Writings of Mass Deduction

Not every game can be, or needs to be, a massive RPG or a deep action/adventure to be worth a dollar. Did Tetris suck because your only goal was to spin blocks and place them in a well? “Pie Collect” embraces this minimalism and comes out with an surprisingly addictive pick-up-and-play challenge. At its core the game’s a collect-’em-up, but the twist is that every pie you collect adds another enemy on screen, making snagging each subsequent pie that much more difficult. To mix things up, the game adds power-ups (get smaller to avoid the enemies, move more quickly, clear all enemies off screen, lay out an emergency picnic basket if you’re getting swarmed by enemies, and more). Achievement-like Awardments are present, including at least one secret one (not sure I’ve seen that in an indie game before). Various characters to play as are available, most of them only as unlockable bonuses. Local multiplayer is here too, and it’s surprisingly fun to out-race your friends for both score-boosting pies and ability-boosting power-ups. “Pie Collect” justifies its 80 Microsoft Points if you’re looking for a quick pick-up-and-play experience to add to your collection.