R.B.I. Baseball review (Xbox One)
R.B.I. Baseball 14 was developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by MLB.com. It was released on April 9, 2014 on Xbox 360 and June 24, 2014 on Xbox One for $19.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.
Baseball, America’s pastime, has long been a revered genre of video games, with some real gems appearing over the years for both simulation and arcade fans alike. The original NES R.B.I. Baseball and its successors remain well-liked, and this revival of the series by MLB.com looks to reignite this passion and to give all gamers — especially those console gamers without any baseball game choices at all — the opportunity to take their favorite team all the way to becoming World Series champions. R.B.I. Baseball 14 sets out knowing it must strike a balance between the classic controls, gameplay and nuance of the original, while also being a fun, accessible game for those baseball fans new to the series.
Sixty Second Shooter Prime review (Xbox One)
Sixty Second Shooter Prime is developed and published by Happion Laboratories. It was released June 18, 2014 on Xbox One for $4.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.
ID@Xbox is shaping up to be an excellent and very welcome platform for independent developers to bring their beloved games to the Xbox One platform. With the program, we’ll see exciting creative directions and artistic expressions. But then there comes along a game such as Sixty Second Shooter Prime that brings out the worst plague of the mobile market today: cloning.
Sixty Second Shooter Prime is a twin-stick shooter that tasks the player with traversing a two-dimensional plane, blasting away hordes of geometric enemies, each with different patterns and tactics the player must evade. The catch? The player has only 60 seconds and one life. Rack up as many points as you can while collecting powerups and multipliers and try to topple your friends’ high scores. Sound familiar?
Valiant Hearts: The Great War review (Xbox One)
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.
Magic 2015 – Duels of the Planeswalkers is the one you’ve been wanting
As the digital compliment to the largest trading card game on the planet, Magic – Duels of the Planeswalkers has arguably been the most accessible entry point in the intricate, often intimidating world of Magic: The Gathering. Since its quick dominance of Xbox Live Arcade in 2009, the franchise has returned year after year, always touting new features, storylines and game modes as the annualized gateway into the scene. This year’s entry, Magic 2015 – Duels of the Planeswalkers, is finally delivering on something fans have been after since the beginning, the chance to battle with your personally customized deck across the planes.
First Tales from the Borderlands screenshots and new trailer emerge; loot sharing unveiled
The latest data feed from Pandora is in, and we’re delighted to reveal that it contains a mouthwatering new trailer for Telltale Games’ eagerly anticipated, story-driven, episodic adventure game Tales from the Borderlands, not to mention the first nuggets of detail.
The data we received confirms that Tales from the Borderlands, which is due for release this summer, will be set after the events of Borderlands 2 and will feature two playable characters whose stories will unfold alternately. The first of these characters is Fiona – a quick-witted, fast-talking (but probably loveable) rogue who’s out to make the biggest score of her life. The second is Rhys, a selfish and scheming Hyperion data-miner with big ambitions. It has also been confirmed that whilst neither of these characters is actually a Vault Hunter, they will both interact with famous characters from the Borderlands series including ZerO and more. (Here’s hoping for a fairly heavyweight cameo from Tiny Tina!)
In addition to this already rather exciting selection of Tales from media, XBLA Fans can also report that Telltale Games Producer Adam Sarasohn has recently confirmed a number of interesting details about the game over at the PlayStation Blog. In addition to hinting at the various possibilities that the vast Borderlands world might hold in store for players, the key details can be found after the jump.
ID@Xbox Games Announced at GDC
Today at GDC 2014, Microsoft announced 25 games to be released as part of the ID@Xbox program. Major Nelson provides some further details in a blog post.
Xbox Wire released a brief rundown of the games that has been re-posted below:
- “1001 Spikes” by Nicalis – This hardcore side-scroller features precise controls and a degree of difficulty that means starting with 1001 lives is not at all a guarantee you can make it through the game! Every level is custom designed to be beaten… barely. The game also includes co-op and cutthroat multiplayer modes.
- “Calibre 10 Racing Series” by Bongfish GmbH – “Calibre 10 Racing Series” is a spiritual successor to “Harms Way.” The game is entirely multiplayer in a new experience that combines action-packed racing with fast-paced first person shooting.
