that there’s really not much on offer here, but hey! it's free, right?
The main problem here is that sometimes the platforming can be a little stilted in some aspects. Frustration can easily occur due to the fact that the controllable avatar quite often hooks onto edges (or misses them completely) or wont quite make a lengthy jump, sometimes forcing the player to restart the checkpoint to gain the momentum needed to clear the area. These problems can easily hinder the games otherwise fluid control system. Another issue faced is the games somewhat odd difficulty spike, with some levels seemingly easy up until the last checkpoint when it became incredibly difficult to time a specific event correctly, an example of this is that one of the earlier, supposedly easier levels had one of the trickiest spots on the entire game.
What bothers this reviewer about this game the most is not that the game is free, but the simple facts that it 'needed' to be free. Had this game cost anything, it wouldn't have been worth the money and largely comes down to the age-long expression, 'you get what you paid for'... or perhaps at least, you get what you don't pay for.
Having said this, the game is still fun while it lasts... and perhaps those scoreboard freaks out there will get a good amount of enjoyment from this title, but for the core gamers, it's merely a nice, short distraction from the more hardcore games.
Oh but wait! You were wanting to hear about the achievements weren't you? Yeah I know you well enough! The achievements here are a mixed bag. For those devoted enough, an easy 150 gs is definitely possible with a mix of progressive, action specific and multiplayer achievements; for those willing to spend time and frustration, the last two (hardest) are definitely possible.
All in all... this is a good game... but only because it's free. A lot of fun can be had in the multiplayer portion and those cheevo addicts will get some entertainment in trying to 100% it.
Oh, and no comment on how this game looks as if it could have been a retail Kinect title. Thank goodness!
3.0