Fuzion Frenzy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fuzion Frenzy

Developer(s)	Blitz
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Release date(s)	Christmas 2001
Genre(s)	Party game
Mode(s)	Single player, Co-Op Play, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) ELSPA: 3+
Platform(s)	Xbox

Fuzion Frenzy was a launch title for the Microsoft Xbox. At its core, Fuzion Frenzy is a collection of more than 45 mini-games which are played in random order. A demo of the game was included with some other launch titles in the US, including Halo, Munch's Oddysee and Amped.

A sequel is in development for the Xbox 360, called Fuzion Frenzy 2.

[edit] Gameplay

Up to four players can compete in two different game modes: Tournament or Mini-Game Frenzy. Mini-Game Frenzy is the simpler of the two, involving players selecting any mini-game they want to play while the record of who won more games is kept.

Tournament involves six zones that each has their own set of mini-games attributed to them.

Coliseum - Rolling Ball and Ice Car minigames.
Downtown - Fireworks and Music minigames.
Outlands - Demolition and Tail minigames.
Military Zone - Pod and Tank minigames.
Power Station - Hopper and Splat minigames.
Waterfront - Jetboat and Orb minigames.

Players could choose any amount of zones to play through (2, 4, or 6), in each zone three minigames are played. The winning player or team receivse orbs, which counts as currency that can be wagered during the Fuzion Frenzy portion of the game. Unlike other party games such as the Mario Party series, or Sonic Shuffle, Fuzion Frenzy has no board that player would make their way through, instead they move from one random mini-game to another, and from zone to zone. The computer decides which order players proceed and the route is drawn on the map. The interesting aspect of this is that the route at no point crosses itself, therefor severely limiting the true number of different routes possible through all six zones.

The Fuzion Frenzy portion of the game has players running around a level trying to pick up orbs and deliver them to goals to score points. However, a player can only pick up an orb that is the same color as them, or colorless orbs. The more orbs a player delivers to a goal at once acts as a multiplayer, therefore scoring more points. The amount of orbs that appear in your color depends on how many orbs you wagered before the "frenzy" began. Other players can attack you and steal the orbs you were carrying. There are also power-ups scattered around the level, to assist in defense, attacking, and other miscellany. Many players stand next to a goal and wait for someone to come near so that they may attack and steal their orbs. The different arenas also have unique hazards that are dependent on the theme each arena. For example, the Waterfront stage gets flooded when a participant presses an activation button.

[edit] Characters

Each player can chose from six (three male, three female) unique personas to play. The characters have no unique abilities, but are just there to serve as identifiers for players. If less than four players are playing, the remaining slots are filled in by computer controlled players that can be set at Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulty. It is not possible to play with less than four slots.