As challenging is Uberschizoid is, your biggest challenge may be not cussing out your partner on co-op with each death. The game absolutely shines whether over Live or on the same console. It is highly recommended to plug in your mic, if playing over Live, as it is near impossible to make it into the twenties without a unified plan for each level. Many levels in the middle portion of the game are so filled with potential death that you will find yourselves counting down to the first movement, so as not to leave your partner behind for sure doom. Playing with a friend or your spouse may be damaging to your relationship, as you fill find yourself in a constant 'discussion' as to whose fault that last close death was. Thankfully, the game is as addictive and fun as it is difficult, making it hard to get too bent out of shape about having to replay portions of it.
The game design gets a lot of things right. You begin each new checkpoint, each made of a set of seven levels, with ten lives to share between the two ships; regardless of how many you have when you reached the new checkpoint. In the event one ship dies, which will happen quite often, it respawns within a few seconds directly behind the other ship, regardless of where the two were when the first one died. It helps reinforce the teamwork concept, and makes it easier to hang on tight to your partner like a much-needed safety blanket. They also reward solid play, by giving you metals based on the number of lives used to pass a level. Bronze is given for using only two lives, silver for one, and beating the level without dying comes with a gold award and, more important, the ability to skip the level. The skipped levels make it a little easier to make it through troubling checkpoints.
At over one-hundred levels, you keep waiting for the game to get repetitive, but it continues to surprise with fresh enemies and fantastic level design. The levels never feel stale, as the game constantly shifts the size and shape of each new level to keep you on your toes. There are some truly inspired enemies in the game, including some that evolve with time. Some levels start with just small colored 'eggs' all over the screen. They make for some of the most nerve-wracking levels, as you never know what kind of enemy will hatch if you cannot clear them in time. Other more interesting enemies include 'breeders' that constantly lay eggs the opposite color of themselves, and pulsating flower-like creatures that spit the opposite color in all directions; requiring cautious teamwork to clear each.
Despite the lack of 'shooting', there are power-ups to grab. Each power-up is activated the same, as one ship picks it up, and the power is activated when the other ship touches it. The 'razor wire' creates a deadly string between the two ships, with the caveat that it can only stretch so far. If the ships spread too far apart, the string warns you by changing to yellow or red before finally breaking. The wire can be a lifesaver in a level with too many annoyingly evasive stars to clear. 'Smart bomb' power-ups clear all enemies on the screen, though the camera typically zooms in quite a bit when the two ships get close to one another. As a result, you are unlikely to clear a level with it, but it can certainly open some working space.
The graphics and sound are not anything special, but get the job done in a game that is more about its smart concept than its average appearance. There are some nice trailing effects to the ships, most notably the way the red ship seems to clear the grayish background as if it were smoke. The music score is a shaken blend of generic psychedelic and eighties metal riffs rolling over a twitchy techno beat. It seems to fit the manic nature of the game just fine, even though you would rather use your own soundtrack after a bit.
Schizoid is a fine entry to the XBLA library, with plenty of depth and difficulty to challenge even the most hardcore gamer. Those looking to see exactly how good they are at co-op games will find this quite the test of their skill and patience with partners.
