Since time began inventors have played a major role in the advancement of society, ensuring we’re always striving towards the next big technological breakthrough, finding the most efficient way of leading our lives, or simply by designing things that look cool. Developers Orchid Games have conjured up a new invention themed point-and-click adventure, Modern Tales: Age of Invention, to expand upon Artifex Mundi’s ever-growing publishing catalogue of this genre. Is it an inventive addition on Xbox One though, or is it an experience that’s essentially been done many times already before?
If you’re a fan of strategy titles, then Kite Games’ Sudden Strike 4 will be one you’ll probably be quite fond of. After finally arriving halfway through 2018 with the European Battlefields Edition, Sudden Strike 4 has gone on to bring a steady stream of new content to those looking to get in on some classic World War II real-time strategy warfare, and recently the opportunity expanded further with the arrival of the Pacific War DLC. Does it retain the same level of quality we’ve become accustomed to with the base game though?
Do you want to play a new action based RPG? One with tight, responsive controls, a compelling story and a real drive to push on and see what happens next? Well, I have bad news for you - KEMCO's latest offering is not the game you're looking for.
Ahhh, shoot ’em ups. The long lived genre that has been much underappreciated. I’ve got to admit to being a big fan of them, in fact in 2018 one of the games I spent the most time with was the classic shoot ’em up adventure Sky Force Reloaded. So when the chance came to jump into one of 2019’s newest additions to the genre, I knew I had to see if we were about to get another sleeping giant of the genre. Whilst I can’t confess to enjoying it as much as the aforementioned, AngerForce: Reloaded is indeed a suitable addition to the genre.
One thing the Xbox has been missing is a tennis game that looks to capture the same magic harnessed by Nintendo and Mario Tennis. If any game is going to be able to do that though, it is Smoots World Cup Tennis and with my racket firmly attached to my hand, I headed to the court.
Take a dash of Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon, a pinch of The Sims, a glug of Farm Together and a smidge of Zelda. Stir with an anime spoon. This is the recipe for My Time at Portia, a new life sim RPG from Pathea Games and Team17. But is the end-result more yummy or crummy?
There was a period of time when a games review wasn’t a games review unless a certain aspect of a game was referred to as ‘The Dark Souls of’ something or other. You know, ‘The jumping section of Destiny’s raids are like the Dark Souls of platforming’ or ‘The flying levels in Spyro Reignited are like the Dark Souls of dragon navigation’. You get the idea, and readers of the reviews were rightly tired of seeing this analogy overused.
But then games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice come along, and there’s only so many ways to describe the difficulty in the game. It is that difficult that the analogy needs to be used. So, here it goes:
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the Dark Souls of Dark Souls games.
It is this game which has players across the globe chomping at the bit, as they look for a new arcade racer that can manage to deliver the same experience as that found across the entirety of the legendary Burnout franchise. Unfortunately, as much as I and many others would like it to be, this is no Burnout beater. In fact, it's nowhere near.
In Outward, you won’t find yourself taking on some gargantuan heroic role; you’re no hero of the universe, you’re not the latest Dragonborn and you won’t be part of a group of legendary monster hunters. See, you’re just one of the locals, a villager, but more importantly one of few survivors of a recent shipping accident at sea.
Vaporum feels like one of those experiences from an older, more familiar, time. But it has still managed to do something to me that was surprising. It made me feel like I was playing something completely new and original.
Way, way back in the mists of time, in 1987 to be precise, when this reviewer was a fresh faced 14 year old, a game called Shadowgate was released. It quickly gained a following and was elevated almost to the status of a cult game, due in large part to its atmosphere and difficulty. See, in Shadowgate, if your torch went out and you didn't have a replacement, you died. If you chose the wrong option, you more often than not died. You see where I'm going with this?
Fast forward to today, and Shadowgate is launching on the Xbox One. But has time been kind?
Transporting the dining experience to the gaming world has come in various forms over the years, with the serving and cleaning up aspect covered in Diner Dash, the Cooking Mama series focusing on the preparation of meals, and the Overcooked! titles showcasing just how frantic being a chef can be. But what if there was a game that took a selection of ingredients from each of those aforementioned titles? Well, I think it’s safe to say Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! on Xbox One ticks that box.
Metagal lets you take control of a cyborg named Meta, who's on a mission to rescue her creator, Dr Ray, from the villainous hands of Dr Creeper, the mad leader of a robotic army. To make things even more sinister, Meta’s siblings have all been kidnapped by Dr Creeper, and turned into battle robots you must face along the way to stopping the evil doctor.
After finding critical success when released for PSVR in August of 2018, Tribetoy has ported Bow to Blood: Last Captain Standing to the traditional console experience. Expanding on their previous release, you find yourself commanding your airship through up to 10 different levels with randomly generated missions. In order to make it out on top you have to create alliances, cripple your enemies and turn your back on those asking for help. But is there enough in Bow to Blood to differentiate itself from other rogue-lites? Or is it destined to sink below the mist?
