11 years ago
Final Exam Review (XBLA)
Final Exam was developed by Mighty Rocket Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was originally released on November 8, 2013 for $9.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Final Examis a game that feels dated from the start. The zombie setting feels like an overused trope here, decided upon not because of any significant meaning to storyline or gameplay mechanics, but because zombies were popular at the time the game was being developed. Any game that casts a group of four people working as a team against zombies is going to owe something to Valve’s Left 4 Dead; Final Exam, owes a little too much — the first boss is called the Tank and looks like a ripoff of the monster from Valve’s popular first-person shooter. The game runs at 30 frames per second, which makes everything feel just a little slower than it should. There’s a neat idea or two to be found here, but nothing that adds up to a game worth any significant investment of time.
11 years ago
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death review (XBLA)
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death was developed by Zootfly and published by 505 Games. It was released on September 20, 2013 for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
With the end of the current console cycle staring many gamers in the face, some have moved their attention to either the new consoles or the handful of the triple-A titles still coming out on the 360. If that is the case, fans of the action-adventure genre are missing out on a sleeper Xbox Live Arcade title called Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death.
The developer, Zootfly, worked on Marlow Briggs for quite some time. First they had an agreement to release the game with 505 Games, but financial issues prevented that from happening. Microsoft briefly expressed interest in releasing the title but changed its focus to the Xbox One. Having secured more money, 505 Games came back into the picture and was eventually able to assist Zootfly with the release of the game. However, as of this writing, Zootfly has left the video game industry and switched its focus to casino gaming under the new name IBzoot, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Interblock. But be thankful that before Zootfly left the industry, it was able to leave gamers with Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death. It is a better than average action-adventure title that provides quite a punch for such a small price tag.
11 years ago
The Wolf Among Us Episode 1: Faith review (XBLA)
The Wolf Among Us Episode 1: Faith was developed and published by Telltale Games. It was released on October 11, 2013 for $4.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
As it turns out, “ever after” in all those storybooks you read as a child wasn’t so ever after, after all. At least, not the part where it was supposed to be “happily” ever after, that is. The tellers of tales over the ages actually did get the ever after part mostly right: the citizens of The Wolf Among Us’ Fabletown have lived so long that it might as well be rounded up to forever. And if the humans — or “mundys,” as the fables call them — they’re now sharing New York City with remember their tales from the old days well enough, the fables will keep on living forever, even if they’re struck by ostensibly fatal blows. Despite the best efforts of the local constable, however, there is precious little happiness to go around in Fabletown.
Unlike in The Walking Dead: Season One, The Wolf Among Us: Faith doesn’t quite give Telltale the narrative freedom to carve out its own characters from formless blocks of wood like Geppeto at his workshop. The Big Bad Wolf (here going by Sheriff “Bigby” Wolf), Snow White, the Woodsman, Tweedles Dee and Dum and the rest are already established characters. With the first episode of its latest serial, Telltale spends more time playing Puppeteer Geppetto than it does Creator Geppetto. It pulls on those strings with aplomb, keeping every character as devoid of bliss as he or she is meant to be in grim Fabletown – it’s just too bad that Telltale doesn’t let the player do enough of the same.
11 years ago
Ascend: Hand of Kul review (XBLA)
Ascend: Hand of Kul was developed by Signal Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released into public beta on September 25, 2013, free of charge. This review was conducted over a two-week period.
There’s a grim stigma attached to the free-to-play moniker that seemingly paints any game foolish enough to hoist its colors as a second-class citizen. That sentiment might have carried degrees of credibility in the past, but a new wave of free-to-play titles have begun to surge, eroding away the lingering stain on the distribution model. Spearheading that effort on Xbox Live, Signal Studios’ action-RPG Ascend: Hand of Kul doesn’t so much prove that free-to-play games can be great, but that great games can be free-to-play.
You begin Ascend: Hand of Kul as a Caos, a newborn thirty-foot humanoid, crafted to serve one of the three new gods that have awoken to challenge the rule of the Titan. You’ll bind yourself to one of these deities, championing their cause and gaining powers associated with their alignment as you gain influence and convert the will of the people. You’ll battle other Caos and countless monstrosities, always pushing further toward the endgame – where allegiances are fickle and the real goal is the pursuit of your own power.
11 years ago
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows review
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was developed by Red Fly Studio and published by Activision. It was released on August 28, 2013 for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a third person beat ‘em up game utilizing Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3. After a brief introduction starring newscaster April O’Neal (in which she is playable, unlike the majority of the Turtles games), players take on the role of the four famous turtles, hacking, slashing and kicking their way towards a final confrontation with Shredder himself.
The game features more diverse terrain than in previous Ninja Turtle games, forcing the turtles to traverse rooftops, leap over buses, and wind through sewer tunnels while fighting the Foot clan and scientist Baxter Stockman’s endless supply of mouser robots. In between each stage, the group returns to their lair in the New York sewers to train, learn new moves, upgrade their weapons and play arcade games.
11 years ago
Ducktales: Remastered review (XBLA)
DuckTales: Remastered was developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Capcom. It will be released September 11, 2013 for 1200 MSP or $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
In 1989, Capcom, much to the delight of gamers young & old, released the critically acclaimed Disney DuckTales. Many viewed this game as one of the best games, ever, on the NES. The game sold so well it was later ported over to the Gameboy. Sales combined between both platforms were over the 2 million mark.
Thus, fans were overjoyed when at PAX East 2013, Capcom announced that they would be releasing a DuckTales: Remastered in the summer of 2013. WayForward Technologies has been working on this title since 2011. Ducktales: Remastered has already launched for PC, PS3 and WiiU but the Xbox 360 version will not be released till September 11, 2013.
