As a whole, there’s nothing really wrong with Abathor. It’s a fun, straight forward action platformer. The setting and protagonists does give it a bit of Golden Axe to the game. It does make for a fun co-op experience. While it is annoying to have your gear/upgrades reset when you load the game is pretty stupid, it’s still a fun adventure game. If you’re looking for a simplistic co-op game for the holidays, you can’t go wrong with Abathor.
While there’s nothing overly problematic, Aero The Acro-Bat, port of the 1993 16-bit original, will only appeal to older gamers who played this during their younger times. It shows its age and it’s a product of a different time where games were difficult, borderline frustrating. Gamers familiar with only current generation of consoles will most likely be annoyed or bored within a matter of minutes because of the clunky controls. Unless you need this for nostalgia purposes, it’s an easy pass.
Disaster Band is an enjoyable rhythm based experience that also offer a varied experience in the genre that’s also severely lacking since Activision and Harmonix out Guitar Hero and Rock Band respectively to bed. It’s not perfect and takes a bit of getting used to; but with three difficulty settings, it is sure to challenge all level of gaming skills. The soundtrack is hit or miss depending on your taste, especially if you’re rather rock to famous tunes. Music fans will find a little gem, whereas those wanting a more approachable experience might be turned off.
Furious Bikers is a fun, albeit very straightforward, easy gaming experience. This is the type of game, that back in the day, you’d rent for two days, complete it, return it and then never think about it again. Great game for the younger players in the family and easy 1000Gs for Achievement hunters.
Calling this Irem Collection Volume 2 feels a bit misrepresentative considering 99% of games in this collection are different versions of Gunforce and its sequel. If you’re a fan of classic Contra/Probotector-like games, then this collection is a must play. If you’re looking to dive more into this old school developer/platformer, this ain’t it.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is great beat’em up. Combat is surprisingly deep, the gameplay variety is also a nice touch, albeit not perfect. While the game’s overall balancing feels all over the place between gameplay style, it doesn’t deter too much from the experience. Whether you’re a fan of the series or the genre, or both, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a must play.
Ninja 1987 is basically Ninja Gaiden from Wish. Not to say that it’s a bad thing. It’s fun, controls are tight, bosses, albeit very easy, are fun to battle. Unless you want to beat your own score, the game has no replay value nor additional gameplay content. If you have a few bucks to spare and looking for an easy old school experience, Ninja 1987 will fill that void. Be careful to not clip into invisible pixels.
The Thing Remastered is an absolute must play for fans of action game. I’ve been kicking myself for missing out on it the first time around. While a sequel to a horror movie, the game lacks in that department and enemies aren’t as gruesome as we’ve seen in most recent horror outings, but the atmosphere and eerily quietness makes up for it. Sure, some mechanics and the A.I. does feel a bit archaic at times, but it doesn’t stop from making The Thing Remastered a must play experience.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the best adventure games of the year. It captures the atmosphere of the movies, using Indy tricks is a blast. Whilst the game isn’t perfect, it does have a few quirks like borderline bulletproof enemies, Troy Baker, and some unnecessary brief sequences of gameplay, it doesn’t deter the whole experience. I’m not going to lie, but I believe featuring third person perspective would’ve added to the fun. Either way, don’t miss it, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is great banger to end the year on.
Fans of the Metroidvania genre should definitely look into Yars Rising. It’s a fun and challenging addition to the genre. And yes, while far from perfect mostly because Emi is incredibly fragile and the hacking mini-game gets tedious the more you do it, it does offer solid gameplay, challenging bosses and a unique environment to explore. I highly recommend Yars Rising to everyone; fans of the Metroidvania genre or not.
Volgarr the Viking II is one of the worst, most infuriating gaming experience I’ve had the displeasure of reviewing. The game had some solid potential, but its overall gameplay mechanics and “heavy” controls makes this a huge missed opportunity. I get this game is clearly aimed at the “git gud” audience, but gamers looking for a pleasant experience need to avoid this like the plague. Even Easy mode doesn’t save this game.
Unless you have a fond spot in your heart for Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge, it’s hard to recommend the game. Even as a remake of a 1990s game released in the 2000s, it feels a bit sluggish and archaic. It’s a decent trip down memory lane for older gamers, but it’s a hard selling to the younger gamers out there who were spoiled with all the nifty quality of life improvement gameplay mechanics.
