Moon Cheese (XBLIG): "When Goblins Evolve"

Moon Cheese has got to be one of the most original XBLIG titles I have played yet. WhampiGames the developer of Moon Cheese definitely had a great imagination when designing this game. The arcade style gameplay in Moon Cheese is both addictive, and simple. It'll definitely have you coming back for more. I found that there was no actual written story in Moon Cheese explaining what's going on, but I think I've got it figured out. From the looks of things the goblin village scientist has built himself a rocket, and intends on leaving his fellow goblin villagers in a dust cloud. Unfortunately for this scientific shaman he's having a difficult time keeping the rocket from plummeting back to the ground. With the aid of his mindless goblin companions who are carrying gun powder kegs upon their backs, he tries over and over again to blast his self into orbit. Of course you could say he is probably looking for that winged 'Moon Cheese' that hovers high above their heads, but the interpretation however is up the the gamer ...

This game is simple yet somewhat complicated. Most of what you need to know is given to you via an instruction tutorial that's 3 digital pages long. In these said pages it tells you that you have a boost meter which must be built up to fly higher. It also states that by pressing the 'A' button you can use the boost to travel higher, or use it to blast opposing goblins/orcs into oblivion. Movement in the game is controlled by the 'Left Thumbstick', and the 'A' button performs the rocket boost. Other than that the visual tutorial informs you which targets can be hit, and which ones to avoid. It's pretty much common sense, but you'll want to stay away from the red hover boxes, the orc's bullets, and you definitely don't want to land on the spiked helmets of the slightly taller goblins. Catching the 'Moon Cheese' that floats among the clouds will give you a score multiplier that will help you achieve celebrity status (not really, but there's no harm in dreaming right? ^.^) on the high score leaderboard.

Scoring points in the game basically involves hitting the right targets (yellow hover boxes, gun powder keg carrying goblins, and pistol toting orcs), and reaching certain heights. Once you reach a designated height you will recieve an 'Altitude Bonus' which basically means more points added to your score. The basic score continues to add up as long as you have rockets to blast around. You start off with a given amount of rockets, but will be able to earn more via the yellow hover boxes. The hovering yellow boxes also yield boost, and shield power-ups that will aid in your pursuit to reach the heavens, and allow you to destroy one untouchable enemy (per acquired shield power-up). The key to a high score is to constantly go for the 'Altitude Bonus'. It gives you more points, and if You make it high enough to grab the fabled 'Moon Cheese' then your points will be multiplied by X4.

The end results of a game (after all your rockets are blown to pieces) will give you one of 3 different trophies, and 3 ranks. The 'C' rank will score you the bronze goblin trophy, the 'B' rank will score you the silver trophy, and the 'A' rank will win you the gold trophy. I finally was able to get that gold trophy after scoring 22,000+ points. I'm actually only in 3rd place on the leaderboards with that score. I believe the highest score was actually 30,000+ points though. I think the leaderboard is only local, but I would love to see a global leaderboard. It would be Awesome to know how well my online friends did without having to personally ask them.

In the end I found this game to be both original, and very fun. I loved the artistic look of it, and the arcade style gameplay was quite enjoyable. The fact that WhampiGames used goblins, and orcs instead of zombies or aliens was very cool. Most of the games with goblins involved are RPGs. It's nice to see an indie developer incorporate such creatures in a unique way. I recommend this XBLIG title 100%. For 80 msp ($1) you can't go wrong. Even if it doesn't have online leaderboards you can still challenge a friend or family member.