Reviews

By at .

Deadlight review: Seattle’s subversion

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Anthony Swinnich in Reviews, XBLA, XBLA Reviews | Leave a comment

As a kid, I grew up with the Nintendo Entertainment System in the living room. My gaming diet was a steady blast of classics like Super Mario Bros. and Ninja Gaiden. One of my first experiences in a post-NES world was at a cousin’s house, where I played the Sega CD version of Prince of Persia. I found that I hated it, and upon looking back I can tell you why. It stood in stark contrast to everything else I had experienced up to that point in one important area: the controls. Other classic games failed to resonate with me due to the same issue, namely Flashback and Out of this World. Now, I can play those games today. Hell, I even enjoy them. But I’m still not a huge fan of the controls. Tequila Works’ Deadlight feels like one of these games, though it’s linear and more cinematic. It was a relatively enjoyable experience, but it felt like the controls wanted to ruin things the entire time.

Read more

Review: SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | Leave a comment

You could spin me around twenty times blindfolded and set me free on Xbox Live and I’d still manage to stumble across an indie twin-stick shooter. It’s pretty tough for indie shooters to really make a name for itself, and SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance tries to set itself apart by focusing on cooperative missions, light RPG elements, and a pretty rich backstory. That means you’ll want to have some friends around for maximum enjoyment, but it’s still a competent shooter while flying solo.

SCHAR has a surprisingly detailed story for a twin-sick shooter, but it follows many of the typical sci-fi tropes that we’ve all seen before. Aliens have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, but new Blue Shift technology has allowed them to turn the tide and possibly survive. Le yawn. Still, the frequent chatter of the characters and background information on the planets help sell the universe’s history and make the game feel more immersive.

Read more

Indies at a Glance: Ninja Exorcist, Pt. 1

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Dave Voyles in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | Leave a comment

This ninja may have his work cut out for him

Ninja Exorcist, quite simply, does a lot of things right. It’s reminiscent of  the NES classic Ninja Gaiden, albeit without the brutal difficulty, as the protagonist has a number of similar tools and athletic maneuvers at his disposal, including the ability to bounce from wall to wall. Taking a bit from the Mega Man X series, your ninja can also gradually slide down the sides of each wall, thereby allowing for more precise strikes on opponents.

The first thing that grabbed my attention upon booting up Ninja Exorcist was the striking visuals: meticulously painted backgrounds provide quite a bit in terms of engagement, and prove to be among the best on XBLIG. Character animations are equally impressive, where my ninja was springing from wall to wall or stealthily executing a fellow ninja.

Read more

Video Review: RotoSchutzen

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Daniel Campbell in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | Leave a comment

Like shooting things? Like pushing buttons? Like piloting a flying crate with a gun? I sure hope so, because that’s pretty much what RotoSchutzen is all about. Is it good? Well, I guess you’ll just have to watch the video and find out. :-)

There is a quick addendum to the score. In the video I say the game gets a two out of five. The ACTUAL score is 2 1/2 out of 5. My apologies for any confusion.

Indies at a Glance: Overdriven

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Dave Voyles in Features, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | Leave a comment

You like games. We like games. We like writing about games. But writing takes time, and since time is finite and new release lists are damned near infinite, you can probably see the quandary we’re stuck in. Indies at a Glance lets us discuss games we’re playing without cranking out a marathon review. That way, we can write about more games, and you can read about more games that we’re writing about.

I was somewhat harsh on Overdriven during my initial appraisal and I’m not sure why. I’ve played more than my fair share of shmups (ten in the last week, in fact!) and most of which have titles I can’t even pronounce. After having played so many over the years I’ve come to expect quite a bit from them, so when I don’t discover something phenomenal I am somewhat disappointed. I had to go back and play it again, naturally, to see if I overlooked anything, and I’m glad I did.

The presentation is solid, with nicely drawn character portraits during dialogue sequences which frequent the beginning of each stage. Also, the game attempts to insert a bit of a story here or there, which is something you generally don’t find in the genre. It’s got some impressive particle effects as well, especially as stages transition between rain-soaked skies to snowy environments dynamically.

Read more

Indies at a Glance: Go Gimbal Go

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Dave Voyles in Features, Reviews, XBLIG Reviews | Leave a comment

You like games. We like games. We like writing about games. But writing takes time, and since time is finite and new release lists are damned near infinite, you can probably see the quandary we’re stuck in. Indies at a Glance lets us discuss games we’re playing without cranking out a marathon review. That way, we can write about more games, and you can read about more games that we’re writing about. 

On the surface, Go Gimbal Go appears to be a simple-minded game where your goal is to get from one end of the stage to the other in the shortest period of time possible while ignoring everything around you. This was something Sonic the Hedgehog damn near perfected in the early 90s before making his doomed plunge into the 3D realm. But spending just a few moments with Go Gimbal Go will soon reveal that it is so much more than that.

For the uninformed, a gimbal is “swiveling device which enables a galley stove or compass card to remain level.” That holds true for this game as well, as you’ll quickly be plowing through levels as you race in all cardinal directions at warp speed while being tied to a track. Players take control of a ball which is tasked with rescuing children throughout each stage by simply running against them.

Read more

Apple Jack 2 review: Keeping the doctor away

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Anthony Swinnich in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | 2 Comments

The 2D Platformer is one of the most stocked genre cabinets on XBLIG. But when one filters out for quality, the number drops drastically. Apple Jack 2 would certainly be counted among the titles remaining. It’s quirky, it’s clever and above all else, it’s fun.

The story picks up after the first game’s ending. The titular character is sitting at work, reminiscing about previous adventures while lamenting his current, boring existence. So he does what any rational fruit-headed being would do — he strips naked, leaves his job and sets out in search of fun. His goal is the beach, and your nimble thumbs are his guide.

While there isn’t a great deal of complexity to the controls in Apple Jack 2, My Owl Software gets a great amount of mileage out of the functionality. The usual run, jump and wall jump abilities are present. You can duck which allows you to roll, and you can pick enemies up and throw them while standing on their heads.
Read more

Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 Review

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Mike Wall in Mobile Reviews, PC, PC Reviews, Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | 8 Comments

Penny Arcade is a comic strip about Tycho and Gabe, who are characterizations of their real-life creators. They have appeared in two previous video games. They (well, the real-life versions) host expos twice a year where thousands of fans wait for hours to hear them speak and revel in general nerdiness. They are also vastly more wealthy and famous than I will ever be. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is about the entirety of my knowledge of the Penny Arcade universe until I plugged in my Xbox controller and booted up Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3.

I think I should have studied a bit more.

Zeboyd Games, who previously helped that Lovecraftian monster save the world, has resurrected the dormant franchise and spruced it up with their 16-bit can of paint. Even though there’s a new developer, the game picks up just a few weeks after the previous two and feels very much a part of the same world. At least, I have to assume it does since I haven’t spent ten minutes with the previous games. If you’re better versed in Penny Arcade lore than I – and odds are, you are – the frequent cameos, plot twists, and references to events long-ago transpired probably make a lot more sense. But since we all only get one brain, I’m forced to approach the game through my n00b eyeballs, and you know what? It’s still pretty damned funny.

Read more

« Previous  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 30 31   Next »