KeWey basically is comprised four mini-games that are mixed up with different obstacles as you progress through the game. The first one has you type out telegrams by hopping on the typewriters around you and inputting the correct letters. The second one takes place in the transcription room and you must listen to an audiotape and collect the right shreds of paper that are scattered around you before combining them into a message. The third one you assembling packages for delivery and the final one is a rush to file everything correctly in the drop-off depot. As you only have a limited amount of time, teamwork is essential and there is a-plenty of doom that you can fall into if you don't pay attention. Challenges are more frantic as you'll have to combat hazards later on such as tornados that will blow shreds of paper away and vines that can consume your partner. There's certainly fun to be had here with a mate, but even with these hazards, the mini-games quickly start to feel repetitive and I found that was a missed opportunity here. Beyond the mini-games, there are also a few "overtime shifts" that you can unlock and several of these involve tasks unrelated to sorting post. These modes I actually had more fun with, than the ones included in the main work schedule, which is odd considering that these are optional and the others are required to make progress in the game. Completing mini-games rewards you with a score of either bronze, silver, or gold to receive a set amount of stamps too that you can spend on cosmetic items. The selection of items is plentiful with being able to change the fur color, hairstyle, and outfits of your feather covered mates. This isn't the only thing that you can spend your stamps on as you can also purchase hints on where you can find certain special collectibles. These collectibles can then be displayed in your kiwi's own personal section of the post office and they are a fun incentive to return back to levels. KeyWe is more geared towards playing with a friend, but the option is also there to play solo if you prefer. When playing alone you can switch between both birds or control them at the same time. Having to keep switching between characters just messed with the game’s feel for me and you'll often find that the bird you are not controlling has been carried off or swallowed by a hazard while you weren't being attentive. On top of single-player being a chore to play through, I also encountered several bugs and these even caused me to hold off on streaming the game. When playing one of the stages the tutorial didn't appear even after resetting. I also encountered a glitch where one of my kiwis got stuck on a crane and another technical issue prevented me from completing the level even tho I completed the objective, so hopefully a patch in the near future can fix some of the present issues. With there being so many quality co-op party experiences on the market, it makes it really hard to recommend this game unless you are an avid achievement hunter or fan of the party game genre. The game can be good fun if not played for longer periods of time for the average gamer, so don’t be afraid to check it out if this falls in your wheelhouse.
Fight N Jokes is a parody based fighting game similar to other games like ClayFighter but the game reminds me more of SkullGirls. If you’re a fan of fighting games you’ll likely find it as a solid addition to your Xbox library. Fight N Jokes id colorful, nicely animated and stylishly cartoonish. The game is a parody of other fighting games and classic game lore and it is good fun to play as a fan of fighting games it’s easy to appreciate. It’s not a top tier fighter but it’s fun and that’s what counts when the rubber meets the rood. The game is full of funny cliches and it honestly gave me a good chuckle several times. The game plays similar to street fighter in controls. There’s a comeback mechanic and supers by each character to boot. The game was originally released in 1997 by Nasty Brothers software and was brought back to life today by Mental Drink. As a fan of vintage and classic games it’s nice to see games like this rejuvenated on current platforms. The game itself has several modes of play: Arcade, Versus, Tourney, Survival, Time Rush, and Training. The options are also as robust as one would expect in a Capcom or like styled fighter. Fight N Jokes is surprisingly fun and I highly recommend it to those who are familiar with classic 2D fighters. Definitely something different in regards to fighting genre for your Xbox library, so if you are a fan or a “new-comer” head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a go, you definitely won’t be disappointed if you can appreciate what it offers fighting fans. FightNJokes does what it intends to and accomplishes what it's meant to be in the end. "A WINNER IS YOU".
Monopoly Madness (Monopoly) its 86 year history has seen plenty of variations to keep up with the times. The latest comes via Ubisoft and Engine Software, with Monopoly Madness taking a new direction for the property trading game which will all variations have the good and bad change. For a game that is familiar to most this time with Mr. Monopoly going on vacation and needs to find someone to take care of business while he’s away. This is where players enter an altered world with twists on the mechanics that have served the board game well. The goal of being the wealthiest has not changed in Monopoly Madness, but instead of collecting the fake dough, it is all about accumulating as many Property Medals as possible this time around. Up to six players can choose from characters based on the original board tokens, and a large variety of maps of varying competition with each other. The shift from turn-based dice to action will take some getting used to, especially as Monopoly Madness introduces some interesting mechanics of its own. There are no turns, every player is free to roam around and do their things, and the battle for properties begins with a fight over resources in a a-la Mario Party sort of fashion. Money bills are generated randomly across the map or at banks, while electricity and water can be found at Electricity or Water Stations. All of these resources are vital to your goals of achieving the most property and they need to be collected using a trusty vacuum a-la Luigi Mansion if you will. As the timer for each game begins, it becomes a mad dash to stake your claim on the first few waves of resources, bumping opponents out of the way or blowing them dizzy with the vacuum. The real fun then begins as properties go up for auction, monopolies become a reality, and random events start messing up the proceedings. Rather than handing over money to demonstrate their interest, players will have to be physically near the buildings and blow money to acquire said properties. Each new property equates to one Property Medal, and upgrading properties with both water and electricity will yield even more medals. Establishing a chain of properties to complete a monopoly, just like the board game, is also fundamental to winning. However, instead of passively watching the competition while planning the next strike, Monopoly Madness holds true to its name and unleashes the chaos in the form of randomly generated power-ups and random events. This could mean a bulldozer that can destroy upgraded buildings, stealing properties with the help of extraterrestrial beings, or even barricades to prevent others from interfering with your auction big. The 18 different power-ups can lead to all sorts of situations, and all becomes fair game when you are trying to win in the dying seconds, jailing the leading player seems like a proper game changer and knowing when to use what power-up is just another facet that needs to be mastered as a smart businessperson. Combine all of that together, and Monopoly Madness is clearly made for those that prefer action over sitting by the sidelines, but it also contains a fair bit of strategic depth when it comes to navigating the bedlam. These can all be seen in the various game modes, be it the objective-based Story mode, the crowd-pleasing Free-for-All mode, or the co-op focused Teams mode, with the action unfolding in a selection of maps in the four distinct environments of City, Night Life, Beach Town, and Cozy Falls. There is a nice balance to how properties are laid out as well as the available paths of progress or obstruction, placing the onus on players to strategize the best way forward. Monopoly Madness definitely nails the part of a new direction for the beloved game, but whether or not that is a good thing largely comes down to your taste for a faster pace and the randomness of it all. Auctions and bidding can fly by in a haste, and a carefully put-together empire can fall with coordinated efforts by your opponents to outbid you, steal your properties, or just destroy them with a jackhammer. Trying to deter your opponents while making moves of your own is going to require plenty of concentration, and not all the maps are great at indicating what is going on, which can be frustrating. Having online play is good, but for those planning to play with a partner at home, it is strange that the Teams mode require four players with no room for the AI opponents seen in other modes. Monopoly Madness is well placed to take advantage **** of people getting together to have a great time, with a competitive streak that will frustrate and annoy at times. Experiencing the highs and lows of the property game is par for the course when it comes to Monopoly, but this time, you can take control into your own hands and see where that chaos leads you. While I prefer the traditional approach to monopoly games this will definitely leave most fans satisfied.
Monopoly Madness (Monopoly) its 86 year history has seen plenty of variations to keep up with the times. The latest comes via Ubisoft and Engine Software, with Monopoly Madness taking a new direction for the property trading game which will all variations have the good and bad change. For a game that is familiar to most this time with Mr. Monopoly going on vacation and needs to find someone to take care of business while he’s away. This is where players enter an altered world with twists on the mechanics that have served the board game well. The goal of being the wealthiest has not changed in Monopoly Madness, but instead of collecting the fake dough, it is all about accumulating as many Property Medals as possible this time around. Up to six players can choose from characters based on the original board tokens, and a large variety of maps of varying competition with each other. The shift from turn-based dice to action will take some getting used to, especially as Monopoly Madness introduces some interesting mechanics of its own. There are no turns, every player is free to roam around and do their things, and the battle for properties begins with a fight over resources in a a-la Mario Party sort of fashion. Money bills are generated randomly across the map or at banks, while electricity and water can be found at Electricity or Water Stations. All of these resources are vital to your goals of achieving the most property and they need to be collected using a trusty vacuum a-la Luigi Mansion if you will. As the timer for each game begins, it becomes a mad dash to stake your claim on the first few waves of resources, bumping opponents out of the way or blowing them dizzy with the vacuum. The real fun then begins as properties go up for auction, monopolies become a reality, and random events start messing up the proceedings. Rather than handing over money to demonstrate their interest, players will have to be physically near the buildings and blow money to acquire said properties. Each new property equates to one Property Medal, and upgrading properties with both water and electricity will yield even more medals. Establishing a chain of properties to complete a monopoly, just like the board game, is also fundamental to winning. However, instead of passively watching the competition while planning the next strike, Monopoly Madness holds true to its name and unleashes the chaos in the form of randomly generated power-ups and random events. This could mean a bulldozer that can destroy upgraded buildings, stealing properties with the help of extraterrestrial beings, or even barricades to prevent others from interfering with your auction big. The 18 different power-ups can lead to all sorts of situations, and all becomes fair game when you are trying to win in the dying seconds, jailing the leading player seems like a proper game changer and knowing when to use what power-up is just another facet that needs to be mastered as a smart businessperson. Combine all of that together, and Monopoly Madness is clearly made for those that prefer action over sitting by the sidelines, but it also contains a fair bit of strategic depth when it comes to navigating the bedlam. These can all be seen in the various game modes, be it the objective-based Story mode, the crowd-pleasing Free-for-All mode, or the co-op focused Teams mode, with the action unfolding in a selection of maps in the four distinct environments of City, Night Life, Beach Town, and Cozy Falls. There is a nice balance to how properties are laid out as well as the available paths of progress or obstruction, placing the onus on players to strategize the best way forward. Monopoly Madness definitely nails the part of a new direction for the beloved game, but whether or not that is a good thing largely comes down to your taste for a faster pace and the randomness of it all. Auctions and bidding can fly by in a haste, and a carefully put-together empire can fall with coordinated efforts by your opponents to outbid you, steal your properties, or just destroy them with a jackhammer. Trying to deter your opponents while making moves of your own is going to require plenty of concentration, and not all the maps are great at indicating what is going on, which can be frustrating. Having online play is good, but for those planning to play with a partner at home, it is strange that the Teams mode require four players with no room for the AI opponents seen in other modes. Monopoly Madness is well placed to take advantage **** of people getting together to have a great time, with a competitive streak that will frustrate and annoy at times. Experiencing the highs and lows of the property game is par for the course when it comes to Monopoly, but this time, you can take control into your own hands and see where that chaos leads you. While I prefer the traditional approach to monopoly games this will definitely leave most fans satisfied.
Halo Infinite! Who has never heard of this cult series whose first opus was released on November 15, 2001 on the first Xbox of Microsoft? Its hero, the Spartan John-117 is actually cited among the greatest video game characters aka Master Chief. So when Halo Infinite was announced at the E3 2018, it's fair to say that the fans couldn't stand still! After a first failed gameplay presentation on July 23, 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase (mostly because of the quality of graphics) 343 Industries announced the postponement of the game for 2021. Since then, the studio has been joined by others such as the Canadians from SkyBox Labs, the Californians from Sperasoft, and the Texas studio Certain Affinity, which is involved in the multiplayer part of the title. But let's stop talking about it, because it's time for the verdict on Halo Infinite! One thing is certain: Halo Infinite is off to a great start! The long introduction of the game (that is to say before you find yourself on the surface of the ring) is indeed quite intense and is full of action and epic scenes. Our first steps with the Major make our mouths water and also allow us to set the story, which takes place six months after the events of Halo 5. Right from the start, Master Chief is beaten (yes, you read that right!) to a pulp by a particularly strong Brute leader aboard the UNSC Infinity. The Major is blown into space and drifts for a while, until a Pelican piloted by a lost Infinity crew member picks up his signal and saves him. With only his courage, and the help of a new AI, 117 will go to the nearby Halo Zeta to defeat the Pariahs, a rebel faction already seen in Halo Wars. A mission that seems to hide another one since Cortana (the old AI that accompanied the Major during all his past adventures) seems to speak about her in different ways and seems to hold a rather important role in the story. And then what is this new threat that seems to surpass that of the parasite? Coming closer to the first opus and to the original vision of Bungie's Halo, this new episode is thought as a "new first Halo" according to the words of creative director Joseph Staten. And the least we can say is that this is really felt in game. The impression of being faced with a revisited Halo: Combat Evolved is strong, and the fans of the first hour will undoubtedly be over the moon! However, Halo Infinite does not forget that we are in 2021, because it brings with it a fluid gameplay and a new useful equipment: the grapple launcher. If during the first presentation we had doubts about the relevance of such an object in a Halo, we must admit that these doubts are swept away. Even better, the Spartan can hang on with this grappling hook almost anywhere, giving the adventure an exhilarating and welcome feeling of freedom in the series. Enjoying a handling at the limit of perfection, the player takes very easily in hand our hero and manages to quickly chain the moments of bravery, by catapulting himself for example in height to play the sniper or by catching explosive coils that he can send on enemies. A grappling hook can also be used to grab opponents to come and put a good shot between their teeth! The artificial intelligence is also very well worked out, with clever enemies who don't hesitate to go around you or to shoot an explosive coil near you! In short, we won't beat around the bush, the gameplay of Halo Infinite is a success and largely surpasses that of all the other episodes. With its map divided into three large areas, this Halo is an open-world game. In the field, the Major will have main and secondary mission objectives. However, don't expect a wide variety of secondary objectives. As in most open-world games, they are indeed quite classic and consist in capturing bases, saving allies, destroying towers or killing priority targets. However, the studio manages to make everything more dynamic and to integrate a new system that rewards the player for completing objectives: bravery points. The more points you have, the more powerful vehicles you can use in the bases, the better equipped marines you can count on and the more powerful weapons you can use. Wait, what are you still doing here? This game is the game we've all been waiting for check it out on gamepass or buy it if you are like me and have to catch 'em all like Pokemon! The only way you're going to be disappointed with this is if you never liked halo or are trying to find a reason to not enjoy yourself. Brilliant, biggest campaign to date by far!
