Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: November 11, 2011

In the early days of the Xbox 360, new adopters found one game to rule them all. The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion was released in the Spring of 2006 (a scant six-months after that console heralded this new generation of game systems), and it proved to be one of those bridge titles that united the hardcore RPG elite with the mainstream. Western RPGs have always held court in the console space but unlike the welcoming PC world, they remained a modest, niche success. Since Oblivion’s successful release, big, brawny role playing games have slashed their way to the tops of sales charts. Since then, Fable, Mass Effect and the Fallout series inspiring more and more players to drag dungeons, slay dragons and journey there and back again. With news that the next iteration of consoles is being prepped by the Big Three for debut over the next few years, Bethesda’s latest Elder Scrolls release, Skyrim, makes for a nice bit of symmetry – potentially a fitting swan song.

( read more… )

Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Certain Affinity
Genre: Hack and slash
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Certain Affinity has made their name through map creation for a variety of other games. Crimson Alliance sees their bid to take to the gaming stage proper. It is a hack and slash dungeon crawler in the same vein as Bastion and Torchlight, in that it offers player input in terms of item and weapon choices. However, if you prefer a game where you have to decide whether to wear your “Tights of Valhalla” or your “Ankle Socks of Death,” then you should move along quickly using your “Stockings of Swiftness.” Micro management isn’t part of the game’s ethos – simplicity is. For example, you only get three characters to choose from. The game offers both single player campaign action and a four player co-op mode (available both locally and online). So is Crimson Alliance worth a trip through the dungeon?

( read more… )

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: id Software
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Once upon a time, id brought fire to the masses. With the advent of the first person shooter (popularized by their two fisted salvo of Wolfenstein and Doom), id tapped deep into the collective gamer mindset and dreamed up a compelling new genre that gave life to our most visceral impulses. By putting the BFG into our hands and letting us loose on the demonic hordes, they revolutionized the marketplace. They provided a compelling product that underscored the evolutionary shift transpiring. These games weren’t necessarily just for kids anymore, and with the spark ignited, developers weaned on Doom and Quake began adding to the mosaic by taking a fairly simple archetype born from that primal urge to blast stuff and turning it into the box-office busting behemoths we battle through each holiday season. id may have burst onto a barren wasteland way back when, but in the decades since, the landscape has grown fertile. With the release of their long-gestating new IP, we watch to see if id’s Rage can cut through the boisterous noise of their crowded competition.

( read more… )

Publisher: Robot Entertainment
Developer: Robot Entertainment
Genre: Action-Strategy
ESRB: Teen
Release date: October 5, 2011

Orcs. I hate them. You hate them. Their continued existence promises to bring only pain and suffering. They are a constant threat to the well-being of society, and should be dealt with swiftly and violently. Robot Entertainment’s Orcs Must Die! is an action-strategy hybrid that poses a question that is surprisingly difficult to answer: What is the best way to kill an Orc?

( read more… )

Publisher: UTV Ignition
Developer: UTV Ignition
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Before the digital distribution networks, PSN and XBLA, became the showcase for ambitious indie darlings like Braid and Limbo, these cyber storefronts featured a dependable selection of classic arcade titles and addictive puzzlers. In fact, on the day I bought my 360, I logged more time playing the freebie Hexic than I did with the show stopping Call of Duty 2. That’s the beauty of a good puzzle game: if the concept is tight and the execution flawless, the intangible “just one more level” mindset takes root; leaving those speaker-blasting battles to wait another day. Nowadays, the marketplaces are jammed with a vast menagerie of downloadable delights, representing all genres. Where these once bite-sized titles have grown much larger, smaller titles like Mercury Hg exist to tax your brain.

( read more… )

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre: Survival horror
ESRB rating: M
Release date: Available now

There is an episode of The Simpsons in which Marge finds a pink Chanel suit on sale at the outlet mall in Ogdenville. Marge loves the suit so much that she decides to wear it while running errands. On one of those errands, Marge runs into a friend from high school who, impressed by Marge’s fashion sense, invites her to come to the Springfield Country Club. Realizing she can’t keep wearing the same thing every time she goes to the country club, Marge alters and improves the suit a little bit each week, hoping to continue impressing her friends.

( read more… )

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: FPS / RPG
ERSB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Folks, we’re coming to end of Fallout: New Vegas. With the release of Lonesome Road, many of the loose ends of the latest Fallout chapter are being answered and resolved. Bethesda has in fact announced two other pieces of downloadable content (Gun Runner’s Arsenal and Courier’s Stash), however neither of those add-ons will advance the universe or story of Fallout: New Vegas. So, for the time being, if this isn’t the last piece of DLC in this series, it’s probably pretty close.

