Reviews

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter was developed by Croteam and published by Majesco Entertainment. It was released for XBLA on September 22nd, 2010 and retails for 1200MSP. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.

Sam is back!  Continuing directly where Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter left off, Sam having defeated a head general of an alien army.  He has boarded a spacecraft, seeking to take the fight back to the alien homeworld.  Shortly after takeoff the ship crash lands in Central America.  Sam soon discovers that a second ship was left on Earth and determines to fight through the alien army to get to it.

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OutRun Online Arcade was developed by Sumo Digital in conjunction with Sega and published by Sega.  It was released April 15, 2009 for 800MSP.  It is available for a limited time, and will be removed from Xbox Live at the end of 2011.

Sega’s OutRun series has been a staple in racing games for years.  So many games spun out of the influence of the original, motion chair enabled, arcade game; Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, even several sequels to OutRun itself.  In 2003 Sega released OutRun 2 in arcades around the world.  A fully 3D reimagination of the original game, it featured the original split-stage gameplay combined with new challenges and vehicles.  The success of OutRun 2 prompted a special edition arcade game, OutRun 2 SP, which featured all new courses and music, as well as a port to the original Xbox.  These were all later combined in to the console-exclusive OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast, which featured all the cars, courses and music from both OutRun 2 and its SP counterpart.

In December 2008 Sega announced a new spinoff to the OutRun 2 sub-series, OutRun Online Arcade.  Boasting high-definition (1080p) graphics, Dolby 5.1 surround sound, and online play it was truly an OutRun for today’s consoles.  Unfortunately due to an upcoming expiration of contract with Ferrari the game will be pulled fro XBLA in December of this year.  Are shiny graphics and typical next-gen features do enough to merit the 800MSP price?  Find out in today’s Rewind Review.

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Days of Thunder Arcade was developed by Piranha Games and published by Paramount Digital Entertainment. It was released on February 25, 2011 for 800MSP.

Days of Thunder is arguably one of the greatest racing movies ever made.  The story follows rookie Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) in his rise to victory in the then-Winston Cup championship.  Over 20 years later the franchise has been resurrected in the form of Days of Thunder Arcade.  Continuing some time since the movie ended, the premise again follows a rookie (the player character) in their quest to be champion.

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Hard Corps: Uprising, developed by Arc System Works and published by Konami, is the latest in the Contra series, available now for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Hard Corps Uprising tells a zany tale about a corrupt nation or an evil dictator or both, some other evil bits here and there but truth be told the story is not the reason to buy the game, however there are many others. This latest installment in the Contra series, though not named as such, revamps the visuals with a crisp anime-esque appeal and animations and tops it off with an exciting hard rock soundtrack, as is Arc’s trademark.

Hard Corps epitomizes an action shoot ’em up in every way, for better and for worse. Tons of enemies on screen of which there are decent variety, but not too many you have to learn something new every two seconds, though the same can’t be said for the boss fights. The game starts a bit slow and there’s no formal tutorial so certain elements of the game go unexplained, but once you get the hang of the Action Ships and play some of the more inventive levels, Hard Corps shows itself to be as enjoyable and thrilling as any other Contra title. Read More

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Capcom and was released November 28th, 2008. It retails for 1200 MSP.

This past Wednesday was the 20th birthday of Street Fighter II: World Warrior, the original sequel incarnation that spawned countless variations of the same game. When the Xbox 360 first launched, Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting was released on XBLA in 2006 which was met with favorable reception but had a pretty bad online code from the reviews. But during 2008, while the hype train for Street Fighter IV was in effect before its release, they put out one of the most gorgeous fighting games on XBLA with Super Street Fighter II HD Remix.

SSFIITHR is an updated remake of Super Street Fighter II Turbo which originally came out in 1994 on the 3DO, It added in Super Combos, Air Combos, and the dastardly Akuma. With this new remake, Backbone decided to grab UDON Entertainment to do the art and character sprites with beautiful hand-drawn sprites. It also includes new music by the OverClocked ReMix as well as rebalanced gameplay in the fighting engine. Is it as “Down Right Fierce” as you expect Hadouken lovers?

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Bejeweled Blitz Live was developed and published by PopCap. It was released on February 23,2011 for 800 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Bejeweled Blitz Live is the latest Popcap title to hit the scene, though some might make the argument that it was released on PC or Facebook a long time ago. In an attempt to change up the formula a bit, PopCap has offered a handful of modes and features that take advantage of Xbox Live’s multiplayer and matchmaking. The question on everyone’s mind is whether or not these additions make it stand out from these previous versions. Read More

Trials HD was developed by RedLynx and published by Microsoft Game Studios for XBLA on August 12, 2009 as part of the second annual Summer of Arcade. Retails for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Trials HD is the quintessential example of a game that is instantly playable and fun, but tough as nails to master. What starts off easy and fun gradually becomes borderline maddening and impossible, rewarding the most patient and determined players with personal satisfaction as well as leaderboard bragging rights.

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The Micro Machines series has long been the standard for top-down arcade racing games.  Keen Games seeks to dethrone the series from its thrown with TNT Racers.  Released on February 9 for 800MSP it packs quite a punch for the price.  But is it better than a Micro Machines title, or just a dime a dozen clone?
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Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 is the sequel to Bionic Commando Rearmed, which itself remake of the 1988 NES game.  Critics generally loved the original Rearmed.  It was well received by us as well.  So the sequel has big shoes to fill.  The question is whether this game was more than a mustache and a new hairdo; could it stand against the scrutiny of its predecessor?

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A little over 3 years ago, Poker Smash was released on Xbox Live Arcade. At first glance, one might write it off as just another generic match-three game. Sure, the game can be played by simply matching 3-of-a-kind, but the depth that Poker Smash brings to the action/puzzle genre is unlike any other game on the marketplace.  Inspired by the SNES cult hit; Tetris Attack, Poker Smash is truly one of the hardest puzzle games to master.  But the true beauty of the game is that any gamer of any skill level can find an enjoyable experience in Poker Smash. Read More