Halo Infinite! Who has never heard of this cult series whose first opus was released on November 15, 2001 on the first Xbox of Microsoft? Its hero, the Spartan John-117 is actually cited among the greatest video game characters aka Master Chief. So when Halo Infinite was announced at the E3 2018, it's fair to say that the fans couldn't stand still! After a first failed gameplay presentation on July 23, 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase (mostly because of the quality of graphics) 343 Industries announced the postponement of the game for 2021. Since then, the studio has been joined by others such as the Canadians from SkyBox Labs, the Californians from Sperasoft, and the Texas studio Certain Affinity, which is involved in the multiplayer part of the title. But let's stop talking about it, because it's time for the verdict on Halo Infinite! One thing is certain: Halo Infinite is off to a great start! The long introduction of the game (that is to say before you find yourself on the surface of the ring) is indeed quite intense and is full of action and epic scenes. Our first steps with the Major make our mouths water and also allow us to set the story, which takes place six months after the events of Halo 5. Right from the start, Master Chief is beaten (yes, you read that right!) to a pulp by a particularly strong Brute leader aboard the UNSC Infinity. The Major is blown into space and drifts for a while, until a Pelican piloted by a lost Infinity crew member picks up his signal and saves him. With only his courage, and the help of a new AI, 117 will go to the nearby Halo Zeta to defeat the Pariahs, a rebel faction already seen in Halo Wars. A mission that seems to hide another one since Cortana (the old AI that accompanied the Major during all his past adventures) seems to speak about her in different ways and seems to hold a rather important role in the story. And then what is this new threat that seems to surpass that of the parasite? Coming closer to the first opus and to the original vision of Bungie's Halo, this new episode is thought as a "new first Halo" according to the words of creative director Joseph Staten. And the least we can say is that this is really felt in game. The impression of being faced with a revisited Halo: Combat Evolved is strong, and the fans of the first hour will undoubtedly be over the moon! However, Halo Infinite does not forget that we are in 2021, because it brings with it a fluid gameplay and a new useful equipment: the grapple launcher. If during the first presentation we had doubts about the relevance of such an object in a Halo, we must admit that these doubts are swept away. Even better, the Spartan can hang on with this grappling hook almost anywhere, giving the adventure an exhilarating and welcome feeling of freedom in the series. Enjoying a handling at the limit of perfection, the player takes very easily in hand our hero and manages to quickly chain the moments of bravery, by catapulting himself for example in height to play the sniper or by catching explosive coils that he can send on enemies. A grappling hook can also be used to grab opponents to come and put a good shot between their teeth! The artificial intelligence is also very well worked out, with clever enemies who don't hesitate to go around you or to shoot an explosive coil near you! In short, we won't beat around the bush, the gameplay of Halo Infinite is a success and largely surpasses that of all the other episodes. With its map divided into three large areas, this Halo is an open-world game. In the field, the Major will have main and secondary mission objectives. However, don't expect a wide variety of secondary objectives. As in most open-world games, they are indeed quite classic and consist in capturing bases, saving allies, destroying towers or killing priority targets. However, the studio manages to make everything more dynamic and to integrate a new system that rewards the player for completing objectives: bravery points. The more points you have, the more powerful vehicles you can use in the bases, the better equipped marines you can count on and the more powerful weapons you can use. Wait, what are you still doing here? This game is the game we've all been waiting for check it out on gamepass or buy it if you are like me and have to catch 'em all like Pokemon! The only way you're going to be disappointed with this is if you never liked halo or are trying to find a reason to not enjoy yourself. Brilliant, biggest campaign to date by far!
Tandem: A Tale of Two Shadows provides a gothic setting with a creepy doll with a hunchback and a protagonist with an uncanny look. While the setting of the world is undeniably gripping, the short puzzle game never completes its gothic vibe. Perhaps this is because the story is a little shallow, a love and hate twist ending or that the characters are mix mash of sense At its heart, Tandem: A Tale of Two Shadows isn’t a story based game as it relies heavily on its puzzle design. The presentation of the world’s gothic paradise is represented well through puzzles. However as clever as the design can be at times, the puzzles are never that taxing (possibly dulled down for audiences of any age). The puzzles work under two perspectives. You play as Emma from an overhead perspective as she wanders through forests and abandoned buildings. But, she’s not able to progress the world of Tandem alone. Locked gates, mechanical spiders, and strateicaly placed buttons. That’s where Fenton comes in as an animated teddy bear who can manipulate the shadows and reach areas Emma can’t. Playing as Fenton also adds a platforming element to the game play, as the side-scroller perspective comes complete with some obstacles to leap over. The presentation of this perspective-swapping mechanic is quite seamless, but there are a few minor sensitivity issues on the play through I experienced. It’s easy to switch between Emma and Fenton, only requiring the press of a button, but the game’s lack of clarity can frustrate. Emma needs to manipulate the light to provide Fenton with ground to stand on. As Fenton is surrounded by shadows, he can stand on those shadows to progress. But, if he’s standing in the middle of a shadow, he freezes and is unable to move. There’s minor lack of polish here, as there are times where it seems like Fenton is just being a big baby. He has a tiny foot in the shadow, and he can’t move… I experienced a time where it didn’t even seem like Fenton was trapped. There are other aspects of the game that make the puzzles feel more tedious. Stealth mechanics are snuck into Tandem, as Emma must traverse her way around a variety of enemies. One world features killer mechanical spiders, while another features some sort of squid that lives in pipes filled with oil. There are times when Emma needs to sneak past these enemies and these are by far the worst aspects of Tandem‘s puzzles. A part of me wishes the puzzles had a bit more complexity to them. The puzzles never feel too simple, but the game doesn’t challenge you as much as it could. The difficulty of the game isn’t necessarily a problem, but there isn’t a particular portion of the game that really gets you thinking too hard. Whether or not that’s a good or bad thing depends entirely on your preference. At least the presentation of Tandem’s world is well-executed, and the ability to mix in the lighting within the game’s puzzles is quite clever. As stated, these are easily the most interesting parts of the game. When you have to manipulate the light, using carts or mirrors, is when the game shines, as you have to correctly set up its double perspective. This aspect of the game can easily break into monotony, but the game isn’t that long anyway, so it never overstays its welcome. Defunct merry-go-rounds are lined up against the walls and alongside gardens or brick buildings. Tandem: A Tale of Two Shadows narrative is far less engaging and while it does take an interesting turn it’s messy for the majority of the game but the game is well priced for it offering. Tandem: A Tale of Two Shadows is a solid puzzle title based on executed premise. The game doesn’t over stay its welcome with it’s approximately five hours of playtime. If this sounds like your cup of tea then I suggest heading over to the Xbox games digital store and give it a go today. I may have seemed a bit critical despite its offering, I just suggest going in with the affordable price point in mind and you should have a great time. The games shine could also be in it’s playability for gamers of all ages.
Crisis Wing was developed by Pieslice Production and published by Eastasiasoft Limited; this is a vertical shoot-’em-up game. Set across seven stages and you can play solo or with another player. You control a spaceship that evolves into a powerful killing machine. You’ll dodge projectiles while collecting power-ups and shoot every enemy in sight. Shoot-’em-ups are a timeless classic and Crisis Wing has captured this essence perfectly. The simplicity of its concept is what captivates its audience and demands you to keep playing. As you progress through each stage, your opponent becomes more challenging. This culminates in a tough boss battle that tests your skills and reactions. The tough as nails gameplay will frustrate many as death is all but guaranteed. However, I loved these rage-inducing mechanics and I couldn’t put it down. If for whatever reason, you tire of the main story, you can attempt to take on the Boss Battle or Time Attack modes. The latter is an unlimited lives challenge that pits you against an array of enemies. You have a set time to rack up a high score and see how you compare on the leaderboard. The Boss Battle is an eye watering challenging option. Death is inevitable and failure is guaranteed maybe a few times over. A shoot-’em-up would be hollow if it wasn’t for the over the top power-ups. Machine guns, rockets, bombs, and more assist you on your quest. Collecting these vital tools is essential to your success, and they look cool as hell. I loved it when the screen was filled with projectiles and my foes exploded into pieces. The ultra-aggressive weapons never got old, and I enjoyed annihilating everything in sight. Crisis Wing is an old-school classic with a modern polish. Crisis Wing captures everything that makes this genre wonderful. With its old-school charm but modern polish it’ll check off the boxes for most gamers and almost every shmup fan out there. I enjoyed what was offered and recommend heading over to the Xbox digital games store and downloading it today. The price of admission is more than fair and will please the masses.
ConnecTank is played solo or with up to three others, you command a tank that must roll across an ever-changing world. You are loyal to no one and you are only interested in what they are willing to pay you. The opener about war doesn’t exist in this game. ConnecTank is all about smaller battles with rival companies and individuals who stand in your way. The game utilizes a production style set-up as you and your teammates must fix the inside of your tank before blasting your opponents to pieces. Each fight follows a similar pattern and players are forced to think quickly then repair their vehicle and begin creating shells to start shooting. As you progress different companies present themselves and you are given missions to complete that all have a similar theme. The main action takes place on a top-down map that spans a random location. You must view the landscape and choose the path that affords you the best chance of survival. You will face an array of machines, collect prizes, and meet suppliers who will upgrade your equipment or sell you ammo. ConnecTank’s strength is the simplicity of its core concept, combined with the difficulty of its tactical play. You begin the game with a basic mech that has set ammo, some perks, and a handful of mods. As you progress, a shop opens and you are free to spend your hard-earned cash on further modifications to your arsenal. Once you have sorted the machine of your dreams, you must focus on the finer points of each battle. Ammo isn’t given to you and you must match colored scrap to a pattern to create your bullets. ConnecTank’s cartoon and comic book style for each of the cutscenes is vivid. The top-down map are a solid fit as anything more complex would have made it too cluttered. ConnecTank is a diamond in the rough and exceeded my expectations of it. Its simple concept combined with its tactical approach. It’s priced very fair for the price of admission. If you are a fan of the genre rush over to the Xbox Digital games store and download it today, I assure you that you won’t go away disappointed.
Omen of Sorrow is a 2.5D fighting game from AOne Games. The fighter uses characters from myth/lore to a horror based fighting experience. You have werewolf, mummy, vampire, Hyde, monster slayers, and more fill the game’s theme. The character models are in impressive detail. The stages also fit in well with surprising details. The stages are dark themes and have a lot of grittiness. The stages ran smooth in my time with the game, so it was definitely refreshing to play some stages other than a training grid. The music a bit lackluster as it is themed with the game. You’ll mostly be hearing strings and more horror-focused soundscapes in Omen of Sorrow while playing, which fits with its tone and vibe but feels a bit odd in a fighting game to me. Omen of Sorrow comes with a story mode which is centered around telling a story to tie in the characters. It’s a brief story, though you’ll get to see the two secret characters, Arctorious and Thalessa. Some of the issues that I had with this story mode were the lack of diversity in the line up. The difficulty was rather easy and I could fight an opponent without being hit. I had to literally stand still in order to get killed and progress in the story. I get the concept of an unbeatable battle, but it would probably have been wiser to just make the boss actually difficult to fight rather than give it unlimited health. I also found the text dialogue to be a little bland and the overall story somewhat forgettable however most fighting games are lacking in this area. Omen of Sorrow does deliver on that the cast of characters provides a diverse set, giving something for any players tastes. From zoning, to setups, to rush down, AOne thought out the fighters and gave a solid roster to play. There are, of course, supers and decimation moves that give you some pretty detailed and cinematic attacks that can be performed raw or out of a combo. There is an implemented Fate and Fortune system in the game. If a player is getting beat down and has been guarding for a long time, they build up Fate which basically eliminates all specials, throws, meter, and guard breaks. The opposite of that is Fortune, which is awarded if you are playing offensive primarily during the set. Building Fortune makes you “Blessed” which gives you the ability to cancel out specials and lengthen combos for more damage. These systems in Omen of Sorrow are a little complicated to understand due to a lack of a proper tutorial. Omen of Sorrow only gives a text tutorial. Omen of Sorrow gets a lot of things right with its solid gameplay and online mode, as well as solid cast of characters. This game, however, just fails to really stand out in any specific area that makes it worth picking up over any of the other big-hitting fighting games in the same price of admission. If you’re a fighting fan there’s a non issue here, but if you like the thought of a horror based fighter then look no further and head on over to the Xbox digital games store and sink your fangs in deep.
Lucid Cycle is a wild dreams walking simulator for Xbox. The walking simulator genre has somewhat of a bad rep, but not all are bad. Some people think the lack of interaction and the actual “gameplay” are a bit of a problem. Others need more in their gaming life than slowly meandering through a mysterious world and soaking in the graphics. Regardless where you may stand I am a fan of them, if you fall into the ones that aren’t a fan of the genre, LucidCycle’s thought-provoking walking simulator styling is perfect for you. Now available for purchase and download on Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S LucidCycle is the latest release from the stable version of eastasiasoft. Created by the visionary Tonguç Bodur, it is sold as a dream expedition and is told through a series of interactive vignettes. Soothing, thought-provoking, Lucid Cycle is playing with concepts that are common to our everyday dreams. Players have these ideas puzzle And purpose. It’s done from a first-person perspective and leaves you trying to understand what it takes to make progress. If you are a fan of vivid, dreamy walking sims be sure to take advantage of the price of admission on the Xbox digital games store.
