Xbox Indies News and Reviews

Things We Don’t Need in Video Games

Vintage Video Games TV — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:27:43 GMT

By: Daizoren As gaming becomes a more popular and mainstream activity, there’s been a lot of things added to them to make them tailor to the greater market and to those who haven’t played many games before. Getting companies to create their games with every person in mind has certainly helped get a greater majority [...]

Arcade Review: Sonic 4: Episode 2

Vintage Video Games TV — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:21:25 GMT

Xbox Live Arcade Game 1200 MS Points Website Xbox Live Marketplace Page Developer- Sega Twitter By: Daizoren Sega makes another attempt to bring classic Sonic back from the dead after many failed installments in the franchise (with an exceptional entry in Sonic Generations) but does this sequel episode make improvements from that last? We’ve been [...]

Day 553: Invasion

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:42:36 GMT

An over-the-top, 2D side-scrolling action shooter ala Contra, “Invasion” brings big vehicles, big boss fights, and big explosions to the indie games channel for 80 Microsoft Points. It looks good, plays pretty tight, and oozes a great mix of nostalgia and newness. Whether it’s a jetpack level that scrolls horizontally, or a boss fight where [...]

Top Xbox Live Indie Games for week of May 7th 2012

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:37:22 GMT

Looks like Minecraft has not changed this up as much as I thought it might. At least not yet.

Pendulous

IndieGamerChick — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:39:26 GMT

I’m sure there are games out there similar to Pendulous, where the idea is to swing from pendulum to pendulum trying to reach a goal in the shortest time possible. I already had someone tell me that it’s not all that different from Jungle Hunt, a game I never played. Jungle Hunt was a product [...]

Pendulous

Gear Fish — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:53:57 GMT

Gears when not at war, Pendulous combines steampunk and web-slinging puzzle traversal.

Day 552: Fishing Girl

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:28:31 GMT

“Fishing Girl” is an amazingly cute Xbox Live Indie Game, something far better than I would have dreamed it could be. I had been traumatised once playing as “Big the Cat” in Sonic Adventure. Though I beat the game with every other character, I was unable to beat Sonic Adventure with Big the Cat (despite [...]

Interview With Matt Cannon (Zivix): "JAM Live Music Arcade"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:28:00 GMT

Some of you may know that I recently decided on doing a review of the upcoming XBLA title "JAM Live Music Arcade". The game is scheduled for release this week. If you've ever played those DJ style games with instrument controllers, and liked them then this game will be something you'll want to look into. Since I have no instrument controllers of any kind I'll be playing the game with a standard controller. That is another story for another time though. Below you will find the interview between me, and Zivix producer Matt Cannon. I hope the Q & A session gives you some insight on what the game is about. I definitely tried to come up with some significant questions for the interview.

Growing Pains (XBLIG): "A Groovy Platforming Challenge"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:14:00 GMT

I absolutely believe in trying different things. It's a philosophy that I not only apply to gaming, but to life as well. Limiting one's self to particular things in life only keeps one from experiencing everything else that is available. If you don't try other things you could miss out on something great. With that being said I often times try things/games out that I'm not particularly fond of. It doesn't mean that the said things are bad, but simply that they're not to my liking. In the case of 'Growing Pains' I found myself rather frustrated by the difficulty that the game presented. It's what I like to call an "Impossible Game". If you don't know what I mean let me explain. There are is a sub-genre of platformers in the XBLIG library that exceed in the hardcore difficulty category. These games feature frustrating puzzles/requirements that will have you repeating levels/stages over, and over again. Most gamers end up ragequitting on such games, and in turn never finish them. I have been guilty of this in the past, and once again I find myself repeating that reaction. I will be able to give you the usual game description, and details, so you don't have to worry about that.

Day 551: Redd: The Lost Temple

Writings of Mass Deduction — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:38:37 GMT

Second from the top at the end of the Indie Games Summer Uprising, “Redd: The Lost Temple” is a great top-down, exploration, action adventure game that’s heavy on the puzzle elements. No Gauntlet-style combat grind through a dungeon, here you have no way to attack most of the time, rather you march through the levels [...]

