XBLIG Review - Vexis

It's been at least a couple months since I've reviewed something that doesn't require a large amount of manual dexterity. It's true, I do like a lot of my games to have that quarter-stealing hitbox-avoiding arcade feel, but I also enjoy the softer and more intellectual side of gaming. The type of game to require more brain activity than reflexes and button mashing. This one from Buckshot Games, Vexis, required so much of that squishy stuff inside my head that I ended up staring at the last puzzle for at least an hour without doing much of anything. And it was totally worth it.

XBLIG Review - radiangames Crossfire

I feel a little guilty writing a full review for this game. The reason for that is, instead of immediately signing onto XBox Live and buying it, you'll read the rest of this and I will have wasted precious minutes of your time that you could have spent playing what is possibly the best re-imagining of Space Invaders that will ever exist. Because that's what Crossfire is: a perfect evolution of a game more than three decades old.

Indie Game Review - Ancient Trader

The board game is, in my opinion, one of the most under-appreciated and under-explored forms of group entertainment in this day and age. Usually when someone brings up a board game that involves strategy and planning, at least one uncultured boob in the group will say that Risk is the best board game of all time and that they are "good at it". These people can lick me where I pee...and I'm getting off the subject. The point is that I think board games, when done right, are some of the best things to pull out when you got a group of friends and a couple hours in a living room. And Ancient Trader, though on the 360 and definitely something that resembles a turn-based strategy game at first, is a board game I can add to that category.

Four Quarter Friday - Vampire Rage

In a valiant attempt to try and get caught up, I decided to take on a shmup for Four Quarter Friday that I knew I'd be able to finish in less than an hour. Which I did. I didn't account for the next hour and a half where I was unable to pry the controller from my own hands. And no, I didn't glue it to my palms again. I'd thank you for not bringing that up from here on out.

XBLIG Review - 3D Infinity

Wrapping up our week devoted to shmups, I decided to go with the shmup genre that probably gets the least amount of love out of all of them: the 3D rail shooter. And just like the good old says on the Master System, when I say 3D, I really do mean 3D. So I got out those funky red and cyan glasses, looked like a big nerd, and sat down to tackle appropriately titled 3D Infinity.

Four Quarter Friday - Prismatic Solid

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a new XBLIG release, Prismatic Solid, that definitely turned my head. It controlled well, looked pretty, had a couple cool mechanics, and was the first bullet hell shooter I'd seen on XBox Live. When I decided that this week was going to be devoted to shmups, I was looking forward to playing through it and reviewing it for Four Quarter Friday. After 45 minutes of play, I come back a confused man.

XBLIG Review - Urban Space Squirrels

There are few genres that define "tough love" like the puzzle platformer. If anyone has played the excellent N+, Splosion Man, or even Trials HD (a puzzle platformer disguised as a dirt-bike game), they should know exactly what I'm talking about. I can't think of another genre out there that will test the very limit of your frustration and patience yet give you such satisfaction once you complete your task. And I am happy to inform you that the recent XBLIG release Urban Space Squirrels can be put safely onto that distinguished list.

Indie Game Review - Gerbil Physics 2

The first Gerbil Physics was a great title that, though short, was one of my favorite impulse buys on the XBox Live Indie Games Marketplace. If you don't remember the game or how much fun I had with it, SHAME ON YOU. But you know I can't stay mad at you. Not when there's so much beauty in the world. Beauty that makes me smile, makes me think, and, with some stages in sequel Gerbil Physics 2, makes me want to throw power tools at an elderly couple.

Four Quarter Friday - Retrofit - Overload

One of my favorite games in the history of arcade gaming is Galaga. Like all great arcade games of its time, it was easy to understand and play the first couple stages but incredibly difficult after that, and this has kept it loved and played for decades. Over the years, the shooter genre has evolved and changed its form, but developers still come out with games dedicated to the days of 70's and 80's arcade gaming, and XBox Live Indie game Retrofit - Overload is exactly that type of game.

Indie Game Review - Protect Me Knight

A while back, it was announced that Japanese video game composer Yuzo Koshiro (Actraiser, Streets of Rage, Super Smash Bros.) and his company, Ancient Corp., would be working on a title for, oddly enough, the XBox Live Indie Games Marketplace called Protect Me Knight. The mere news intrigued me, but the trailer (found here) in that announcement had me salivating. During last week's flood of XBLIG titles I hopped on XBox Live and found that the wait was over. Protect Me Knight had arrived like a combination of Christmas morning and a wedding night, eagerly anticipated but well worth the wait.

Four Quarter Frenzy - Fumbo

The one thing I hate about all those neat-looking puzzle games at Borders or Target (Rush Hour comes to mind) is that they all look like they're made for six year olds. It's a sad way to look at it, but I just feel silly buying them and, unfortunately because of that, I don't. I really should rethink this policy, however, as I had the same thought when looking at Point Break's XBLIG title, Fumbo. After a short amount of time with the game, the kiddie appearance left my mind and I was faced with a game that tested my mind like any good logic problem should.