( read more… )

Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: 345 Games
Genre: Dual Stick Shooter
ESRB Rating: Mature
Release Date: Available Now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

If I had one wish, it would be for unlimited time; time to play games, read books, watch shows and movies and generally consume media. Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of time at my disposal, and as a result I’m not especially familiar with a ton of TV. I have certainly heard of Comedy Central show Ugly Americans, but I have not had an opportunity to watch it. I have however, had time to play its game adaptation. It’s only too often that licensed games feel rushed or of poor quality. Does Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon deviate from that standard?

( read more… )

Originally published in May 2011, reprinted for additional content.

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Genre: Pinball
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

There are certain games that I believe will always be transported into video game form, no matter what generation of console is on the market. Board games like chess and checkers, and sports like baseball and football will always find a home somewhere in the digital world. But we must not discount an arcade staple of such simplicity, and yet such intricacy, that has survived the gaming world for ages – pinball. Pinball FX2, an Xbox Live Arcade franchise, is slowly becoming the gold standard for casual play, and they have just released a new themed table, Mars, which has a sci-fi outer space theme.

( read more… )

Publisher: Fuelcell Games
Developer: Fuelcell Games
Genre: Adventure/Shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

The nice thing about Microsoft’s annual Summer of Arcade promotion is that you get high-quality new indie games for the reasonable price of $15 (1200 spacebucks). The third entry in this year’s roster, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, is no exception, offering simple yet involving gameplay with a minimalist flair.

( read more… )

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: First-person Shooter/RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

So far the downloadable content for Fallout: New Vegas has been somewhat hit or miss with fans. Dead Money was riddled with problems surrounding difficulty and Honest Hearts, while definitely an improvement, still lacked the proverbial punch players are used to with this franchise. However, Obsidian is clearly not willing to go down without a fight, and the latest expansion for New Vegas has arrived in the form of Old World Blues.

( read more… )

Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: First Star Software, Catnip Games
Genre: Action/Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

I understand myself to be among the youngest, if not the youngest member of the Avault staff. I have never lived in a year where John Lennon was alive. And when the Twin Towers were bombed in 2001, I was in fifth grade. Even though I shoulder the incredible burden of my young age, I’ve supplemented my classic game knowledge to the best of my ability. I’ve beaten every Super Mario game, even the CDi exclusive Hotel Mario. I’m as versed in the origin of gaming as a scholar may be in Greek classics. So when I was assigned to review Boulder Dash-XL, and heard it described as the follow-up to a gaming classic, I found my knowledge lacking. While I hate to make assumptions, I think it’s safe to say I’m not the only gamer unfamiliar with Boulder Dash. Can a reimagining of a Commodore-era staple bring relevance to a franchise many might be unfamiliar with?

( read more… )

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Supergiant Games
Genre: Action/RPG
Rating: Everyone 10+
Release Date: July 20, 2011

Francois Truffaut once said, and I paraphrase, “The best way to critique a bad movie is to make a better one.” He said that as a film critic and went on to lead the French New Wave that swept cinema in the late 50s and 60s. Greg Kasavin is a former game critic and Editor-in-Chief at Gamespot, and after announcing his retirement from the site in 2007, toiled at several of EA’s offshoot development companies, before forming his own game development house. That development house is the small 10-person shop, Supergiant Games. And in the corner of a modest house, this team has toiled under Kasavin’s direction dreaming up Bastion, Kasavin’s bid to put Truffaut’s words into action.

( read more… )

Publisher: Digital Reality Ltd.
Developer: Candygun Games
Genre: Zombie Defense
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Zombie games are neither few nor far between, and seem to lurk up on us like…well…zombies. Countless titles are based in the zombie genre and tend to be the going up and blast them in the face type of games. Dead Block, however, employs a different and unique take on this cult genre. I will take a peek at it from within my barricaded safe haven, of course.

( read more… )

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Q Entertainment
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

In 2001, a game called Rez was released for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. It featured an on-rails experience with amazing sound effects and a sound track that changed based on what you were doing. 2011’s Child of Eden, created by Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is a prequel of sorts that features many of the same gameplay and sound effects. Is Child of Eden, developed by Q Entertainment, worth the trip, or does it skip a beat?

( read more… )