XBLIG prices can be changed every 7 days starting May 23


Big news from Microsoft today, as they announced via the App Hub, the official MS forums where XBLIG developers Read more

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 Review: Rolling in the Right Direction


A new Sonic game always brings a level of uncertainty with it. Sega’s mascot has seen more highs and Read more

One Million Fans Take a Stroll with The Walking Dead Episode 1


Comic books, television, and now video games: is there any form of media that The Walking Dead can't conquer? Read more

Kittens Spit Fire When Serious Sam Double D XXL Assaults XBLA This Fall


Take a long, hard look at you what is on your screen right now. Yes, that’s a kitten, spitting Read more

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Xbox Indie Review: Bird Assassin

Posted on by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig | 2 Comments

big ol bird

When will nature learn? You just don’t mess with humanity unless you’re in the mood for a shotgun shell sandwich. Someone should have imparted that nugget of wisdom upon that monstrous bird before he done-gone devoured our poor hick’s pa, and then I wouldn’t have been stuck playing a game that had so much promise, but ultimately turned out to be as tedious and repetitive as watching cars drive in a circle for three hours.

If you ran down the checklist of Bird Assassin’s features, you’d probably be convinced it’s a pretty fun 2D shooter. It certainly looks the part with gorgeous sprites that animate well and a whole gaggle of different birds that explode into fuzzy, feathery piles of bloody mush. There are a few weapon upgrades, new guns to purchase and even a handful of silly bonus games to break up the carnage. But all that window dressing isn’t enough to disguise the fact that playing the darned game just isn’t any fun.

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Xbox Indie Review: Trivia or Die

Posted on by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig | 1 Comment

questions

Trivia games are
a) fun because they give me a chance to showcase my untapped reservoirs of otherwise useless information.
b) a great way to get a controller into the hands of my non-gaming friends.
c) educational and fun (even if they make me feel dumb sometimes).
d) about as much fun as homework. Why can’t I call in air strikes or level up?

If you find yourself circling one of the first three responses, then it’s a pretty safe bet that you’re going to enjoy Trivia or Die. There’s no board to navigate or other gimmicky extraneous bells and whistles to kill time; this is a trivia buff’s trivia game, with random multiple-choice questions firing out at a snappy pace and bonus points awarded for answering within 3 seconds. If you want to hang out with some friends, answer questions and rack up points, this is the game for you. Read more

Xbox Indie Review: College Lacrosse 2011

Posted on by Dave Voyles in Reviews, xblig | 2 Comments

We’ve got a few more weeks before the frost begins to melt from the ground and the presence of grass is visible, but don’t tell that to Triple B Games. College lacrosse season may be about to commence, but the digital version started last Sunday. In their third lacrosse outing, College Lacrosse 2011, developer Triple B Games teamed up with Cross Studios to create what is their best piece of work yet.

Huge improvements have been made in nearly every department. The animations offer smoother transitions as players switch hands or perform dodges. Goalies now fall to one knee as they perform Herculean efforts  to protect their cage at all costs. The developer took the time to motion cap 500 different animations, and their effort really shows. You won’t see any of the animations from the previous games, which while not terrible, are greatly improved and look more professional in this iteration. These technical innovations, although minor in the grand scheme of things, are what separate this title from the others in indie catalog. Screenshots don’t do this game justice, which is a shame considering that’s what I believe leads to most of the indie game sales. While most gamers probably won’t even recognize the work that is required to go under the hood and create a game as technically sharp as this, those of us who do appreciate it.
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Contest: Win Aban Hawkins and the 1000 Spikes

Posted on by Mike Wall in xblig | 17 Comments

fireballs too

Update: Contest has concluded! Congratulations to our winner, Twitter user @secretclean, and thanks to everyone who entered. We’ll have another contest soon!

Do you have a vendetta to settle with your controller? Do you want a game that will make you just want to hurl that hunk of plastic at the wall so hard that it will shatter into a billion tiny pieces? Hmmm..wait a minute, not doing a great job of selling this contest am I? Alright, let’s call a mulligan. Ahem. Do you want a shot at winning an incredibly challenging, but delightfully retro 2D platformer? Of course you do!

