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Trials Evolution

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/26/2012

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Steam Deck Unsupported, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox 360. Tagged: 2d, evolution, Microsoft, motocross, motorcycle, physics, racing, trials, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: RedLynx

Release Date: 4/18/2012

Also Available On

Trials practically invented the 2D motocross physics genre, and now it has evolved the series a bit like the title implies. No longer are you confined to cramped and dark indoor environments or just being able to push your bike around. Now there is a bit of customization with some outdoor stuff thrown in, but the levels just got a whole lot crazier.

For starters, the levels are better designed and can actually be mastered with practice on higher difficulties. The physics are a lot better so you feel like you are mastering levels of skill rather than dumb luck. The environments get pretty crazy with huge explosions, rushing water, sinking and rising platforms, and even some crazy mini-games. You can pick what bike you want now, so there is something here that anybody can master. The best part about this game is that every level is different. There are so many different levels it made looking forward to the next one fun. Some are so crazy that you are actually riding on a roller coaster track and actually feel like you’re on one. Making huge jumps, steep drops, and crazy stunts makes you feel the adrenaline rush. The catch is that you have to be good at the game this time to master them and get gold medals.

Restarting at the checkpoints is as simple as pressing B and continuing on. Usually, you will mess up a lot until you master the levels then you need to know just the right acceleration at certain jumps, and how to angle the bike. The last stages take precise memorization to master, but it’s fun because every time you retry you get better and better. There are some mini-games thrown in here, but I was disappointed with them. The physics don’t really work with mini-games that try to do crazy things like the UFO one. As you accelerate your UFO will climb, but you have to land in a certain spot. I found this almost impossible because my UFO kept flipping around and landing upside down. There are a few mini-games on skies riding sand which is odd because you feel very top-heavy. The best ones are when you are just on your bike and doing things like conserving fuel between fuel stations or trying to get as far as you can while flying through the air. Only a few are fun, but at least there’s something different here.

Lastly, there’s a track editor that I am not a fan of. I’m actually not a fan of any track editor because I prefer playing a game already made for me, but it’s there for people who like that sort of thing. It’s not very intuitive, but what console-based editor is? There are some customization options here that are pretty shallow. You can customize your bike, but only aesthetically, and customizing your rider is about as simple as it gets. There’s no option for a female rider which is disappointing. I really like where the series is going and hopefully, the next one will take it even further.

In the end, Trials Evolution has great physics and has more variety in environments this time around. You actually feel like you master the levels of skill and not luck. The customization options are pretty shallow and basic, but a few mini-games are the least fun. The track editor is very unwieldy, but that will be to everyone’s taste. Trials Evolution is a solid Xbox LIVE Arcade game that any motocross fan will enjoy.

Dead Space: Ignition

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/30/2011

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PlayStation 3, Sony Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: dead space, ea, ignition, Microsoft, puzzle, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: Sumo Digital

Release Date: 10/12/2010

Also Available On

For a game that carries the Dead Space name, you would expect it to be good. Ignition is nothing of the sort because it’s a series of hacking minigames that follows an engineer and a cop on The Sprawl who have to do hacking things during the Necromorph outbreak…yeah really exciting. The voice acting is terrible and the gameplay is even worth a lame story.

The game is comprised of three games and the first is a side-scrolling defender type game, but not nearly as fun. You just control a red orb that moves through space while dodging obstacles and racing AI orbs. You have a few powers such as speed boosts, walls you can drop to slow them down, and circuits that make them spin out of control. This is as uninteresting as it sounds because no matter what you do they seem to always get ahead of you, and this game was obviously not playtested because the obstacles are almost unavoidable and are in such positions that you have to slow down every time while the AI just quickly maneuvers through it.

The second game is some weird reverse tower defense game where you have to get viruses to a gate on the other side, but have to destroy seekers and radars on the way. You get four different types of viruses that do various things, but you just spit them out and they go wherever they want. You can’t control them so there’s no strategy except spitting them out in certain orders.

The third game is a mirror and laser mini-game, but they are laid out in such incomprehensible designs that you don’t really get a grasp on where to start. Getting different colored lasers to different endpoints should be simple, but lasers flip and move on their own to confuse you, and this doesn’t make the game fun at all. You can drop lasers that split the beams, and of course, this is timed, but there is not a strategic way of going about any of these games so it all feels like a big mess.

You won’t even finish the game because they are so frustrating that you will just give up. No matter how skilled you are the game works around you and doesn’t allow you to increase your skill due to poor level design. On top of all this, the game is made up of badly drawn concept art turned into some hack of a Dead Space story that you will quickly forget. The easy achievements and the armor you get at the end for Dead Space 2 aren’t worth a trek through this terrible hack job.

