The Maw, Xbox Live Arcade’s latest addition was released yesterday, and much to our surprise, this is one of the greatest XBLA titles ever released. Created by Twisted Pixels, The Maw is a 3-D action adventure game featuring the lovable blue alien Frank and his overindulging pet / sidekick The Maw. After crash landing and discovering one another, the game begins as Frank finds an armlet, giving him the ability to grapple onto objects and the many different creatures throughout the world, including The Maw. Players will face many obstacles and hilarious moments throughout the game, as Frank and Maw embark on their soon-to be legendary journey.

Video of The Maw and more details after the break.


The Maw is a 3-D action adventure title, resembling many games that were released during the hay-days of the Nintendo 64. In our opinion, you can tell the developers at Twisted Pixels drew much of their inspiration for The Maw from Rare’s classic N64 title, Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Both games feature a bright and brilliantly colored 3-D landscape, interactive environments and that perfect touch of humor, which is neither over-done nor corny. It may be a coincidence or homage, but like Conker, The Maw opens with the player briefly controlling Frank as he staggers away from his crashed space ship. This reminded us of the classic opening sequence of Conker’s Bad Fur Day, as players control the drunken squirrel, making his way home from a night of drinking at the pub.

As players delve into the The Maw, they will instantly notice the quality of the cut-scenes as well as the in-game visuals. Each cut-scene is beautifully rendered and the in-game character models and environments are almost perfect, will little notice of “jaggies” or pixilation.

One element which makes The Maw a great game is how the player interacts with the on-screen enemies and the environment surrounding them. As The Maw approaches his soon-to-be snack, they will either flee for the lives or take stand and fight off their would-be attacker. As you will see in the video below, for The Maw to eat the fire lizards, players must first extinguish the lizards by throwing them into the river first. Once eaten, not only does The Maw grow in size, but he takes on the characteristic of his meal. Eat a fire lizard, and The Maw gains the ability to blow fire from his mouth. Throughout the game, players will come across a wide variety of enemies, many of whom will unlock a new ability for The Maw.

Priced at 800 Microsoft points, The Maw is full of humor, solid gameplay elements, and has graphics that rival many full retail games. Expect between 3 – 5 hours of gameplay with many achievements and hidden goodies throughout the adventure. Priced right and full of fun,The Maw is definitely XBLA’s first must-own game of 2009.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyvbvPDtiWI