Featured Reviews

Gotham City Impostors was developed by Monolith and was published by WB Games. It was released February 8, 2012 for 1200 MSP.

The Dark Knight has finally hit his stride in video games with the award-winning hits Arkham Asylum and, more recently, Arkham City. While these games offered amazing single-player experiences, both through revolutionary gameplay and engaging stories, they have also steered away from any multiplayer experience.

While Batman and Joker have been fighting in retail games, their crazed followers in Gotham City have brought the battle to XBLA. Gotham City Impostors trades Batarangs and dark atmosphere for guns and crazy humor. It’s easily comparable to Call of Duty or Team Fortress 2, but it has unique features that doesn’t make it feel like a copy. While matchmaking can be a pain, this six-on-six comedy shooter has some of the best action on XBLA.
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Pinball FX 2: Epic Quest was developed by Zen Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released February 15, 2012 for 240 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Werewolves, vampires and goblins, oh my! These are just a few of the monsters you’ll encounter in Pinball FX 2‘s new table, Epic Quest. In this new table we take a knight on his journey against evil to rescue his kidnapped princess. What separates this new installment from other tables is the addition of RPG-like elements. The adventure carries on from game to game, giving you the ability to level up your character, pick armor and even your weapon. It this enough to make pinball feel fresh and revitalized, or will this be another one of those things that should have never been?

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Shank 2 was developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released February 8, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

In 2010, the original Shank was released under a curious industry eye. Side scrolling brawlers are a well-worn genre, but for some reason Klei Entertainment had piqued the interest of the XBLA community. Shank was fairly well received, but stumbled in areas where it counts most, mainly in gameplay. The aptly named main character, Shank, traverses shipyards, jungles, and ancient ruins in search of his enemies, in hopes that killing them will ensure the safety of the people that are important to him. He slices, dices, and shreds enemies to bits with many different types of weapons and kills them in the goriest of ways possible. It seems Klei has upped the ante with this sequel, but does it deliver?
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The Simpsons Arcade was developed by Konami and Backbone Entertainment and published by Konami. It was released February 3, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

The year was 1991, Bryan Adams’ hit song “(Everything I Do) I Do it for You” was #1 on the charts and The Simpsons were slowly becoming a household name. Only premiering Christmas 1989 and now on Season 23, it shows no stopping in sight. But one of the best parts of when it first came out was the merchandising, and video games were part of that sweet donut. Most of them were NES and SNES games but one game that never came out on any other consoles was The Simpsons Arcade and now, it’s finally upon us on XBLA.

The plot of the game involves Smithers and Mr. Burns stealing a diamond when they run into The Simpsons on the street, causing the diamond to fall out of Smithers’ hand and into Maggie’s mouth. They steal the baby and it’s up to the rest of the Simpson family to get Maggie back. You’ll punch, vacuum, jump rope and skateboard across 8 levels against Burns’s goons. Does it stay true to its yellow roots or is it as bad as a Chutney Squishee?

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Iron Brigade: Rise of the Martian Bear was developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Microsoft. It was released February 1, 2012 for 400 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Iron Brigade is a game with a rich history. That history involves a plethora of fun, customization, shots fired, explosions, lawsuits, name changes, and now, a chapter about bears in outer space. Rise of the Martian Bear is the first downloadable content to be released for Iron Brigade, Double Fine Productions’ take on tower defense originally released in June of last year. The add-on expands upon Iron Brigade in almost every way imaginable, giving fans more of what they loved, and plenty of new toys to boot. By now you’ve certainly heard that two-handed salutes have made their way into the game, but let’s dive into the rest of what awaits us on Mars.

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Puddle was developed by Neko Entertainment and published by Konami. It was released January 25, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes. 

We like to think of ourselves as glass half-full people.  As game journalists, we have to be.  Consider us surprised then to find that Puddle defends blind optimism as its core game mechanic, requiring the player to salvage a puddle of liquid (on most stages) against all types of elements (mainly hot stuff). The game may appear artsy and Braid or Limbo-esque, but it presents no philosophical argument against the dangers of protecting a pool of liquid without transparent reason, and you’ll often find yourself wondering why you’re playing the game to begin with (maybe that IS the philosophical theme? Har Har!).

There are only two buttons to concern yourself with: the left and right triggers.  They’ll tilt the screen in two directions and are the only means of getting your pool of liquid from one area to the next.  If this sounds simple to you, then you’re just like us. Unfortunately, once you get your hands on the controller you’ll find that the combination of tilt and physics is much harder to control and that most deaths are cheap deaths, resulting in unwarranted frustration.

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Haunt was developed by developed by NanaOn-Sha and Zoë Mode and was published by Microsoft Studios. It was released January 18, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Haunt is the latest Kinect enabled game to hit XBLA, and with PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura at the reins we know we’re in for something a bit different. You play as a “kid” who wakes up in an old mansion when a mysterious painting calls you over. It turns out to be the mansion’s owner, Benjamin Muldoon who has been trapped there by ghosts. He asks you to explore the haunted mansion and collect “Phantaflaks” (regular orange soda just won’t cut it) that can be used to free him once and for all.

If you’re expecting something along the lines of Silent Hill then you’re going to be disappointed. The scares in Haunt are more on the campy Ghostbusters level. Playing like a cross between an old school point-and-click game and a Haunted House amusement ride, there’s about as much frights as there is rapping but that doesn’t stop us being thoroughly entertained.

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Scarygirl was developed by TikGames and published by Square Enix. It was released January 18, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Everyone has bad dreams but some have deeper meanings than others. Scarygirl keeps having dreams where something or someone is haunting her. She decides to go on a journey to discover what her dreams really mean. Along the way, she’ll discover octopus shops, a man looking for his wife’s bones and some of the creepiest owls you’ll see.

Scarygirl‘s universe is based on the mind of Nathan Jurevicius who wrote the graphic novel and the story will be an animated film also. A whimsical tale about a girl with a tentacle arm in a 2D style platformer similar to Tomba! or classic PS1 style platformers. Ones that relied more on camera angle tricks rather than a 3D camera. Does it offer us a treat or is it a scare to play? Read on to find out.

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Quarrel was developed by Denki and published by UTV Ignition Entertainment. It was released on January 25, 2012 for 400 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

The wildly popular word game Quarrel is finally available on the Xbox 360. We won’t get into specifics as to why it took so long for the game to finally arrive on the 360. But as both a game that test your knowledge of the English dictionary and patience, Quarrel provides a unique twist on word games with its strategic gameplay. With its cheap 400 MSP price tag, it’s also a steal for fans of word games.

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Choplifter HD is developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Konami. It was released on January 10, 2011 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Choplifter HD is the revival of a franchise first seen in 1982 on the Apple II. The game sees the player take the flight stick of a helicopter pilot traversing foreign lands ravaged by war, saving refugees. Now, inXile Entertainment brings the series into the current generation as an XBLA title with hi-def graphics, achievements and the whole shebang. Each level sees you traverse across a two-dimensional plane to rescue the refugees while avoiding (or blowing away) generic terrorists. Some levels are just that straightforward, while others toss in additional obstacles, like necessitating refuel stops or throwing an injured refugee with a timer into the mix.
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