XBOX 360

When I first saw a trailer for Awesomenauts, I thought it looked like a fun new game, in the vein of the recent Shoot Many Robots, with customizable characters with different assortments of weapons, fighting it out online against myriad opponents. Not everything in that statement is incorrect, but the most notable part is that this is NOT a fun game, it’s instead a very frustrating one, which has a lot of unrealized potential and promise.The set-up for the game is a simple one, that in a future universe, mercenaries known as the Awesomenauts are hired to protect a faction’s mining facilities, while at the same time attacking those belonging to rivals. Where the game becomes frustrating is in how the matches actually play out. First and foremost, this is a game meant to be played online instead of offline, so your only real choices when playing...

Trials Evolution is fantastic example of classic gaming meeting new. At first glance, you'll be reminded of ExciteBike. But where that renowned mainstay of gaming left off, RedLynx picks up. Trials differs substantially from ExciteBike and similar titles in that you cannot steer to the left or to the right. The only direction you can go is straight ahead – pedal-to-the-metal, baby! Straight forward is the key to victory. It sounds simple, but if you’re thinking it shouldn’t be too hard to master, you’ve never been more wrong in your life. The sequel to the 2009 Xbox Live Arcade hit makes a delectable splash once more in the world of racing, and only for 1200 Microsoft Points.It may seem like an exceptionally simple racer, but everything depends on specific layers of gravity and developer RedLynx’s precise use of physics within the game. Know that every miniscule movement of your...

Strap yourself in and feel the need, the need for speed in Top Gun: Hard Lock, a new game based on the hit 1986 film from Paramount Pictures. In this aerial combat action game from developer Headstrong games, you will face wave after wave of Russian MiG fighters as you turn and burn through 15 missions or take the dogfight online with up to 15 other players. Featuring fully licensed aircraft from the likes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin and an all new “Danger Zone” mode this surprisingly fun game may just be the sleeper hit of the spring gaming season. Fly into the Danger Zone I will admit that when I first heard about Top Gun: Hard Lock I thought it was a downloadable title available through XBLA or PSN. I was surprised when a copy came across my desk that it was a full disc...

Geralt of Rivia makes his way on to the Xbox 360 in the Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition. Bringing the hit action-RPG to the consoles with some tweaks to help out the console gamers. The Enhanced Edition adds several new hours of gameplay to the game. There are some new areas introduced as well as new characters. Both of these add more depth and background to the already detailed Witcher storyline. There is a new underground chamber beneath Loc Muine as well as a new forest to explore in the Loc Muine Mountains. The gameplay itself has been reworked for better functionality with a controller. The action is fast paced and easy to handle. The combat is as simple or deep as you want it to be. You can drink down potions to give yourself valuable buffs before and during battles, equip bombs and traps for...

The Xbox Live Arcade has diversified its offering of casual puzzlers since its inception, adding everything from sudoku, chess, card games, and the bizarre yet wholly addictive budget titles that can’t really be categorized. That’s where The Splatters fits in. It’s a colorful, wacky time that takes some obvious cues from a menagerie of iOS games and puts a new spin on them. If you’ve ever wanted to take control of exploding jelly (who hasn’t?) now’s your chance.That’s exactly what you do with The Splatters - aim to make each and every one of the gelatinous blobs on-screen explode, whether that means raining down jelly fire on the tiny bundles of tapioca, running straight into them, or planning a strategic attack via usage of an Angry Birds-like “aftertouch” mechanic. While there are plenty of globules placed around each enclosed level (usually you’re playing within a small space), you have...

Hard Core Armor It should come as no surprise to anyone that Armored Core V, by From Software, is not an easy game. After all, the Japanese studio has made quite a name for themselves recently with the masochist’s dreams known as Demons Souls and Dark Souls. From Software is a company that prides itself on deep gameplay that demands players don’t just play a game, they learn it, suffer at its difficulty and ultimately experience a certain exhilaration from mastery. Armored Core V is true to that form, but far more reliant on its online component to do that than was expected. Mechanical Presentation Unlike the Souls games, Armored Core V isn’t really about fragmented or embedded narratives that ask the player to construct the story for themselves. The tale of a revolutionary war and corporate meddling is unimportant and largely incoherent...

