Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

When all-time classics are ported to a new platform, especially the Live Arcade, there are always a few worries that go along with them. The most important question that I have for a new Live Arcade game is, how does it control?

SOTN was no different, I’ve been concerned for awhile that the game would never feel natural using the analog stick. After about an hour of gameplay, I realized that I had naturally been using the analog stick to play that game, without issue. In-fact, it felt surprisingly reponsive and comfortable.

Hours later, I was hooked just like I had been so many years before. I don’t have to go into too much depth regarding the storyline or background of Symphony of the Night, reviews of the game can be found all over the web. I’ll discuss the game as a Live Arcade release and how it handled the transition. I’ll also try to do it all without any “whip” jokes, whenever possible.

Oddly, there isn’t any option to control the volume of the sound effects separately than the music. You can control the overall volume of the game but the music always seems to be just a tad bit lower than I’d like. Castlevania is well known for it’s outstanding musical score, especially Symphony of the Night, so cranking up the tunes is something every fan enjoys. It’s strange that an option for that doesn’t exist here.

The “enhanced mode” that is defaulted here simply cleans up the textures in the game to make it a little less painful to view on an HDTV. The game is gorgously classic in it’s visuals, they definitely stand the test of time and keep the game playable.

I’m intriqued by the wide screen support, which allows you to stretch the screen out using the right and left analog sticks. It’s completely open, so if you wanted to, you could stretch it only horizonally but not vertically, or the other way around. Why you’d want to do this, I have no idea, I would’ve much rather had a swtich for “16:9″ and “4:3″ instead. I also would’ve been nice to actually have more of a viewable area on the screen in the 16:9 display, instead of just stretching the 4:3. Then again, I can only imagine the additional testing that would’ve been necessary for that and in the end, it definitely would make it a different game.

There is a great balance in the Achievements here, the easier achievements (killing 10 enemies without getting hit, one for using only magic, one for special weapons, one for just your everyday whip) are generally very low in value with the more advanced Achievements (completing the game to 200.6% or Finish the game, including the inverted castle, as Richter is worth 45 points) have a much higher value. There’s something to be said for achievable yet still challenging Achievements. Crackdown managed the balance of challenge and acheivability perfectly on the full retail side, SOTN seems to have now perfected that delicate balance on the Live Arcade.

Aside of the minor hiccups, the transition here is a perfect one. Knowing how much content is available here, 800 points ($10) seems like an absolute steal to me. In the end, there’s no doubt that this is an absolute must-buy for the Xbox 360′s Live Arcade. If you’re looking for replayability and a great, old-school challenge look no further. Symphony of the Night for the Live Arcade is a whip-crackin’ good time. (sorry, I had to do it just once.)

The balance of content, quality and price leaves me no choice. It must get my very-first perfect score.