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Rewind Reviews

Rewind Review: Triggerheart Exelica (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Triggerheart Exelica (XBLA)

Triggerheart Exelica was developed by Warashi and retails for 800 MSP. It was released on February 27, 2008.

Shoot em’ up (shmup) fans are an interesting crew. Most of them are not interested in fresh gameplay mechanics but simply the hunt for a high score and notoriously difficult challenges. Triggerheart Exelica attempts to throw a new concept into the genre—a hook mechanic—but the draw for hardcore fans will continue to be an immeasurable difficulty level that has them perfecting their skills and memorizing bullet patterns. If Triggerheart Exelica were to be judged by its challenge level, it would exceed expectations, but upon extraction it simply lacks the bells and whistles of better titles in the genre.

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Rewind Review: Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Portal: Still Alive (XBLA)

Portal: Still Alive was developed by Valve and published by Microsoft. Portal was released November 22, 2008 and cost 1200MSP.

In Portal you are a subject in a test study; not by choice. You are given a ‘portal gun’ and forced to defy the laws of physics in order to escape each test room. Equipped with just the ‘portal gun’ and your wits, it is your task to figure out how to avoid all the obstacles that stands in your way.

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Rewind Review: Exit (XBLA)

Exit was developed by Taito and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 24, 2007 and retails for 800MSP.

The concept of Exit is simple. One man enters a burning building or otherwise hazardous area and leads unfortunate victims to an imminent rescue. The hero is described as being an “escapologist” which we can infer means he is good at escaping things. Its a good thing too, because fire, electricity, huge gaps, and other such dangers stand between him and victory.

The main gameplay revolves around managing resources like fire extinguishers and ladders and also using the different skills of the victims effectively. For example, the big fat character is strong and can move really heavy objects. The kid is small and can fit through small tunnels. You get the idea. The whole point is to direct certain people to do certain things or go somewhere while you do something else to accomplish whatever task is in front of you at the moment. If that sounds complicated that’s because it is, and the slow game speed and clumsy controls don’t help matters.

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Rewind Review: Bomberman Live: Battlefest (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Bomberman Live: Battlefest (XBLA)

Bomberman Live: Battlefest was developed by Pi Studios and published by Hudson Soft. It was released on December 8, 2010 for 800 MSP.

The Bomberman franchise has been around for decades and at its core it hasn’t changed in the slightest. Tried and true is the name of the game here with solid mechanics and simple controls which build an explosive experience perfect for gaming with friends both casually and competitively. As Xbox Live Arcade and retail games get more and more intricate, Bomberman will remain stalwart as the sort of game that’s easy to pick up and play and allows the more casual to mix with the more competitive in relative ease.

In Bomberman Live: Battlefest players control a Bomberman in an arena filled with hard and soft blocks. The object of the classic battle mode is to drop bombs to blow up the enemy Bombermen. Soft blocks can be destroyed by bombs and give basic power ups that increase the length of the fire, the amount of placeable bombs, and player speed. There are also more complex powerups like the ability to punch a bomb three spaces, a special bomb with fire that passes through all the soft blocks in its range (instead of only hitting the first one), or a bomb placed in a rocket that blows up on impact. The premise is simple but there are many gametypes including capture the flag, bomb paint modes where players blow up bombs to claim squares, and the new bankroll mode where players buy powerups with gold before the match starts counter strike style. Team variants exist for most of the modes as well. Read More

Rewind Review Month
13 years ago

Rewind Review Month

 

Here at XBLAFans it’s Rewind Review month for all of June. Every day this month, we will feature a new Rewind Review from one of our many staff writers. You can check back right here at this post each day for a link to our latest Rewind Review along with our current back catalog of Rewind Reviews from the past. If you’ve been holding back on some of the older XBLA titles because you weren’t quite sure if they were worth your hard earned money, make sure to check this post periodically and we might have a review for the game in question. Read More

Rewind Review: Snoopy Flying Ace (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Snoopy Flying Ace (XBLA)

Snoopy Flying Ace was developed by Smart Bomb Interactive and published by Xbox Live Arcade. It was released on June 2nd, 2010 for 800MS points.

Snoopy Flying Ace is an aerial combat game that focuses mainly on the online multiplayer aspects. A short single player campaign is included but this game truly shines in its many multiplayer modes. You take flight as either your Xbox Live avatar or one of the Peanuts characters with one basic goal; shoot down anyone around you. With 16-player online games, the pace of each game is hectic from start to finish. Turrets, power-ups, and environmental hazards add even more chaos to each game making Snoopy Flying Ace one of the most action packed games available today on XBLA.

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Rewind Review: Shadow Complex (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Shadow Complex (XBLA)

Shadow Complex was developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It retails for 1200 MSP and was released August 19, 2009.

Modern games seem to always wear a little bit of inspiration from the classic days. Sonic had inspiration from Mario in the platforming realm while Gears of War got some from Resident Evil 4 in the shooter realm. Chair Entertainment’s Shadow Complex borrows a lot from classic Metroid and Castlevania games and seems to outdo both in its own little way.

You play as Jason Fleming when your girlfriend gets kidnapped during a hike in the mountains. The culprits are a mysterious terrorist organization and it’s up to you to use their own technology as a means of destroying the enemy. For being inspired by a classic style of gameplay, Shadow Complex does more in that style than most developers. But does that mean it’s always for the best?

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Rewind Review: Aegis Wing (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Aegis Wing (XBLA)

Aegis Wing was developed by Carbonated Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on May 16, 2007 free of charge.

Aegis Wing pits players against a huge alien invasion in an adventure on space and Earth. The game is simple, containing few levels and focusing on score and cooperative play. This twin stick shooter is as bad as it gets: it’s not glitchy, it’s just a dull version of a genre overdone on XBLA. While it can have its moments in multiplayer, Aegis Wing is a word-for-word definition of the genre.

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Rewind Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (XBLA)

Geometry Wars was developed by Bizarre Creations and was released on October 3, 2005 for 800 Microsoft Points.  The price has since been permanently reduced to 400MS points.

Developer Bizarre Creations, which closed its doors in 2010, was always known for its Project Gotham Racing series until it ventured into downloadable territory during the Xbox 360’s inception with Geometry Wars. Although it’s a simple twin-stick shooter, it’s flashy visuals and addictive score-based gameplay were enough for some gamers to purchase its inevitable sequel and even its cousin on the Nintendo Wii. Now, more than five years since its release on XBLA, it deserves a chance to get recognized by those who may have overlooked it.

To the uninitiated, you control a blocky spaceship with the left analog stick and shoot projectiles (which are upgradable through the game) with the right analog stick. You are confined to a large grid set on the backdrop of space, with enemies that drastically get stronger as the game progresses as well as advance in numbers. Some enemies are easy to take down, while others dodge your fire like a rat avoiding pest control. If you become overwhelmed you can hit the right trigger to activate a bomb that wipes out everything on screen — that is until they return in full force. If you’re looking for a challenge, try earning the excruciatingly difficult achievement unlocked by earning 1 million points in the game.

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Rewind Review: Boom Boom Rocket (XBLA)
13 years ago

Rewind Review: Boom Boom Rocket (XBLA)

Boom Boom Rocket was developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 11, 2007 and retails for 800MSP.

Boom Boom Rocket is a fast paced beat music game. Press the correct direction or colored coordinated button to set off amazing fireworks set to over an beautiful city backdrop. With several modes, multiplayer, and lots of songs the game is set to draw you in time and time again.

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