After 20+ fighting games centering around the Shonen Jump anime Naruto, we are treated to yet another with Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. The staple of cel-shaded graphics continues and surprisingly, looks better than ever and hasn’t lost its appeal. The menus and overall art direction have an expected, stylized anime charm that, while it may not work for everyone, knows its audience and targets it directly. If you're at all a fan of the series, you'll feel right at home with what’s offered.Overall there is very little to complain about in Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. Visuals are graphically beautiful and appealing, the sound and music are suited perfectly for the subject matter, and the fighting feels true to the ninja inspired Naruto franchise. Voice acting was spotty at points - but once again, consistent with the Naruto franchise. There’s also a well implemented...

After a hiatus of ten years, the fighting game genre surged into the spotlight four years ago when Street Fighter 4 came out. When you look at the current landscape of fighting games, it’s easy to see we’re well into a fighting game revival. The latest creation of Capcom’s Renaissance man, Yoshinori Ono, is the crossover title Street Fighter X Tekken. Capcom is no newcomer when it comes to crossovers having years of experience with their “VS.” Games featuring SNK, Marvel and the Tatsunoko characters. The issue with this new game was never going to be a question of expertise, but of execution. Street Fighter and Tekken are both important and well-established franchises, but are these two franchises like chocolate and peanut butter? Are they two great tastes that, ultimately, taste great together? Evolution of a seriesFirstly, don’t let the title of this game confuse you...

It's Alive The first teaser for Ubisoft's I Am Alive debuted at E3 in 2008. The studio then went dark on the project for a few years and many people began to speculate about the game's cancellation. Then in May of 2011 Ubisoft announced the cancellation of a few projects, but mysteriously I Am Alive was not among them, indicating that there might still be hope for the title. In September of 2011 that small glimmer of hope became a shining beacon as a new trailer was revealed with a release date slated for Winter 2012. Finally earlier this year Ubisoft announced via their Facebook page that I Am Alive would arise from the dust on March 7th. The Apocalypse Without the Zombies When I saw the first trailer for I Am Alive in 2008 I was instantly hyped. I'd been waiting for a post-apocalyptic survival game...

I’ve never been much for the Arcade games that Xbox offers to players in their Marketplace. I’ve picked up a few in my time that I just had to try for myself, like Limbo (and I hear that Bastion is another I need to check out), but usually I have too many other games to get through. Prior to diving into Choplifter HD, I can’t say that I had heard anything about the game, so I went into it completely blind. I should take the time to mention that Choplifter HD is actually a reboot of a game originally released in 1982 of the same name (sans HD). It was initially released by a company called Brøderbund and was available on many platforms including the Atari 5200. Its popularity gave cause for the company to make and release two sequels: Choplifter II...

Alan Wake's American Nightmare is Remedy Entertainment's follow up to 2010's Alan Wake. However, rather than making a sequel to the original, American Nightmare is actually more of a spin off. Although events from the first game are referenced in this all new story, American Nightmare takes place in a space outside of time and therefore only ties itself loosely to the core Alan Wake story. The game was originally only to feature an arcade-action mode, which is now known as “Fight Till Dawn” but Remedy being Remedy they just couldn't let this game out of the bag without some semblance of a story. So what we get is the best of both worlds. A fun action driven arcade mode and a full yet slightly shorter story involving everyone's favorite writer Alan Wake.Alan Wake is lost outside of time and somehow finds himself in an episode of...

Meet the impostorsWith Batman gone or otherwise out of commission, who will rise up to defend Gotham City from the forces of chaos? How about a ragtag group of wannabe bat men and women? These “heroes” are the only thing that stands between order and a city overrun by psychotic clowns. This is the set up for Gotham City Impostors, the latest FPS from Monolith Productions, a developer most recently known for their work on the F.E.A.R and Condemned franchises. Does the Batman license lend itself well to the FPS genre? Have the developers at Monolith provided a decent FPS experience at an affordable price? And will Gotham fall into chaos or become a shining beacon of order? Read on to find out.Why so serious?Batman is typically a very serious guy who demands serious games about serious things. Chances are Batman himself would hate Gotham City Impostors (GCI) due...

