Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: CNG Studios
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

In the past, tying a string around your finger has been a great way to remember something. That’s what I’m told, at least. Honestly, I have no idea how that works, unless the thing you are supposed to remember is written on the string itself. Immunogen, by CNG Studios, looks to take that string off your finger by sharpening your mind through memorizing and matching.

( read more… )

Publisher: Xona Games
Developer: Xona Games
Genre: Retro Arcade
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Available now

I’m going to assume that at least once in your life you’ve been exposed to the arcade sensation that was known as Space Invaders. A simple concept to say the least, Space Invaders allowed you to fire shots at a horde of enemies that would slowly creep down the screen. Even though the game is decades old, it’s obvious its influence is long-lasting, as evidenced in Decimation X3.

( read more… )

Publisher: Xona Games
Developer: Xona Games
Genre: Retro Arcade
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Available now

Xona Games has been extra busy as the holiday approaches. With their last entry in the Decimation series just released, two days later they have followed it up with another foray into the old-school arcade game arena with Score Rush.

( read more… )

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Racing
Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

In that past age when Nintendo ruled the console roost, Sega arguably held sway over the arcade. While Nintendo busted its mojo to create real magic through their Mario series, Sega was demonstrating that they could also work real wizardry through their arcade circuitry, churning out bright, colorful entertainments that screamed loud and clear from across a crowded bowling alley, compelling players to drop one more quarter. And while arcades never morphed into the bizarre futurescapes teased by Tron, Sega’s legacy lived long as gamers waxed nostalgic for that impressive series of addictive amusements that dominated the tail end of the 1990s. Their Dreamcast might have proven the last gasp for these games, but now that current console owners have virtual storefronts at their finger tips, Sega has a new pipeline to bring that arcade experience back home. It’s time to take Crazy Taxi for a spin again.

( read more… )

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Genre: Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Sonic the Hedgehog is the MC Hammer of gaming. In the mid-1990s, the blazing blue hedgehog blasted onto the scene and dared Mario to keep up. After fumbling for years, Sega finally captured lightning in a bottle, producing a star character they could send toe-to-toe with Mario and crafting a game that measured up to the classic Nintendo action-platform design while in some ways sprinting well beyond it. Mario and Sonic ran neck and neck in the early part of the decade, but eventually hubris kicked in. Following a successful series of inventive sequels, Sega lost its way and began sending Sonic down some perilous paths, and when the time came to leap into the third dimension, Mario stuck the landing while Sonic floundered. Somewhere around the time the rodent went “gangster” and started packing a piece, it was obvious he’d hit rock bottom. All it took was a cameo appearance by the speedster, flying by some familiar looking emerald environments at this year’s E3, to remind players why they chased the hero in the first place. With Sega’s first installment in their new digitally-distributed release, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Sega hopes to set him back on the right track.

( read more… )

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Uber Entertainment
Genre: Action Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Only in my wildest imaginings could I chase around a mascot, blasting him with as many bullets as I can load, while he spurts money like blood. Uber Entertainment has brought that dream a little closer to life in Monday Night Combat, a new downloadable title on XBLA.

( read more… )

Publisher: Team17
Developer: Team17
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

If you often reminisce about hours of misspent youth playing the Space Hulk boardgame, then Alien Breed 2: Assault may well appeal to you. If you like dark, derelict space hulks crammed with murderously intent bug-like aliens you’ll like this game. While I am not really a fan of top down perspective games, there is something quite appealing to Team17’s sequel to Alien Breed: Evolution. The rich graphics and crisp sound effects combine nicely, and compliment the simplistic gameplay to create an enjoyable experience. I would say that if you played the previous title, then you already know what to expect, but you don’t. There are new weapons, significantly improved graphics and new co-op gameplay in the sequel.

( read more… )

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Taito
Genre: Arcade shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

No, you haven’t stepped out of Doc Brown’s DeLorean; this is a Space Invaders review. But this is not your mom and dad’s Space Invaders. Square Enix has teamed up with Taito, the game’s original developer (it appeared in western arcades in 1978 under the Midway banner, but Taito was the Japanese manufacturer) to release Space Invaders Infinity Gene, a game that attempts to take the classic arcade shooter into the 21st century.