Blog Update May 14, 2012

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:26:00 GMT

Hi Guys & Girls! I know you're probably wondering if I'm going to post some more reviews. The answer to that is "Definitely". I'm just on a little break/vacation between reviews. I'm currently waiting on my 'JAM Live Music Arcade' review code as well as my review copy of 'Akai Katana'. I have been searching for new games to review in the meantime, but haven't found anything I'm really interested in. When it comes to reviewing I like to cover the games that have substance to them, not clones or games that have been reviewed several times over. You likely noticed that I removed 'Fez' from my "Future Reviews" section. I've decided I won't be reviewing it simply because there are already a lot of reviews, and playthroughs of the game out there already. I don't think it's necessary for me to tell you what you've already heard about the game. With that being said 'Fez' is definitely worth buying. As far as the glitches that were found in the game go I have no clue if they have been patched yet or not. If the glitches are still present that could make the game a little less worth buying, but hopefully the developer has sorted things out by now.

Day 550: Avatar Panic

Writings of Mass Deduction — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:02:22 GMT

Milkstone Studios is a pretty reliable Xbox Live Indie Games developer for me, I’ve now bought and reviewed quite a lot of their games, including “Avatar Ninja!” (Day 516), “Inflamous” (Day 337), “Wool” (Day 213), “Infinity Danger” (Day 166), “MotorHEAT” (Day 76), and (one of my all-time favourites) “Little Racers” (way back on Day 60). [...]

Indies at First Sight: Robofish and Racedrome Offroad

Vintage Video Games TV — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:45:50 GMT

Note: Click each boxart to be brought to marketlink Robofish This title is absolutely gorgeous. But with it being so flash and gorgeous makes it hard to actually play the game. As a bullet hell shmup, it is certainly hell. At some points you will not be able to know the difference between a bullet [...]

SEAL Team 12

IndieGamerChick — Sun, 13 May 2012 03:21:51 GMT

SEAL Team 12 comes to us via Social Loner Studios, the nutjobs behind the hilariously absurd Bird Assassin. I have to admit, I didn’t think SEAL would be any good. I think my exact words to Brian were “oh great, another TwickS on XBLIG that tries to ape some 80s shooter I never played.” [...]

Day 549: 48 Chambers

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:08:57 GMT

Bringing together the precision pathfinding and dodging of one of my all-time favourite Xbox Live Indie Games, “Soul”, with the pellet collecting of Pac Man, “48 Chambers” has also recently received a title update that brought a new casual difficulty level (for those who weren’t suited to the default hardcore difficulty). It’s with a degree [...]

Day 548: Hypno Vol. 1

Writings of Mass Deduction — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:46:43 GMT

Long considered (somewhat unfairly) the most overpriced game in the Indie Games channel, “Hypno Vol. 1″ has dropped from 400 Microsoft Points down to 80 points. That makes this experimental, innovative, and genuinely creepy game an absolute must buy. The game suffered, particularly at its original price point, in the public eye due to its [...]

Curse of the Crescent Isle

IndieGamerChick — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:12:23 GMT

Do you know what the key to critical acclaim is on Xbox Live Indie Games? No, it’s not having a good game. Don’t be silly. It’s having a retro-style graphics and gameplay that borrows mechanics from a popular 80s NES hit. If you have that, you have a game that will have more praise dumped [...]

Top Xbox Live Indie Games for April 30th 2012

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:10:34 GMT

Well, we'll see in another week what the massive XBLA sales for Minecraft do to this list.

Day 547: Blood Tempest

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:27:05 GMT

I was a fan of Blood Wake, a title that came out shortly after the launch of the original Xbox. “Blood Tempest” brings back some of that magic, and adds a few tricks of its own. This isn’t the first game I’ve reviewed where “Blood Wake” came up, that honour goes to “Modern Pirate Hunter: [...]

Day 546: Oozi: Earth Adventure Ep. 2

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:16:07 GMT

“Oozi: Earth Adventure Ep. 1″ is a top-flight Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) platformer. Have you played it? No? Then go buy it now, it’s absolutely awesome. We’ll wait here for you. Welcome back. Now, that was fantastic, wasn’t it? Did you love the long levels, the hand-drawn art, the top-notch presentation? Well, “Oozi: Earth [...]

