Xotic is an odd game. Developed by WXP Games, Xotic seeks to deliver a first person shooter that strays from the norm, focusing on the player scoring points rather than just killing enemies. To further differentiate itself from the pack, Xotic takes place on a planet far away, where you're playing as a plant creature with a bug gun.

The story is quite basic: the planet has been taken over by a mysterious orb, which taints the planet and controls its inhabitants, and you have been created to stop the orb. And that's about it. You're told this at the beginning of the game, and not reminded of the story again until you've completed the last level. It feels a bit shoehorned into the game, but it sets up the scenario. Unfortunately, the rest of the presentation doesn't really fare much better. The graphics don't impress at all, and the art style doesn't do much to make the game stand out. The soundtrack does do a decent job of immersing you in the game, but it's not enough to rescue the presentation. On the whole, it feels a bit rushed and unfinished.

Xotic aims to bring you arcade-like point scoring in an FPS, which is great. Bulletstorm has already proved that points-based first person shooters can be a lot of fun, so games in that vein are more than welcome. Xotic's twist on the formula is that you score points by trying to chain together exploding orb plants. The plants are located in groups and detonating one will cause nearby plants explode as well, at which point you have a small window of opportunity to make more plants explode and continue the combo. An additional layer of strategy is added by the power-ups which the plants release. In theory, then, it's a sound concept, and Xotic proves that it can be fun too.

The problem is that Xotic doesn't really know what it wants to be. The game is set up as a fast paced arcade shooter, but it also wants to be a tactical shooter. Enemies, for example, can feel very overpowered if you're trying to run and gun, but the game's cover mechanic is difficult to get to grips with, quite literally (the shoulder button that's used to stick to cover is on the same side of the controller as the trigger you use to shoot with, which doesn't work well to say the least). You can change control scheme to alleviate that particular issue, but it illustrates how ill thought out the mechanic is. Xotic is at its best when enemies can be dealt with just in time to continue your scoring chain, but it's not a situation the game wants to put you in very often; most of the time you're simply trying to avoid dying and dealing with enemies, rather than trying to rack up points.

The confusion continues when the game introduces platforming. The platforming has something of a learning curve, but it works well enough on bonus levels. These are enemy-free and enjoyable, and you can deploy platforms to access otherwise inaccessible areas, but when it's utilised in normal levels it's not nearly as compelling. Gameplay in any title relies on some basic mechanics, and while the jumping works well enough for platforming once you've gotten used to it, the shooting in contrast doesn't hold up very well. It's unwieldy and serves to frustrate more than anything else. On top of that, the game's framerate can fluctuate wildly, impacting the level of response you get from the controls.

Xotic is designed to be replayable, encouraging you to hit new highscores and compare your scores on leaderboards, but that's not a huge draw for a game with such fundamental flaws as Xotic. There's a basic upgrade system for your character and your weapons, but playing through every level once is more than enough to let you max everything out. Other than that, there's not a lot to keep you coming back for more.

Xotic has a fun core, wrapped in an identity crisis that detracts from the experience more than it adds, with some basic mechanics that aren't up to par. If you like Xotic's premise, compare it to Bulletstorm before you buy. Xotic may have less swearing and less gore, but it's also considerably less enjoyable.