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Valiant Hearts: The Great War was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. It was released on June 25, 2014 on Xbox 360 and Xbox One for $14.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

All Quiet on the Western Front aside, popular media has largely ignored World War I over the years. It’s that other world war that happened before World War II and didn’t get a Steven Spielberg movie inspiring the video game industry to make oodles of games about it. With 2014 being the 100-year anniversary of the war’s start, Ubisoft Montpellier thought it was the perfect time to step in and make a game about the brutality of trench warfare. Well, that’s half-true, at least. Valiant Hearts: The Great War is as much about this incredibly violent and semi-forgotten war as it is about those who fought it and what it took from them.

First-hand stories like those taken from Audio Director Yoan Fanise’s great-grandfather’s letters from the front helped the team add an air of authenticity to Valiant Hearts‘ campaign, which follows the war-time experiences of five characters of differing nationalities. The puzzle-adventure game’s comic book art style can feel incongruous during the game’s more somber moments, and some of the sillier game-y elements further highlight the disparity between the austere story and its lighthearted presentation. Somehow, though, Ubisoft fuses it all together into an experience that will make you feel the horrible pains of those consumed by this “great” war, and the friendships that somehow develop through it.

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Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack was developed by Drinkbox Studios and published by Midnight City. It was released on June 18, 2014 on Xbox Live Arcade for $7.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Guacamelee! may have been their claim to fame, but Drinkbox Studios has been making games long before their luchador adventure. Their previous game, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, began its life as a critically-acclaimed PlayStation Vita launch title in 2012. Two years later, and the handheld game has finally made its way to consoles. XBLA players may be a bit late to the mutant blob party, but better late than never. This is a fantastic port of a fantastic game.

Mutant Blobs Attack stars a particularly grumpy mutant blob, who has been the subject of science experiments until it gets the opportunity to break free. Now it’s out to take on the world, saving fellow blobs and consuming everything in sight. This sidescrolling puzzle-platformer is extremely well-executed, mixing a fun-to-control protagonist with impeccable level design. It may seem simple and silly on the surface, but that’s all part of the charm.

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Outlast was developed and published by Red Barrels. It was released June 18, 2014 on Xbox One for $19.99/£16.99 and includes The Whistleblower DLC. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Throughout the history of video games, there have always been developers who set out to scare, shock, terrify and otherwise freak out an audience of gamers that is increasingly more resilient to zombies, vampires, blood, gore and all of the usual tactics. Red Barrels is one such developer, and with the excellent Outlast, they have succeeded in creating a game which is not only genuinely frightening, but which also benefits from an interesting story, and a level of engagement which really enhances the overall experience.

Set in the Mount Massive Mental Asylum, Outlast locks the player into a 5 to 6 hour long campaign which maintains a generally high level of intensity, with downtime offered only occasionally (and fleetingly) as main character Miles Upshur desperately navigates his way towards an ever more elusive escape.

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Ska Studio’s excellent RPG brawler Charlie Murder recently received a title update. The patch notes for the 400 KB download were posted on the game studios’ blog:

• I’m …
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At this year’s E3 press conference, Microsoft announced season two of Iron Galaxy’s fighting game Killer Instinct. This will be Iron Galaxy’s first season since taking over development of …
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Just in from Major Nelson today is the list of games that Xbox Live Gold members can download for free during the month of July. For the Xbox One, …
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Zombie Driver was developed and published by EXOR Studios. It was released June 24, 2014 on Xbox One for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Zombies, zombies and more zombies have taken over the games industry; the idea of a zombie apocalypse seems to be quite infectious. Zombie Driver Ultimate Edition feeds on that infectious love of the flesh-consuming creatures and provides a unique zombie experience. Mowing down hordes of zombies using different vehicles, weapons and driving skills is an amazingly solid concept for a game.

Zombie Driver UE is the third iteration of this particular title. Zombie Driver was released for the PC in 2009 and Zombie Driver HD was later released for Xbox 360. The Ultimate Edition includes all of the DLC that was ever released for the other platforms, contains nearly double the zombies per horde and has updated the graphics with a 1080p 60 frames-per-second overhaul. The Xbox 360 version was taken off the marketplace due to the liquidation of its original publisher, despite selling half a million copies. So how does this latest version fare?

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Looking for something new to play during the post-E3 doldrums? You’ve come to the right place. A wave of new downloadable titles just hit Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so have a look at the fresh merchandise. You can expect full reviews soon for almost all of these.

Outlast: Whistleblower (Xbox One)

Last year’s survival-horror cult hit Outlast made a splash in people’s chairs. Now you can embarrass yourself in front of your Kinect! The main game is available for $19.99, and the Whistleblower DLC is available for $8.99. Get ready to run for your life.
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Warning: This post contains spoilers from both seasons of The Walking Dead

The first season of The Walking Dead was phenomenal. It provided one of the strongest narratives in video game history, full of memorable characters and emotionally charged moments. All around the world players instantly latched onto the harrowing and heartwarming tale of Lee and Clementine. The bleak world and tough choices made the game stick with you days after you played an episode. The overwhelmingly positive reception put Telltale on the map, moving them from a company that made niche adventure games to one that can handle some of today’s biggest franchises. The Walking Dead was a success in so many ways, meaning an eventual sequel was a given.

Despite standing on the shoulders of its amazing first season, The Walking Dead Season 2 is not living up to that potential. I loved every aspect of Season 1, which is why I’m disappointed I can’t find Season 2 nearly as captivating. So far, three episodes have released, and like last season they’ve all received critical praise. Unlike last season, I’m not feeling the hype; the story’s not engaging, the characters are underutilized, and the format’s becoming stale. The game’s saving grace is Clementine, but even that may be a problem.

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Users can now view Achievements on Xbox.com for games and applications across all Xbox enabled platforms by going here. Gamers must be signed in for this to function. The …
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