2011 Game of the Year Awards — Genre — Best Platformer

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/23/2011

Posted in: 2011, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2011, 360, 3d, 3ds, best, game of the year, genre, little big planet 2, littlebigplanet 2, mario, media molecule, Microsoft, ms splosion man, Nintendo, origins, outland, platformer, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, rayman, Sony, super mario 3d land, ubisoft, wards, xbla, xbox. Leave a comment

A great platformer must charm, be fun to play, and have some great mechanics. This year didn’t see too many good platformers, but the ones that were good were damn good. Most platformers have a problem being unresponsive, sloppy, or just not fun at all. Great controls, some very fun puzzles, challenging combat of some sort, and even a memorable story help.

Rayman Origins

Rayman won this year due to how beautiful, passionate, and charming the game was. Not only was the game chock full of smooth animations, fun combat, and a memorable story and characters, but it was a reboot of a franchise that has been doomed for almost a decade. Rayman will leave you smiling and wanting more when you’re done and that’s exactly how a platformer should be.

Runner-Ups

Super Mario 3D Land

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Ms. Splosion Man

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Outland

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LittleBigPlanet 2

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2011 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Downloadable Game

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/22/2011

Posted in: 2011, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2011, 360, achievements, awards, bastion, best, dishwasher, downloadable game, frozen synapse, game of the year, indie, Microsoft, ms splosion man, outland, pc, platformer, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, Sony, steam, strategy, vampire smile, xbla, xbox. Leave a comment

Downloadable games get opportunities to take risks that AAA titles can’t take. Downloadable also offer one-of-a-kind experiences for a small price, and this is the place to look for that kind of experience. Downloadable games are perfect to get small doses of great gameplay, but only one can come out on top. This year showed a ton of great games that didn’t even make it onto the list. It was a tough choice, but the decision has to be made.

The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile

Vampire Smile is a stylish game that’s both gory, dark, and bursting at the seams with unique art. The story is interesting, the combat is fluid, responsive, challenging, and deep. Smile featured tons of crazy bosses, great enemies to fight, and two whole story modes to go through. Sure it was punishing sometimes, but that’s what made it rewarding. It topped them all due to all of this combined despite many amazing downloadable games this year.

Runner-Ups

Frozen Synapse

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Ms. ‘Splosion Man

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Outland

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Bastion

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The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/06/2011

Posted in: Editor's Choice, Mac, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Steam Deck Unknown, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox 360. Tagged: dishwasher, game of the year, gore, indie, Microsoft, platformer, vampire smile, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: SKA Studios

Release Date: 4/6/2011

Also Available On

The Dishwasher is a strange name, but the story of Yuki is actually pretty sad and engaging. Yuki dies in the hands of the Dishwasher and is hallucinating. You play flashbacks of her in an asylum trying to find her killer, but then again she’s hallucinating and kills the wrong person. She crash lands on the Moon trying to find the person making her hallucinate and find out why this is all happening to her. There’s a lot of detail in the story so explaining too much will give spoilers. Just know the story is excellent and very engaging.

The game is all about combat which is superfluid, fast, and fun thanks to smooth and responsive controls. You will find different weapons like Cloud’s sword, a hypodermic needle, kamas, as well as a mini-gun arm attachment. You can use the right stick to use the blood dash to go through enemies and dodge them, but everything is just so fast and fun that you just forget the controller is in your hands. You can hit enemies with a light and heavy attack as well as a unique attack with B such as a grab, needle jab, or chainsaw attack depending on your weapon. After you damage an enemy enough they will have buttons flash under them. Hit it and see a brutal execution move that just looks awesome. The game is very punchy, heavy-hitting, and powerful thanks to the excellent combat system.

You can equip beads that add attributes to Yuki, you can also use magic skulls that do massive damage to enemies. I just can’t really describe how excellent the combat is until you actually play it. It’s like trying to explain how good Devil May Cry’s combat is. There’s just no way unless you actually play it. Boss fights are also fun and unique but some can be brutally difficult to beat. Dodging and twitch reactions are key to staying alive in the game, so this is no walk in the park. The game will just take your breath away by how fast-paced it is, but I guarantee your fingers will ache after a couple of levels.

The art style is just awesome with a very messy, dark, and smeary art style. It looks like you can’t tell what’s going on, but it was done in such a way that you can make everything out just fine. I love how dark and brutal the art is, so it just helps portray how helpless Yuki is. I didn’t really find much wrong with the game except the brutal difficulty. The enemy variety is pretty high and there are plenty of boss fights. After you finish Yuki’s story you can even go back and play the Dishwasher’s side so it’s like two games in one. This is probably one of the best XBLA games I have ever played and it should not be passed up.

2010 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Downloadable Game

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/17/2010

Posted in: 2010, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2010, 8 bit, achievements, awards, downloadable game, game of the year, guardian of light, hydrophobia, indie, lara croft, limbo, Microsoft, pc, platformer, playstation, playstation 3, psn, Sony, square enix, steam, super meat boy, tomb raider, toy soldiers, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Downloadable games are great for indie developers because you don’t have the restriction of big publishing companies and it cuts costs. It’s also cheaper for players because they send to be a fraction of full-price retail games.