Cuddle Bear: This game is sick

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:16:44 GMT

Murdering animals is fun!!!!!!

Droppin’ Ballz

IndieGamerChick — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:35:23 GMT

Droppin’ Ballz is one of those “fall as far as you can” games. My gut tells me it was designed with tilt-controls in mind. Because Microsoft opted to not go with a motion-controller like everyone and their mom and instead decided to create a device that plays like Minority Report as invented by the chronically [...]

Day 545: ADVENTURES of CAPTAIN Becky

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:50:27 GMT

In what has been a bit of a theme recently, we have a game that is a solid game with an oversexualised veneer. “ADVENTURES of CAPTAIN Becky” is actually a pretty decent platformer, but with a plethora of options for you to modify your character, and unlockable suits that fit into a variety of fantasy [...]

Skullgirls Update 2!!!

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:30:00 GMT

Well, it turns out that the update I found might have actually been a result of me clearing my Xbox 360 cache. I had my hopes that it was actually the update that Autumn Games had promised, but after testing out everything I discovered otherwise. Peacock's AI is still the same, and she still spams the hell out of projectiles while playing keep away. For some odd reason the AI did seem to be toned down a bit. This confuses me a little. As for the gamertags being present in online matches that still has not happened. I wish Autumn Games would hurry up with that update before gamers get tired of playing Skullgirls.

Cuddle Bear

Gear Fish — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:56:03 GMT

Microsoft Paint + Human Gun Sounds + 240 MSP = Cuddle Bear. That's bad math. Not wrong, just bad.

Cuddle Bear

IndieGamerChick — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:18:18 GMT

In order for Cuddle Bear to be as bad as it looks, it would have to walk around kicking puppies and luring children into discarded refrigerators. I’m not sure if it does those things, but I can’t swear it doesn’t. This is one of the worst Xbox Live Indie Games of the year. It didn’t [...]

Day 544: Planet Pinball

Writings of Mass Deduction — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:51:34 GMT

Sometimes it’s obvious why an indie game has a low rating. Other times it’s a total mystery. Such is the case with “Planet Pinball”, a pinball game that’s only rated about 2 stars on the Dashboard (with some variations in some countries). This is easily a much better game than that. I’d characterise it as [...]

Skullgirls Update!!!

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:08:00 GMT

If you follow me on Twitter you probably know that I retweeted, and talked about an upcoming update for Skullgirls. It was supposed to fix every issue that I complained about in my "Rant" & "Review". This really got me excited about playing the game again. If Autumn Games is able to fix the AI, and the gamertag issues I'd be absolutely thrilled! Today I decided to check, and see if the update was live yet, and to my surprise I actually found that there was an update. It was something like 304 MB in size, so I'm thinking it might be the update with the fixes. I was able to test out singleplayer just fine, and to be honest the AI did seem to be toned down a bit. Sadly I was unable to test out the online multiplayer though. I tried for the longest to find an online match so I could see if the Gamertags were added, but was unsuccessful in doing so. The online has become a ghost town of sorts. Hopefully I can find a match soon, and let you guys & gals know if this is the update that fixed the issues.

CastleMiner Z: black screen errors

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:42:34 GMT

im not sure if i broke the game or something but i made it to 149.5645 distance and now whenever i start the map it has a black screen error. this has been happening ever since i got the 1.4.4 update

Red Invasion: Tower Defense: Mediocore, Slugging your way

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:38:10 GMT

This new XBLIG from the minds at MilkStone Studios is a departure from what they usually put out (Avatar based games anyone??) This is a fast paced, quick thinking tower defense game where strategy and quick thinking puts you on the edge of your seat until the last wave. Within each level, your tasked with a primary objective and two Bonus secondary objectives. You can almost always complete the main objective and pass the levels with skill, but it helps to complete the secondary objectives as they are usually essential to winning the round successfully. Red Invasion: TD fortunately features quick but effective tutorial, that teaches you the basics of each unit and the effects that the units have.

