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A PlayStation fan for most of his childhood, once he picked up an Xbox with Panzer Dragoon Orta he never looked back.
Tamarin on Xbox is a game that does not know what it wants to be, one capable of completely blindsiding player expectations. It’s simply a weird game, perhaps one of the weirdest in the platformer genre. Still, the real disappointment is just how boring and bare the third person shooting action is, with no real sense of rewarding level design or progression.
Alchemic Cutie on Xbox is an interesting but tough sell. It no doubt has its charms and strengths, and yet its distinguishing ideas lack real substance in execution; the experience as a whole can feel pointless for a genre that is known to champion a pointless slice of life loop in the first place.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a solid and enjoyable remake of a Harvest Moon classic. Yet while you get to enjoy a classic experience intact, it also feels incredibly dated given the other options available on Xbox today.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy- Definitive Edition on Xbox is an overpriced and poorly produced release which does absolutely no favours to the classic games it attempts to celebrate. The experience here is far from definitive, and aside from the sheer laziness in the graphical remastering and performance, it introduces a whole slew of performance issues.
When Perfect Dark landed on Nintendo 64 in the year 2000, it came out at a time when gaming had stepped into the 128-bit era with Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, yet it was Nintendo’s 64-bit machine which still had a few tricks left up its sleeve. With the legendary Goldeneye serving as the precedent, developer Rare decided to take those ideas to a whole other level, this time not bound to the James Bond IP. Perfect Dark lived up to the hype, despite the gaming medium going through a dramatic transition at the time.
Task Force Kampas on Xbox One can be a fun and unique experience for those who have never stepped into the fascinating world of Japanese doujin shooters. All things considered it’s a pretty basic arcade shooter, and the gameplay variety is fairly limited, but the challenge and level design can be compelling as you slowly improve and get a higher score.
Ion Fury on Xbox One is more than just a retro-styled homage to a bygone era of the FPS genre, it in fact belongs in the gaming landscape of 2020 just as much as the next Halo or Call of Duty. Hardly a mere throwback, it is a reminder and wake-up call for the genre, especially when it comes to authentic and engaging level design. Ion Fury isn’t just what a FPS used to be, it’s what a FPS still ought to be.
With distracting performance issues and limited gameplay content despite there being a few different game modes, Super Dodge Ball is a tough sell given that the far more entertaining Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge is available as the superior unconventional sports option.
Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge is the couch multiplayer game to rule them all, and the Xbox One release comes equipped with online multiplayer too, which can work quite well as long as you have a friend who owns a copy and can have a stable connection with you. It advertises itself as an unconventional Olympics game, but even that is an understatement because Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge throws the rule book out the window to make sports feel fun again.
River City Ransom on Xbox One is one of those games where it is still hard to believe that it’s from the primitive ‘80s era of gaming. While parts of it have understandably become a little dated, as a whole when you consider the game design, art, gameplay, and overall scope of its ambition and execution, this still manages to feel fresh and modern in any gaming era. For Xbox fans, this is their long overdue foray into the fist-crazy world of River City.
If you’re a fan of the genre looking to explore its rich history and origins, then Renegade on Xbox One is a pretty insightful trip down arcade brawling lane.
Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones on Xbox One isn’t a beacon of beat em’ up games in 2020, but hindsight is a little kinder to its well-intentioned ideas that were unfortunately rather flimsy in execution. This game was part of the swansong for NES, and decades later it’s now a case of a historical curiosity which may be enjoyable to those genre enthusiasts with an acquired taste.
Without any of the bells and whistles this is simply Double Dragon optimised for Xbox One. It certainly could have offered a whole lot more as a release, but the base NES game is still a strong and playable classic even in 2020. It may be a hard sell given the quality of other archive releases on Xbox One, but anyone hankering for the original granddaddy of beat ‘em ups will enjoy this trip down brawler lane.
Doug Hates His Job on Xbox One has an interesting setup for what could have been a gamer’s dream game, because a lot of us still play video games well into our adult life as a fantasy escape from our dreadful jobs and responsibilities. Instead, it ends up being an experience far more dreary and painful than a day job.
Woodle Tree 2: Deluxe+ on Xbox One is as wholesome and serviceable a platformer as they come. If you have already exhausted the many stronger alternatives available on Xbox One, then this woodsy adventure might be worth a look, and it won’t set you back too much either.
Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition on Xbox One could have stood out from the many retro style indie RPG efforts, with a beautiful setting, charming characters, and excellent pixel art to complement a genuinely interesting narrative. Unfortunately, the utterly messy map design and cumbersome gameplay hold it back from realising its true potential.
Neon City Riders on Xbox One is a refreshing ‘80s neon interpretation of The Legend of Zelda with plenty of inventive ideas, both in its game design and stylistic presentation. It is certainly not an experience for the faint and impatient, but it may be just the thing for players yearning for those brutal gaming experiences from that decade.
Grizzland on Xbox One won’t set you back a whole lot with its modest asking price, so really, it’s an acquired taste that certain type of gamers will self-select into. If you’re old enough to remember playing Adventure on the Atari as a child, or are after an alternative and minimalist Metroidvania adventure, then Grizzland might be worth a look.
Before The Super Mario Bros. Movie came out, we would have spat out our coffee at the prospect of a Nintendo Cinematic Universe. Now, we’ve got a head full of ideas for Metroid and Legend of Zelda movies.
Should you have upgraded your Cities: Skylines experience with the Remastered version of the game, making the most of the power of Xbox Series X|S, building out your city creations with additional tiles, UI improvements and graphical enhancements, then you will probably have interest in the latest DLC packs to hit the game.
'Critically acclaimed on PC' usually equates to a console release occurring at some point in time. That's the case for Teardown as it is unveiled for Xbox and PlayStation.
Before The Super Mario Bros. Movie came out, we would have spat out our coffee at the prospect of a Nintendo Cinematic Universe. Now, we’ve got a head full of ideas for Metroid and Legend of Zelda movies.
The lack of songs, and the slight safety in terms of their choice means that Let’s Sing 2023 - Eurovision Hits Song Pack doesn’t quite get douze points, but it did have us wishing that we had a backless sequin dress and a revolving stage.