- “CastleStorm” by Zen Studios – It’s Knights vs. Vikings in “CastleStorm,” a super genre mash-up of 2D physics destruction mashed with tower defense brawler! “CastleStorm” features a story-driven solo campaign, a custom castle editor, online multiplayer, co-op modes, and more.
The Xbox games of 2014: Part II
We’re late, and it seems that’s become somewhat of a trend for us lately. Our Game of the Year awards weren’t doled out until January, and now our look forward at the XBLA and Xbox One XBLA-type games of 2014 is just making its way to you in February. You were on your own when it came to planning out January’s releases, but now it’s time for our annual look ahead at the top downloadable games likely to arrive on an Xbox platform during the (remainder of) the year ahead. Read on to find out what you can expect out of Xbox over the next (not quite) 365.
Constant C
Developer: International Games
Set aboard a doomed space station in which the flow of time has stopped, Constant C has you playing as a rescue robot navigating the paused wreckage to save the station and its survivors. Constant C is a 2D-platformer boasting gorgeous soft blues and reds on a jet-black background. As the rescue robot, you will manipulate time and space to overcome the puzzles and challenges you’re pitted against. The time manipulation is based on your touch; whatever you touch returns the object to the flow of time, such as blocks paused in mid-fall. The gravity manipulation consists of tilting the 2D screen in 90-degree rotations. Both abilities will be crucial to traversing the 100+ mind-blowing stages. Met with favorable reviews on PC, Constant C is now on its way to XBLA this spring.
Magic 2014 receives new deck pack
Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers Deck Pack 3 was recently released January 8, 2014 on Xbox Live Arcade for $2.99, and Joystiq posted details of the pack, which …
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The Bridge review (XBLA)
The Bridge was developed by Ty Taylor and Mario Castañeda and published by Midnight City. It was released on November 13, 2013 for $9.99. An Xbox 360 copy was provided for review purposes.
The Bridge is advertised as “a cerebral 2D puzzle experience”; a genre that is plentiful on the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace. It follows many of the current trends in puzzle gaming while also introducing a few new and interesting mechanics. But does The Bridge build enough upon its puzzle roots to deliver a unique and riveting experience that is all its own? Or does it fall flat in its attempt to provide brain-teasing puzzles that are more frustrating than fun?
Xbox 360’s best XBLA games of all time: #10 – 6
Xbox Live Arcade began its life on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 simply enough. When eager gamers bought up Xbox 360s on launch day (November 22, 2005), they found a free copy of Hexic HD pre-loaded on their hard drives. Of course, it was another launch title that secured the platform’s success. Bizarre’s Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved both gave birth to the twin-stick shooter craze and demanded gamers take Xbox Live Arcade, which started in disc form back on the original Xbox, seriously as a digital games platform. Bizarre’s side project paved the way for the enormous variety of retro revivals, HD remakes, original indie projects, major studio releases, free-to-play games and more that have come to call XBLA home in the years since.
Today, we’re approximately one month away from the launch of the Xbox One, which will signal the end of XBLA as we have come to know it these past eight years. While Microsoft’s Xbox line will continue to be home to myriad low-cost downloadable video games, the XBLA moniker will not make the transition to Xbox One. It’s going down with the figurative (and literal) Xbox 360 boat. So what better time than now to count down the best XBLA games to ever grace the Xbox 360?
It wasn’t easy, but our staff has sorted through all of the best XBLA releases over the years and picked the ones that we feel are the true standout stars of the platform. Check back with us throughout the week as we run down five of Xbox Live Arcade’s top games every night. And don’t forget to head to the comments to let us know how much you love (or hate) our picks.
(Editor’s Note: Voting was conducted in early September. No games released post-Summer of Arcade 2013 were considered eligible.)
10.) 1 vs 100
Ryan Thompson, Contributor — One of the promises of the Xbox 360 console that went largely unfulfilled was the idea that Xbox Live would expand to a point of truly joining together the entire community of players. The truth is that not a lot has changed since players began playing Halo 2 online almost a decade ago: we still join lobbies and play with small groups of people.