Mars: War Logs review (XBLA)
Mars: War Logs was developed by Spiders Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released July 26, 2013 for 1,200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Mars: War Logs is a sci-fi/action RPG that is unmistakably, unabashedly cut from the same basic template used for Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. The main character is a war veteran with a dark, mysterious, or troubled past. He or she travels with a few companions who provide assistance, special abilities, additional information, and so on. The villain is either an oppressive fascist regime or someone who harbors deep personal resentment for the hero. Throughout the journey, the party is faced with moral dilemmas as they seek to resolve primary tasks and sub-quests, with decision options usually broken down into a binary GOOD or EVIL choice and little in-between. There is an equipment upgrade system, where the player uses spare materials to enhance weapons and armor. The party gains experience points to level up, and skill points can be applied to unlock advanced abilities, feats, and class perks. There are romance options available, depending on the hero’s gender, demeanor, and rapport with his or her companions. This game format is very familiar to anyone who has played any high-profile console RPGs in the past ten years, and even more so for those running the original Baldur’s Gate on PC in the late 1990’s.
So let’s just get this out of the way, rather than meandering around it: if someone is interested in playing a sci-fi/action/open-ended WRPG, they have a ton of options available from half a dozen extremely prolific developers, some of whom started the genre. Many of those options are incredible adventures, spanning entire galaxies, with memorable characters, brilliant dialogue, breathtaking landscapes, and a few of them have dramatically pushed the genre forward in big ways. The market is immensely crowded, and Mars: War Logs is placed in a very tough spot because of that. Priced between $15 and $20, it is clearly aimed to be a mid-priced alternative to mega-funded RPGs from the likes of BioWare and Obsidian, and wants to be a Mass Effect that doesn’t cost $60 at launch. But the size of the budget and price of the game are but small parts of a much larger picture, so how does Mars: War Logs measure up?
11 years ago
Charlie Murder review (XBLA)
Charlie Murder was developed by Ska Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released August 14, 2013 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Charlie murders. Charlie — in concert with the other members of the band of his namesake — brutally, bloodily murders undead and demonic foes by the score. Oh, he also skateboards, puts on concerts, drops acid, flies on a broomstick and does a whole bunch of other crazy crap. Mostly, though, Charlie murders. He makes a point of stomping on downed adversaries’ defenseless faces, sending their eyeballs and somehow-still-intact brains flying out of the noggins that contained them only a second earlier. He shoots, he slashes, he bludgeons, he punches — he murders. Such wanton destruction might prompt another round of those discussions as to whether or not those damn video games the kids play really have gotten too violent, whether or not they really are rotting gamers’ brains (at least they have the good courtesy to leave them in their respective noggins). It might do that, but it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t do that because the death and dismemberment is all so outrageous, so ridiculous, so…hilarious, that no one should take any of it seriously.
Absurdity is never in short supply in Charlie Murder. The two-person team of James Silva and Michelle Juett-Silva have distributed it with liberally enough here that Charlie Murder crashes right through genre convention, and, for the most part, keeps on rockin’. Silva once commented to XBLAFans that he had no need for a design document. It wasn’t entirely clear at the time how serious he was about that statement, but it’s obvious now that there was at least some truth to his words. It’s impossible to believe that anyone at Microsoft told the Silvas what they could and could not do when designing their game. In fact, it’s hard to believe that they themselves were even capable of as much. Yes, the tried-and-true brawler staples are all here, but so are myriad off-the-wall ideas that somehow come together in a way that (usually) works. Charlie Murder isn’t the first brawler to load up on crazy — but it is one of the best.
11 years ago
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons review (XBLA)
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 505 Games. It was released August 7, 2013 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Known for its extensive portfolio of dark and gritty shooters, this humble offering from Starbreeze Studios is a sharp left turn into delicate territory. Framed in vibrant fantasy, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons follows two boys whose father has suddenly fallen ill. The only known cure for his elusive illness exists far away, and so they embark on a perilous journey through dungeons, caves, and forests in desperate pursuit to save his life.
At the core of Brothers is an unprecedented mechanic. You have simultaneous control of both siblings—each one delegated to a control stick and its corresponding trigger as their context-sensitive action button. As you explore the gorgeous vistas of the fairytale land, you must control both brothers cooperatively to solve puzzles, climb mountains, and occasionally outsmart the beasts to reach your mystic destination together.
11 years ago
Thunder Wolves review (XBLA)
Thunder Wolves was developed by Most Wanted Entertainment and published by bitComposer Entertainment. It was released June 12, 2013 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Thunder Wolves is about one thing, and one thing only: blowing stuff up. There’s not so much a plot, as a collection of directives loosely stringing one over-the-top level to another, always boiling down to the same principle. Everything painted with red gets blasted to smithereens. There are softer moments, though whether Thunder Wolves is legitimately reaching for depth or just parodying cheeseball melodrama doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, you’ll likely foster stronger emotional bonds with your arsenal of helicopters than the sensational stereotypes piloting them.
Across the game’s thirteen levels you’ll pilot as many choppers, ranging from attack to recon, all loaded for bear with a variety of ordinance. In rare cases, you’ll swap out of the pilot seat to perform an on-rail shooting segment, lob bombs from a circling gunship or drive a dump truck. These instances mix up the gameplay but are never more engaging than the core experience, annihilating enemy bases and stemming the flow of oncoming waves. That’s really what Thunder Wolves has to offer – a simple, straightforward exercise in lighting things up from your volitant chariot.