Lucid Cycle is a wild dreams walking simulator for Xbox. The walking simulator genre has somewhat of a bad rep, but not all are bad. Some people think the lack of interaction and the actual “gameplay” are a bit of a problem. Others need more in their gaming life than slowly meandering through a mysterious world and soaking in the graphics. Regardless where you may stand I am a fan of them, if you fall into the ones that aren’t a fan of the genre, LucidCycle’s thought-provoking walking simulator styling is perfect for you. Now available for purchase and download on Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S LucidCycle is the latest release from the stable version of eastasiasoft. Created by the visionary Tonguç Bodur, it is sold as a dream expedition and is told through a series of interactive vignettes. Soothing, thought-provoking, Lucid Cycle is playing with concepts that are common to our everyday dreams. Players have these ideas puzzle And purpose. It’s done from a first-person perspective and leaves you trying to understand what it takes to make progress. If you are a fan of vivid, dreamy walking sims be sure to take advantage of the price of admission on the Xbox digital games store.
Gleylancer didn't originally stand on its own as a single player shmup. It received a mixed bag with it marked as “unoriginal and tedious” iFor years Gleylancer was more renowned for its reputation as an expensive collectible game. It was thanks to a VC release that shmup fans became more appreciative of its solid gameplay mechanics. Set in the year 2025 you control Ensign Lucia Cabrock as she pilots the Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer to rescue her father from invaders attacking the peaceful Earth Federation. While this plot is commonly frowned upon; others see as an homage to classic horizontal shooters. Similarly, there's a warship stage like in the beloved R-Type, and narrow passages similar to old school Scramble. With a great beat of the soundtrack, quickening the movement speed of Lucia's CSH-01-XA prototype ship along with the frantic music keeps the gameplay feeling in a frenzy. It's especially gratifying that developer Shinyuden included a Modern gameplay mode where you use the right stick to aim “power ups” via the Gunner System invented by Doctor Gley. Released in Japan in the same month as Thunder Force when magazines felt fatigued with an overabundance of shmups, Gleylancer became hidden behind the competition. Yet, it could attract attention today, since using the Rewind feature to complete 11 stages in less than an hour snags easy Platinum Trophies on both Xbox One and Series S | X owners. Once precious trinkets have been grabbed it's most fun to practice each stage using save states to improve your skills, and see how far you can legitimately progress through the challenge of the game. Gleylancer deserves better than to become lost again, as just another Ratalaika Games easy Platinum release. It’s a superb game for the period and nostalgic fans like me will truly revel in its glory. For the price of admission every chump fan and achievement hunter will be rushing to the Xbox Digital games store and sweeping it up.
Gleylancer didn't originally stand on its own as a single player shmup. It received a mixed bag with it marked as “unoriginal and tedious” iFor years Gleylancer was more renowned for its reputation as an expensive collectible game. It was thanks to a VC release that shmup fans became more appreciative of its solid gameplay mechanics. Set in the year 2025 you control Ensign Lucia Cabrock as she pilots the Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer to rescue her father from invaders attacking the peaceful Earth Federation. While this plot is commonly frowned upon; others see as an homage to classic horizontal shooters. Similarly, there's a warship stage like in the beloved R-Type, and narrow passages similar to old school Scramble. With a great beat of the soundtrack, quickening the movement speed of Lucia's CSH-01-XA prototype ship along with the frantic music keeps the gameplay feeling in a frenzy. It's especially gratifying that developer Shinyuden included a Modern gameplay mode where you use the right stick to aim “power ups” via the Gunner System invented by Doctor Gley. Released in Japan in the same month as Thunder Force when magazines felt fatigued with an overabundance of shmups, Gleylancer became hidden behind the competition. Yet, it could attract attention today, since using the Rewind feature to complete 11 stages in less than an hour snags easy Platinum Trophies on both Xbox One and Series S | X owners. Once precious trinkets have been grabbed it's most fun to practice each stage using save states to improve your skills, and see how far you can legitimately progress through the challenge of the game. Gleylancer deserves better than to become lost again, as just another Ratalaika Games easy Platinum release. It’s a superb game for the period and nostalgic fans like me will truly revel in its glory. For the price of admission every chump fan and achievement hunter will be rushing to the Xbox Digital games store and sweeping it up.
The Good Life is a “daily-life debt repayment RPG” that you play as an American woman in an English village, enjoying daily activities such as photography, errands, shopping, speaking with villagers, paying debts, weather remarking, going to the “pub”, and urinating on lampposts when you turn into the dog to solve mysteries. There are two aspects of The Good Life that show potential. The first is its retro style that I adore. It’s simply old-fashioned and animations are janky and deployed unquestioningly in cutscenes, the cinematic context highlighting the inadequacies we overlook more readily when we’re in player mode. Naomi or her feline or canine counterparts will charge obliviously into walls and keep running as was a retro normality. With all the style and the deliberate polygon art and the well crafted but repetitive music, it feels like a lost and found 2000’s era game. It’s also retro in its take on open-world gameplay. The second aspect that has potential follows from that point: there are new opportunities in how dissimilar this is to a Rockstar series. Set in a rural English village rather than a city. There’s a coupe local residents versus a metropolis of people, and no vehicles or weapons to be had. That’s where it gets interesting. Having fewer characters populating the game world means more of them can be real characters. The Good Life has its strengths. Its functional open-world model and somewhat dated play system allow its quirky charm to take the spotlight. That charm is filled with abstract characters with a plot that runs so wild, with the whole feline and canine transformations. The charm and atmosphere have to be compelling if you can endure the retro infused mechanics, repetitive tasks and frequent slowdown and pop-in from the game engine. If old-school gaming whimsy isn't for you, then neither is The Good Life. But if you're a fan and that sounds like your wheelhouse then I would head yourself over to the Xbox digital games store, where you mind find the price of admission a bit intimidating.
Ravva and the Cyclops Curse is set in a fantasy world, and stretches the realms of reality. Blending precision platform elements with magic and problem solving, you are required to be on point if you want to get the most out of this. The action takes place across three worlds and comprises ten challenging stages. You’ll explore dark forests, desolate wasteland, and spooky castle halls in a title that’s been inspired by classic platforming games. You control Ravva, a young apprentice summoner who lacks experience but has a kind heart. Her bravery and loyalty are tested when her mother loses her powers after being cursed by the evil Cyclops Lord! She must go on a perilous journey to save her mother and restore peace to their once calm and happy lands. Ravva’s abilities are unusual, as she commands four companions. Each has a unique role to play and helps you to overcome obstacles, open new pathways, and tackle foes. You have your trusty wand to cast spells that destroy yellow blocks and kill monsters, but more importantly, you have your elemental friends to help. These comprise an ice fiend who freezes and slows creatures, a fire element that shoots upwards, a green mortar that blasts anything you encounter, and a cream all-seeing companion. Understanding each strength and weakness is key, and using them correctly is the only way you’ll be victorious. Sadly, the Cyclops Lord commands a powerful army and has set multiple traps for you to overcome. You’ll face demonic beings that shoot bombs, chase you down, and float through the air. Selecting the correct companion to slow them or destroy them is easier said than done. You’ll panic, lose your cool, and die repeatedly, but this is half the fun! Ravva and the Cyclops Curse is unforgiving and only the best will survive. The traps range from simple spikes, falling blocks, gargoyles that shoot fire and rotating moving blades. You must plan ahead, time your action, and pray for some good fortune. The difficulty this added to each play through was fantastic, and it made achieving the maximum points more rewarding. An old school inspired platform game would be nothing without power-ups, secrets, limited lives, and high scores. Fortunately, Ravva and the Cyclops Curse has it. The combination of precision platforming and using your abilities to find secret orbs was fascinating. You watched the stage timer tick down as you slowly worked through each stage trying to find everything, and this added vast amounts of pressure. If you don’t like the thought of this, you can simply ignore the collectables, but your end score is affected. This was a fantastic idea from the developer, as it offered multiple play styles and allowed me to decide how in-depth I wanted to go. The power-ups weren’t too original, but that doesn’t matter You can collect an improved wand, a limited use shield, and extra lives. Other than this, the orbs you discover contain coins that increase your final score. The hunting of secrets is only achievable if you use your cream companion. He emits a wave of energy that uncovers any hidden objects or secret platforms. I loved this as the solution to your problem could stare you in the face and you’d never know it. As you complete each of the worlds, you are rewarded with an end-level boss. These gargantuan beasts combine elements of the monsters you have previously faced but offer a much more stern test. However, with a small amount of practice, you’ll manipulate their weaknesses and they’ll succumb to your powers. The story culminates in the expected fight with the Cyclops Lord himself. I won’t spoil it for you, but he’s a bit of a ****, so buckle yourself in, as it’s a bit of a bumpy ride. Ravva and the Cyclops Curse is a simple game that’s both challenging and enjoyable. There are plenty of old school inspired titles that are great to play, but Ravva and the Cyclops Curse edges out some of its competitors. With its unique twist on the retro approach, I loved its fluidity, difficulty, and level design. Can you explore the ten challenging levels and defeat the Cyclops Lord that awaits? I recommend heading over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download, the harmony of the land relies upon on it.
Raava and the Cyclops Curse is set in a fantasy world, and stretches the realms of reality. Blending precision platform elements with magic and problem solving, you are required to be on point if you want to get the most out of this. The action takes place across three worlds and comprises ten challenging stages. You’ll explore dark forests, desolate wasteland, and spooky castle halls in a title that’s been inspired by classic platforming games. You control Ravva, a young apprentice summoner who lacks experience but has a kind heart. Her bravery and loyalty are tested when her mother loses her powers after being cursed by the evil Cyclops Lord! She must go on a perilous journey to save her mother and restore peace to their once calm and happy lands. Ravva’s abilities are unusual, as she commands four companions. Each has a unique role to play and helps you to overcome obstacles, open new pathways, and tackle foes. You have your trusty wand to cast spells that destroy yellow blocks and kill monsters, but more importantly, you have your elemental friends to help. These comprise an ice fiend who freezes and slows creatures, a fire element that shoots upwards, a green mortar that blasts anything you encounter, and a cream all-seeing companion. Understanding each strength and weakness is key, and using them correctly is the only way you’ll be victorious. Sadly, the Cyclops Lord commands a powerful army and has set multiple traps for you to overcome. You’ll face demonic beings that shoot bombs, chase you down, and float through the air. Selecting the correct companion to slow them or destroy them is easier said than done. You’ll panic, lose your cool, and die repeatedly, but this is half the fun! Ravva and the Cyclops Curse is unforgiving and only the best will survive. The traps range from simple spikes, falling blocks, gargoyles that shoot fire and rotating moving blades. You must plan ahead, time your action, and pray for some good fortune. The difficulty this added to each play through was fantastic, and it made achieving the maximum points more rewarding. An old school inspired platform game would be nothing without power-ups, secrets, limited lives, and high scores. Fortunately, Ravva and the Cyclops Curse has it. The combination of precision platforming and using your abilities to find secret orbs was fascinating. You watched the stage timer tick down as you slowly worked through each stage trying to find everything, and this added vast amounts of pressure. If you don’t like the thought of this, you can simply ignore the collectables, but your end score is affected. This was a fantastic idea from the developer, as it offered multiple play styles and allowed me to decide how in-depth I wanted to go. The power-ups weren’t too original, but that doesn’t matter You can collect an improved wand, a limited use shield, and extra lives. Other than this, the orbs you discover contain coins that increase your final score. The hunting of secrets is only achievable if you use your cream companion. He emits a wave of energy that uncovers any hidden objects or secret platforms. I loved this as the solution to your problem could stare you in the face and you’d never know it. As you complete each of the worlds, you are rewarded with an end-level boss. These gargantuan beasts combine elements of the monsters you have previously faced but offer a much more stern test. However, with a small amount of practice, you’ll manipulate their weaknesses and they’ll succumb to your powers. The story culminates in the expected fight with the Cyclops Lord himself. I won’t spoil it for you, but he’s a bit of a ****, so buckle yourself in, as it’s a bit of a bumpy ride. Ravva and the Cyclops Curse is a simple game that’s both challenging and enjoyable. There are plenty of old school inspired titles that are great to play, but Ravva and the Cyclops Curse edges out some of its competitors. With its unique twist on the retro approach, I loved its fluidity, difficulty, and level design. Can you explore the ten challenging levels and defeat the Cyclops Lord that awaits? I recommend heading over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download, the harmony of the land relies upon on it.
The Sisters is a successful French comic book series that is about to spawn its own video game. The Sisters: Party of the Year will pit friends and/or family members against each other in a series of mini games. Wendy is an independent and grumpy 12-year-old who’s just getting into make-up and boys. Her sister Marine idolises her but can’t help herself when it comes to irritating the hell out of her sister. Wendy decides she wants to hold a house party to celebrate the end of the year, but Marine steals the idea before Wendy can ask for her parents’ permission. As their parents will only let one party happen, the sisters take on a range of challenges to decide who will get to organize it. The game’s adventure mode is suited for a single player where players choose one of the sisters and complete 24 challenges, 35 quests, and find all of the collectibles in the open world. Mini games are always best played with multiple human players, so the multiplayer modes can accommodate up to four players where each picks one of 16 characters from the comic book series. The game includes challenges: play the mini-games you want with your friends. A tournament: try to win the tournament by being the best at each round. All or Nothing: play all the mini-games in a raw! Around the world: take turns choosing your favorite mini-game. If your a fan of the comics, looking for a fun party game, or the game sounds like your cup of tea head on over to the Xbox games digital store and give it a go!
Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is an Action RRPG set in ancient China from the long running franchise. This game though has a stand alone story, so you don't have to have played the previous games to enjoy this installment. The game boasts about twenty hours of gameplay and is quite enjoyable. The story is interesting and it keep your interest. While the main story is about half the gameplay, and the character dynamics are quite strong. The scope of the story is about a brother trying to save his sister. The relationship between the brother and sister is a heart warming affair. The art style is well executed. The game is set in ancient China and we see a lot of interesting architectures and buildings. The game is also very immersive. The soundtrack is also very fitting and feel of ancient Chinese music is spot on. The mini games are well implemented too. The mini game is a type of chess and it is a lot of fun to play. The combat is ok but not overly great. The combat is fun and it does feel impactful. But the enemy AI is a bit meh. It is very easy to identify the enemy moves and exploit them. The main character is somewhat likeable but he is somewhat generic. The character models look good but they don't have dynamic facial expressions. The game introduces some famous historical characters, but the historical characters don't have major roles in the story. The character levelling system is atypical and refreshing in the RPG genre, but it feels under utilized due to the length of the game. The level designs are quite linear. There is hardly any detour in the levels themselves. The occasional branching paths are mostly for treasure chests. Therefore, for the most of the game you are just running straight from point A to point B. The side missions are boring and they don't impact the story itself. There aren't enough cosmetic items for your character. The good of Xuan Yuan Sword 7 most definitely outweighs the mixed bag. Overall Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is a great game and the story is compelling. With all said and done it’s definitely worth the price of admission so if you’re looking for a game in this genre look no further and head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a go.
BPM: Bullets Per Minute had Doom as an influence from the vibe i get, something that becomes increasingly obvious the further I progress in the game. Constant movement is useful and almost necessary as the rooms are often be crammed full of enemies with many lunging or shooting projectiles. The problem is that Doom has a rhythm all of its own. A constant, urgent rhythm that keeps you on edge until danger has passed. Forcing this into the middle of an entirely different rhythm dictated by music is disorienting at first. The result is that the player is required to dance to two different beats simultaneously, making the game perfect for those seeking a challenge. I truly struggled with this style gameplay. The game was best (for me) when the heart of the rhythm mechanic is taken from the experience. Turning on auto-rhythm unshackles my weapons from the soundtrack. Suddenly, I am a master of disaster and mowing down everything in sight. I can really appreciate the variety in the weapons and lore to be found. Boss fights become challenges I enjoy rather than dread to the beat. Game modifiers that BPM identifies as "challenges" can be unlocked, but the game doesn’t explain how. One I accidentally gained access to is "full auto", which truly brings the game to life. Difficulty defaults on Hard, but all weapons have auto fire, and there’s no worry about the rhythm mechanic. The rogue-like design is a much more powerful influence on the experience than the rhythm shooting. There are no permanent advantages to earn. No shortcuts, no new starting weapons, no increased health, no increased base stats. There are stats in BPM by the way. Elements such as range, damage, and movement speed can be increased by offering coins to the randomly placed statues scattered across each dungeon. Coins, with which you can also purchase weapons and items from the two shopkeepers, are a good example of how BPM struggles with the concept of ordered chaos so integral to the rogue-like experience. The one thing you can transfer between runs is coins, by a very randomly generated bank. While each dungeon will feature both shopkeepers, the bank seems much rarer. It’s almost never there when I see to have plenty of gold, and usually not seen when I need to withdraw. The weapon distribution and abilities could do with a little more randomization themselves. There are some fantastic things to buy and find, but the best stuff tends to be distributed on an all or nothing basis. Bosses have more dangerous variations that can be generated, too. Fighting two at once with the base pistol isn’t ideal, that I promise you. The dungeons themselves have variations, and these should be lumped in with the challenges as well. I don’t mind being surprised, but suddenly having enemies take and deal extra damage thrust into the fray seems a bit unjust. That’s something you should choose to take, not stumble into partway through your great runs. For all its flaws, there’s many more wins in BPM: Bullets Per Minute, even though most of it is detached from the central rhythm mechanic in play. There’s a lot of rock-infused riffs to fire away to, and i actually like everything thats good here even if it is insanely difficult. If BPM sounds like your cup of tea hen head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download today. The price may seem a bit steep at a glance but there’s plenty of game here for the price of admission so don't fear the reaper.
A Gummy’s Life is a brawler that supports up to eight players in local, online, and through AI. The game is centered with a cast of gummy characters shapes. Every gummy has a selection of different colors and styles such as a sour sugar coating to choose from. Each gummy is also is comprised of three stats that give a slight differentiation as to their fighting capability, but I never noticed any significant changes, or really figured out what each of the symbols fully meant for each Gummy. This is a problem area with the game in that although it is a very simple game in nature, there are no tutorials, no descriptions, and the UI is “Press +” icon in a couple of areas s about it. I was confused only enough when trying to change characters as the selection was not mapped in normal fashion. I’d advise checking out the options prior to playing to see what combat controls are set up as. In this days of no instruction books, the onus is cast upon the developers to explain every facet of the controls as most gamers don’t use the information in the digital manuals they just “Jump In”. The game does offer a Training Mode, but unfortunately this mode was missing any instruction and after playing the game, I found it to be an unnecessary add-in. Jumping into the big play button on A Gummy’s Life opened up the set-up screen that detailed the different maps, game settings, and mode of play: Free for All, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Hot Potato. After playing several rounds of each mode, the rules for King of the Hill and Hot potato weren’t clear to me due to a lack of any instruction goals. When you do select a mode, you’ll generally have several maps that you can select to play in. I really enjoyed the design of several of these maps as they each include either obstacles or a mechanism to further deter your combat. Most of the maps were clever in design, but do not reinforce the idea of anything gummy related. The art style fails to reinforce anything gummy as well and generally felt a bit standard artistically. Combat in A Gummy’s Life is comprised of hitting, kicking, head butting, and on occasion, throwing another gummy. The game utilizes physics based combat, which can become clunky more often than not. I continually found it difficult to tell if I was actually connecting with another gummy, or if they were hitting me, primarily due to the absence of health bars. The only visual identifier of hits taking place was that sometimes a gummy would spurt out some juice on the ground. This ends up the extent **** Life. You’ll take on brawls against opponents repeatedly with no progression goal. This makes the game best played in short sessions. The game does offer a couple of gummy characters that are locked, but doesn’t explain how they can be earned. After hours of playing I hadn’t achieved unlocked any of the locked characters. I went into this game optimistically. Regrettably the game wouldn’t change at all if you replaced the gummy’s’ with any other characters. There just isn’t anything keeping a cohesive game together. While the game is fun for a few minutes at times, a lack of progression goals gives it a shorter replay value. A Gummy’s like prove of admission is a bit steep given the experience I had, but I admit this isn’t my personally favorite genre. So if this is something you’re into be sure to head over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a go today. It’s not all bad as there is fun to be had here.
A Gummy’s Life is a brawler that supports up to eight players in local, online, and through AI. The game is centered with a cast of gummy characters shapes. Every gummy has a selection of different colors and styles such as a sour sugar coating to choose from. Each gummy is also is comprised of three stats that give a slight differentiation as to their fighting capability, but I never noticed any significant changes, or really figured out what each of the symbols fully meant for each Gummy. This is a problem area with the game in that although it is a very simple game in nature, there are no tutorials, no descriptions, and the UI is “Press +” icon in a couple of areas s about it. I was confused only enough when trying to change characters as the selection was not mapped in normal fashion. I’d advise checking out the options prior to playing to see what combat controls are set up as. In this days of no instruction books, the onus is cast upon the developers to explain every facet of the controls as most gamers don’t use the information in the digital manuals they just “Jump In”. The game does offer a Training Mode, but unfortunately this mode was missing any instruction and after playing the game, I found it to be an unnecessary add-in. Jumping into the big play button on A Gummy’s Life opened up the set-up screen that detailed the different maps, game settings, and mode of play: Free for All, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Hot Potato. After playing several rounds of each mode, the rules for King of the Hill and Hot potato weren’t clear to me due to a lack of any instruction goals. When you do select a mode, you’ll generally have several maps that you can select to play in. I really enjoyed the design of several of these maps as they each include either obstacles or a mechanism to further deter your combat. Most of the maps were clever in design, but do not reinforce the idea of anything gummy related. The art style fails to reinforce anything gummy as well and generally felt a bit standard artistically. Combat in A Gummy’s Life is comprised of hitting, kicking, head butting, and on occasion, throwing another gummy. The game utilizes physics based combat, which can become clunky more often than not. I continually found it difficult to tell if I was actually connecting with another gummy, or if they were hitting me, primarily due to the absence of health bars. The only visual identifier of hits taking place was that sometimes a gummy would spurt out some juice on the ground. This ends up the extent **** Life. You’ll take on brawls against opponents repeatedly with no progression goal. This makes the game best played in short sessions. The game does offer a couple of gummy characters that are locked, but doesn’t explain how they can be earned. After hours of playing I hadn’t achieved unlocked any of the locked characters. I went into this game optimistically. Regrettably the game wouldn’t change at all if you replaced the gummy’s’ with any other characters. There just isn’t anything keeping a cohesive game together. While the game is fun for a few minutes at times, a lack of progression goals gives it a shorter replay value. A Gummy’s like prove of admission is a bit steep given the experience I had, but I admit this isn’t my personally favorite genre. So if this is something you’re into be sure to head over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a go today. It’s not all bad as there is fun to be had here.
Aragami 2 is set a century later and while there are some connections to the first game, this sequel requires no prior knowledge of the original. Returning players will find Aragami 2 a departure from its predecessor. Almost everything about the game has changed, from its stealth mechanics and power sets to the very structure of the game itself. Players take on the role of an Aragami. While the original told a fairly guided, linear story, Aragami 2 instead opts for a mission-based approach with the village elder, Katashi, sending you off to investigate Akatsuchi’s movements or rescue villagers. Completing missions earns experience points, as the Aragami now levels up RPG-style rather than finding hidden scrolls to learn abilities, and can be replayed to chase a higher success rank or earn extra experience to level grind. Kakurega itself acts as a hub world between each outing, allowing you to interact with villagers, spend ability points to unlock new passive skills and active Shadow Powers, or craft armor and consumable support items. Skills and powers also get an expansion in Aragami 2. The versatility of the entire skill system also feeds back into the replay of the mission structure. Some may be difficult the first time you have to play, but returning with new skills later can be fiendishly fun. There are often hidden collectibles or stashes of gold to be found that are only realistically reached with higher spec skills. There’s one major change to Aragami 2‘s stealth mechanics, while you’ll remain hidden under the cover of shadow, you can no longer “Shadow Leap” to any spot of darkness, only to certain rooftops or ledges. However, enemy AI is so-so. While Akatsuchi will react to loud sounds or to directly seeing you move around, or raise the alarm if they see a body. For instance, there’s no awareness they’re increasingly alone as you take them our slowly. For all its unquestionable improvements in gameplay mechanics, impressive powers, and overall structure though, there’s something that’s missing about Aragami 2. The problem is that the pursuit of higher fidelity doesn’t seem to be matched by the quality of the end results. There’s the repetition as both enemy types and the shadow dwellers lack variety, with the same character models cropping up over and over. It’s not just the mere presentation of the visuals that disappoints though, it’s the game’s sense of design and UI. Aragami 2 is more of a re-imagining than a sequel so it stands a better light if you go in with that mindset. It’s effectively a whole new game with a few nods in lore and concepts to an entirely different game that came out years ago. For the most part, it works and a deserving offering for newcomers and fans will find their way to the end just the same. It’s not amazing but it’s worth checking out for former fans and newcomers alike. So if this is your cup of tea then head over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download.
Aragami 2 is set a century later and while there are some connections to the first game, this sequel requires no prior knowledge of the original. Returning players will find Aragami 2 a departure from its predecessor. Almost everything about the game has changed, from its stealth mechanics and power sets to the very structure of the game itself. Players take on the role of an Aragami. While the original told a fairly guided, linear story, Aragami 2 instead opts for a mission-based approach with the village elder, Katashi, sending you off to investigate Akatsuchi’s movements or rescue villagers. Completing missions earns experience points, as the Aragami now levels up RPG-style rather than finding hidden scrolls to learn abilities, and can be replayed to chase a higher success rank or earn extra experience to level grind. Kakurega itself acts as a hub world between each outing, allowing you to interact with villagers, spend ability points to unlock new passive skills and active Shadow Powers, or craft armor and consumable support items. Skills and powers also get an expansion in Aragami 2. The versatility of the entire skill system also feeds back into the replay of the mission structure. Some may be difficult the first time you have to play, but returning with new skills later can be fiendishly fun. There are often hidden collectibles or stashes of gold to be found that are only realistically reached with higher spec skills. There’s one major change to Aragami 2‘s stealth mechanics, while you’ll remain hidden under the cover of shadow, you can no longer “Shadow Leap” to any spot of darkness, only to certain rooftops or ledges. However, enemy AI is so-so. While Akatsuchi will react to loud sounds or to directly seeing you move around, or raise the alarm if they see a body. For instance, there’s no awareness they’re increasingly alone as you take them our slowly. For all its unquestionable improvements in gameplay mechanics, impressive powers, and overall structure though, there’s something that’s missing about Aragami 2. The problem is that the pursuit of higher fidelity doesn’t seem to be matched by the quality of the end results. There’s the repetition as both enemy types and the shadow dwellers lack variety, with the same character models cropping up over and over. It’s not just the mere presentation of the visuals that disappoints though, it’s the game’s sense of design and UI. Aragami 2 is more of a re-imagining than a sequel so it stands a better light if you go in with that mindset. It’s effectively a whole new game with a few nods in lore and concepts to an entirely different game that came out years ago. For the most part, it works and a deserving offering for newcomers and fans will find their way to the end just the same. It’s not amazing but it’s worth checking out for former fans and newcomers alike. So if this is your cup of tea then head over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download.
