14 years ago
Rewind Review: Afterburner Climax (XBLA)
Afterburner Climax was developed and published by Sega. It was released April 21, 2010 and retails for 800MSP.
Afterburner Climax pits one sole fighter pilot against an entire air force of opposition. It’s classic, arcade style gameplay; players must down hundreds of planes in a matter of minutes. Far from being a simulation Climax takes the idea of dog fighting and pushes it far beyond the logical extreme. The end product is a super fast and beautiful experience that is over all too soon.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Blacklight: Tango Down (XBLA)
Blacklight: Tango Down was developed by Zombie Studios and published by Ignition Entertainment and released on July 7, 2010 for 1200 MSP.
XBLA and the multiplayer FPS genre have a delicate relationship. Content, replayability, a large player base and something fun and interesting to weld it all together keeps a multiplayer FPS at the top of everyone’s mind and the front of everyone’s games played list. Retail FPS titles usually provide these flavors, as such XBLA titles have to ace them out in one of those categories to make the purchase worthwhile.
Blacklight: Tango Down provides a decent slew of game modes both solo and team oriented, 12 multiplayer maps, a robust customization system, and a an interesting mechanic that highlights enemies and points of interest at the expense of combat functionality. Last but not least Blacklight features a cooperative mode called Black Ops. A now-traditional FPS progression system is also in place to dole out unlocks at a steady pace.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Braid (XBLA)
Braid was developed by Number None Inc. and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on August 6, 2008 for 1200MSP. The price has since been permanently reduced to 800MS points.
Braid is a puzzle/platformer where you manipulate time in order to help main character; Tim, save the princess of his dreams from an evil monster. Tim’s motivations are hinted throughout the game with text passages in each world hub. In case you still haven’t played Braid, we’ll keep story elements vague to avoid spoiling the experience. Along your journey, time manipulation mechanics will build and evolve in each world making Braid and incredibly unique experience that stands out as one of those games that players will likely never forget.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Soul Calibur (XBLA)
Soul Calibur was developed by Namco Bandai and retails for 800 MSP. It was released July 2, 2008.
The soul is always burning — burning for more swords and axes clashing, burning for ring outs. Soul Calibur is one of the best fighting games ever released for the Dreamcast and has had many sequels on various consoles. Some still regard the first game being the very best in the series and if you’re one of those, then Xbox Live Arcade is where you’ll be able to find it. But does the soul still burn or has the flame been extinguished?
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Alien Hominid HD (XBLA)
Alien Hominid HD was developed by The Behemoth and published by Newgrounds. It was released February 27, 2007 for 800MSP.
Alien Hominid HD follows the adventures of a kind alien who was forced to crash-land on Earth. When secret agent earthlings steal his ship, the alien goes on a grand adventure to find his ship and off this planet. Players venture through fifteen levels across three areas in this arcade-style shooter. Although this game is overshadowed by little brother Castle Crashers, it is a fun and creative game that deserves its own spotlight.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Spyglass Board Games (XBLA)
Spyglass Board Games was developed by Freeverse Software and Strange Flavour and retails for 400 MSP. It was released on August 1, 2007.
Before Xbox Live Arcade annexed the hearts and minds of hardcore gamers with an assortment of genres and titles, certain games were lauded simply because they were the only option for someone yearning for a particular genre not available elsewhere on the service — Spyglass Board Games was one of those titles because it contained a reasonable simulator of the game we know as chess. Although XBLA still only offers few options in that arena, Spyglass Board Games makes the same reoccurring moves and ends in a stalemate.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was developed by Konami. It was ported by Digital Eclipse and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on March 21, 2007 and costs 800MSP.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was originally released for the PlayStation in 1997 with everything we had grown to expect from the Castlevania series. You are Alucard and are slated to kill Dracula before he follows through with his evil plans. Pitted with this mission you will take on all kinds of enemies including giant wolves, skeletons and even death himself, the Grim Reaper. With a plethora of weapons, armor, magic and items at your disposal can you stop Dracula before it is to late.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: KOF 98′ Ultimate Match (XBLA)
The King of Fighter ’98 Ultimate Match (KOF98UM) was released by SNK/Playmore and retails for 800MSP.
KOF98UM is an updated port of the original Neo-Geo game. Released in 1998, it was the fifth game in the KOF series. But the series actually traces its roots further back to the venerable Fatal Fury series. Regardless, in its day KOF98 was a revelation for fighting games. It took everything that was good in the series and polished it to a new level. Simply put, there was no better team fighter around. Many would argue that it’s still the best team fighter if not one of the best fighters of all time. The debate will always rage amongst fighting fans as to the best, but all recognize KOF98 as a stellar achievement. KOF98UM adds a few fan favorite characters and rebalances a few others to make this the definitive version of KOF98.
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Worms 2: Armageddon (XBLA)
Worms 2: Armageddon was developed and published by Team 17 and released on July 1, 2009 for 800 MSP.
A good multiplayer XBLA title facilitates fun with friends on the couch and Worms 2: Armageddon has couch-side fun for four friends even with only one controller. Worms 2, as with every other iteration of Worms, is a turn-based artillery shooter of the two dimensional sort sporting a lengthy campaign with 35 missions, tons of custom game customization options and a random map generator to ensure every non-campaign game will be a uniquely explosive experience. Worms 2: Armageddon employs the tried and true artillery game formula flawlessly (as it has been for years) and provides plenty of content to mix up the gameplay, and keep Worms 2 showing up as an answer to “What should we play?” time and time again. Read More
14 years ago
Rewind Review: Rez HD (XBLA)
Rez HD was developed by Q Entertainment and retails for 800 MSP. It was released January 30, 2008.
Originally conceived as a Sega Dreamcast game and later ported to the PlayStation 2, Rez HD is a completely revamped version of its earlier counterparts that keeps the on-rails shooter gameplay intact while adding the graphical upgrade that most XBLA ports receive. Three years after it’s original XBLA release, it is still one of the best titles on the Marketplace.