Growing up I never had a Sega Genesis of my own, so my experiences with Sonic the Hedgehog were gained from those times I spent at friends’ houses playing their system. The Sonic games were fun and fast-paced, simple-looking but deceptively complex. Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know that this game, Sonic the Hedgehog CD (shortened to Sonic CD) had even existed. It’s not hard to reason out why, given that itw as originally released in 1993 for use with the CD peripheral add-on for the Sega Genesis, something that I personally don’t ever remember anyone I knew actually having. As I read up on the history of the game, I started to get really excited about playing the game, as it added new elements to the Sonic mythos, which would be used again when Sonic the Hedgehod 4 Episode I was...

Earlier this year in February, after eleven years of waiting and hoping, fans of the seminal Marvel vs. Capcom 2 were delighted by the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game saw a return to what fans of the series loved: fast-paced tag-team matches, eye-popping graphics and over-the-top action, punctuated by ludicrous hyper-combos which delivered a flurry of hits to opponents. However, the release wasn’t without its problems, as the game had far less characters than the last instalment, starting with 36 playable characters (plus 2 DLC characters) opposed to MvC2’s 56-character-strong roster. A lack of DLC-support for the title opened itself to further criticisms, as it seemed that despite the strong game that was released, the issues that fans had were mostly with what wasn’t in the game, as opposed to what was in the game.Fast forward nine months to the release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom...

Ten years ago, Halo: Combat Evolved was the toast of college dorm rooms all over North America. Not only would gamers punish themselves by trying to best Bungie's campaign on every difficulty setting, but if you had the cables and a little bit of brains you could link up a few Xbox consoles and voilà, LAN party! Back in 2001, Halo was one of the finest games available and was heralded as bringing forth a new age of first person shooters on home consoles. Fast forward 10 years, and you can't swing a bag of cats without hitting another fine console FPS. Remember kids: it was Halo: CE that got this party started. It should come as no surprise that after ten years, Halo is getting some extra love with Halo: CE Anniversary. New engine, new modes, new maps...

Having grown up a fan of the original Burgertime game for NES, I was understandably excited earlier when it was announced that a newly updated, HD graphics version of the game would be released later in the year. When it finally was available for purchase online, I jumped at the opportunity, excited to play an updated version of what my inner child remembers and considers a classic. Unfortunately, Burgertime: World Tour isn’t a complete success, and one of the more anticipated games ends up being much more than simply a letdown. To say that the original game was light on story would be far too kind, but when it was first created story wasn’t necessary if the gameplay was enjoyable. This new version of the game tries to give the game a story concept, and I appreciate the attempt...

Did you play Kingdom Hearts? Did you cringe openly when you realized that it was a Final Fantasy-style RPG with platforming elements, set in various Disney worlds, with Donald and Goofy as your party members? Did you find yourself surprised when it actually did the interaction with the movies well, and felt enjoyable? That was how I felt, and I can't help but feel that Disney Universe is trying to do a similar thing with its cross-movie setting. However, it doesn't quite capture the same effect, due to repetitive nature and non-challenging levels. Let me be blunt: this game annoys the living crap out of me. If I have to hear 'Awwwwwwww YEAH' play along with technohiphop when I beat a level, or see my manic blue alien in a Tron jumpsuit grin...

King of Fighters is a household name when it comes to fighting games. It'd have to be, if this is the thirteenth one. While I'm not a fighting game grognard or whatever the term is, I do know what I enjoy in fighting games – and as they go, this game will serve as your old-school beat-em-up fun. The plot is pretty basic. Rose Bernstein, the traditional high-society young girl with ridiculous drill-shaped hair, is hosting a King of Fighter's tournament, with people from all across the world fighting for the title. Meanwhile, a guy who I honestly thought was a girl works with another guy who I thought was a girl (Ash Crimson and Saiki, respectively), to try and resurrect Orochi, this source of unspeakable world-shattering power that spends most of its time glowing ominously. The Story Mode...