NBA 2K22 is the best title in the series’ history. Big improvements on defense make a difference, and the revamped shot meter is a step up from NBA 2K21. The truth for many years has been that what you get out of an NBA 2K games depends entirely on what you’re looking for. The gameplay remains rock-solid, and a wide variety of modes provide a huge variety of experiences. Many of the series’ biggest strengths remain virtually unchanged for years, though, while some new additions feel somewhat terrible. Let’s start with the biggest addition to NBA 2K22. The City is a sandbox that you create a character and work to the top. Playing basketball is a big part of this, with street ball, leagues, and a variety of challenges to help you develop your player into an NBA superstar. There’s just as much to do off the court, though. Grow your personal brand, build your style, get into races; this mode is filled with things to do. Too bad so much of it feels off. The city is definitely big, but getting around this huge place is never fun. Your character moves so slowly, and he gets caught on nearly everything. You can hop on a skateboard, or in time a bicycle, but none of these control all that well. Moving around the city doesn’t have to be the draw, but it shouldn’t feel this awkward when you spend so much time doing it. That’s before getting into the nightmare of branding here. Any sports game is going to feature brands. Things like Nike, Adidas, they’re part of the culture. So playing on the Mountain Dew court or seeing banners in the background are hardly deal-breakers. Do I really need to sit through lectures on the importance of Gatorade or hang out with Jake from State Farm? There’s a line, and The City is over it. Even if The City isn’t for you, there’s still a wide variety of ways to play in NBA 2K22. Many players will jump into My Team, where you collect cards, level them up, and build the best team you can. It’s actually a lot of fun. Trying to go free to play here is awful, with the pace of unlocks horribly balanced. This entire mode is designed to force players to spend real-world money. That’s no big deal in free-to-play games, but when it’s a part of upward of $100 title, I’m a little less inclined to be forgiving. Offline, there’s always single matches, a playoff experience, or the mode which has kept me busy for twenty years: franchise. This allows you to take over a team or group of teams and lead them through the years. This mode hasn’t really changed. There are a few minor tweaks like the ability to remove teams from the league instead of just adding them, but they’re minor. Still, it’s so fully loaded that there’s a ton of fun to be had. You can also jump into a single-player WNBA experience now, which is nice, though it’s pretty bare-bones compared to The City. It focuses on the basketball and removes running around a janky city in slow motion. Once on the court, everything turns around. The team at Visual Concepts has done a fantastic job of building on the game’s already great base. The little things this year feel bigger than in many others, though. The shot meter introduced last year was solid, but I had some difficulty finding the right timing with it. This year’s version does a great job of helping players get a feel for a team full of players and even the defense has seen an overhaul. Perimeter defense feels a lot better now. It feels awesome to silence a crowd and terrible when you just can’t despite your best efforts. Funneling players to your bigs feels natural, and shot-blocking has taken a huge leap. It feels natural, allowing big men with great shot-blocking ability to put their stamp on the game in a way that has been difficult in recent years. AI is also improved. Defenders move together, recovering smoothly. On offense, off-ball movement is the best in the franchise. Finding open shooters after they cut around your pick and roll is awesome. The perfect shot now leads to a little cinematic, which did a nice job of highlighting the moment without taking me too out of the game. Perhaps these are too common, but it’s nice to see a reward for getting my timing right. The rest of the game’s presentation is a mixed bag, though. It looks great on the court with fantastic player models and strong lighting. You really feel the power of the PS5. With everything else looking so good, though, the developers still not quite getting the eyes right stands out, though. Perhaps more importantly, the game’s menu system is a mess. Over the last couple of years, Visual Concepts have worked to streamline what had become a deeply dense menu. There are so many options here that presenting them all in the open can feel a bit overwhelming. Now you’re only shown a limited set of options that look great. The problem is that now it’s almost impossible to find certain features but hands down this is the best version of the franchise to date.
NBA 2K22 is the best title in the series’ history. Big improvements on defense make a difference, and the revamped shot meter is a step up from NBA 2K21. The truth for many years has been that what you get out of an NBA 2K games depends entirely on what you’re looking for. The gameplay remains rock-solid, and a wide variety of modes provide a huge variety of experiences. Many of the series’ biggest strengths remain virtually unchanged for years, though, while some new additions feel somewhat terrible. Let’s start with the biggest addition to NBA 2K22. The City is a sandbox that you create a character and work to the top. Playing basketball is a big part of this, with street ball, leagues, and a variety of challenges to help you develop your player into an NBA superstar. There’s just as much to do off the court, though. Grow your personal brand, build your style, get into races; this mode is filled with things to do. Too bad so much of it feels off. The city is definitely big, but getting around this huge place is never fun. Your character moves so slowly, and he gets caught on nearly everything. You can hop on a skateboard, or in time a bicycle, but none of these control all that well. Moving around the city doesn’t have to be the draw, but it shouldn’t feel this awkward when you spend so much time doing it. That’s before getting into the nightmare of branding here. Any sports game is going to feature brands. Things like Nike, Adidas, they’re part of the culture. So playing on the Mountain Dew court or seeing banners in the background are hardly deal-breakers. Do I really need to sit through lectures on the importance of Gatorade or hang out with Jake from State Farm? There’s a line, and The City is over it. Even if The City isn’t for you, there’s still a wide variety of ways to play in NBA 2K22. Many players will jump into My Team, where you collect cards, level them up, and build the best team you can. It’s actually a lot of fun. Trying to go free to play here is awful, with the pace of unlocks horribly balanced. This entire mode is designed to force players to spend real-world money. That’s no big deal in free-to-play games, but when it’s a part of upward of $100 title, I’m a little less inclined to be forgiving. Offline, there’s always single matches, a playoff experience, or the mode which has kept me busy for twenty years: franchise. This allows you to take over a team or group of teams and lead them through the years. This mode hasn’t really changed. There are a few minor tweaks like the ability to remove teams from the league instead of just adding them, but they’re minor. Still, it’s so fully loaded that there’s a ton of fun to be had. You can also jump into a single-player WNBA experience now, which is nice, though it’s pretty bare-bones compared to The City. It focuses on the basketball and removes running around a janky city in slow motion. Once on the court, everything turns around. The team at Visual Concepts has done a fantastic job of building on the game’s already great base. The little things this year feel bigger than in many others, though. The shot meter introduced last year was solid, but I had some difficulty finding the right timing with it. This year’s version does a great job of helping players get a feel for a team full of players and even the defense has seen an overhaul. Perimeter defense feels a lot better now. It feels awesome to silence a crowd and terrible when you just can’t despite your best efforts. Funneling players to your bigs feels natural, and shot-blocking has taken a huge leap. It feels natural, allowing big men with great shot-blocking ability to put their stamp on the game in a way that has been difficult in recent years. AI is also improved. Defenders move together, recovering smoothly. On offense, off-ball movement is the best in the franchise. Finding open shooters after they cut around your pick and roll is awesome. The perfect shot now leads to a little cinematic, which did a nice job of highlighting the moment without taking me too out of the game. Perhaps these are too common, but it’s nice to see a reward for getting my timing right. The rest of the game’s presentation is a mixed bag, though. It looks great on the court with fantastic player models and strong lighting. You really feel the power of the PS5. With everything else looking so good, though, the developers still not quite getting the eyes right stands out, though. Perhaps more importantly, the game’s menu system is a mess. Over the last couple of years, Visual Concepts have worked to streamline what had become a deeply dense menu. There are so many options here that presenting them all in the open can feel a bit overwhelming. Now you’re only shown a limited set of options that look great. The problem is that now it’s almost impossible to find certain features but hands down this is the best version of the franchise to date.
A Day Without Me is a puzzle adventure game that you have to find out where everyone is, why are you alone in the city, why are there so many oddities in the city. You just woke up and without knowing it, you were the only person left in the city. Sounds cool right? The game starts with you trying to turn off an alarm that is coming from a computer in the next room that’s locked. A standard puzzle that does makes logical sense. If not for the obnoxious audio from the alarm, I would say this was a good opening for the game. Unfortunately this is the only puzzle that makes sense. Once you open the door to the room and gain access to the computer, it gives you a puzzle that can only be saved by trial and error. This is how most of the puzzles in the game are. There is a puzzle later in the game that kills you for not doing the sequence right but the only way to be aware that there is even a sequence is to die. While there are moments of audio that make you want to put down your headset, there are moments of quiet. The contrast between loud obnoxious audio just makes the quiet feel off and out of place. There were points where I thought there were issues with my headset because of the audio in the game. The game could benefit from some form of background music, although it could be intentional by the developer, it just felt off to me. There is a chance that the game does have background music but it just didn’t load into the game when I was playing but I’m not sure because I tried multiple plays since the game is so short. These issues aren’t really doing the game any favors. The one saving item is that the game is short. Short enough to be completed in approximately an hour and that is if you know what you are doing. But much of the game is you going from point to point. Sometimes the path from A to B is needlessly stretched out by obstacles in the way. You can sometimes walk for minutes just to reach a puzzle that can be solved in seconds. I understand there is a need to pad out the game but the walking back and forth just made the entire process feel like a chore. And after all that walking and after all that puzzle solving, I still ended up learning very little about the story. I think this is what turns me off me the most. A Day Without Me starts out as a mystery game. Throughout your journey, you learn close to nothing about the said mystery. You solve puzzles that are somewhat tied to the mystery, but there’s no answer to who, what, where or why to be had. The final sequence makes you question what happened even more. Maybe I’m dense and missed the bigger message in the game. For the price of admission I can’t complain about the length but the game is a bit awkward in the end. If you’re up for some quick achievement points, or enjoy short unusual games like this head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download.
Whiskey Mafia: Frank’s story is time to take a trip to the 1920s in America, the current title by ChiliDog Interactive. We’ll be accepting of mobsters, connecting native fight clubs and entrusting a small bit of amicable arson on the rise to the top of New York City. It sounds great right? Frank is a native postman in Prohibition times in America and who’s content to preserve for the fact that he hasn’t been paid in three months. One day, he satisfies an ancient war friend Leo who offers a thrilling business opportunity. From here on Frank becomes a bar owner that battles mobsters and sort of the town. It’s a decent start to the story. Theres room for improvement however. Franks Story is tough to pursue at times. While I understand that the developers first language isn’t English, Whiskey Mafia is satisfied with spelling and grammar mistakes which is ok in my book as I always enjoyed my share of “Engrish” over the years. For a game that depends on narrative, I would have valued further influence on the story progression. Theres only one choice in the total game whether to take out a gangster or allow him to exist seems senseless in determining if the narrative proceeds. There are important shortcomings with Whiskey Mafias gameplay also. The sole highlight is the battle portion of the game when you’re challenged by a small agency in what you can do. The defeat portion isn’t the evil, the mini-games are. ChiliDog Interactive are quickly creating a name for themselves as one of those developers infamous for comfortable Gamerscore. You wont even want to sport the total game which is only about an hour anyhow to make the entire 1000 Gamerscore. If you’re not on the lookout for quick Gamerscore, I’d say Whiskey Mafia: Franks Story is a miss. It best points are its singular setting and fascinating start, but not a lot more meat on the bone I’m sorry to say. The fact is, with Whiskey Mafia teases you with a nice story and tricks you into many mini-games. The price of admission is fair for what you get, but you will have more fun if you go into it with no expectations set.
Restless Night is an authentically retro horde slaying experience that would be right at home in an arcade. Hordes of zombies, bats, mutantsm and other monstrosities relentlessly pursue the player in a wave-based frenzy until the stage is cleared. With tons of power-ups and items to keep the chaos manageable. Restless Night is old-school fun. Restless Night is pretty straightforward. Survive! Each level throws an increasingly aggressive number of waves at the player, with each wave requiring certain amounts of enemies to be slaughtered and a specific number of waves to be defeated in order to complete the said level. New enemies are introduced at a steady pace but most can be defeated with only a few shots. There are a variety of power-ups that spawn for a short time that can make things easier, just like Smash TV from years gone by. Armed with a pistol by default there are shotguns, assault rifles and laser rifles that can be picked up which bring faster and greater spreading firepower to the fight. As well as new weapons there are bombs that will kill all enemies on screen and health pick-ups, speed boosts, and the wonderful shields. Staying still is not recommended, rather it’s in your interest to keep mobile at all times, running across the battlefield to collect power-ups while continuously shooting. There’s no ammo count or reloading required you can shoot endlessly, fitting considering the enemies often feel as though they almost never end at times. Maximizing the power-ups available, constantly moving, and endlessly shooting will pave your way to success. Restless Night isn't a particularly deep experience but it's certainly an enjoyably addictive one that brings a nostalgic flavor to it with the retro audio-visual design. The Arena mode in particular is fun to see how long you can survive the increasing chaos. This is one of the recent ChiliDog Interactive games I can really stand behind as a fan of the genre. I strongly suggest fans head to the Xbox digital store and pick this one up newcomers are also encouraged as ChilliDog’s price of admission is always fair, so what are yo waiting for? Give this one a go today!
