Archive for September, 2011

Review: Tiny Heroes

Tiny Heroes, at first glance, seemed much more like a tower defense-lite title than a full-fledged hardcore “protect the land” title. And I liked it. While I found Simutronics Corp.’s geoDefense an agreeable little mobile powerhouse, I instantly gravitated toward the cartoonish and more simplistic nature of Tiny Heroes, which boasts adorable little heroes (as the title suggests) setting out to pilfer treasure from any locale they can. While a little easier than hardcore tower defense fans may clamor for, it’s an engaging (and completely adorable) adventure that’s well worth your $2.99.

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Review: Rotastic

I’m so used to iPhone titles being runaway hits that when viewing Rotastic, an Xbox Live Arcade game, my first instinct was to look it up via App Store and compare pricing and value. To my surprise, I couldn’t locate the game. After spending several hours with Rotastic I was convinced it had once been a mobile title having made the leap to console, as it looks and feels so much like the work of a mobile developer that I could barely believe it was exclusive to consoles and PC. This colorful and frenetic easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master puzzler is a blast, and though it isn’t available for on the go play now, I have a feeling it soon will be.

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Review: Rise of Nightmares

While the Kinect library has been sorely lacking in core-oriented titles, it’s never had a shortage of shovelware-worthy casual games. Despite Sega’s valiant attempt to open the door to hardcore gamers and those of us looking for something a little more frightening for use with the pricey peripheral, I have to say there’s still a shortage. But that’s not a bad thing. I knew going into this motion control business that its incorporation into the core titles I love would be a risky maneuver at best. However, games like Rise of Nightmares don’t exactly further the cause. Still, I have to admit it was quite the gutsy move on Sega’s part.

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Review: Leedmees

Remember Lemmings? Those helpless little guys would walk straight off a cliff if you’d let them. And I let them, more often than not, because I found it hilarious. When faced with Konami’s Leedmees, an Xbox Live Arcade Kinect title seemingly inspired by those impressionable little creatures, I was intrigued. First of all, what in the world were those bizarre stick-men featured on the game’s artwork, and what kind of Kinect motion control could possibly be used here? The answers were actually quite impressive.

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Review: Crimson Alliance

I’m missing Diablo just as much as the rest of you. When there’s a title that provides the same thrill of decimating enemies and looting their corpses, especially with a group of friends, I pay attention. Enter Crimson Alliance, an Xbox Live Arcade title that does just that. Certain Affinity has gotten the dungeon crawling genre down to a science in this co-op brawler that serves as a great weekend play with friends — especially those who might need a refresher course in grinding for glory.

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