11 years ago
Kalimba review (Xbox One)
Kalimba was developed and published by Press Play on Xbox One. It was released on December 17, 2014 for $9.99. A copy was provided by Press Play for review purposes.
A funny thing happens while playing Kalimba, Press Play’s new puzzle-platformer for Xbox One. Your brain will shut off and you will go into auto-pilot. It might happen on your first attempt at a colorful new level, or it might happen during your 60th try at said level. But the stars will inevitably align, and the next thing you know, you’ll have made it to a new checkpoint that you had previously thought impossible to reach.
Kalimba has you controlling two totem pieces in tandem as you use both sides of your brain — and some really clever power-ups — to maneuver your way past enemies and through traps and puzzles. It’s not the first game I’ve seen in which you have to control two characters at once, but I think it just might be the best.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons creator has a new studio and a new game
The team behind last year’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons has started a new studio called Hazelight, headed by the Brothers director Josef Fares. Electronic Arts is publishing their first game, teased in the screenshot above. It does not yet have a title.
Fares’ success with Brothers came after many successful works in film. “Movies are a great way of telling a story,” he says, “but the potential of interactive storytelling through games is even greater.” After the emotional journey that Brothers was, he has a point.
When inquired, Hazelight told us “We are not at AAA level budget-wise. We are a comparably small team in the area of 20-25 employees.” In other words, they are right up our alley. Check out the teaser for their new game below.
11 years ago
Project Root coming to Xbox One
Argentinian indie developer OPQAM wants to give gamers some classic arcade-style shmup action, and that’s exactly what they’re doing with Project Root. Recently announced by OPQAM and Reverb Triple XP, Project Root is an overhead shooter with free-roaming open environments. You play as Lance Rockport, a rebel pilot attempting to end the Prometheus Corporation’s plans for world domination. Taking flight in an advanced F-72 Zonda fighter, you’ll fight enemies both on the ground and in air across eight distinct levels. Players fighting in this revolution can also look forward to upgradable firepower, special weapon drops, and crazy boss battles.
Project Root is coming to Xbox One in early 2015. Check out the reveal trailer after the jump.
11 years ago
Mojang turned down Goonies-inspired Minecraft movie
Warner Bros is working towards a potential Minecraft film, but the studio has yet to find the right story. Shawn Levy, director of Night at the Museum, proposed a Goonies-style adventure film which was ultimately shot down by developer Mojang. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Levy explained how it all happened.
“What happened simply is Warner’s asked me to develop, ‘How might this ever be a story for a movie?’ Because it’s not a narrative game. And we came up with an approach that felt good to us, and I discussed it with Mojang. And they’re like, ‘That doesn’t sound like what we want. If we’re going to see a movie get made, we don’t know what we want, but that doesn’t feel right.’ And I said, ‘OK, well that’s a movie I can envision.'”
So just what was his idea? He goes on to explain, “It was not a comedy. It had a bit of a Goonies flair… [I]t was an adventure movie, and I thought it could have been a lot of fun and fulfilled a lot of the qualities that people love about the game.”
11 years ago
Toy Soldiers: War Chest coming in early 2015
Almost every kid has played with, or at least seen, the iconic little green army men known simply as toy soldiers. Almost every parent has stepped on one of these little guys as well. In developing Toy Soldiers and Toy Soldiers: Cold War, Signal Studio, along with publisher Microsoft Game Studios, brought those toy soldiers out of the physical toy box and onto the virtual battlefield where those childhood memories could be relived. With those games they also had two of the highest-rated arcade games of the previous generation.
Now, in partnership with publisher Ubisoft, Signal Studios is making the game it always wanted in Toy Soldiers: War Chest, which it plans to release in early 2015.
11 years ago
JUJU review (XBLA)
JUJU was developed by Flying Wild Hog and published on Xbox 360 by Nordic Games. It was released December 9, 2014 for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
So what is JUJU? I’m not able to tell you that. I completed the game, and I have no idea if JUJU is the main character’s name, or the world it lives in, or the totems you need to collect. What I do know is that JUJU is an increasingly rare XBLA title, and it has a terrible name for which to use in a Google search.
JUJU is a happy-go-lucky side-scrolling platformer that’s all about the colorful visuals. The game looks like a toddler’s fever dream, filled with giant toys and smiling unnaturally colored animals. It’s about as kid-friendly as kid-friendly gets, even going so far as to have a main menu that only uses pictures. Unfortunately, the game has a severe case of style over substance, as its core gameplay is not as fun and whimsical as you might expect. JUJU feels like an uninspired re-skin of similar titles, and attempting to finish it quickly becomes a chore.
11 years ago
#IDARB coming to Games with Gold on Xbox One in February
#IDARB? It Draws a Red Box. ^
What once was a red box on Twitter has now become a platforming, jump-all-over-the-place, arena-ball esport that’ll make the crowds go wild. Crowds? Yes. For the first time, people can actively participate or interfere with games in progress by Twitch or Twitter. By using different hashtags, different effects may occur to really liven the game up: reversed controls, water floods, fireworks and even an internet meme that will never give up. Games played live may never be the same.
The best part? #IDARB is participating in Microsoft’s Games with Gold program in February, developer Other Ocean Interactive announced today. Microsoft members with an Xbox Live Gold membership will be able to attain #IDARB for free when downloaded while the game is in the program.
Can’t wait until February? Well, you’re in luck.
Other Ocean has started giving out full game codes two months early to some of its most vocal fans. If you want your chance to play the game early, visit Other Ocean’s Twitter page here, Twitch page here and website here to declare your desire to play the game.
Mike Mika, Head of Development for Other Ocean Interactive had this to say about giving away the game early: “It might sound kind of strange to give the game away for free two months before it officially comes out, but that’s in line with how #IDARB was built from day one.”
What is this game, and how does it play? Check out the trailers inside to see festivities in action.
11 years ago
Join us on Twitch for a Jackbox Party Pack giveaway
Join us tonight (12/11/2014) for a Jackbox Party Pack twitch stream at 8PM EST. The beauty of streaming this title is that anyone can join along in the fun …
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11 years ago
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare review (Xbox 360)
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare was developed by Torn Banner Studios and published by Activision for Xbox 360. It was released December 3, 2014 for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
Within the first five minutes of booting up Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, I was absolutely certain that I would hate it. After a year packed full of dazzling next-generation titles delivered via the might of Xbox One, I was ill-prepared for Chivalry‘s low-res textures and clunky combat; in fact, the whole thing repulsed me. Regardless, I ploughed grimly forward like one of the stoic feudal knights to whom Chivalry pays homage, chopping, hacking and bludgeoning my way through one foe after another – and as the body count mounted, so did my respect for this brutal, bloody title.
Battles take place between the rival forces of the Mason Order (bad/red) and the Agatha Knights (good/blue) as they vie for control of their fictional kingdom. Whilst it is possible to play against up to seven AI bots, the real fun can be found in multiplayer battles featuring 12 human combatants. Each player chooses a class from the four available, including an archer and three melee fighters ranging from light through to heavy in terms of their weaponry and armour. More on that later, though; let’s cut right to the bone and find out if Chivalry is worth your hard-earned cash.