Novadrome - Xbox Live Arcade review

And the combat isn't strong enough to carry the whole game. The levels are generally way too big - and drab- for the action, meaning you'll spend more time looking for someone to shoot at rather than fighting. And the floaty physics mean the slightest bump or undulation in the track will send you flipping end over end, having to rely on the game's "recover" button to stay righted. It's really annoying.

Plus, the weapons just aren't satisfying in the least, not to mention there aren't enough of them. You're limited to six different weapons, most of which are really hard to find during an actual game. So really, you'll spend most of you time with the standard laser blaster.

Visually, Novadrome comes up a bit short, too. Everything looks super-generic in this game, from the sprawling, boring arenas to the nondescript vehicles. Admittedly, they look great when flying apart, thanks to a decent damage model, but otherwise the visuals are akin to something you'd expect of a college art project.