Day 543: Hoyle Texas Hold ‘em

Writings of Mass Deduction — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:20:50 GMT

I’d previously reviewed “Poker Night”, a game that is like a love letter to poker. At the time I passed on an alternative poker game “Hoyle Texas Hold ‘em”, but an update to the game has made the latter a better option than before. Whereas “Poker Night” has almost every imagineable variant (including the ones [...]

Little Monsters

IndieGamerChick — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:50:30 GMT

I loves me some physics-based puzzlers. That’s why you won’t catch me bitching about what Angry Birds has done to the iOS market. I couldn’t be happier. It’s a genre that lends itself perfectly to killing time. If I’m stuck waiting for something, I can spend five minutes with it or an hour, being able [...]

City Zombified: Not Good

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:17:49 GMT

Way back when (a whole year ago), I’d have sampled anything with zombies in it… yeah, I didn’t know any better. But now that I’ve played the worst and the best the market has to offer, seen what can happen when creativity gets the floor on Open Mic night, my bar sits higher than it did once upon a time in XBLIG Past. I’ve raised my standards. Developers can’t stand in place and still jump over that bar, but, with a running start and decent timing, it can be cleared.

Day 542: Alpha Squad

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sun, 06 May 2012 05:42:50 GMT

One of the last remaining un-reviewed games from the Indie Games Winter Uprising, “Alpha Squad” is an enjoyable multiplayer co-op romp with both offline and online multiplayer. Oh, and singleplayer if you’re into that. The game plays a bit like a twin-stick version of classic top-down shooters like cult classic Commodore 64 hit “Into the [...]

Announcement Regarding 7Sixty & Phantom Breaker

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:16:00 GMT

Most of you who follow my blog know how psyched I was about getting a review copy of the upcoming fighting game "Phantom Breaker". It turns out that whole deal was shot to hell in a hand basket. The downfall of the situation began soon after Jay Hoover (Formerly of 7Sixty) emailed me regarding the fact that he was quitting the company. He told me that he was handing over the requests to the new PR representative, but I never got the new PR's contact info or even their name. It really sounded kind if odd to me. After getting onboard with GamePress I was able to find the new PR's email address. I contacted them in hopes of figuring out what was going on. To this day I have yet to receive any reply back from them, and I think I know why. By a chance conversation with another reviewer I found out that the review copies of "Phantom Breaker were sent out a month ago. Hearing this news really pissed me of. From my standpoint it seemed as if the PR behind 7Sixty was lying to me from the start. This is definitely not cool. One thing I really hate is being lied to. If 7Sixty would just have had the common decency to let me know the truth I'd at least have had some closure. I still wouldn't be happy regardless of the fact, but at least I would know something. Well, that's where the situation stands. I'm not sure if 7Sixty will honor their word or not.

Dot Dash: episode 1

IndieGamerChick — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:05:58 GMT

I’ve been stoked to play Dot Dash: episode 1 since last month when it was previewed in the return edition of Indies in Due Time. Unfortunately, sometimes I psych myself up a little too hard before a game. I was convinced that I would adore Dot Dash, as long as it got the controls right. [...]

Adventures of Lolo, Aesop’s Garden, and Crystal Hunters

IndieGamerChick — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:26:31 GMT

For the first time, I’m doing a multi-review with games from different developers. This is because both of today’s titles, Aesop’s Garden and Crystal Hunters, are new takes on a classic NES game called The Adventures of Lolo, a game 82 days older than me. It actually was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console back [...]

Day 541: Baby Maker Extreme 2

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:13:44 GMT

Stegersaurus Games is a prolific indie game publisher. Some I really don’t get, like “Can You Handle Two At Once” (which I passed on, in exchange for a game from another developer called “Insanity” which I felt was a deeper offering). Others from Stegersaurus are actually quite good such as “Tank Strike”, “Mega Monster Mania”, [...]

Day 540: NYAN-TECH

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:24:10 GMT

(This was the most appropriate video I could find, but oddly it focuses on the game’s, admittedly excellent, main theme rather than on gameplay; read on for a gameplay description.) “NYAN-TECH” has an interesting technique for puzzle solving. Controller buttons are mapped to blocks on the screen, and to navigate to each level’s key (and [...]