Variety is generally a good thing in games. Despite popular jokes about MMOS, people generally don't enjoy doing the same thing over and over again. However, there are also cases where you have a variety of things to do – and none of them, except one, are actually fun. Air Conflicts: Secret Wars is such a case. The game follows the exploits of freelance flier, booze smuggler, and stereotypical girl pilot Dorothy “Deedee” Derbec, as she flies the skies of Europe during the last few years of the Second World War. That's really all there is to say about the story; there's political intrigue, spunky resistance fighters, stereotypical British men with moustaches, and none of it really feels like it matters. Deedee's voice acting is downright atrocious, with a lame French accent (how she kept this despite being raised...

If you have ever wanted to jump behind the wheel of an expensive car, drive cross-country, and race against the best drivers in the world for a shot at millions, then on paper Need for Speed: The Run sounds like the perfect game for you. Regrettably, this is not the case. The game feels horribly inconsistent, and the overall racing experience suffers from it. There are some great set-piece moments, but these are too few and far between. Combine that with a lackluster story, bad driving control, and limited multiplayer, and the overall package feels rushed.The storyline for the game has you taking the role of a driver by the name of Jack. He is on the run from the mob, and is given the opportunity to have this problem dealt with along with gaining a rather large sum of money if he wins a race...

Forza 4 starts with a tease. Jeremy Clarkson, well known from the hit series Top Gear, narrates that in this world there are very few places where people can indulge in speed, performance and beauty. Before the game starts in earnest, the player is treated to a quick one-lap race in the Alps. It's a well-hidden tutorial, but it also accentuates Forza's prime virtues. It is a game of beauty, about chasing that beauty; it is a shrine to speed and the vehicles that help us there. During the actual races, a simple touch of the Y button will rewind time a few seconds. This combats the all-too-common problem of making a last-minute miscalculation, and losing a whole race because of one mistake. The time rewind can be removed, for the player who wants a purer experience, along with assisted steering and turning and other...

There's a certain preconceived notion of what an id game is that I carried with me on my first trip through Rage. This was the company that made the first person shooter genre. It is responsible for most of what gaming is today (for better or for worse) and for popularizing what would later become multiplayer. They have a rich legacy. When I think of what they've created recently, though, their legacy sours. On a technical level, there are few equals (although Crytek has taken a swipe at that crown), but in terms of what gaming has become, their recent games have been woefully ignorant of the history that they themselves didn't create. Their last single player game, Doom 3, was plagued with old ideas that had been done to death, more tech demo than interesting game. Rage, their latest game, is built with...

We've come to the end: Gears of War 3, the ending of an era (That is, until a spinoff sequel/prequel is announced). It's hard to think of the gaming landscape without it, so great is its impact. It's not a spectacular send off, to be truthful, but it's a good, solid end to a franchise that launched a thousand-cover shooter. Two years have passed since Delta Squad decided to sink the city of Jacinto into the ground and drown out the Locust once and for all. The Lambent, the weird glowing creatures that deus-ex-machinaed their way into Gears 2, are still rampant, forcing the remaining humans to live on ships. In true Gears style, it all hits the fan, leaving the humans to mount a final offence after finding out about a secret island that may have Marcus' long-thought-dead father. Of course,...

The initial reaction to Rock of Ages is “Huh...that looks weird.” It's true, of course, it does look weird. Not many games cast you as a giant rock. Fewer still cast you as a giant rock who's been battling with historical figures since the dawn of time. The art is even curbed from these periods, making this one of the more visually eclectic titles of the year. Take it apart, though, and you have a slightly more conventional game. As a giant rock, you go through twisty mazes and try to survive hazards to get to the enemy gate and smash it down. In that sense the game feels like a 3D Marble Madness, or Super Monkey Ball. Like those games, the biggest challenge is manoeuvring the sluggish boulder around the environment. Complicating that is an enemy (Did I mention that you're going against...