Tetris Forever is an interesting piece of history as it lets players deep dive in more obscure, older Tetris games; but as you’d expect, a lot of them haven’t aged well. The new entry, Tetris Time Warp, is a fun new addition to the long running series. But given the age of the games included, it’s hard to recommend Tetris Forever to anyone other than diehard Tetris fans.
The game looks fine for what it is; dark and drab environments are detailed and the city feels lively. Its dark theme offers a darker color palette to properly represent the menacing threat. However, it unfortunately doesn’t benefit from the full processing power of the Xbox Series S and X consoles. It looks like early 8th generation console game, which is unfortunate. Human characters are pretty generic, but they did do a great job creating the monstrosities you’ll face. Audio wise, there’s little to no voiceover work, aside from incomprehensible muffles. The soundtrack is incredibly eclectic; some tunes are properly spooky where others sounds like the composer slid his ass across a keyboard. Given this brand new concept, there’s sure to be a few hiccups. Outdated graphics aside, combat does feel a bit loose and requires some practice to feel comfortable. It’s also rough at times facing a bigger Slitterhead and trying quickly swap powers with the d-pad and not get it. Bokeh Game Studio’s first project had somewhat high hopes given the reputation of Keiichiro Toyama, the studio head, created Silent Hill and Siren. But Slitterhead manages to be a surprising and entertaining experience. While having no scares, despite Toyama’s history, the game makes up for it with deep combat system, fun possession system and intriguing story. Sure, it’s not perfect, but if you’re looking for a unique, challenging 3rd person action game, Slitterhead is a must play.
Killing Time: Resurrected is mindless shooter where players just around killing everything. While the gameplay/shooting in and of itself is a blast and holds up generally well, the archaic DOOM formula find key, find door, rinse, repeat gets old and irritating as you’d expect. The exteriors are fun and enjoyable to explore, but insides are confusing and visuals makes it easy to miss doors. If you’re craving an old school 1990s experience, Killing Time: Resurrected is definitely the best option out there. However, if you enjoy a more linear, straight to the point experience, Killing Time: Resurrected will be an irrtating experience.
Vengeance Hunters is one of the better and most enjoyable beat’em ups to release in the last year or so. It has that perfect 90s flair, combat is surprisingly deep, boss battles are quite unique and provide a decent challenge. While levels do feel a bit long, the overall experience is incredibly enjoyable and is definitely a must play; especially if you’re a fan of classic beat’em ups. Don’t miss this little gem.
The best way to sum this up: Retro Revengers was clearly not QA’ed for the fun factor. It’s a generic irritating platformer with questionable level design and iffy controls. While it’s a nice touch to have a variety of unique skills, it also means they don’t control all the same; some feel floaty, others feel like they have cement filled boots. There are many more better platformers available on Xbox Marketplace; so unless you’ve played them all or want to experience this out of curiosity, don’t bother.
Valfaris: Mecha Therion is a another indie gem. The original was one of best, most challenging and enjoyable run n’ gun games I had played. Switching the sequel to the shmup genre while keeping the action packed gameplay from the previous entry offers a fresh take. Valfairs: Mecha Therion, much like its predecessor, is a must play experience. If you’re looking for a fun challenge, don’t miss out.
Night Slashers: Remake is ok at best. It’s nothing special; it’s extremely generic and bland. Also very short and bosses, who should instill fear, are just big cronies. It could be some way to pass some time, solo or with friends, but other than that, it’s hard to recommend Night Slashers: Remake knowing there are much, much better beat’em up available. Try at your own risk.
The game looks great with its dark and brooding visuals. While each level has a menacing, dark-ish style, they are uniquely themed such as a forest, living train or even shooting the undead on the Moon. Enemy design, while a bit repetitive, is top-notch and creepy. Bosses are big and grotesque creations fun to challenge. The soundtrack is a high octave hard rock score to get your blood pumping as you shred The Meat’s armies. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Iron Meat aside from the fact that unlocked characters doesn’t offer any variety in terms of gameplay and the fact that given its old school inspiration, the gameplay is limited. When clearing the game, you can replay it and choose which level to play. Whether you’re looking for an old school inspired challenge or some quick fun, Iron Meat is an absolute must play. The gameplay is addictive, easy to pick up and play and some classic co-op action. While the gameplay is limited, the levels and challenge is very fun and addictive. Even after clearing the game, you’ll find yourself replaying levels to hone to skills or just as a stress relief. Iron Meat is a must buy. Don’t miss out.