Day 539: Bureau – Agent Kendall

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:01:34 GMT

This is a game I’ve passed over again and again, but I finally decided to review it today. A price drop from 400 to 240 Microsoft Points has finally sealed the deal for me with “Bureau – Agent Kendall”. The game is an impressive feat, a 3D CGI action/adventure game with a mystery to unravel, [...]

Honey Badger – Slayer of Memes

IndieGamerChick — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:17:10 GMT

Some XBLIGs should probably only exist as free browser-based flash games. Honey Badger – Slayer of Memes is such a game. It’s a fairly low-quality Punch-Out!! clone with the gimmick of being able to beat-up a handful of internet running gags. This leads to problem #1: none of the jokes in here are funny anymore. [...]

Day 538: The Hearts of Men

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:31:20 GMT

Inspired by Gauntlet, “The Hearts of Men” brings to the table excellent visuals, more varied environs, an overarching narrative, two difficulty levels, and great personality. Ranged attacks are the order of the day here, as enemies abound around every corner and across every room (or nearly enough), and speaking of attacks and enemies there are [...]

Day 537: Marksman: Long Range

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:22:00 GMT

Not all Xbox Live Indie Games are, well, games. Some more closely meet the definition of “apps”. Then there are ones that are in that indefinable area in between. Such is the case of “Marksman: Long Range”, one that (like Microsoft Flight Simulator) is more game, or less game, depending on your interest in the [...]

The Walking Dead Ep.1: "A Point & Click Comic Book Adventure"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:52:00 GMT

When it comes to video games I rarely ever see one that takes place in the state I live in. My state, Georgia has really scored big recently with both the television, and video game series of "The Walking Dead". In fact some of you may not be aware of this, but one or two of the television episodes were filmed here in Georgia. It's definitely cool that the state I live in is getting the spotlight from such an amazing series. While I have never read one comic book in the series, or even watched the television show I've only heard great things about it. I was glad to find out that 'Telltale Games (The Developer)' decided to go along with the comic book series. I don't think copying the tv series would have been a smart move.

Zen Pinball iOS/Android Sale!!! Limited Time Only!!!

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:50:00 GMT

I just got an email from 'Zen Studios' concerning a sale they currently have going on for iOS/Android gamers. I will post that email below. Be sure to take advantage of the sale while you can ...

Zen Studios is Having a Mobile Sale in Honor of The Avengers Movie!

Shuggy continues his platforming adventure on another platform

Vintage Video Games TV — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:45:53 GMT

Smudged Cat Games is pleased to announce that “The Adventures of Shuggy” will soon be released through Steam! If you do not know about “The Adventures of Shuggy” Read our review HERE. The Adventures of Shuggy was released on XBLA in June of last year to be largely ignored by everyone, but now we’re trying [...]

Shorty iReviews: Nyan Cat Adventure and Yarnaby

Vintage Video Games TV — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:23:09 GMT

Nyan Cat Adventure By now, everyone knows who Nyan Cat is. Not even 1 year later of it being created by PRGuitarman, the lovable Poptarted, Rainbow Poopshooting cat made its debut in the gaming world. Bringing you Nyan Cat Adventure. I am reviewing this title for the multiple platforms of iOS version and the XBLIG [...]

The Nuclear Unicorn Force approaches

Extra Guy — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:35:33 GMT

For our shoot ‘em up lovers there is a new game to watch on the horizon to watch for; Nuclear Unicorn Force lies a bit in the bullet hell area, aims high in production, and crafting it...

Day 536: Retrocade: DataStream Y2K600

Writings of Mass Deduction — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:54:56 GMT

Pushing retro the point of being perhaps even less sophisticated-looking than the Atari 2600 games that it’s inspired by to the point that it can be considered a de-make of a retro title, if you could imagine such a thing. “Retrocade: DataStream Y2K600″ nonetheless provides lots of games and options that together produce a tremendous [...]

City Zombified

Gear Fish — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:25:53 GMT

For every good game, there has to be twenty bad ones. City Zombified factors into the latter half of that equation.