Indie Game Review -- Breath of Death

I know I'm truthful with my readers (all two of you), but just to reassure you, I'll be honest with you here. I'm a huge nerd. No no, it's okay. I'm not ashamed to admit this. It's something I've come to terms with long ago. Unfortunately, it's tainted my sense of humor in ways I can't reverse and I'm stuck hoping that there's some dorky reference in whatever is trying to make me laugh. The good people at Zeboyd must be able to read my mind and, with the information they gathered that didn't have anything to do with Shannyn Sossamon along with their unbelievable ability to craft games from ones and zeros, created Breath of Death VII, also known as one of the best RPGs on the 360 (in my opinion the best on the system) and definitely the funniest.

Indie Games Review - Pew Pew Pod

It kind of saddens me that you can't throw a baby into the XBLIG Marketplace anymore without watching it land screaming and crying on a twin-stick shooter. Don't get me wrong, I love the genre and eagerly play each one I can find with the hopes of snagging a few hours of bullet-filled entertainment. But for every one quality game that I see, ten more follow it that make me want to pull an Oedipus Rex and gouge my eyes out with hair brooches. (Somewhat related: I slept with your mother.) After playing Pew Pew Pod, it saddens me to inform you that the next ten twin-stick shooters I play will be trash, as this one is nothing short of pure gold.

Four Quarter Frenzy -- Blazin' Balls

There are two kinds of games on XBLIG. (Well, three, if "trash" is a valid category.) One is a "console" game. That sounds kinda weird, but hear me out. These games are ones that are designed to be played in long sittings, have passwords/save points, and have some sort of beginning and some sort of end. Platformers come to mind. The other kind of game is an "arcade" game, where you can almost hear quarters going into coin slots when you hit start, where you care deeply about your score and how many lives you have left, and where "game over" actually means you start from scratch. Blazin' Balls fits firmly into that second category.

Indie Game Review - Mechanoid Army

I've mentioned that I like "cute" (like teddy bears and kittens) in ways that grown men probably shouldn't. It's not something I'm proud of but, hey, we all have our faults. I also like robots. This isn't quite as embarassing as liking cute. So it figures that I REALLY like cute robots. Yes, I think R2D2 is adorable. Yes, I wish I had a real working "Johnny Number Five". And yes, I cried at WALL-E. Also, I'm broke as hell and enjoy my games cheap. It isn't fair, then, when there's a decent-looking platformer for three bucks where you control a small handful of cute robots, but that's exactly what Mechanoid Army is. A game aimed at all of my weaknesses.

Indie Game Review -- War of Words

Once upon a time I, like many other gamers out there, became horribly addicted to Puzzle Quest and its part-Bejeweled part-RPG formula. Something about taking the boring menu-driven battles of most RPGs and replacing them with a turn-based match-three puzzler made the game, a game with the most cliche plot and paper-thin characters, probably one of the biggest overnight successes in the last decade of gaming. There have been a few attempts since to emulate that formula with varying degrees of deviation and success. The latest attempt is War of Words, a game ditching turn-based puzzle gaming for real-time word finding, from XBLIG developer ScrumThorax.

Wednesday Update -- XBLA Release, Indie Interview on FD

Today sees the release of lots of games within a game on XBox Live. Game Room was released, marking the end of XBox Live Arcade's Block Party. The "game" itself is free but each arcade game within it is 3 to 5 bucks. An interesting idea and a good way to get a lot of those old arcade and Atari games out onto the system without wasting a week's XBLA time slot that could be spent on something a little more robust. I'll probably be wasting a little time (and a little money) on it later tonight. It's worth mentioning that this is a cross-platform title that can be played on both your 360 and PC, and I'm pretty sure your achievements go back and forth as well.

Also this week, I posted an interview with Soulcaster developer MagicalTimeBean on the other place I sell my soul and free time to, ForceDisconnect.com. You can find the interview here. Thanks again Ian, always a pleasure.

Four Quarter Frenzy -- Shoot 1UP

I have a confession to make. I love shooters. Not the first-person or third-person variety but the ones with a spaceship and more bullet dodging than a 72-hour marathon of The Matrix trilogy. I love them so much that I feel like it's difficult to rate them properly. Luckily there have been some generic and/or horrible ones lately to rid me of this problem and, because of that, I feel like I'm able to sit down and look at a good old-fashioned shmup with little to no bias. That is, until Mommy's Best Games came along and put Shoot 1UP out. Now I'm a slobbering idiot that requires a very absorbent bib for the drool and something to wipe this stupid grin off my face.

Indie Game Review -- Soulcaster

Let me get this out of the way: I'm not a huge tower defense fan. In its purest form, even the very best of the genre tick me off with its stop-go-stop-go pacing and lack of involvement while the game pretty much plays itself. And, even if I didn't mind that, I'd hate that the level plays out the same way each time. For me to play a tower defense game it has to have something extra, something that makes me feel like more than just a vehicle for the game to carry out some huge epic battle. MagicalTimeBean must've known this because their (his?) game, Soulcaster, did exactly that.

Indie Games Review -- Kaleidoscope

I'm a sucker for a pretty or stylish game. It's really a wonder how I don't get burned more often by fancy looks or an original idea that doesn't carry the rest of the game when unsupported or poorly executed. Downloadable games on the 360 have helped this by giving us demos and, though a lot of times demos lead to a game being bought, these demos prevent me from buying some horrid or broken games that have that skin deep beauty. That said, when I saw Kaleidoscope I had to download the demo immediately with hopes that this game, like so many pretty games before, wouldn't lure me in with a night of promises but leave me with a morning of regrets and a tear-filled shower afterward.