If you value your free time, or have a backlog of games to get through, then be warned: The Colonists can put you under the same magical spell as the original Settlers and ANNO. While its slowness can be occasionally irksome, particularly in the Campaign, it has a habit of dragging you back in. Book a week off, find a log cabin with wi-fi and no intrusions, and watch the time disappear.
There will be a couple of different reactions to The Skylia Prophecy on the Xbox. Anyone who expects decent action from their action platformers, with responsive controls and a powerful set of moves, is going to be disappointed and should probably back away. But those who persist past the flaws will find something well-paced, surprisingly non-linear and flecked with good ideas.
MLB The Show 21 has done a good job of making not just the game, but baseball as a whole, a bit more approachable, but there is still a punishingly high difficulty curve.
Crime Opera: The Butterfly Effect fails to capitalise on its unique premise and setting by falling short where it matters. The writing is juvenile, cringe-inducing, and at times even offensively embarrassing. It takes some level of care and maturity to explore adult themes, and unfortunately the writing here just doesn’t feel appropriate.
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a hugely enjoyable FMV and I would love to see more episodes follow this in the future. The writing, choice-making, and innovative ideas are all of a high standard and this means that it's another big tick for the fascinating and exciting D’Avekki Studios. Fans of the FMV scene should definitely give this a go.
Blazing Beaks on Xbox is definitely worth picking up. It’s challenging, well put together, and just a fun way to kill some time. It's helped by the fact that the risk and reward mechanics are extremely well-done, especially since the amount of risk is tailored to what the player decides.
Gravity Heroes on Xbox manages to bring a few good ideas to the table, and does just enough to allow it to be something to recommend - no matter whether you are alone or if you have a few friends around.
Battle Axe on the Xbox is fast-food in an action-brawler wrapper. It tastes and looks good in the short-term, full of E numbers and shots of adrenaline. But it leaves you unsatisfied in the long term, leaving you hungry for something more than thirty minutes of easy hacking and slashing. When you’re £25 lighter after the experience, you’d be forgiven for expecting a heartier meal with more courses.
Angels of Death on Xbox will likely win over horror fans who are after a compelling and twisted narrative, featuring a cast of characters that are just as complex as they are nefarious. It’s easy to see how the storyline has spawned so many related media, but as a video game this feels like a conceptual RPG Maker effort at best; one where some of its best ideas are held back by the inherent limitations of the engine.
It’s not very often that you find a couple of cats in love taking the centre stage for a game, but that’s the case in Yoko & Yuki: Dr Rat’s Revenge. It’s a puzzling adventure with platforming elements from developers at Hoodoo Bear, who you may remember for their frustrating Metroidvania experience Oliver’s Adventures in the Fairyland. Could Yoko & Yuki: Dr Rat’s Revenge, and the adorable feline duo found within, bring something more enjoyable to the table on this occasion?
There is so much ambition to be found in Protocol on the Xbox. At times, it’s on a path to becoming a hybrid of Prey and Portal, both in the way it feels to play, and its ability to generate left-field ideas. Unfortunately, the ideas never fail to be executed poorly. Thanks largely to its controls, you will be, by turns, infuriated, bored, confused and offended. For a game that starts by feeling like a commentary on the lack of control in video games, it’s when you’re handed control that Protocol is at its worst.
The friends of Ringo Ishikawa on Xbox is an unconventional beat ‘em up, with an opaque design and almost aimless sense of progression. The game has a strong atmosphere as it provides a setting for players to lose themselves in, yet there is no real gameplay loop or substance here as players need to create this for themselves.
Bad Dream: Coma on Xbox will leave a mark, mostly thanks to its strange, surreal visuals and dream-like concept. It's a good point-and-click adventure, but might be too obscure and surreal for some - you’ll certainly have to work in order to understand the purpose of the main character and what is happening to them.
Super Meat Boy Forever lives up to its reputation, providing another hard-as-nails platforming experience. It expands well on the original, despite occasionally feeling overwhelmingly brutal, which may put some off. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted, but should please fans of the original test.
