Where Games Workshop games are concerned, I just can’t help myself but be suckered in by the promise of deep, strategic gameplay set in a world of near limitless lore. …
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Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax was developed by Marvelous Entertainment, Inc. and Opus Studios, Inc., and retails for 800 MSP.
Half-Minute Hero arrives on XBLA after enjoying substantial success on the PSP. The game is what its name implies, more or less: a traditional Japanese RPG style hero, who saves the world in 30 seconds, give or take a reset from the Time Goddess, over and over again.
For the most part the game works like this: hero appears in an area, an evil lord announces that he will cast the spell of destruction, which will destroy the world. The spell takes 30 seconds to complete. A timer appears at the top of the page and our hero must rocket into action. Thanks to the Goddess, the timer can be paused while in towns or reset if enough cash is on hand (the goddess has to make a living, after all). In the time allotted, the player must advance to a level at which they can beat the local evil lord, and possibly solve a side quest or two.
Puzzle Quest 2 was developed by Infinite Interactive and published by D3 Publisher for XBLA on 6/30/2010. Retails for 1200 Microsoft Points. A download code for the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes.
Let’s start this review by asking ourselves, is there still a profitable market for puzzle games? During a time when 3D graphics are the new craze, awe-inspiring virtual physics are praised, and motion-controlled gimmicks try to make things a little bit more noobish, will there be any room left for the puzzle enthusiasts? Infinite Interactive has the answer to that. In 2007, they released Puzzle Quest, which became an instant hit amongst critics and gamers. PQ respectively took home a couple of awards, Gametrailers “Best Puzzle/Parlor Game” and Gamespy’s “Best Xbox Live Arcade Game.” So, with those accomplishments in mind, what could they possibly do to follow-up the success that Puzzle Quest had? Make another one.