Mighty Aphid from a glance definitely reminds me of a Mega Man game. This isn’t a bad thing, but there’s a most definite feeling of unfinished to this game. You’ll select your stage and you can jump and shoot. Mighty Aphid is most definitely aimed at retro fans such as myself. The goal for each stage is to rescue civilians and then reach the goal. After this you’ll fight a boss. After you succeed, you’ll be awarded with a new ability. Anything from spread shot, flying, healing, etc. Each level had smaller bugs to just shoot at or “ads” if you will, which is optional but it’s you or them. The stages are full of gems, which will assist with your upgrades. The gems and the percentage are more or less your fuel for your new abilities. Big gems provide a lot, and small gems a little. These abilities make running through the game so be sure not to overuse them and run out. Jumps can feel way too high at times, which also combines with the issue that the game is also full of ladders of which you can only jump up and not climb them. This leads to what seems at time like unavoidable damage. Bosses can also be a pain in the rear, but this is mostly just going to be for the first boss encounter. The first boss you pick is most likely going to be the hardest one you’ll battle because you’ll have no extra abilities. You can shoot fast, but only so far, and with a boss that charges as you it can be difficult to not get hit. With the abilities earned make battling the bosses a simple task. Gems are plentiful, but I discovered that they can will get stuck in walls. Mighty Aphid needs a few patches to smooth it over. I like what’s there to start because I was enjoying the game, but it feels unpolished in some areas and a few needed patches could make the experience as good as it should be without spoiling the goof that is there. If you’re into retro inspired games like me head on over to the Xbox digital games store and pick it up, as ChilliDog always sets a more than fair price of admission for their published games. If you’re also a gamerscore player you’ll love the quick and easy gamerscore you can achieve as well.
Karma Incarnation 1 is a wordless side-scrolling adventure is one long item swap chain. You obtain various mystical gewgaws and run errands for a colorful cast of mystical creatures in order to secure progress to the next section. Karma Incarnation 1 has no issue with shooting off at a complete tangent. The core of the game comes down to determining what each oddball character you meet wants by examining their thought bubbles, which play out as small animated vignettes. Occasionally these will boil what’s needed down into a simple equation, however most times you’ll be none the wiser as to what is required of you. This doesn’t tend to matter, when much of the game comes to resemble an interactive cartoon. It’s not always un-involving. One satisfying section sees you rotating a pair of concentric circles to form patterns that transport you to different themed worlds. Another sees you instinctually pulling a frozen creature towards a campfire to thaw them out by a rhythm style mini-game. However a good number of puzzles make little if any logical sense. What keeps you playing Karma Incarnation 1 through this confusion is the sheer imagination and artistry within its world. It’s beautifully vibrant and packed full of small details. This is a darkly universe with hulking nightmare monsters chomping down on creatures. There’s a clear theme of doing right throughout its narrative. Choosing the path of aggression towards non-threatening characters adds another vicious spike to your hungry protagonist, setting you along a darker path. The game’s music and impeccable sound design compliment the opulent visuals. Karma Incarnation 1 has some frustrating limitations. But as a mind-frying artistic experience, there’s little to compare it to. I strongly suggest Xbox gamers head over to the digital games store and give this one a buy with no questions asked.
Boom Blaster actually looks pretty decent. An army of robots have gone rogue and decided to stage an uprising against the Confederacy. You’re a prisoner of the Confederacy that has been sent to stop them to be forgiven for your sins. To do that, you’ll have to overcome a horde of robotic enemies as well as your usual spike traps, pits and lava pools. Sounds cool right? Well, Boom Blaster really doesn’t live up to its story. Within a few minutes of starting the game I had to restart from a random freeze. I started up realizing my game didn’t save and I had to really restart. So I did, with my feathers a bit ruffled I carried on only for the same freeze to happen again and again the game kept freezing even after system full reboot. This wasn’t even the only glitch I found. There are issues with the achievement system too. On my first play, I didn’t earn any when I should have unlocked a handful. My first reset seemed to fix the issue for a while, until they stopped unlocking again for some reason. This isn’t a big issue for those that aren’t achievement hunters, but it’s completely the type of game achievement gamers would buy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any better from there. Because when it does work, it quickly becomes clear that Boom Blaster is full of questionable design that only serve to frustrate you as the complete lack of a save function is perhaps the most annoying, because it places you at the mercy of the game when it inevitably freezes up. You might get lucky, and end up losing progress, or end up having to play through the same level multiple times. Then there’s the strange choice of control scheme. Boom Blaster has you use the LB to jump, and the RB to shoot. This makes the game feel awkward and hard to control. Using the trigger buttons would have been a much better option, especially because you’ll be using both sticks to move and aim. There are many more poor design choices within the game but instead of going on and on, I’ll say this. Ultimately, Boom Blaster was a bad experience for my review time with it. The only blasting I wanted to do by the end was deleting it off my Xbox. I don’t recommend it to anyone because I feel the game is too flawed to recommend to you. I’m sorry to be blunt but pick up one of ChilliDog’s other published games like Restless Night or Karma Incarnation 1 from the Xbox digital games store.
Glittering Sword starts with a very short sequence where your character, the hero, and his female lover are together when suddenly his beloved gets captured by an evil force. From this point on, it’s your task to rescue her. To do this, you’ll make your way through many levels filled with enemies, obstacles and puzzles. As you progress, no story content will be seen anymore and we see this as a missed opportunity. Glittering Sword resembles old classic action games that were available on platforms like the Game Boy, but with modern touch-ups, making them relevant for our current generation of games. The creatures, environment and obstacles all have a lot more details, while still retaining the arcade look of retro games. The screen is always quite filled with clutter, which adds a bit of life to what is happening during each level. While colorful, the palette used is fairly soft and subtle. The music in Glittering Sword is very calm and sounds quite nice. It has a certain familiar ring to it that we couldn’t place. Unfortunately, the game only has two different tunes; one for all the normal levels and one for the boss levels. When the tune reaches its end, it will just start over again in an endless loop, which can get quite annoying after some time. Combining this with a lot of deaths and suicides, because you made some mistakes, makes the annoyance even worse. Glittering Sword is an arcade action-adventure game where you, as the game’s hero, must find your way through levels filled with puzzles and enemies to eventually reach your beloved that has been captured by an evil force. The controls of Glittering Sword are fairly simple. You can swing your sword at your enemies and you can use a magic attack that shoots a ball in a straight line with a magic resource. In the first level, you’ll find your sword laying around behind some pink obstacles. Pink crystals are scattered around each level that will remove the pink obstacles when you’ve gathered them all, so you can continue to the next level. In many levels, you’ll see a vendor where you can buy potions for coins that are dropped by enemies and chests. The red potion will restore your life and the blue potion will restore your magic power. Glittering Sword is a classic action-adventure game where you need to rescue your beloved by crossing many levels filled with enemies, traps, and puzzles. The gameplay of this game is very simple, making it quite accessible for most people. The challenge in this game lies in finding your way through all the traps and puzzles without dying. The game doesn’t really feature story content, but the gameplay alone can keep you occupied for quite some time. If you like a game where you need to think before you act to get past a level full of traps and enemies and challenging puzzles, I’d definitely recommend this one as it will keep challenging you with an increasing difficulty and the price of admission is right on in ChilliDog style. So head on over to the Xbox games digital store and pick it up today.
Caves and castles: Underworld is a limited game. It lacks some fairly basic functionality. It never deviates from a simple gameplay loop. There is no optional goal or actual player choice as to what to do next. Gamers looking for a challenge may be disappointed as you can’t find it here. But what you find is a great casual experience. This is a unique blend of match-3 puzzles, dungeon crawls and base construction. Fusion games with puzzle and RPG elements have long been shown to work well, and caves and castles are no exception. The three genres are seamlessly combined here to provide a simple gameplay cycle that feels rewarding and encourages players to engage in it. You were invited to an old ruined castle and asked to help renovate it to return to its former glory. To do that, you need coins and lots of coins. That is, step into the cave under the castle, solve match-3 puzzles, clear blocked walkways, open locked doors and release trapped animals. This is a system for solving puzzles, earning coins and building upgrades. It doesn’t go any deeper and there is nothing to challenge remotely. There was always the danger that this kind of experience would become sour really quickly. But caves and castles: Underworld finds it rewarding to take part in the cycle, so stop it for at least three to four hours. The base builder lacks some basic features like roaming freely, rotating the camera, and putting things wherever you want, but it’s still the most fun part of the game. It turned out to be. It was great to see the concrete rewards from all the puzzles I ground and see my base come back to life from all the animals I released. The only real criticism of the game is dungeon crawl. It lacks everything that makes the mysterious element so much fun. The dungeons you explore are basically all the same, and if you explore one, you will explore everything. There are no enemies to deal with, the only obstacle is the lever that needs to be pulled to open the locked door. This is a minor obstacle at **** perhaps the most pitiful is the fact that you can’t even crawl the dungeon. Correctly. You have no control over your character, you are limited to choosing the direction you want to go when you reach an intersection. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at Caves and Castles: Underworld on Xbox. There are problems such as terrible dungeon crawls, but a solid, mysterious and rewarding base construction element is more than just making up for it. Working on the three genres is not an easy task, but Caves and Castles: Underworld proves it can. The result here is a great casual experience, perfect for kids and anyone looking for hours of unconscious entertainment. Caves and Castles: Underworld is a limited game. It lacks some fairly basic functionality. It never deviates from a simple gameplay loop. There is no optional goal or actual player choice as to what to do next. Gamers looking for a challenge will be disappointed-you can’t find it here. But what you find is a great casual experience. This is a unique blend of match-3 puzzles, dungeon crawls and base construction. Fusion games with puzzle and RPG elements have long been shown to work well, and caves and castles are no exception. The three genres are seamlessly harmonized and I had a fabulous experience chilling out and playing. So if this sounds interesting to you I’d head on over to purchase it from the Xbox digital games store I highly recommend it for the casual experience and fabulous price point to go with it.
CATTCH is an endearing plat-former and It squeaked out without fanfare at the end of 2020, and while it has some faults, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time playing it. CATTCH is a 2D plat-former that casts you, as all plat-formers must, as an anthropomorphic animal. You’re a cat, and you’re on a mission to save some floaty critters that have been caged by evil less-floaty creatures. That’s as far as the story goes. You can jump and punch, but you soon gain the ability to double-jump, wall-climb, throw spiky berries and more. These are your tools for achieving the three objectives on each level: to get to an exit portal in a designated time, to gather all the stars littered about, and to break out three caged friends that are hidden in the level. Complete all of the objectives and you’re gifted a sticker that shows the level has been mastered. Complete objectives to unlock future levels. The levels are incredibly simple. They’re all made up of similar building blocks, and they never take more than a few minutes to complete. Luckily there’s about 40 of them and they are stretched across three different worlds. As with most modern plat-formers, the levels start off easy then get difficult, with those stickers stacking up on the same sections as you desperately reach for the next checkpoint. The level design is quality due to making use of an extremely simple set of art. The maps offer opportunities for a simpler way around the problem if you discover them. The caged creatures are hidden in some far-off areas, so exploring the environment is worth the time. The game isn’t perfect and has a few hiccups and lulls inside. CATTCH is a game that’s best played in short sessions to reduce the likelihood of the game becoming stale. There’s not exactly a surplus of originality. This is a vibrant world with slick animations and a bouncy soundtrack with solid artwork and gameplay. I’d dare say a Rayman influence was had. So with that said I easily recommend this one for all gamers to head on over to the Xbox digital games store and enjoy!
Bus Simulator 21 like its predecessor straddles the line between authentic public transport management and entertainment. While this vehicular sim spans across two maps, the all-new American-inspired Angel Shores and an updated version of European backdrop Seaside Valley it demands you engage in all of the iron grit of bus driving. Such as selling tickets and extending wheelchair ramps, it also likes to emphasize the inane chatter of the patrons you’ll be hauling. Everyone around has an opinion on what’s going on. While the comments can be a bit much, we appreciate that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Unfortunately the developer should have taken Bus Simulator’s user interface a bit more seriously. You’ll spend almost as much time in menus (or more) as you do behind the wheel, plotting out routes that link each map’s key destinations. But while the addition of route balancing and peak times adds depth to the strategy, it’s still overwhelming and hard to keep track of which was an issue experienced with the original release as well. In fact, despite the gentle introductory missions, we’d argue it’s worse here. Once you wrap your head around everything, there’s an appeal to the action. You’re encouraged to drive routes accurately yourself, as this will improve how your AI employees operate them when you’re working somewhere else. There’s always a good balance between strategy and gameplay, with thirty some different licensed buses available at launch and online co-op options for up to four players. The new map, with its districts, is a fun place to explore, although visually this is not a beautiful game to look at, with even cockpit elements blurry and presented in lower resolution then should be. The appeal here is building up a public transport empire, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly the time passes as you begin to expand routes and increase your fleet. It’s an acquired taste, for sure, but impressive how a game designed to replicate a real-life job can be so oddly relaxing when you’re behind the wheel. While some of us enjoyed the game more than others the price point is fair enough and you know what you’re getting into before it all starts. So if you’re a fan of the sim genre driven games you’ll be right at home. There are worse offerings for sure in this genre maybe some of us just had our expectations set a little higher on this new release. It’s not the worst but it could be better. So if you’re looking for a new experience in your sim collection head over to the Xbox digital games store and “all aboard” this Bus Simulator 21 experience!
