---

If you were to try to think of the definitive split-screen multiplayer console of the 6th generation, there's a reason why the Xbox probably wouldn't be the first option to pop in your head. The GameCube continued Nintendo's tradition of being a (mostly) family-friendly option, which naturally meant many of its games were intended to be played with the whole family. The PlayStation 2, just by sheer volume of its massive library, is bound to cater to some multiplayer options, even as it didn't natively support 4 players. Even the Dreamcast is well established in regard to its fighting game library.

Now, to be fair to the Xbox, it was one of the pioneers of online multiplayer, and its library for local multiplayer was pretty impressive too. But it never seemed to develop that kind of reputation. Perhaps that was never their priority, and it would be impossible to determine a singular reason. But for perhaps a tiny morsel of a glimpse into the cause of this phenomenon, we can observe their launch lineup. The game determined to fill the niche for a multiplayer party game on Xbox was Fuzion Frenzy, and if that was your first exposure to the genre on Microsoft's debut console, you wouldn't be too confident in their future, either.

Fuzion Frenzy is a mini-game collection that forgoes the typical board game-like layout of its party game contemporaries, so it makes sense to go right into talking about them and, indeed, the game's critical flaw. The mini-games aren't good. There's nothing here, save for the sort-of post-apocalyptic set dressing, that makes FF stand out from any other party game. There are 45 mini-games here, but in reality it will feel more like, generously, 7 or 8? This is due to the game's "sector" system, where certain mini-games only get selected in certain areas. What that basically ends up meaning, though, is that every zone has its own version of what is basically the same concept.

Many of them boil down to "pick up more things than anyone else" without a hint of creativity or differentiation. Games that involve combat (which is just kicking other players) are immediately trivialized, as you can simply stun-lock your opponents by spamming the attack button over and over until the game concludes. Each contest, despite only being about a minute long, is likely to have worn out its welcome by the time it actually finishes. It would be unfair to say they are all terrible or that none have any redeeming factors, but even at their best, they mostly fall just short of mediocre.

A mediocre mini-game collection with no board or other kind of gimmick would generally just be bad, but where Fuzion Frenzy really takes the awfulness cake is in its titular mode. After every 3 matches, you're forced to play Fuzion Frenzy (the mini-game), which, you guessed it, is another "collect the most things" affair. It genuinely might be the worst game in the lineup, and what's worse, it's the only actual game that actually ends up mattering towards the overall tournament.

You gain orbs based on your position in the first 3 mini-games, but you only secure your points after each round of Fuzion Frenzy, where you can gamble orbs to pick up and deposit during the game. It's a baffling decision to think this mini-game was good enough to justify being played a fourth of the time, but it's even more bizarre that it was deemed so important that you could win a tournament solely based on your ability to steal orbs from other players, coming in last every other time.

The enjoyment factor of party games like Fuzion Frenzy is predicated on the assumption you are playing with friends, but the primary way to enjoy Fuzion Frenzy is to laugh at how poorly it controls or how uninspired it feels. Suffice it to say the game in solo play is completely dire, but it doesn't even deserve respect as a vehicle to deliver fun of the "so bad it's good" variety. A group that can wrangle a pleasant evening out of Fuzion Frenzy is probably just as able to find amusement in a competitive paint-drying competition.

Supposedly, Fuzion Frenzy is the favorite game of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and his love of the game even helped secure development of a sequel for the Xbox 360. It's hard to find solid confirmation of that claim, but if true, it's just another example of the fact that billionaires are simply not like the rest of us normal people. Whose favorite game is Fuzion Frenzy?

Microsoft's attempt at responding to the popularity of Nintendo and Sony party games was dead on arrival, and it's no surprise that it isn't a genre that comes to mind when one thinks about the original Xbox. Its only lasting influence is that it's an extremely solid contender for the worst Xbox launch title. Derivative, dull, and just about the exact opposite of fun; the only part of a party that Fuzion Frenzy feels close to is the part when the cops knock on the door and break it up.

---

Click Here To Go Back!