My 360 conked out last week - 3 red lights of death - so when the replacement arrived yesterday I ripped open the box like a man possessed. Not, you understand, because I was desperate to play anything in particular - although a return to Oblivion is imminent - but to check out how far behind I'd fallen in the unofficial gamerpoints challenge I'm having with a few friends. Unofficial because they don't know about it and I'm not telling. Unless they read this of course, in which case, slow down Dan, I can't keep up. Anyway, last night's welcome return to the console reminded me of something I've been meaning to blog about for a while - Hexic.
For those who don't know, Hexic is a "free" puzzle game included on the premium Xbox 360. It's simple, addictive and quite possibly a Tetris for the 21st century. Overstatement? Possibly, but it's the one game that I constantly see being played when checking/spying on friends. Yes, it's predominantly wives and girlfriends, but considering the design nightmare that is the 360 power supply - see Keith's article in Technology - I wouldn't be surprised if Hexic is used as a sweetener in the AV living room battle.
I remember when a rather embarrassed J Allard unveiled Hexic at last year's X05 event. It didn't exactly fit in with the shiny next-gen vision of guns 'n cars and you could tell Allard was uncomfortable. But he needn't have been ashamed - when it comes to wider impact and acceptance Hexic could well end up being the 360's most important game.
