This is Not a Review: Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death

I received a review copy of Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death for Xbox LIVE Arcade, but, as the title states, this is not a review. Why? Because I ran into a game-ending bug that I can't get past without starting over from the very beginning, and even that doesn't guarantee I won't run into the same bug a second time. That said, I still want to write about my experience with the game pre-bug, and also warn people of said bug if they're thinking about buying Marlow Briggs, specifically on XBLA.

Marlow Briggs and his mask of death--a Voodoo-esque mask that brings Briggs back to life and makes fun of him throughout the game--wasn't on my radar (and probably wasn't on yours), so I had no expectations, which is why I was so surprised to find a quality action-adventure game inspired heavily by games like God of War; even the weapons, as they unlock, are reminiscent of God of War--the Forsaken Sting weapon is basically the Blade of Chaos (not a typo). The combat feels good and looks good, but, after an hour or so, it became repetitive, even as new enemies joined the fight. But the game is more than just combat, it's also got its fair share of platforming and quick-time-events.

While Marlow Briggs may be good at swinging his weapons, he is awful at swinging his body around the environment; the platforming is, more often than not, annoying a frustrating because it's hard to judge where you need to jump at times thanks to the game's fixed camera; though, even if the camera wasn't fixed, the platforming wouldn't be much better because the platforming sections are just poorly designed and only exist to break up the action, not because they're fun or interesting. And then there are the quick-time-events, which are horrible thanks to someone's bright idea that putting the button you need to press hidden away in a corner of the screen, tiny as all hell, where you would never naturally look; it's horrible design and I don't know why anyone would think it was a good idea.

What I saw of the story wasn't terrible. Marlow Briggs is going for a B-movie vibe and it does a decent job with the writing and acting; however, some voice actors ham it up way more than others, giving an inconsistent feel to the acting, and the story's jokes usually end up flat; though, I did enjoy the listening to the mask make fun of Briggs whenever he died. It just felt like the writers were trying a bit too hard to cheese up the story and ended up burning more of it than not.

Marlow Briggs isn't a bad game, but, after playing about 3 or 4 hours, I ran into a game-ending bug that ruined the experience and may never be addressed on XBLA. During a section titled, "The Waterwheels Cliff," when I was supposed to climb up a wall, the camera stopped following my character and I was unable to proceed. I tried quitting the game and reloading my save, but nothing worked, and, because there is not level select option, all I can do is start from the beginning if I want to try to get past that section--I'm not willing to replay all that game if I end up in the same situation I am in now. Good news/bad news: this is a known issue and will likely be addressed on PC soon, but the studio behind the game is unsure if they will patch the XBLA version so, if you still want to give Marlow Briggs a chance, go with the Steam version and play it safe: manually save often.

*Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death is available now on XBLA and Steam for $14.99.

Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death (XBLA | Steam)