ID@XBOX

Entering into this review, I’m in something of a quandary about how to approach it. “Why?” you might wonder. Well, simply put, I’ve been told many times that I must …
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Perhaps due to what seemed like an incredibly promising title, I began playing Gryphon Knight Epic feeling pretty excited. Less than an hour later, I had completed it, albeit mostly on …
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When I wrote my preview of Sheltered, I thought of it as something of a rough diamond. Here was a brutally unforgiving game with a clunky control system that translated poorly onto a gamepad …
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Earlier this week, ID@Xbox Director Chris Charla wrote a post on Xbox Wire updating everyone on the state of ID@Xbox. He outlined a lot of new things on the horizon, including a transition towards cross-network …
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A famous strapline once informed us that “in space, no one can you hear you scream.” Brief as it is, this is a handy way of summarising the fact that because …
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With the solo-survival genre becoming increasingly popular, Microsoft has taken the brave step of championing The Long Dark as one of the first two titles to feature in its Game Preview Program alongside Elite: Dangerous. Read More

On Microsoft’s Daily E3 Show, Chris Charla announced that Cuphead and Ashen are “lifetime console exclusives” to Xbox One (although they are both also coming to PC).

While it’s not entirely clear if “lifetime” means “forever” or perhaps for the lifetime of the Xbox One, one thing is for sure: you won’t be seeing Cuphead or Ashen on any other consoles for a long time.

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Badland was developed and published by Frogmind on Xbox One. It was released on May 29, 2015 for $9.99. A copy was provided by Frogmind for review purposes.

Badland is one of the most popular mobile phone games ever, so I guess it’s no surprise to see it finally making the long-awaited transition to home consoles. Developer Frogmind have certainly talked a good game and are promising that this Game of the Year Edition features a huge raft of new and upgraded content, including over 100 levels, plus a load of multiplayer features.

For those (like me) who are pretty new to Badland, the game is a side-scrolling, physics-derived puzzle-platformer that features a chasing camera (think the original Mario Bros.) to ensures a frenetic pace. The sumptuous, hand-drawn graphics mask challenging and varied gameplay that is dished out in bite-sized levels. There is an element of trial and error in most games like this, but Badland does well to ease the pain with its generous checkpoint system.

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Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones was developed by Carbon and published by Curve Digital. It was released on April 3, 2015 for $14.99. A copy was provided by Curve Digital for review purposes.

One of the most unique things about XBLA Fans is our rating system, which encourages reviewers like me to rate games based on a simple “Buy, Try or Skip” scale. Although this can occasionally make our jobs more difficult, I believe that the system means that the written content of our reviews becomes ever more important in getting the message across about how a game plays.

With this in mind, there has perhaps never been a game more deserving of our “Try It” rating than Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones. This is a game that riffs heavily on other roguelike and metroidvania games (not to mention the extremely popular Portal) but also offers its own brand of gameplay and humour across a very expansive package. Stealth Inc. 2 is likely to attract a number of diehard stealth fans, but the steep learning curve and a few minor issues might make casual gamers think twice.

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RageQuit Corporation have announced that their game, Strike Vector EX, will be coming to the Xbox One at some point this summer via the ID@Xbox program.  Strike Vector EX is a multiplayer-only game that centers around first-person fast paced aircraft fights. The game originally launched on Steam in 2014 but the console versions will be receiving refined controls to help with the transition.

The very first console exclusive screenshots as well as a teaser trailer can be seen below the break. With only limited information revealed as of now, there should be plenty more news as the summer isn’t that far away.

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