Check out our full review to find out why we liked Aban Hawkins so darned much.

There are two ways to enter this contest, and you may enter both ways.

1) Post on this thread about the most difficult game you’ve ever played or your favorite crazy-hard game.  Make sure you create an account so that I can contact you if you win!

2) Follow @armlessoctopus on Twitter and tweet the following: Visit @armlessoctopus for a chance to win Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes for Xbox 360! http://bit.ly/fKsJe4 #xblig

One random winner will be picked on Wednesday February 16.

Xbox Indie Review: Defy Gravity

Posted on by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig | 3 Comments

outer space

Defy Gravity’s digital package is plastered with a voluptuous, violet-haired heroine stripping out of a form-fitting spacesuit, which might give the impression that it’s just another seedy, low-brow indie game. Heck, even the title could be interpreted as a double entendre. Whether it’s a desperate cry for attention or an attempt to invoke nostalgic memories of Metroid, the misguided sex appeal obscures what is otherwise a wildly enjoyable gem of a 2D platformer that implements a rather novel gameplay mechanic.

You play as Kara, the lady space-explorer who has discovered an ancient alien monolith that will hopefully help save the human race from some unnamed calamity. The story is kept to a bare minimum and provides a bare-bones justification for showcasing Kara’s awesome gravity-orb spewing device that is the centerpiece of the entire game. The device allows for the devilish platforming segments and some death-defying last minute escapes from peril that make Defy Gravity so exciting.

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Antipole Review

Posted on by Dave Voyles in PC Reviews, Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | 4 Comments

The Xbox Indie platform lends itself well to the platforming genre (demonstrated by the number of titles released in the past year alone), but don’t let the wild flood of similar titles scare you away, because Antipole deserves a bit of your time.

I’ve played my fair share of platformers in my day, and often I find myself turned away from the genre due to the punishing difficulty. What I found most refreshing about Antipole was how well balanced the difficulty was. Throughout my gravity-warping adventure, a wave of irritation never washed over me as the platforming elements, enemies and variety of environments proved to be an ideal combination.

The physics are the selling point of the game, and the game executes its system very well. Seemingly impossible jumps across pits donning spikes on both the ceiling and floor are made possible by the well-tuned engine, which allows you to nearly float across the screen with the precision of a laser-seeking missile. I only ran across a handful of opportunities where I thought I died from a cheap death, and those were from typically when I couldn’t see a spike or enemy off-screen.

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Xbox Indie Review: Return All Robots

Posted on by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig | 1 Comment

mutated tentacles

There’s nothing quite as nerve-wrecking as your first day on the job. You double-check to make sure your lime-green hair is slicked back, you make sure your white lab coat is wrinkle-free and devoid of pesky coffee stains, and you arrive at the Ethical Robots and Experimentation lab on time. And then you discover that there’s been a catastrophic accident and the oh-so expensive and oh-so unintelligent robots are in peril!

Of course, it’s up to the intern to save the day (and the robots), which thankfully is a heck of a lot more fun than you’d expect rescuing brain-dead robots would be. It’s an interesting puzzle game with a bizarre and catchy soundtrack and some fresh mechanics and level design.

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Interview: Michael Ventnor of Red Crest Studios

Posted on by Dave Voyles in xblig | Leave a comment

I recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions with the founder of Red Crest Studio, Michael Ventnor. The studio has recently released two Xbox indie titles, and its most recent release is the JRPG adventure, Bonded Realities, which I reviewed last week.

If you weren’t making games you would be….

Programming something else! Programming is all I’m good for. I’d most likely be working for Mozilla or a similar Californian company. But since videogames were the reason I became passionate about computers as a child, I really wanted to give game development a go, just to see how far I could take it.

Where would you like to see your studio or games in the next 3-5 years?

At least self-sustaining. Hopefully with its own office, and more employees, making more profitable and famous games.

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