Limbo

Don’t let Limbo’s simplicity make it feel like an unfair fight against these other more complex games. Limbo is so simple that it’s just amazing. The game has great physics puzzles, but the feeling of being a helpless boy is just unreal. The charming art style (that’s very risky), and the gruesome deaths (the fact that it’s a boy) make you cringe, and that’s hard to pull off in such a simple game. This should let developers know that simplicity isn’t a fault.

Runner-Ups

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

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Super Meat Boy

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Toy Soldiers

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Hydrophobia

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Trials HD

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Xbox 360. Tagged: 2d, hd, Microsoft, motocross, motorcycle, physics, red lynx, trials, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: RedLynx

Release Date: 8/12/2009

Available Exclusively On

Trials HD is a game that PC gamers will recognize thanks to the amazing (yet buggy) Steam. Trials HD is very simple, but hard to master, and is a motocross physics game. The basic goal is to get from one end to the other using physics and the environment around you and also make the best time.

Trials start out with a simple tutorial to get you familiar with the controls, and they are easy but hard to master. You use the weight of your body by leaning back and forth to hit jumps just right. These jumps are crazy with huge leaps, teeter-tottering beams, and even a super hard move to master that has you jumping off the ground over large pipes. The game is a 3D/2D side scroller and the tracks are built out of junk such as wood, tires, cones, ropes you name it. There are four different difficulties to master and 3 different medals for each track. The medals are based on a time limit and these limits are fair, but there’s a catch. Yes, yes I KNOW just listen, you can retry as many times as you want, but to get the gold medal you have to be perfect or screw up within the designated limit. Some tracks have a no restart qualification and the harder tracks will let you restart over ten times for a gold medal…yeah they get THAT tough. Most of the tracks you’ll be on for over an hour just mastering the tricky maneuvering while some you can just blow through.

The physics engine is spot on though since the bike feels just right and you have complete control of where it goes. Later on in the more difficult tracks, you will NEED to master the control of the bike. Throttle and weight distribution are the base elements of making your fastest time. If you just hold the throttle you’ll fall backward, and if you brake too hard you’ll fly forward.

There are also mini-games that help you with your skills such as climbing, ball rolling (which is impossible), bumpers, and just flying off your bike and seeing how far your ragdoll man can go. Most of these mini-games are fun, but a select few are just a nightmare, especially getting the gold medal. Trials HD also looks great with HDR lighting, high-res textures, and the next-gen fix that you would expect out of a $15 arcade game. The money is well worth the investment thanks to the level editor which allows you to make your own easy or god-awful track and upload it online.

There’s not much else to say about this complicated yet simple game. If you love physic games go for it, if you love racing go for it, if you love retrying a lot…go ahead.

‘Splosion Man

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: 'splosion man, 2d, Microsoft, platformer, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Twisted Pixel Games

Release Date: 7/22/2009

Available Exclusively On

Remember games like Sonic the Hedgehog, TMNT, Kid Chameleon, or even Mario? Yeah, well we haven’t seen a game like those in a while (especially a 2D one) and that’s what makes ‘Splosion Man so great. It brings back that classic challenging platformer goodness with a great sense of humor, and a loving character. ‘Splosion Man pits you against a bunch of mad scientists obstacles and traps trying to capture while you run rampant trying to escape.

As the name implies you have the ability to explode, but not just as many times as you want. You can explode three times in a row then you must “recharge” yourself by staying on the ground for a few seconds or clinging to a wall. Exploding allows you to jump, break glass, hit switches, and pretty much do anything because this is the core gameplay. You have different obstacles to overcome such as jumping gaps; you may need a green canister to shoot you across a huge gap, exploding barrels will give you a slight boost since there may be huge open areas above a death pit that are just barrels. The idea would be to explode yourself on each barrel and “hop” across the huge gap. Most of the time scientists will pull levers that block your way and you must solve how to get to them. Giant closing walls may come down on you from either side and you’ll need to jump your way up and out. You may run across electrified fields, and you must find the switch to turn them off, then you can kill the scientist and be on your merry way. There are dozens of different traps and obstacles and it would take forever to describe them all, but one thing is for certain and it’s that you need to use your exploding powers to get through them.