Rogue Explorer was developed by Zoo Corporation and published by EastAsiaSoft. Rogue Explorer is an old school rogue-like platformer that this is difficult and a bit of a challenge to get your hands around. As a fan of difficult and extremely challenging games and I have the patience and drive to persevere, so after some grinding it was possible to make a dent in Rogue Explorer. The heart bar gave me a false impression that Rogue Explorer will go easy, but on the contrary. It takes approximately two or three hits until death, or one-hit kills depending on your level when you face each boss. Upon death, you’ll lose all of your in-game boosts, but that also applies when you finish a stage: it resets. You’ll keep your stats (unlocked from the hub) and, for the most part, keep your custom-designed avatar and gear. You keep your money too but expect a rinse and repeat of the same level if you’re of average ability. Rogue Explorer is an action platformer. While your sword hovers in front of you and attack anything in front of you. Gradually you’ll equip another weapon to your rear, which acts as a heat-seeker and automatically attacks enemies within range of the seeking weapon. Before getting to this level of automated slashing, the game was quite challenging. Other than a tutorial, there’s not a whimsical story to be told, but it’s not necessary either. Visuals are a simple pixel art in a 2D environment, and the controls consist of attack, jump, and a roll and assigned upgrades. You can’t jump through platforms like other games, so you’ll often have to wall jump to reach a new area, but this mechanic works well enough even if it’s a little awkward at times. It was the slow burn that hooked me and pulled me into Rogue Explorer. Without this, I may well have given up as I found it a little too repetitive with minimal rewards and down right difficult for me. The enemies are similar for each level, just cosmetically different for a taste of variety. The music feels out of place at times and with that it’s pretty dramatic. That’s not a bad thing, but it doesn’t reflect the gameplay as Rogue Explorer is very much the same feel throughout. Even the bosses are very slight alterations of the those before it. However the repetition is part of this genre and if that is something you look for is a personal thing. Personally the grinding made it much more enjoyable and satisfying in the end. If this sounds like your cup of tea head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give it a download. If this isn’t your type of genre there’s nothing outside of the experience that will likely change your views. The price is more than accommodating for someone who may be on the fence and looking forward to the experience found in Rogue Explorer.
Bunny Factory is the newest release by DillyFrame Games and after a few games under their belts, it appears they have assembled all the necessary components to ensure Bunny Factory is a solid puzzle game. While there’s still room for improvement, this one should be on your top of their games and puzzle fans should give it a go for the low price of admission. Bunny Factory puts you into the shoes of a bunny wearing a mech suit inside a factory, where you’re immediately presented with a basic set of controls. Upon making your way to the main puzzle area an issue arises because there are no instructions or tutorials for what you’re expected to do. With red colored blocks scattered around a patterned grid, a trial and error exercise begins as to what on earth it all means. Fortunately if you’re a puzzle genre fan and logic begins to shape the tutorial in your hands. The blocks are electrical modules and they’re required to power up the grids for each puzzle. When you pick up a block and place it down, it lights up the squares on the grid in one of four directions. Bunny Factory could send lines of light in more than one direction, with modules capable of producing it in all four directions at one time. The goal is to illuminate the entire grid pattern, which then rewards you with a special block that unlocks further rooms within the factory. The amount of blocks at your disposal is limited, it’ll take some cunning placements to fully complete the patterns. Bunny Factory ensures that the challenge is there but it’s no walk in the factory either. They have a nice blend of difficulty here. Bunny Factory is a pleasant surprise by DillyFrame Games and is a real improvement compared to their early offerings beginning with the Creators Collection. The puzzles are logical and fun enough to solve, there’s a wide variety to choose from and the variations on the core mechanics of the game bring enough to Bunny Factory to keep replay up. It would help to add a tutorial to ease all gamers in and explain what’s going on, but aside from that if you’re a puzzle gamer that’s a non issue. I just feel it would benefit new comers to the DillyFrame puzzle formula in the end. Keep on getting better DillyFrame we’ve got our eyes on you!
WRC 10 is the official counterpart to the 2021 World Rally Championship, showcasing the twelve rounds of the tournament with all the official teams included. Covering off everything from the top tier WRC cars down to Junior WRC and it also features extras like classic cars and historic stages. The key gameplay mode that players will use is Career Mode. The single player campaign has been steadily growing in size and complexity in previous iterations, and the version in WRC 10 is just as extensive as fans have come to expect. The player can go from the Juniors up to the top tier of rally racing, with some tweaks like a livery editor to tighten things up. It's more of what the fans have always expected, although Kylotonn has recognized the 50th anniversary of the WRC with a few additions. A good selection of classic rally cars from different eras are available to choose, and it's great to be able to enjoy such a wide range of vehicles. Meanwhile, some classic stages from WRC history have been included as well, a blast from the past for rally aficionados to appreciate. From a gameplay perspective, WRC 10 fits into a simulation/arcade experience between a serious racing sim and something a little more accessible to new players. Those after a pure simulation experience can turn off as many supports as they see fit, but newcomers or those who want something a bit more relaxed can feel equally at home. It might not be quite as challenging as some may want, but it certainly provides a wider array of options than other recent titles. WRC 10 does suffer from the same occasional physics glitches that previous games in the series have seen, but they aren’t game breaking. The similarities to previous entries might leave some players with questions about whether WRC 10 is a must-buy at launch, though I feel if you’re a fan thats a solid yes. WRC 10 is an extremely fun game with a few changes around the amount of changed content from WRC 9. So fans of the series race to the Xbox digital games store to download yours today. Newcomers I would always recommend jumping in with the most recent release to enjoy the most polished experience as well.
WRC 10 is the official counterpart to the 2021 World Rally Championship, showcasing the twelve rounds of the tournament with all the official teams included. Covering off everything from the top tier WRC cars down to Junior WRC and it also features extras like classic cars and historic stages. The key gameplay mode that players will use is Career Mode. The single player campaign has been steadily growing in size and complexity in previous iterations, and the version in WRC 10 is just as extensive as fans have come to expect. The player can go from the Juniors up to the top tier of rally racing, with some tweaks like a livery editor to tighten things up. It's more of what the fans have always expected, although Kylotonn has recognized the 50th anniversary of the WRC with a few additions. A good selection of classic rally cars from different eras are available to choose, and it's great to be able to enjoy such a wide range of vehicles. Meanwhile, some classic stages from WRC history have been included as well, a blast from the past for rally aficionados to appreciate. From a gameplay perspective, WRC 10 fits into a simulation/arcade experience between a serious racing sim and something a little more accessible to new players. Those after a pure simulation experience can turn off as many supports as they see fit, but newcomers or those who want something a bit more relaxed can feel equally at home. It might not be quite as challenging as some may want, but it certainly provides a wider array of options than other recent titles. WRC 10 does suffer from the same occasional physics glitches that previous games in the series have seen, but they aren’t game breaking. The similarities to previous entries might leave some players with questions about whether WRC 10 is a must-buy at launch, though I feel if you’re a fan thats a solid yes. WRC 10 is an extremely fun game with a few changes around the amount of changed content from WRC 9. So fans of the series race to the Xbox digital games store to download yours today. Newcomers I would always recommend jumping in with the most recent release to enjoy the most polished experience as well.
Monster Harvest is a monster-raising game developed by Maple Powered Games and published by Merge Games should be seen as a unique offering. With its fun and addictive blend of life farming and dungeon crawling RPG stylized gameplay, it proves somewhat easy to get lost in its deceptive large world. From the beginning Monster Harvest gives you the feel of its monster gaming roots. Your uncle is a scientist and he’s has allowed you to leave your unfulfilling big city life to help him in the country life. Upon arrivial he gives you a plot of farmland and a house of your own just outside the town. He then fills you in on his greatest scientific discovery which is plant based creatures known as “Planimals”. These goo-born creatures are the result of experiments using mysterious colored oozes on various forms of plant life. You won’t be able to just hop in and start farming Planimals though as your inherited land has been left unattended for quite some time. You’ll need to remove the various unwanted items from your farmland before you till it to lay down your crops. Rocks will break open with your pickaxe and you’ll harvest lumber with an axe and water your crops with a watering can after tilling your land. There’s an energy meter that drains after each activity. When this meter is depleted, you’ll have to either eat food or rest in your house to get it back. You’ll also only be able to recover your entire energy bar by sleeping overnight unless you stock up on food and eat. While these activities reward experience and leveling up allows you to learn how to build new things for your farm it does make the game feel less about growing your farm and more about planning your time. Planning your days ahead of time will become second nature and you’ll learn to separate your activities between the daytime and the evening to get the most out of each day. When you learn about the mysterious multi-colored slimes that can do everything from turning your plants into Planimals to growing them to full-size instantly, the game begins to go even faster. Combined with the items you find while exploring the world, the ones you’ll sell for money at your acquisition board, and the ones offered at the shops around town, it’s easy to find yourself planning several days in advance. As the days go by, you learn more from your time in the town. Each character has their own quirky personalities and a **** Valley feel while speaking to them and faces accompanying the text based dialogue. They also change based upon the time of day you visit the town and some will even give you different information depending on when you talk to them. This makes the world feel more alive after being among the citizens for a few days and unlocking new paths around town. The heart of Monster Harvest lies in the dungeon crawling though. Once during the evening of each day you’ll be able to enter the dungeon beyond the town. The dark cavern is home to not only rare materials that can’t be found on your farm, but also dangerous monsters that won’t hesitate to attack you. This is where your Planimals shine most and go into battle against enemy monsters, which are always out to attack you. Planimal battles are turn-based and each Planimal learns new moves as they level up and grow. This can make exploring the dungeon too early in the game overly brutal, as each Planimal will only have one move at the start. The deeper you explore, the harder the enemies will be to defeat so you’ll need to retreat often if you want your monsters to survive. When one of them dies you will be able to use their remains to upgrade your farm, which eases the pain of permanently losing them. While Monster Harvest makes a slow first impression like most games in the genre, many intricate systems are quick to show themselves through mistakes you might make. This gives the game a feeling of variety and Monster Harvest offers tons of variation for how you choose to play. With a charming pixel world full of fun and colorful town characters and Planimals to experience and grow with, Monster Harvest is sure to please any fan of the genre so if you are a fan, be sure to head over to the Xbox digital games store and pick Monster Harvest up for yourself. You won’t be disappointed with this new release or its bang for your gaming budget.
Crimson Spires is the latest visual novel from Eastasiasoft. You are stuck in a town that’s cut off from the rest of the world; surrounded by deadly towers that encircle it. As newly transferred sheriff Erika Wright, your job among many are to find out what these towers are. It’s a long way from trying to hump the boy-next-door, so Crimson Spires may well be a refreshing break from the visual novel norm. There is still plenty of romancing, but you and your partners are brought together through the tension of the situation, and you make uneasy alliances with the various people of the town of Bataille, all with the aim of digging out the mystery’s core. Developers Woodsy Studio have a vision for visual novels, as they’re determined to move away from games that have you shooting everything, or slaying dragons to rescue princesses. This is a more mature, diverse approach to storytelling and something the visual novel genre could well do with. The slow-burn of this plot adds to the depth and complexity of the mystery, but I find that it tends to drag on somewhat, and the dialogue seems trivial and irrelevant at some points, focusing on characters bickering back and forth about seemingly unimportant topics. This game requires a lot of time and patience to fully understand and play through, and the tone and energy throughout stays rather mellow. For players who are easily bored by games that aren’t faced-past or packed with action, this may not be the best play for you. Visual novels aren’t my cup o’ tea but I do play them on occasion. Everything here checks all the boxes for fans of the genre and with Eastasiasoft’s wonderful price of of admission it’s a sure winner for those fans.
Inked: A Tale of Love is a tale of love and vengeance as one would figure, but this tale is told with ink on paper. You play as the Nameless Hero who sets out on a journey in a vast landscape filled with puzzles for you to solve. Each puzzle takes you closer to your lost love, unraveling a story that will forever change you. The aim of the game is straightforward, make your way through the world by solving a series of puzzles using simple geometric shapes as our hero searches for his lost love Aiko. You can expect the narrative to run a little deeper since you're effectively playing out a story that the artist Adam is creating. So you can probably expect some parallels between the two characters to be drawn throughout the adventure. You must witness the beautiful hand-drawn art style in motion. It certainly helps it stand out in a world of indie games that can sometimes feel a little ascetically similar. Inked: A Tale of Love is available for purchase in the Xbox digital games store courtesy of publisher EastAsiaSoft for a low price of admission. If the concept sounds interesting or your a fan of indie titles then definitely check this one out.
