Posts tagged XBLA
Review: Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley (XBLA)
Oct 19th
Captain Smiley has lost his touch. The superhero — a muscular, caped crime-fighter with a smiley face for a head and a talking, smart-ass, star-shaped sidekick named Star embedded in his chest — finds his comic being canceled after degenerating into an embarrassing commercial flop. In order to regain his former glory and pay his debts to the Twisted Pixel guys, who bust down the fourth wall with aplomb by bailing out Smiley’s debts, Captain Smiley is forced to guest-star in other comics to build up enough of a reputation and a financial base to relaunch his comic series.
Comic Jumper features a rich, vibrant presentation that’s bizarre, outlandish, hilarious, and wonderfully innovative. But unfortunately, actually playing the game is a whole other story.
Sasquatch Soapbox: Why this is the right time for a new NBA Jam
Oct 14th
NBA Jam is back. Available now for Nintendo Wii and soon for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the standout basketball game franchise is ready for a proper revitalization. As I wrote in a recent Retrospective, NBA Jam’s formula of fast-paced 2-on-2 is still addictive, and the simpler gameplay allows anyone to catch fire and dunk from the free-throw line.
What you may not realize, though, is this is a perfect time for a revitalization of the NBA Jam franchise. From both a gaming and a source material standpoint it’s a suitable time to bring back the franchise. This is a great time to bring back the boomshakalaka.
Our Most Anticipated Games (for the rest of 2010)
Sep 16th
Another year is nearing its inevitable end, and we couldn’t be any happier about it. Although 2010 has already played host to a plethora of amazing and potentially award-winning video games, it’s not quite time to start hedging bets for the game of the year. Read on for our staff’s own list of noteworthy releases that you should be excited for.
Review: Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (XBLA)
Sep 10th
Developers have come a long way since the abysmal, early dark ages of downloadable content. What started with overpriced horse armor has evolved into a product that can defy typical classification.
Is Case Zero a demo for Dead Rising 2? Yes. Is it a prelude DLC package that adds to the full game with character development and carry-over bonuses for the final retail product? Certainly. To the great chagrin of forum-goers and blog posters, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is but the tip of the iceberg for the industry, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the idea.
Welcome to the future of videogame demos. I hope the critics have developed adequate coping mechanisms.
Review: Limbo (Xbox Live Arcade)
Jul 22nd
I’ve tried to keep some distance from the debate over whether games can be — or currently are — art. It’s my belief that art is in the eye of the beholder, so who cares if a few critics (including some critics of another medium entirely) disagree? I’ve had experiences with games that have been as thought-provoking and moving as some of the best movies, books, paintings, songs, and so on.
But if you’re not content to sit by the sidelines and just let Roger Ebert trash-talk games, you’ll find some strong ammunition for your viewpoint in Limbo, Playdead’s debut Xbox Live Arcade title and the first game out the door in this year’s Summer of Arcade series. With its bold, almost suffocating art style, excellent use of sound and subtle yet significant method of storytelling, Limbo is a thoroughly inspired concept that couldn’t be realized in any other medium.