When it comes to boss fights they are epic and rather tough. They all involve some form of exploding and evading which must be mastered. That’s the beauty of this game; you can conquer the controls, but it takes practice to master them. The later levels require precise jumping, exploding, and timing or you will meet your death. Speaking of death (unlike older platformers) checkpoints are fair and plentiful so you are sure not to get too frustrated. Trial and error here are abundant, but it’s forgiving. What I mainly love about the character you play is the noises he makes. He runs around looking goofier than ever making airplane noises, barking noises, and just overall maniacal laughs that make you laugh every time. The achievements, on the other hand, are pretty easy to get and take a bit of thinking to figure out. Most of them require finishing certain objectives and some require finding hidden items. Like any platformer, the game was impossible to find items and these are cakes. Yes, they even make a joke about the Portal reference in the achievement description. Hell, there’s even a real-life ‘Splosion Man video during the credits roll. Speaking of that the game has a great co-op play both online and off so you and a friend can master the power of exploding. You even unlock a theme and gamer picture for all your effort.

So to conclude, ‘Splosion Man is a fine platformer that does something original that we have never seen before. Whether it’s the epic boss fights, the ability to explode, or the levels that just make you feel giddy ‘Splosion is worth every penny and will hopefully make an explosive sequel.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: arcade, geometry wars, Microsoft, retro evolved 2, shooter, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Bizarre Creations

Release Date: 7/30/2008

Available Exclusively On

Geo Wars was THE first Xbox Arcade game back during launch and fans have been chomping at the bit for a sequel ever since. In Geo Wars 2 we get six game modes, new gameplay features, and the same awesome multiplayer. The game modes include Evolved which was the original game, King which has you moving to one of 3 circles that eventually disappear and you can only shoot in those circles, and Pacifism which gives you no weapons and you have to move through gates that blow enemies up, Sequence which is a series of 20 levels that have certain “objectives” and if you die you move on to the next, Waves which has orange enemies that move horizontally or vertically in rows and you have to kill and dodge them, and Deadline which is where you have to kill all the enemies on screen in a certain amount of time.

All these modes are highly addictive and are done very well. A great gameplay addition is Geoms which are little green dots that appear after you kill an enemy and this increases your score easier. This really helps since it was so hard to get a high score in the first game. The graphics are pretty much the same, but they seem brighter and the colors are more full and rich in detail. The thing is you really don’t need great graphics with this game it already looks like fireworks when you play so you don’t want to get too distracted or blind.

The sounds are exactly the same, but that’s not a problem since you can just listen to your own music really. The multiplayer is the same insane fun and with more modes, it makes it even better. Overall the replay value of this game is higher since there are more modes to master and different types of achievements to get. The game is still insanely hard though and that can be a problem for a lot of people, this game is just not very forgiving and that’s why I won’t give it a 9. Overall for $10 (800 MSP), this is a steal and everyone should also check out the first game as well.

Braid

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Editor's Choice, Linux, Mac, Microsoft Consoles, Nintendo Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sony Consoles, Steam Deck Verification, Steam Deck Verified, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S. Tagged: 2d, arcade, braid, jonathan blow, Microsoft, platformer, puzzle, xbla, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Number None Inc.

Release Date: 8/6/2008

Also Available On

Braid is one of those WTF games where you think you know what’s going to happen then it turns around and slaps you in the face. The story of Braid is very interesting, but it doesn’t really matter until the last level. You start the game off on world 2 then you end with world 1 and that’s the piece of the story that makes your brain go funny. This is what I love about Braid it has a wonderful story along with beautiful pastel/watercolor backgrounds. The music is very moody and inspiring and I just love the whole package. The main attraction to Braid is the whole-time mechanic. Each world uses time in a different way to solve the unique (yet not hair-tearing) puzzles. Instead of dying and starting all over, you can rewind time…all the way until you entered the level if you have to. This is a very hard mechanic to explain, but you have to use the enemies as jumping springs. You have to jump on them just right to get on that higher ledge. Sometimes you have to alter their paths using the time to get to where you need to. When some platforms, enemies are green they are unaffected but time.

You can rewind time to get a moving platform underneath them, but they don’t go back in time they just keep walking. Sometimes everything is moving backward in the level and you have to alter the way the enemies are moving. If you walk forwards everything moves backward. One world has you using a ring that slows down time BUT only around the bubble it creates. This lets you slow down cannon fire, slow down enemies so you can use them in the right manner, etc. One world even has you using your own shadow to help you. When you walk to where you need to be but you have to throw a switch that moves a platform on the other side of the level you just rewind time back the platform and your shadow retraces your steps and hits the switch. This game is just so mind-blowing that it’s extremely hard to explain. The objective is to collect all the puzzle pieces and complete the puzzle to finish the world.

The game has about seven worlds and can be beaten in about 6-8 hours depending on your IQ. If you like puzzles that truly bend your brain in ways unimaginable then go for Braid. This game is too hard to describe in words you just have to play it. For $15 it’s definitely worth it thanks to all these awesome elements put together.

I don’t think there will be anything like this out there again and this not being done by a major developer is very surprising. I hope this game with the XBLA GotY award because there’s just so much to the time-traveling aspect that it’ll just wow you.