Gelly Break Deluxe really puts couch co-op to the test. The “deluxe” version is a rerelease by Byterockers’ Games and Gelly Break Deluxe is a platforming shooter hybrid that can be played solo or cooperatively. You play as one of two orange or green “blobs” co-op play. These blobs can only be on platforms of a similar color. That means one blob must stack off of the other as necessary. While stacked up the top blob serves as a turret and with the switching nature of Gelly Break, one blob won’t consistently be the top. You will have to get mighty good at synchronizing jumps with your partner to succeed. In solo play you control both blobs, and it becomes more of a twin-stick shooter slash platform stylized game. Jumps that are difficult with two players while shifting positions requires little coordination. Gelly Break Deluxe is relatively easier solo game, and a somewhat punishing cooperative game that requires precise coordination. Some of the difficulty plays out switching in the air of your jumps. Gelly Break contains challenging jumping puzzles that require you to flip between characters in air sometimes multiple times in a row. That’s not the only trial in Gelly Break Deluxe though. Gelly Break Deluxe has challenges that force you to avoid lava or even discover invisible paths that only become visible when you or your projections are close to them. Gelly Break Deluxe isn’t only a platforming game though it has a fair amount of enemies that must be defeated in a manner that is similar to a twin-stick shooter. Gelly Break Deluxe has a solid amount of combat even though it’s cute and bright colored. Gelly Break Deluxe can be difficult, not because enemies are clever it’s that Gelly Break likes to throw swarms of enemies at you. They’re varied and some require a combination of shooting and spinning to defeat. Combat requires coordination between two players, but since one controls the movement and the other controls the shooting both require coordination of its own. Gelly Break also has a handful of boss fights and each with their own mechanic. These boss fights are are also challenging like the entire game in co-op but they’re very well put together and fun. Progress in Gelly Break Deluxe isn’t all linear either as there is a map that allows you to choose the next level if extra choices are unlocked with a challenging number of gels being collected with up to three hidden in each level. If you don’t find enough of these hidden gel collectibles you’ll hit a progress roadblock. Gelly Break Deluxe is a solid platforming game that manages to be a fun solo experience, and sometimes very difficult in co-op play. Gelly Break Deluxe is its best when played with a friend locally. Solo mode feels like it’s almost too easy, and co-op almost too difficult with the game feeling like it’s aimed for two players and the struggling if working in unison. If you like challenging co-op platforming games, Gelly Break Deluxe is indeed a great one. As a fan this one is in my wheelhouse and I highly recommend you head over to the Xbox digital games store if your a fan of this style of game. It’s a worthy addition with a matching worthy price point as well.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite isn’t a game that requires expert gamers, but an excellent arcade in your face experience. The Xenos are awaiting, and there's plenty of them to take out. Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like the sequel to Alien: Isolation is the gaming version of Aliens to Alien. Aliens: Fireteam Elite drops you into tense and often chaotic firefights that engage your souped-up team of Colonial Marines against waves of varying Xenomorphs and Weyland-Yutani. It's meant to be played with friends and the gameplay mechanics that lend themselves to co-op play are simple and quite effective. Aliens: Fireteam Elite won't blow you away with its nuanced approach to gameplay or groundbreaking graphics, but it will keep you and a group of friends entertained. The story at the core of Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a sign of Cold Iron Studios's dedication to its source material. Any fan of the Alien franchise will enjoy picking up the random hidden lore items or getting a bit of exposition while aboard your ship. It's somewhat odd in the fact that there are no cut scenes or even animated faces in Aliens: Fireteam Elite. There's little to no dialogue from the character you choose to play as. Your character emits the occasional grunt, warning, or heads up while healing, but that’s about it. There is plenty of talking coming from Sergeant Herrera, who acts like this game's Cortana, directing you via comms from the safety of the ship. Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like a solid arcade shooter. There's nothing here in the gameplay that will next generation wow you, but its core features have been tried and trued by its predecessors, and they work quite well. While you can pick from one of five classes, some of them feel a bit lack luster overall, especially the Doc. There are a few RPG elements, and the classes will definitely help make co-op sessions more fun, especially if everyone is fighting over the weapons only one class can wield. There are a total of four campaigns in Aliens: Fireteam Elite with each with three missions. The basic mission structure is as such: head through several spaces clearing aliens, arrive at a bigger space that requires you to set up perimeter defenses before triggering a gigantic horde, defeat that horde and end the mission. The overall setup or format can get a bit old, but Cold Iron Studios is banking on the variety that comes with co-op and many Challenge Cards to keep you from getting too bored. With the short campaign and focus on three-person multi-player I wonder if Cold Iron Studios should have implemented a share-play option like some other releases we’ve seen on the Xbox. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is just okay as a solo shooter, but the inclusion of friends makes the gameplay arcade bliss. As far as the curse of Alien games goes, Aliens: Fireteam Elite seems to have safely avoided that and this is a fun, frantic third-person shooter set out to a score you and your teammates. Xenomorphs will fall from the ceiling, scurry over the walls, and jump out of ventilation shafts almost ceaselessly, which makes for a really fun, fast arcade play. As a fan of arcade style games and it’s hefty reliance of multiplayer it’s a solid release by Cold Iron Studios and fans should definitely pick it up and even newcomers should ponder this release in the Xbox digital games store if you’re into arcade driven action like myself. Keep an eye on Cold Iron Studios, their release here is a solid one. Cold Iron Studios provided the game for purposes of this review, however that has no bearing on the enjoyment it brought and I definitely recommend this one to the many Xbox gamers out there.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite isn’t a game that requires expert gamers, but an excellent arcade in your face experience. The Xenos are awaiting, and there's plenty of them to take out. Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like the sequel to Alien: Isolation is the gaming version of Aliens to Alien. Aliens: Fireteam Elite drops you into tense and often chaotic firefights that engage your souped-up team of Colonial Marines against waves of varying Xenomorphs and Weyland-Yutani. It's meant to be played with friends and the gameplay mechanics that lend themselves to co-op play are simple and quite effective. Aliens: Fireteam Elite won't blow you away with its nuanced approach to gameplay or groundbreaking graphics, but it will keep you and a group of friends entertained. The story at the core of Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a sign of Cold Iron Studios's dedication to its source material. Any fan of the Alien franchise will enjoy picking up the random hidden lore items or getting a bit of exposition while aboard your ship. It's somewhat odd in the fact that there are no cut scenes or even animated faces in Aliens: Fireteam Elite. There's little to no dialogue from the character you choose to play as. Your character emits the occasional grunt, warning, or heads up while healing, but that’s about it. There is plenty of talking coming from Sergeant Herrera, who acts like this game's Cortana, directing you via comms from the safety of the ship. Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like a solid arcade shooter. There's nothing here in the gameplay that will next generation wow you, but its core features have been tried and trued by its predecessors, and they work quite well. While you can pick from one of five classes, some of them feel a bit lack luster overall, especially the Doc. There are a few RPG elements, and the classes will definitely help make co-op sessions more fun, especially if everyone is fighting over the weapons only one class can wield. There are a total of four campaigns in Aliens: Fireteam Elite with each with three missions. The basic mission structure is as such: head through several spaces clearing aliens, arrive at a bigger space that requires you to set up perimeter defenses before triggering a gigantic horde, defeat that horde and end the mission. The overall setup or format can get a bit old, but Cold Iron Studios is banking on the variety that comes with co-op and many Challenge Cards to keep you from getting too bored. With the short campaign and focus on three-person multi-player I wonder if Cold Iron Studios should have implemented a share-play option like some other releases we’ve seen on the Xbox. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is just okay as a solo shooter, but the inclusion of friends makes the gameplay arcade bliss. As far as the curse of Alien games goes, Aliens: Fireteam Elite seems to have safely avoided that and this is a fun, frantic third-person shooter set out to a score you and your teammates. Xenomorphs will fall from the ceiling, scurry over the walls, and jump out of ventilation shafts almost ceaselessly, which makes for a really fun, fast arcade play. As a fan of arcade style games and it’s hefty reliance of multiplayer it’s a solid release by Cold Iron Studios and fans should definitely pick it up and even newcomers should ponder this release in the Xbox digital games store if you’re into arcade driven action like myself. Keep an eye on Cold Iron Studios, their release here is a solid one. Cold Iron Studios provided the game for purposes of this review, however that has no bearing on the enjoyment it brought and I definitely recommend this one to the many Xbox gamers out there.
Checkers For Kids is exactly that. This game is aimed at the children’s gaming market. Checkers for Kids comes from Prison Games as they give Xbox gamers the chance to bring an old-school traditional board gaming experience into the advanced gaming world. It’s Checkers For Kids that ushers in a new world for the humble checkers scene, mixing things up a little from the standard black and red style that we have come to know and love over the years. Checkers for Kids on Xbox allows the chance for you to use a whole host of gaming boards and customizable playgrounds. Mixing the options up as you wish to accommodate the desired player level. The inclusion of a delightful little pet fish to bring forth even more calm is a much appreciated one. Everything else that you’d expect from a Checkers title is here though. Single player and multiplayer options. There are add-ons which are change-able, mini-games with your pet fish, add-ons to enjoy and more than 20 toys to play around with. Throw in a relaxing atmosphere and music and we have Checkers for Kids. Reviewing this title for what it is, it’s a solid children’s game for a proper price of admission. Achievement hunters will also have interest in the easy gamerscore. So if your looking for the genre for your family or looking to rack up the gamerscore you can do so right now through the Xbox digital games score.
Mayhem Brawler provides two game modes and Story Mode offers unlimited continues and your lives are reset between stages. Arcade Mode is tailored to hardcore beat-’em-up fans. It’s a game type that forces you to make it to the end without continuing. So it’s smart to get familiar in the Story Mode before attempting. Mayhem Brawler doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel in terms of mechanics and that’s a good thing as it brings the fundamentals home. The controls are on point and responsive. While the combat has a decent sense of weight, with punches and kicks delivering a satisfying connection. While the combo system isn’t as robust as other brawlers like Streets of Rage 4. So if you planned on juggling the baddies with huge hit combos, you might be somewhat disappointed. Mayhem Brawler is more “old school” in how it handles its beatdowns, making it feel more like a product of the era it attempts to emulate. That’s a good thing for retro gamers like myself. While an in-depth combo system would have been welcome, it’s not necessary here. Mayhem Brawler makes up for this by offering a selection of weapons to wield. From butcher knives to machine guns, you’ll never have to go far to find some fun item to take down your enemies. Each character also has two special moves. These are best used for clearing out enemies when you’re surrounded. The sprites are large and provide quality animation, and vibrant colors and dynamic shading do a great job of slamming the presentation home. The background details that make each scene pop off the screen are a nice touch as well. The music is less exciting than the visuals. It’s mostly rock tunes that are on offer will satisfy the ear enough. The game offers more genres of music that I tend to enjoy more than the fitting rock music. Mayhem Brawler is the most fun beat-’em-up since Streets of Rage 4 was released. With beautiful graphics, satisfying combat, and plenty of replay-ability, it’s a slugfest that will keep you coming back for more. While the game probably would have benefited from a more engaging combo system, it makes up for this with a great selection of weapons and a colorful cast of playable characters. If you’ve a fan looking for a new beat-’em-up fix, look no further. Mayhem Brawler will punch you right in the eye and you’ll definitely like it. So run on over to the Xbox digital games store and “smash” the buy button!
Mina & Michi is an affordable retro styled release published by publishers Eastasiasoft. The characters are a mixed bit of pixel art. Neither are my style as a stand alone, but here it was cute enough and pleasant on the eyes. It’s the chip tunes that does get a little monotone for those not born from the era. Mina & Michi looks straight out of retro heaven, and minus the rather innovative split controls, it plays like a retro title too. There’s no story to the game and the end game is to move from one screen to the next by collecting keys, gems, and solving puzzles. The type of puzzles in this top-down adventure involves sliding blocks onto switches to unlock the necessary paths. the puzzles are relatively easy, but if you’re not paying attention it’s not difficult to push a block up against a wall and with no pull function then you’ll either have to kill yourself or leave the area and come back. Each time you enter a new screen, everything except the keys you’ve collected will respawn. Gems as well as enemies will be back to terrorize you. The latter is an exaggeration as they only target Mina as Michi doesn’t take damage. After a few screens you will unlock some attacks and Mina’s is ranged, and Michi does a whirlwind melee. But once you realize that Michi is essentially invincible, you tend to use the left controls primarily for getting to a safe area. Overall a fun retro adventure where you can have a co-op with a friend or alone. The controls are surprisingly good, and ignoring the odd mistake feels natural. It’s a shame that you end up relying on Michi most of the game, but it’s one of the better two-player in one experiences I’ve had on my own where I didn’t have to alternate controllers. So if this one sounds like your cup of tea then head on over to the Xbox digital games store and give this one a go today. It’s definitely worth the low price of admission in my opinion.
RiMS racing by Nacon is their newest racing simulation game and Nacon states “This game is a completely new approach to the motorcycle simulation game experience. In our game, you can use the top-of-the-line bikes from the biggest manufacturers in your quest to harness their power. Our game provides an extremely accurate riding experience and precise control of the bike.”. With that being said thats is a very true statement because in Rims Racing, skills in racing are not the only thing players need to survive to become the best racer. Customizing and maintaining your motorbike is important as players will get a chance to see how to properly customize, change, and repair both the interior and exterior parts. There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to customizing but before all of that, the game will allow you to choose which bike to begin with. The bikes that are included in the game are 8 of the fastest bikes developed and produced by top racing bike companies like Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, and Ducati. The 8 bikes that are playable are the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10 RR, Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory, BMW M 1000 RR, Ducati Panigale V4 R, Honda CBR1000RR ABS, MV Agusta F4 RC, Suzuki GSX-R1000R, and the Yamaha YZF-R1. The motorbikes have been reproduced with peerless detail and realism, and you will have to maintain and upgrade them through the innovative gameplay. The race tracks are very challenging and unique in this racing game. There are some of the biggest names in road racing, and players will enjoy not only in terms of racing – the Great Victoria Desert, Passo San Marco, and the Atlantic Ocean Road are just three of the five that are fully playable in RiMS Racing. The Career mode of the game is educational, from learning how to drive the motorbikes, all the way to customizing and maintaining the bike’s parts. When you complete missions and clear bonus requirements, you’ll gain credits that are used to unlock new research materials to either improve your bike’s performance or invent new parts that help you perform in future events. The multiplayer of the game can either be done locally through split-screen or done online. Not only that, there are online challenges in the game that can be completed as well. Expect a strong presence of skill from online players. Overall, the game is great and has a lot of potential as a racing simulator. Not only that, the racing mechanics of the game are well balanced and suited for not only experienced players but also for newbies who will just start playing these types of games. With all that being said I highly state this game is a pure simulator so if you’re not necessarily a fan of simulation games, there’s nothing here to change your mind. IF you are a fan I highly suggest RIMS Racing for your Xbox game library. You can enjoy the experience on your Xbox One and Xbox Series. Head on over to the Xbox store and make sure to pick up the double pack if you are into the genre of simulation racing so you can unlock achievements on both platforms. The series X has the expected notable performance and graphic enhancements you’d expect but both versions are enjoyable in the same manner. I like the fact of more achievements are available for the Xbox One and Series X versions however I wish Xbox would limit this to exclusives. Separation of the Xbox One and Series S | X achievement lists only muddies the water for players who upgrade later to only have backward compatibility on the new consoles and needing to buy the new version if they want to take full advantage of their console. I only mention this as Nacon has had this trend in their game releases as of late. This is only my opinion on the current Xbox platforms and in no way effects the quality of their games.
