Xi: Continuum Revisited
by ted2112, HSM team writer
Xi: Continuum is an alternate reality game created by nDreams, and is played in real time, both in and out of Home. The game started last December and was the sequel to the legendary Xi, which is still talked about to this day. Whether Xi: Continuum was as good as the first game is still being debated, but it was a wonderful and immersive experience that kept players coming back each and every day to check into Axiom, complete missions, and generally soak their senses in the wildly surreal city known as the Continuum.
The landscape of Xi: Continuum was massive. Its sprawling city streets were a maze of alleyways, back streets and large open public spuares, on a scale never before seen on Home. When I first saw the Continuum I felt that I would never be able to find my way around, but as each mission progressed you slowly got to know more and more of it.
Today the Continuum sits mostly empty. It’s quite eerie, actually. When the game debuted, the streets were packed with players, and I think that is how most of us remember it — a strange and busy metropolis. Now the changing sun still does its fast forward arc, but over a barren landscape. To see something this massive totally empty is as unsettling as watching Bad Stapler explode.
I went back to the Continuum just the other day. I equipped the Holo-Cycle you get as a reward for completing the game, and rode its empty streets. I couldn’t help but think of one of the themes of the game: that digital space is precious. It was for these very streets that during the game play of Xi: Continuum, people searched for clues and battled the forces that attempted to destroy them. Now they are just empty space.
In the world of being an agent of Axiom, reality wasn’t necessarily what you thought it was. The more the game progressed, the more complicated things became, and the plot took as many twists and turns as a roller coaster. The reality of the game taught us to rely more on our gut than our eyes, and the ending was no different. It seems the empty Continuum is now a city of ghosts waiting to figure out just what really happened in those frantic last moments.
I am happy to say that just this week nDreams put the personal space known as the Vertigo Apartment up for for sale as a free-standing personal space. This was your base of operations for the game, and the prize you unlocked piece by piece during gameplay. But now anyone can experience this huge space, which I can only describe as fear of heights meets Salvador Dali. I feel this is a great decision on nDreams’ part to let people buy a wonderfully detailed and unique personal space.
I also feel that nDreams should release the entire Continuum as a public space. We have the original Xi museum, and I think that the Continuum should open its doors to the public as well. The space is magnificent, and if it’s only sitting there empty, then I feel this would go a very long way toward keeping Xi: Continuum fresh and relevant, as well as selling Vertigo apartments, and future agent packs as well. This massive city begs for its streets to be teaming with activity again, and for people who haven’t played the game, it would only whet their appetites to discover the secrets behind this surreal world, not to mention build up an even bigger audience for the eventual return of the franchise.
I’m not sure just what the future of the Continuum is after the events of this past winter. I hope a new cycle of players is starting their journey there, and Quebec City is recovering from the mayhem that went down on its waterfront in the game. As far as the Continuum goes, I may yet again return to its empty streets, but I would much rather see it full of people, as I remember it from the weeks of gameplay.
The Continuum is accessible via the purchase of the Axiom Agent pack, which lets you play the game. This pack and the free-standing Vertigo apartment are both available in the Home store.
May 17th, 2013 by ted2112 | 6 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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We still cannot reset to Day 1 as promised in the ending credits so everyone who bought it wishing to go another round are cheated.
I thought we saved the Xi Continuum but others say no. Too bad (for me anyway) it ended on an ambiguous note.
The apartment isn’t that great but will appeal to some. It certainly is unique.
I am not looking forward to a game sequel if there is one but a movie would be nice, or a TV mini-series.
I enjoyed the game well enough, it was easy to complete and only took a little time each day to do so. Whether nDreams will do a sequel to this is debatable. It will depend on how lucrative the first one turned out to be, I hope they do, because I agree, it would be a shame to see such a surreal landscape forever empty. If they decide not to continue the Continuum then they definitely should release the area as a public venue.
I never played Xi Continuum, but it sounded like it was a lot of fun. i am confused as to why new players cant continually start and play. unless when it was new everyone wanted to play and it got forgotten. Maybe opening the apartment up for sale will spark new interest. The light cycle thing is cool!
No money in releasing the public space, obviously didn’t make enough money as they haven’t fixed the day 1 reset issue, which in turn makes people think twice about buying it, as I’ve completed it a friend of mine said can you help me if I buy it, I said id start again and go along for the ride but can’t as there’s an issue, friend has now lost interest.
People are debating whether Xi:Continuum was as good as the original Xi? That’s a new one. I haven’t heard very much positive feedback on Xi:C at all, let alone anyone saying that it lived up to one of the most cherished experiences in Home’s history.
It is a shame to see the Continuum sitting empty. Whatever the game itself may have lacked, the space is quite an artistic accomplishment. I don’t see a downside of opening it up to the public at this point since it’s obvious that hardly anyone is buying into the game. Same goes for the Vertigo Apartment. I have not visited mine since completing the game months ago. If nDreams can make a few quid by selling the space, more power to them.