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Reviews

Thursday Night Streaming: Minecraft Game Night with Microsoft’s Roger Carpenter

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In an effort to bring more video to the site and to reinstall our community focus, we are bringing Thursday Night Streaming to the fold. Our video guru, Shawn …
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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Version review (XBLA)
12 years ago

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Version review (XBLA)

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Version was developed by Mojang and 4J Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It is released May 9, 2012 for 1600 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Minecraft 360

If you’re any kind of gamer, odds are you’re at least tangentially familiar with Minecraft. If you’re unfamiliar, a brief synopsis: You’re dropped in the middle of a seemingly endless world, left to fend for yourself. Just about everything in the game world can be deconstructed, reconstructed and combined to rebuild the world around you as you see fit (think of it as a world made entirely of LEGO blocks). When the sun goes down, though, the monsters come out to play – and when that happens, you’d better have some weapons or shelter to fight back (you remembered to build a sword, didn’t you?).

In a way, Minecraft is the quintessential open world game: The player is left to his or her own devices without that pesky story campaign getting in the way of the fun. When the game first released on PC in 2009, it became a sensation for its simple-yet-deep gameplay – and the fact that you could build anything from a scale replica of The Legend of Zelda‘s game world to virtual representations of human anatomy didn’t hurt either. Now, the game makes its long-awaited debut on XBLA: Does it retain the simple charm PC gamers have enjoyed for years, or is it lost in translation?

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Awesomenauts review (XBLA)
12 years ago

Awesomenauts review (XBLA)

Awesomenauts was developed by Ronimo Games and published by DTP Entertainment. It was released May 2, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

In the year 2012, the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre began to proliferate, and gamers the world over wondered how it would evolve. From the pitch black void of space came Awesomenauts, a game which dared to bring MOBA to the 2D realm. Six mercenary heroes, ranging from an ex-rapper frog to a jetpack-laden monkey, are hired to work for red or blue (sometimes appearing on both teams at once, somehow) and destroy the enemy team’s solar drill. Solar is the form of currency in the future, so having a device which literally mines money is kind of a big deal.

Awesomenauts is a 2D MOBA and it makes no effort to hide that fact. Each player in this three versus three game picks one of the six heroes, each complete with unique abilities and play styles. Both teams have droids that run at the enemy base and attack each other in an effort to destroy the towers and solar drill. Kill them for cash, use your money to buy character upgrades and side-grades, push the enemy base and secure victory for your team.

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Toy Soldiers: Cold War Napalm and Evil Empire review (XBLA DLC)
12 years ago

Toy Soldiers: Cold War Napalm and Evil Empire review (XBLA DLC)

Napalm and Evil Empire addons for Toy Soldiers: Cold War were developed by Signal Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. They were released on March 25, 2012 for 400 MSP each. A copy of both addons were provided for review purposes.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War is a great game. We loved it when it first released and since its August 2011 release, the possibility of DLC has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. Now the Napalm and Evil Empire additions have finally released and unfortunately it might not have been worth the wait. A few fun additions were made but a severe lack of content makes these addons a bit of a let down. Read More

Fable Heroes review (XBLA)
12 years ago

Fable Heroes review (XBLA)

Fable Heroes was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released May 2, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Action-RPG series Fable first landed on the original Xbox back in 2004. It’s had two sequels released since then for the Xbox 360 with another two on the way including the Kinect exclusive, Fable: The Journey. Lionhead have already proved to be fans of the spin-off genre with Fable Pub Games released for XBLA in conjunction with Fable II and the Kingmaker mobile phone game for Fable III. However while those have proved to have been little more than amusing ways to earn money for the main retail game, Fable Heroes looks a little more promising.

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The Walking Dead: Episode 1 review (XBLA)
12 years ago

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 review (XBLA)

The Walking Dead was developed and published by Telltale Games. It was released April 27, 2012 for 400 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Zombie games: They’re nothing new; some may even argue they’re overdone. We even have our fair share on XBLA already. The vast majority of games featuring zombies use the shambling undead as cannon fodder, the thing players need to mow down with a machine gun to progress.

With The Walking Dead, Telltale Games looks to do something a little different. Much like the comic series it’s based on, this isn’t about killing all zombies in your way, it’s a story about people. What do we do when society collapses and the dead come back to life? It’s a question that’s been the crux of some of the best zombie movies, but one that often falls by the wayside when it comes to games.

So if you’re expecting a game where you must survive the zombie apocalypse by aiming down the sights of your pistol and getting some headshots, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The Walking Dead is a fairly traditional point and click adventure game; while you do have direct control over the main character most of your interaction with the world will be through an onscreen cursor or making dialogue choices. Read More

Racedrome Offroad review (XBLIG)
12 years ago

Racedrome Offroad review (XBLIG)

Racedrome Offroad was developed by Rendercode Games. It was released on March 27, 2012 for 80 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Rendercode Games has a history of 80 MSP hits. Concept Car Series 2010 and Avatar Racedrome were both solid releases, and we were really pleased with 2011’s Avatar Karting. Though we don’t do much in the way of XBLIG reviews any more we were more than happy to take their newest title, Racedrome Offroad, for a spin around the track. As the follow up to Avatar Racedrome the game moves things indoors and trades old Grand Prix-inspired cars for a set of wheels akin to dune buggy. Tracks are tight and varied, and two player versus is offered.

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Bloodforge review (XBLA)
12 years ago

Bloodforge review (XBLA)

Bloodforge was developed by Climax Group and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released April 25, 2012 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Crom isn’t very happy right now, and it shows. While out hunting, he returns to find his village in flames and his family murdered. He learns that the gods who want him dead did this and now, he must seek revenge. Bloodforge is the story of one warrior’s quest for vengeance.

Bloodforge is a hack-and-slash where action is ultimately key. You’ll go through different environments and kill more and more enemies to build up rage. It’s fun for the first couple of hours but quickly becomes formulaic and filled with nonsensical shouting by the end.
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World Gone Sour review (XBLA)
12 years ago

World Gone Sour review (XBLA)

World Gone Sour was developed by Playbrains Studios and published by Capcom. It was released on April 11, 2012 for 400 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

World Gone Sour is a fun and sweet little platformer with a weird story to tell. What we find is a dangerous world that exists for Sour Patch Kids as they journey toward their ultimate goal: The human stomach. During your journey you’ll find lots of lost friends who will help you along your way. Like any good platformer there are bosses, and in World Gone Sour they are integral to the story. Many aspects of World Gone Sour will immediately feel and look like games you know and love.

Feeling like games of the past isn’t always a good thing, but for the most part World Gone Sour keeps things simple and sweet. Double-jumping and wall bouncing are an absolute joy. You’ll find additional Sour Patch Kids who will follow you on your journey. They can help you swing, Indiana Jones-style, or sacrifice themselves to help you complete the level. The first time you impale yourself or throw one or your little minions into a fan blade and he is chopped to pieces, you can’t help but laugh. It’ll put a smile on your face that will stay with you the whole game.

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