( read more… )

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Genre: Action/Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

If ever there was a video game console crying out for the E! True Hollywood Story treatment, it’s arguably the Sega Dreamcast. Released in 1999 – poised to get the next-gen jump on the successor systems from Sony and Nintendo – the Dreamcast burned brightly before flaming out in unspectacular fashion. Boasting a launch day line-up that included arcade perfect ports (and some say better) of Crazy Taxi and Soul Caliber, the Dreamcast attracted the Sega fan base but did little to sway the legions of Nintendo fanboys and Sony loyalists. While the system offered the best visuals on the market and some nifty innovation, including the forward thinking VMU (Virtual Memory Unit) device – it wasn’t enough to keep Sega in the game and with that system’s demise, Sega said goodbye to hardware development. Not that they didn’t try their hardest to make an indelible impression – following the old maxim “Live Fast and Leave a Good Looking Corpse” – and who better to sell that ideal than their speedy mascot in his Next Gen debut, Sonic Adventure.

( read more… )

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

To look at him, you’d think Chuck Greene was a formally trained, zombie-killing badass. Unlike Dead Rising’s shutterbug hero, Frank West, and his doughy features, Chuck looks more than comfortable clutching a baseball bat porcupined with ten-penny nails. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, either, because unlike Frank’s selfish need to get the best coverage possible, Chuck has something far more valuable at stake if he fails: his daughter. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is the beginning of their story, a downloadable Xbox Live lead-up to the forthcoming Dead Rising 2.

( read more… )

Publisher: Square-Enix
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Lara Croft is arguably the first true celebrity of video games. Sure, there have been mascots that have crossed over to the mainstream and become household words, but Lara did what neither Mario nor Sonic could ever do. She made gaming seem cool and adventurous to those who often looked upon the hobby as child’s play. With her initial title leading gamers into a brave new world of 3D adventure – launching fairly close to Mario’s first foray into that extra dimension – Lara put forth more than just a pretty face – even if those good looks helped her vault the velvet rope, repping appearances on everything from Entertainment Tonight to the U2 concert tour. And yes, she eventually fell from grace but that was largely to do with the poor handling of her core product and less about the character herself. Square-Enix, the new owners of Eidos’ darling, hopes to trade on her fame with their download-only release, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

( read more… )

Publisher: Ignition
Developer: Zombie Studios
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Looking for a good, engaging, story-based game? Then keep looking, because Blacklight: Tango Down isn’t one of them. From the first moment I delved into the game, I got the immediate impression that its developers put all the big bucks into the action and a few dollars into the story. It didn’t take me long to see that the game lacks an engaging plot and gives me no real sense of identity in the big scheme of the gameplay. I’m just a person with a gun who needs to shoot enemies – who they are and who I am seem irrelevant. Yet I find this to be the case with nearly all FPS games, so we shouldn’t judge the developers so harshly in this respect. For some of you this will be a bonus; you certainly don’t have to sit through hours of cut scenes, you just plough on straight ahead, guns blazing. Blacklight does have its merits, enough to keep the FPS lover happy.

( read more… )

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Vector Unit
Genre: Racing
Release date: Available now

Back in 1999 (I can’t believe that was 11 years ago), Hydro Thunder hit local arcades. A relatively simple game, it quickly became popular as one of the most exciting boat racing games on the market. As a result, the title soon found itself gracing all of the current generation platforms and consoles, from the Dreamcast to the PC. Now after nearly a decade-long hiatus, Hydro Thunder has been revamped and repackaged for the Xbox Live Arcade.

( read more… )

Publisher: D3Publisher
Developer: Infinite Interactive
Genre: Puzzle/RPG
Release date: Available now

With the release of 2007′s Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, developer Infinite Interactive showed that you could successfully mash together two wildly disparate game genres. After stumbling a bit with their first sequel, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, the Aussie developer has stepped back up to the plate with Puzzle Quest 2, delivering an addictive and surprisingly cerebral game that skirts the boundary between casual and hardcore.

( read more… )

Publisher: Playdead Games
Developer: Playdead Games
Genre: Side-scrolling puzzler
Release date: July 21, 2010

Every now and again, I yearn for the good, old days. A time when you could walk into an arcade, drop one quarter into a machine and have fun with a game that only required two buttons and a joystick to control. Like millions of others, I spent way too much time and money in those places. Now, Denmark developer Playdead Games is bringing that feeling back with Limbo, a stark, minimalist side-scroller that gives you more enjoyment than you thought possible with just two controller buttons and an analog stick.

( read more… )