15 years ago
D&D: Daggerdale Review
Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale was developed by Bedlam Games and was released on May 25, 2011 and retails for 1200 Microsoft Points. A copy was provided by the developer or review purposes.
The trial versions of XBLA games often represent some of the best segments of the full product, but Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale’s trial leaves you wondering if the final product will let you fight an enormous beast who appears at the end of the demo. Of course, upon purchasing the full game, you realize that this frantic battle doesn’t take place and that you are restricted to mindless escort and fetch missions for the entirety of the game. The demo aptly sums up the entire experience: a worthy license utilized in insufficient ways.
15 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.
15 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
15 years ago
Fantastic Four Pinball FX 2 table review
The Fantastic Four table for Pinball FX 2 was developed by Zen Studios and retails for 240MSP. A copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Marvel Comics and Zen Studios have teamed up to bring us the newest pinball table to the Marvel Pinball series of tables. The Fantastic Four table is was chosen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the superhero team. While this table obviously differentiates itself from the rest by its theme it still retains the great gameplay and cinematic moments that players come to expect from a Zen Studios table.
15 years ago
Sega Rally Online Arcade review (XBLA)
Sega Rally Online Arcade was co-developed by Sega and Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released May 18, 2011 for 800MSP. A copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
The Sega Rally series has its roots in the arcades. Sega Rally Championship wowed arcade goers in 1995, and since that the time sequels have been released on home consoles and in arcades. Sega Rally Online Arcade (SROA) is the newest installment in the series, and while it doesn’t have the content of something like Sega Rally Revo it still packs a major punch for its 800MSP.
15 years ago
Star Raiders review (XBLA)
Star Raiders was developed by Incinerator Studios and published by Atari. It was released May 11, 2011 and retails for 800MSP. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Star Raiders is a space flight combat game that pits one ship against the entire alien horde. It is, in fact, a remake of the Atari 2600 game of the same name. The original game was very innovative for its time. Sadly the remake does not innovate as strongly as the original did. Star Raiders is comprised of one thing and one thing only: shooting down enemy ships. Occasionally you must blow up the occasional frigate or base, but for it’s simply shooting down enemy fighters. Fortunately your ship is armed well enough to take on this mundane task.
15 years ago
Gatling Gears Review (XBLA)
Gatling Gears was developed by Vanguard Games and published by EA. It was released on May 11th, 2011 for 1200MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.
Gatling Gears is a top-down, dual-stick shooter where you play as a retired Gatling Gear pilot, Max Brawley. Your objective is to shoot your way through 30 levels including six boss fights in order to stop the “Empire” from destroying your surrounding area and draining all natural resources. The story is lacking, but dual-stick games are all about the action, not the story. Gatling Gears certainly does bring hours of fun filled action, but the game also has its fair share of problems.
15 years ago
Moon Diver Review (XBLA)
Moon Diver was developed by feelplus and published by Square Enix. It was released on May 4th for 1200 MSP.
In the late 80’s there was a little game known as Strider, the development of which was lead by Koichi Yotsui. Yotsui draws back on that experience to direct Moon Diver, a side-scrolling platformer with enough style, action and frustration to blow up a planet. Ironically, that’s essentially the story to Moon Diver — Earth’s days are numbered and the Moon Divers have to come reclaim it from evil mechanical beings.
Players choose from multiple divers, each with different stat growth patterns. As they progress through the story mode characters gain stat points and MCs, or Moonsault Combinations, which manifest themselves as a variety spells and skills. Four players can jump in together offline or online, but only one player per box can join in the online experience. Read More
15 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.
15 years ago
Outland review (XBLA)
Outland was developed by Housemarque, and published by Ubisoft. It was released April 27, 2011 for 800 MSP.
Developer Housemarque has made a name for themselves with their previously PSN-exclusive titles Super Stardust HD and Dead Nation. It is nice to see them bring their next title, Outland over the the Xbox Live Arcade. The story focuses on the spirits of Chaos and Balance, who wage war with each other. A hero comes along to help protect the would against this universal divide. You play as that hero, and will need to skillfully maneuver through the changing world. So, is the adventure worth while or is it just a puzzling mess? Here’s our review.