Reviews

Outlast was developed and published by Red Barrels. It was released June 18, 2014 on Xbox One for $19.99/£16.99 and includes The Whistleblower DLC. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Throughout the history of video games, there have always been developers who set out to scare, shock, terrify and otherwise freak out an audience of gamers that is increasingly more resilient to zombies, vampires, blood, gore and all of the usual tactics. Red Barrels is one such developer, and with the excellent Outlast, they have succeeded in creating a game which is not only genuinely frightening, but which also benefits from an interesting story, and a level of engagement which really enhances the overall experience.

Set in the Mount Massive Mental Asylum, Outlast locks the player into a 5 to 6 hour long campaign which maintains a generally high level of intensity, with downtime offered only occasionally (and fleetingly) as main character Miles Upshur desperately navigates his way towards an ever more elusive escape.

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Zombie Driver was developed and published by EXOR Studios. It was released June 24, 2014 on Xbox One for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Zombies, zombies and more zombies have taken over the games industry; the idea of a zombie apocalypse seems to be quite infectious. Zombie Driver Ultimate Edition feeds on that infectious love of the flesh-consuming creatures and provides a unique zombie experience. Mowing down hordes of zombies using different vehicles, weapons and driving skills is an amazingly solid concept for a game.

Zombie Driver UE is the third iteration of this particular title. Zombie Driver was released for the PC in 2009 and Zombie Driver HD was later released for Xbox 360. The Ultimate Edition includes all of the DLC that was ever released for the other platforms, contains nearly double the zombies per horde and has updated the graphics with a 1080p 60 frames-per-second overhaul. The Xbox 360 version was taken off the marketplace due to the liquidation of its original publisher, despite selling half a million copies. So how does this latest version fare?

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State of Decay: Lifeline was developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released May 30, 2014 on Xbox 360 for $6.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Over the past two or three years, the popularity of zombies in video games has grown to the point where it is now almost impossible for many gamers to differentiate what makes any given option stand out amongst the ever-growing pack of average also-rans. Thankfully, last year’s State of Decay was certainly one of the better zombie titles and was especially impressive as (initially) a fairly modest XBLA exclusive. Undead Labs followed up its initial success with the Breakdown DLC, which, although still very good, left most fans of the series wanting more – in particular a new and expanded location. And that, in a protracted kind of way, is exactly what the Lifeline DLC is all about.

This time, the action takes place in the fictional city of Danforth and centers around a military squad known as Greyhound One, with players exploring a storyline dealing with the activities of the soldiers during the initial days of the outbreak. The structure is similar to the base game, but the fairly large home base is fixed, the missions generally feature a tighter timeline and players will need to contend with periodic zombie sieges that present a stiffer threat to NPCs (and overall success) than anything seen in previous outings. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the military setting adds a tremendous amount of firepower to the player’s arsenal, including more weapons and ammo; plus a raft of new traps, supply drops and assistance resources. Lifeline also features a number of new tweaks — like the ability to place rucksacks in trucks, effectively enabling more comprehensive supply runs — that occasionally have a material impact on the game.

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Super Time Force was developed and published by Capybara Games. It was released May 14, 2014 on Xbox One and Xbox 360 for $14.99/£11.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

Super Time Force (STF) is a game that wears its 8-bit inspired graphics with nothing but the utmost pride. At its simplest, this is a Contra-style shooter with one hell of a modern twist to keep things interesting. As you might expect from this kind of game, the action predominantly takes place from left to right as players battle their way towards the inevitable massive boss encounter — the twist, however, is that there is absolutely no chance of (or incentive to) finish levels with just one life. That’s right folks, the clue is in the name: in STF, players are actively encouraged to roll back time, pick another character and repeat stages over and over again.

Of course, you might ask, why bother? Well, Super Time Force doesn’t just allow players to retry sections of a level after failure; it actually encourages rewinding (“Timeout”), changing characters and replaying sections to maximise collectables and because of a mechanic that Capy calls “single-player co-op.” This idea basically works by having the ghost of each previous attempt fight alongside the current character to deal damage, collect stuff and protect the live player with abilities like blocking. When a previously killed ghost survives as the result of a later playthrough, that ghost then becomes a power-up for the current player as a little thank you. Make sense? Don’t worry if it doesn’t, you’ll get the hang of things and the system will become second nature within no time at all.

