![]() ![]() There are no pre-determined move combos or canned animations, just a few simple commands and power-ups and their application to physics and some great maps. Take BombSquad for example, a physics-based Smash Bros on a 3D plane where just pressing ‘punch’ does little damage but if you add the gravity and inertia of jumping from a step and rotating your body wildly, you can knock an opponent out in one hit. The void these games might fill in your gaming life sits somewhere between the pleasure you get from retro couch multiplayer and plumbing the depths of the internet in search of passion-project beta builds, underground sensations or intentionally janky physics-based game experiments. Of particular importance in arguing in favour of Ouya, however, are the games that have wound up here because they suit a particular kind of play afforded by a television and a couch, but would have no hope of showing up on 360, PS3 or Wii U. That’s not to say there are no ports of mobile games on Ouya - the familiar architecture of the device would make ports a no-brainer for a lot of Android game developers - but they’re all running versions that fully support a home console environment. The Ouya interface doesn’t look or feel like Android, and the games, for the most part, don’t feel like smartphone games that were designed for touch controls. ![]() While that unfortunate phrase “Android console” understandably brings to mind images of a box equivalent to a smartphone attached to a TV via MHL with a Bluetooth gamepad shoehorning in traditional controls where they don’t belong, the truth is Ouya is its own gaming platform with nothing to do with the Google Play store or existing touch-based Android games. First let’s be clear that Ouya is not, contrary to popular misperception, a way to play mobile games on a television. Ouya - it's tiny.After a few weeks with the Ouya and dozens of hours of enjoyment, I’ve arrived at the position that despite the disdain thrown at it across blogs and games media sites, there’s more than enough potential here to justify the machine’s existence. I hoped for indie and retro-style game experiences that avoided many of the issues I have with iOS and PC gaming. I was originally interested in the system not for its hackability or potential as an illicit emulator box, but because of its promise to offer an open, anyone-can-publish marketplace within a format that’s currently lagging behind in delivering that kind of experience: the home console. While many of those early complaints are merited (poor execution of a solid controller design means you’ll be using 360 or PS3 controllers with the system for now), the momentum behind all the months of pre-release tear-downs based partly on misunderstanding, bad communication and good old fashioned ignorance means the waves are still crashing and wiping out many of the voices discussing the unique and positive experiences Ouya might provide its audience. ![]()
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