Have you ever dreamed of selling intergalactic lemonade to space truckers? Then Outpost Kaloki X is definitely for you. So far Xbox Live arcade has been one of my favorite stops on my 360 dashboard, from Smash TV to the increasingly addictive Hexic HD the fun never ends. Another title that you should definitely check out is a simple yet addictive strategy-sim called Outpost Kaloki X. Developer Ninja Bee has ported their highly entertaining game from PC to Xbox Live Arcade for our enjoyment, so what makes this game so damn addictive? Read on and find out why this one is worth its weight in Microsoft Points.
Outpost Kaloki X is very similar to other tycoon titles such as Railroad Tycoon, what sets it apart though is it’s outer space setting and cast of crazy characters. The basic premise of the game is simple, build what people want and maintain it long enough to complete the main objective. There are several types of stations to build from the simple pawn shop to even a singles lounge for your visitors to hook up. All of these areas have attributes such as operating cost, condition, and appeal to visitors, but this also costs money to maintain. The key is finding a balance. You will also be required to keep tabs on your power supply and make sure that you have enough to keep all the stations running.
While all of this may sound a bit overwhelming to gamers unfamiliar with the genre, Ninja Bee has crafted an excellent interface and HUD system that guides players through the world with the greatest of ease. The learning curve starts you off simple and gradually teaches you how to run the best possible station, by the end you will be managing a massive amount of spots with the greatest of ease.
The HUD breaks down like this: you have a bar across the top of the screen that shows you all of your visitors. From here you can chat with them and see how much they like your station. You can also speak to specific characters that will give you upgrades and tips on how to better run your empire. To the left is the main options bar, this contains your basic stuff such as saving your game, speeding up the game pace, and adjusting your controller options. Finally on the right you have your status bars, these basically inform you what you visitors want, what they require more of, and how much power is being consumed. This is also where you can keep track of your funds and how much money is being spent and earned.
There is also quite a bit to do in Outpost Kaloki X, the basic Adventure mode is simply a romp through several objectives with some small snippets of story thrown in to give you reason to keep playing. Then there is the more structured War Story mode that adds more storyline but uses the same type of goals to work your way forward. In addition to these you also have 11 scenarios that you can play through, some even being simple sandbox type games that are there simply for enjoyment and honing your skills. Let’s also not forget those Xbox 360 achievements that everyone loves to collect, Kaloki has a total of 200 points to obtain and we have broken them down for you below:
- Friend of Wally – Build a habitat for Wally (10 GS points)
- Fed and Entertained – Complete adventure story Chapter 8 (15 GS points)
- Honorary Fish – Complete adventure story Chapter 10 (15 GS points)
- Adventure Story Complete – Finish entire Adventure Story (20 GS points)
- Adventure Story Gold – Finish entire Adventure Story in gold medal time (25 GS points)
- Marksman – Complete War Story mission 4 (15 GS points)
- Max Power – Convince Max Power to lend a hand in War Story Mission 6 (15 GS points)
- War Story Complete – Finish War Story (15 GS points)
- War Story Gold – Finish War Story in gold medal time (20 GS points)
- 8 Port Master – Master the 8 Port challenge (15 GS points)
- Sir Protector From Asteroids – Complete the Hammer Scenario (20 GS points)
- Survivor – Achieve gold medal time in Survival Scenario (15 GS points)
If you are a fan of tycoon style games then this will be a nice treat, especially for the small price tag, and the fact that you can buy it right from your living room. It has a great menu system, manageable learning curve, and passable visuals. The humor alone is worthy of the price, however if you are not a fan of this type of game you may want to pass. While this is a great game on its own merits it isn’t going to win over any new fans that despise the genre. In the end this game is more than worth the asking price and we highly recommend you give it a whirl in between Perfect Dark sessions on Xbox Live.
