Fuzion Frenzy (2001)

 Game: Fuzion Frenzy. Originally released for the Original Xbox on 11/15/2001. Developed by Blitz Games. Published by Microsoft Game Studios. Box includes: game disc and 28 page, full color instruction manual.

Introduction: One of the most famous games for the Nintendo 64 was the Mario Party Trilogy. Nintendo paved the way for single screen multiplayer with their 4 player mingames anthology/board game bonanza. Microsoft wanted in on that action and gave us their version of that formula, with a futuristic hip hop/punk, just past the end of the 90s EXTREME kind of vibe.

Story: There really isn't a story in this game. The setting is sometime in the future and each of the playable characters is like a sci/fi punk decked out version of edgy lifestyle people such as hip hop DJs and skateboarders. The game's instruction manual does give some character background/ motivation but that all is pretty meaningless in the context of the game itself.

Visuals: Fuzion Frenzy is presented in 480p resolution at a 4:3 aspect ratio. The graphics have aged very well for a game from 2001. The players are color coded and really pop against the various urban and industrial backgrounds. Aside from some face models and animations not being super detailed, this could pass as a modern game.

Sound: The music in this game is a mix of hip hop and EDM and fits the game's extreme, futuristic and urban setting very well. the characters each have snazzy one liners delivered in a 90s 'tude type of way. The sound effects are about what you would expect for a game like this though that siren sound has definitely stuck with me.

Gameplay: At its core, Fuzion Frenzy is a mingame anthology/Mario Party clone. 

There are two main gameplay modes: Minigame Frenzy lets you play the minigames a la cart. The other mode is the game's main event, tournament mode. In tournament mode you and up to 3 friends will compete across the city's 2, 4 or 6 zones. Each Zone contains 3 mini games plus a "Fuzion Frenzy" round. In the Fuzion Frenzy round you bet the orbs you have collected from winning the other minigames and compete in a special minigame where you can steal each other's orbs. After the final fuzion frenzy, whoever has the most orbs wins the tournament.

If you have fewer than 4 human players the remaining slots will be filled by bots and you can adjust the difficulty for the bots.
 
Controls: Seeing as this is a mingame anthology game each specific minigame is subject to its own control scheme. Usually consistent actions will be the same button (a to jump, for example). Most of the games control fine for what they are.

Personal Memories: When this game was current I was too poor to shell out the money for a party game BUT the playable demo for this game was pretty much ubiquitous in demos sections and you'll find very few original Xbox owners who never even played the demo. I always loved the "Twisted System" Minigame the best.

Versions and Other Releases: I have the Best of Platinum Hits version of the game. There is also the standard Greenbox version as well as the standard Platinum hits version.

Fuzion Frenzy is backwards compatible on ALL XBOX CONSOLES.

I recommend playing this game on Xbox Series X or Xbox one X as those systems will run the game natively at up to 4k resolution.

A sequel was released for the Xbox 360 called Fuzion Frenzy 2 in 2007.

Conclusion: If you have an Xbox console from any generation and 3 friends you are gonna have a fun time playing this game.