Microsoft Game Studios

It was announced a month ago that Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair would be heading to XBLA, but the game now has an official release date of May 18. The …
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Bored of Trials Evolution yet? Didn’t think so, but RedLynx have recently uploaded 4 new Supercross tracks for fans to play with. The new tracks are available to play …
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After five years in development, Fez released last Friday to much critical acclaim (almost all around here love it). In its first 24 hours on XBLA it was played by …
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Fez was developed by Polytron and published by Microsoft/Trapdoor. It was released on April 13, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

A few years ago Fez started making noise in the indie game scene as a game that had the potential to create a sense of immersion that would rival even the most cherished indie titles like Braid or Limbo. Polytron took their time with the game but now that Fez has finally released on XBLA, it’s clear that their time was well spent. Creating a game that forces gamers to truly think and explore these days is a fairly tall order. But Fez does just that. A sense of adventure and exploration accompanied by the classic 8-bit look will leave gamers swearing they have gone back in time to era they grew up in. An era where subtle clues were left behind for gamers to discover and slowly piece things together providing a true sense of accomplishment. An era where things may have initially looked simple but were far more complex once properly studied. Read More

In 2003 Microsoft was doing everything they could to keep their the infant console afloat. One of the ways they attempted this was with exclusive titles of every genre and type, from classic names we recognized like Conker and Toe Jam & Earl, to supplying the market with original titles like Blinx and Blood Wake. Many of these titles, especially the rebirths, were major failures, but some of them were just amazing. Among those is Amped 2, originally released October 28, 2003 (NA) one week behind SSX 3. The two were pitted directly against each other in a snowy race to the top of the charts.

The original Amped launched to good scores but poor sales, leaving Amped 2 with a huge job: improve on greatness, but get noticed this time. Developer Indie Built succeeded, exceeding almost all expectations at launch, delivering (at the time) amazing graphics and decent controls. It quickly was acclaimed a must-have snowboarding game and spawned fans everywhere. It included local and LIVE multiplayer, massive drop selections and a few innovative features. Bundle up and drop into this weeks Most Wanted with us.

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Microsoft announced today that former Sony Computer Entertainment and Atari bigwig Phil Harrison has joined the software titan as the corporate vice president of its European Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB). Harrison will be tasked with overseeing the entirety of the Microsoft Studios European division as well as running the war room for the rest of IEB.

“I am excited to be joining the senior team at Microsoft at a pivotal time for our industry,” Harrison said of his move. “I am really impressed with the company’s long-term vision for growing the market for interactive entertainment globally and also with the incredible wealth of talent, technology and resources the company has available to succeed.”

Harrison will be the top man presiding over operations at UK-based developers Lionhead Studios, Soho Productions and Rare Ltd. Contrary to rumors that ran rampant across news outlets and social media sites earlier in the day, however, Harrison will not be replacing former Microsoft Studios Creative Director Peter Molyneux in the ex-Lionhead Studios boss’ recently-vacated position. Microsoft’s Major Nelson explained that “Phil’s role on the IEB leadership team is completely unrelated to Peter’s departure.”

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In an preview on Hookshot Inc., we got additional details on the upcoming Bloodforge from Climax and Microsoft Game Studios. The story so far involves a warrior named Crom, …
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As part of their Spring Showcase, Microsoft has today unveiled an all new Kinect exclusive game for XBLA: Wreckateer. It’s being developed by Iron Galaxy, the studio that brought us Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition and the gameplay is said to be similar to Angry Birds with players utilising a medieval catapult to fire an iron ball at a series of castles. We got a hint of the game earlier this year when a listing appeared on the Australian Classification Board. Strewth can’t anyone keep a secret these days?

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Another game that was announced a while back was Deadlight, an upcoming platformer from Tequila Works and published by Microsoft Game Studios. You play a lone wanderer in a …
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We haven’t heard a lot about Bloodforge recently, the upcoming hack-and-slash action/adventure from Climax Studios. That’s about to change with this new trailer for the game above. You’ll see …
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