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Reviews

The Adventures of Shuggy review (XBLA)
13 years ago

The Adventures of Shuggy review (XBLA)

Adventures of Shuggy was developed by Smudged Cat Games and published by Valcon Games. It was released June 15, 2011 for 800 MSP. A copy of the game was provided to us for review purposes.

We’re used to thinking we find the best platformers on the classic Nintendo or Sega consoles, but in the growing future we see Xbox Live Arcade as a platform for that genre. With calls to classic difficulty in Super Meat Boy or offering an artistic experience with Braid, the types of game in that genre boom and The Adventures of Shuggy brings that same flavor.

As Shuggy, you inherit a mansion with over 100 challenge rooms. Your mission is to go throughout the rooms all over the mansion and collect the gems in each room. The game goes from tricky to downright complex in a matter of levels and the amount of variety will keep your thumbs on the edge.

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TIC: Part 1 review (XBLIG)
13 years ago

TIC: Part 1 review (XBLIG)

TIC: Part 1 was developed by Red Candy Games. It was released on June 21, 2011 for 240 Microsoft Points. A copy of the game was provided by the developer for review purposes.

TIC: part 1 is an stunning example of what the Xbox Live Indie Marketplace was made for. This simple, beautiful game is amazing from one end of the spectrum to the other. It’s got bright vivid colors, a simple story line, a unique art style and most of all it’s tons of fun. You control TIC, a robot who needs to save the world from oil stealing aliens. To do so, you must fly, collect and drill your way through the stages.

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Rewind Review: Scrap Metal (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Scrap Metal (XBLA)

Scrap Metal was developed by Slick Entertainment and published by Microsoft on March 10, 2010 as part of the Xbox Live Arcade Block Party for 1200 MSP.

Scrap Metal, not to be confused with Twisted Metal, brought the first true bout with car combat to the Xbox Live Arcade. This top down racer really captures the theme of crazy, sometimes strange vehicles with crazy, sometimes strange weaponry in crazy, sometimes strange locations. There’s a single player and a multiplayer component like most car combat games but no nifty mini-games or other sidetracks so to speak. However, the single player does have some special races with different objectives than just “blow up the other racers” or “come in first place”, and for the most part, like most of the game, they’re all fun. Read More

Rewind Review: The Maw (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: The Maw (XBLA)

The Maw was developed by Twisted Pixel Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on January 21, 2009 for 800 Microsoft Points.

For fans of Xbox Live Arcade games Twisted Pixel Games is a household name. With titles like ‘Splosion Man, Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley and the forthcoming Ms. Splosion Man they’re a huge success story. But there was one title that started it all. One that was ridiculously cute with simple but fun puzzle elements: The Maw. In the game players take control of Frank, a cute bipedal alien who has been captured by bounty hunters. Shortly after being thrown into a cell on the bounty hunters’ vessel the craft crash lands on a strange planet. Frank and another escapee, The Maw, must find their way to freedom from the surviving bounty hunters bent on recapturing them.

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Iron Brigade (Trenched) review (XBLA)
13 years ago

Iron Brigade (Trenched) review (XBLA)

Iron Brigade (Formerly Trenched) was developed by Double Fine Productions, published by Microsoft Games Studios and will be released on June 22nd, 2011 for 1200MSP. A copy of the game was provided to us for review purposes.

Double Fine has found great success so far with their downloadable titles. Costume Quest and Stacking were well received, critically and commercially. Each title has been unique in gameplay, setting and style. Trenched is no different, a mech-based tower defense game set in an alternate history with all the charm and character you’ve grown to expect.

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Rewind Review: Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project (XBLA)

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was developed by 3D Realms and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released June 23, 2010 and retails for 800 MSP.

Just over a week ago, Duke Nukem Forever was released onto the world and while you may think that’s a sign of the apocalypse, we’re all still here. Duke’s brand of humor and violence has been seen in countless iterations in different genres from first and third person shooters to the classic side-scroller. Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project aims to return to the classic side-scrolling days and make sure the aliens pay. Duke must save the city of New York from imminent destruction from aliens and fight his way through levels ranging from Chinatown to the depths of space. Now this all sounds great and fun but you have to remember that this game originally came out in 2002. What was great eight years ago doesn’t always fly in today.

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Rewind Review: Sam & Max Save the World (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Sam & Max Save the World (XBLA)

Sam & Max Save the World was developed and published by Telltale Games. It was released June 17, 2009 for 1600MSP.

Point and Click adventure games were extremely popular in the 90s, but fell to the wayside once console gaming became more popular than computer gaming. The genre sat barely noticed for many years, but a new episodic format envisioned by Telltale Games tried to change that. Sam & Max Save the World is a compilation of six of the Sam & Max episodes where the dog and rabbit duo, otherwise known as the freelance police, must solve a number of crimes connected to an overarching plot. Sam and Max reinvent the adventure genre in a game that rewards a good thought with a good laugh.

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Rewind Review: Triggerheart Exelica (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Triggerheart Exelica (XBLA)

Triggerheart Exelica was developed by Warashi and retails for 800 MSP. It was released on February 27, 2008.

Shoot em’ up (shmup) fans are an interesting crew. Most of them are not interested in fresh gameplay mechanics but simply the hunt for a high score and notoriously difficult challenges. Triggerheart Exelica attempts to throw a new concept into the genre—a hook mechanic—but the draw for hardcore fans will continue to be an immeasurable difficulty level that has them perfecting their skills and memorizing bullet patterns. If Triggerheart Exelica were to be judged by its challenge level, it would exceed expectations, but upon extraction it simply lacks the bells and whistles of better titles in the genre.

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Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 review (XBLA)
13 years ago

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 review (XBLA)

The original Duels of the Planeswalkers was perhaps the best bad game one could play on XBLA. It launched with numerous bugs, many of which remain unfixed today. A small number of cards didn’t work as described in their text, it was inordinately difficult to arrange blocking if there were too many attackers, and certain design decisions crippled the strategic calculus normally found in a Magic game. And in many ways the first Duels game played like a giant teaser advertisement for the rest of the Magic universe, rather than as a game whole and complete unto itself. It was still hugely fun to play, because Magic is a fun game with great art and clever mechanics, but the game lacked a certain richness, that attention to detail and the player experience that marks a great game.

Thank Wizards and Stainless, then, for making the bold decision to leave behind the old game, warts and all, and concentrate on creating the game that the first Duels could have been. The new Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 addresses many of the complaints about the first Duels, providing a smoother, faster game experience, a cleaner UI, vastly improved deck editing, a variety of online cooperative play formats, and a generally richer, better game experience.

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Rewind Review: Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)

Portal: Still Alive was developed by Valve and published by Microsoft. Portal was released November 22, 2008 and cost 1200MSP.

In Portal you are a subject in a test study; not by choice. You are given a ‘portal gun’ and forced to defy the laws of physics in order to escape each test room. Equipped with just the ‘portal gun’ and your wits, it is your task to figure out how to avoid all the obstacles that stands in your way.

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