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Microsoft Studios

Fusion: Genesis review (XBLA)
12 years ago

Fusion: Genesis review (XBLA)

Fusion: Genesis was developed by Starfire Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released November 9, 2011 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Fusion: Genesis certainly isn’t the first game on XBLA to put you in control of a spaceship but it is definitely the most ambitious. While it may not have the scope or freedom of a game like EVE Online it comes closer than you might expect.

After a brief tutorial area in which you are given the basics on controls and combat you are dropped into the world and allowed to go at your own pace. This means taking on missions, joining factions, mining ore and of course buying bigger, better ships. Read More

Orcs Must Die!: Weavers Guide

Steel Weaver

 

Death Augmenter (500) – Orcs killed by traps and guardians earn 66% more coins.

Guardian Armor (1500) (requires Death Augmenter) – Guardians have increased health and will …
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Crimson Alliance Vengeance DLC Guide
12 years ago

Crimson Alliance Vengeance DLC Guide

Vengeance DLC Dead Among Us Secret Areas (6):

  1. In the early bits of the level after passing the Assassin door (there’s a room with a blue beaker in it) …
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Orcs Must Die: complete guide
12 years ago

Orcs Must Die: complete guide

Everything you need to know to eliminate the orc infestation
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XBLAFancast Special – Orcs Must Die! interview
12 years ago

XBLAFancast Special – Orcs Must Die! interview

Orcs have been a problem throughout the universe for all eternity. Well. Maybe not, but they still have to die! And so they will in Robot Entertainment’s action tower defense strategy game Orcs Must Die! Justin Korthoff, Community Manager at Robot Ent, joins myself and John Laster to discuss the game’s origin, some details about Robot Ent, and of course the awesome points of the game.

Justin goes over the bit of time following Ensemble Studios’ collapse all the way up through the beginning of Orcs Must Die!, and how small the game started at first. On top of that is the birth of a lot of the game mechanics, how three traps turned into over 20, and how the crossbow and various other elements of the game were balanced to ensure that each of the game’s levels played differently. This podcast is full of great insight into the processes regarding this game’s development and the result of those design strategies.

Venture forth and listen!

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastOMDInterview.mp3[/podcast]

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Sorcerer’s Lair coming to Pinball FX2 October 12
13 years ago

Sorcerer’s Lair coming to Pinball FX2 October 12

The gang at Zen Studios know how to take care of their fans. They are constantly releasing new downloadable tables for Pinball FX2. We’ve seen our share of Marvel-themed tables recently, but Zen has something different up their sleeve this time around. On October 12 players can download the Sorcerer’s Lair table, one that used to be a PS3 Zen Pinball exclusive. We had previously reported that both Sorcerer’s Lair and Paranormal would be coming to Xbox 360 owners, but now we’ve got a firm date for one of them. Hit the jump for the full press release and additional screenshots.

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Penny Arcade pokes fun at Crimson Alliance

We loved Crimson Alliance in our review, and evidently the folks over at Penny Arcade are playing it too. In Wednesday’s strip Tycho and Gabe poked some fun at …
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Crimson Alliance complete guide
13 years ago

Crimson Alliance complete guide

We’re your one stop shop for everything Crimson Alliance.
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Crimson Alliance review (XBLA)
13 years ago

Crimson Alliance review (XBLA)

Crimson Alliance was developed by Certain Affinity and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on September 7, 2011. The game is a free download, but characters must be purchased. One character costs 800 MSP, while all three can be purchased for 1200 MSP. A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.

Isometric cameras come with a whole myriad of expectations and memories for many gamers. Most jump straight to Gauntlet, the quintessential isometric beat stuff up game. Well Crimson Alliance is no Gauntlet. Granted, those enjoying the first minutes of their virgin voyage into this game will call blasphemy, but by the end of the first level the differences will be very clear. Crimson Alliance can, however, play like Gauntlet if allowed to, but it would take a lot of effort to ignore the awesome aspects of Crimson Alliance that make it such a different game.

Crimson Alliance has a slight flair for the retro in that it is very, very much about score. There is a story, and there are characters, but the real meat is in the mechanics; Crimson Alliance thrives on good gameplay. The game has three classes, Direwolf the Wizard, Moonshade the Assassin, and Gnox the Mercenary. Each class has its role, especially when it comes to co-op, but each has its offensive and defensive capabilities, none of them rely on each other necessarily, though they can assist each other. Each class’s ability to deal with the decent variety of enemies in Crimson Alliance varies greatly, so the game will play very differently based on which class is being used, and which skills of the class are being focused on. While it’s an action-RPG, Crimson Alliance isn’t so RPG-heavy, the stats are simple and easy to manage as they’re based off of the equipment and there aren’t too many permutations of skills. It’s easy to jump into, it’s easy to understand, but mastery is a different story. Living through a level of Crimson Alliance is pretty easy for the most part, but the multiplier mechanic used to get awesome scores is what really sends this game above and beyond. Every kill, every combo, every streak adds to the multiplier, but one hit, just one, will send the multiplier down one whole notch (it maxes out at 8). That whole mechanic is what Crimson Alliance hinges on and is why people that love to top leaderboards will be all over this game.

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Orcs Must Die!: The Squeeze (Level 22)
13 years ago

Orcs Must Die!: The Squeeze (Level 22)

New weapon

Grinder – Sucks enemies in and demolishes them as they run by, one of the few traps that does constant damage for the most part (rather than …
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