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Microsoft recently announced that it will no longer be requiring an Xbox Live Gold subscription for access to entertainment apps such as Netflix and Hulu. In June, Xbox Gold …
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Nutjitsu was developed and published by Ninjabee. It was released May 8, 2014 on Xbox One for $6.49. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

Nutjitsu is, quite simply, a mobile game. It has all the makings of a great iOS or Droid game: its top-down repetitiveness is perfect for wasting time in a doctor’s waiting room or in line for a cup of coffee. Nutjitsu is simple and fun for five minutes at a time, but this version XBLA Fans reviewed is not for mobile devices; it’s for Xbox One, which is the game’s ultimate downfall.

Nutjitsu is clearly inspired by Pac-Man. The player, assuming the role of an adorable ninja squirrel, must collect acorns of different colors that denote different point values all while avoiding equally adorable ninja foxes. The game is divided into two modes. Mission Mode requires the player to complete random objectives on a randomly selected map, such as collecting a certain amount of scrolls or collecting acorns of a certain color. Survival Mode simply asks the player to survive as long as possible without being attacked by the foxes and while racking up a high score. Various power-ups are thrown into the game, like speed boosts and freeze blasts, to spice thing up and give you the upper hand. The game doesn’t boast much more than that, leading to a lackluster experience.

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Child of Light was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released April 30, 2014, on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 for $14.99. An Xbox One copy was provided for review purposes.

Child of Light is a game that isn’t afraid to take what it likes. Ubisoft Montreal’s pastiche borrows liberally from the JRPGs of yesteryear in paying homage to them. Its roughly 12-hour adventure is filled with bits from its source material: Final Fantasy VII‘s sword gigantism, Final Fantasy X‘s in-battle character swapping and a sidekick that acts like a more palatable version of Ocarina of Time‘s Navi and looks like a Dragon Quest Slime, to name a few.

The story also feels like it was cut from the same cloth of many seminal RPGs. It revolves around a group led by the titular Child of Light (Aurora) on a quest to save the fairy tale world of Lemuria from the Black Queen, who has pilfered the land’s sun, moon and stars and appropriated its throne for herself. Child of Light‘s pitting of good-natured youngsters against an evil covering the world in darkness is nothing new, and its world, while beautiful, can be less than exciting to traverse. You might not then expect a game aspiring to be an indie love letter to the JRPG composed by the blockbuster shooter production crew at Ubisoft Montreal to keep you happily adventuring along. Thanks to a sublimely addictive combat system, pretty artwork and a delightful cast of characters, however, you’ll continue to gravitate towards this quest until you reach its conclusion.

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There have been scale replicas of the U.S.S. Enterprise and the Golden Gate Bridge, journeys into Westeros, Azeroth, Helm’s Deep, and Hyrule, but little could prepare us for what …
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The Walking Dead Season 2 was developed and published by Telltale Games. It was released March 5, 2014 for $4.99.

So far, The Walking Dead Season 2 has been off to a slow start. The first episode spent a lot of time separating itself from the original series, while setting the stage for the current one. It was a lot of build-up that ultimately had little immediate payoff.  Thankfully Episode 2: A House Divided picks up right where the last left off, allowing the story to kick itself into full gear. We finally see the direction the series is going, as Clementine’s new group is forced to deal with a mysterious new villain, Carver. Telltale delivers the experience we’ve come to expect from The Walking Dead – one full of tough choices, rough consequences, and a good helping of zombie slaughter.

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Strider was developed by Double Helix Games and published by Capcom. It was released on February 19, 2014 on Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox One for $14.99. An Xbox 360 copy was provided for review purposes.

Strider has had a long history in gaming, despite not having too many games. First arriving in arcades in 1989, Strider‘s fast-paced ninja gameplay spawned an NES port and numerous knock-offs. Despite being well-received, the game didn’t get a true sequel until 1999’s Strider II. Outside of being a playable fighter in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, protagonist Strider Hiryu hasn’t been in a game for over 10 years.

Now the franchise has finally been awoken from its slumber with Strider, a reboot that re-tells the original game’s story. Taking place in the year 2048, the game opens with an organization of high-tech ninjas known as Striders sending their best agent, Hiryu, on a deadly mission. Armed with his deadly plasma Cypher and loads of ninja skills, Hiryu is tasked with assassinating the the city of Kazahk’s evil dictator, Grandmaster Meio. The adventure is great at delivering fast-paced action, at least when there aren’t too many speed bumps in the way.

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