Serious Sam: The First Encounter first strode onto the scene in 2001 and laughed in the face of the progressive thematic elements that its brethren were exploring at the time. While retro shooters such as Doom and Duke Nukem paved the way forward and other first-person shooters were busy tackling more mature themes, this adrenaline-laden thrill ride threw caution to the wind and in the process trash-talked its way into the hearts of gamers everywhere. In a somewhat ironic twist, Sam did things a lot less seriously than the competition.
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All posts in Xbox Live Arcade
Review: Serious Sam: The Next Encounter HD
On February 10, 2010
In Review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
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Review: Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!
On January 8, 2010
In Review, Xbox Live Arcade
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The Rainbow Islands series spun off from Bubble Bobble as a sequel, opening the door to a brand new franchise. Following the “true ending” of the original Bubble Bobble game, the game was an adventure involving human forms of the iconic dragons Bub and Bob, escaping from rapidly sinking land masses via rainbow. It might sound silly, but it garnered mostly positive critical reception and received several sequels. The latest of which, Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure, was recently released via WiiWare and the Xbox Live Arcade. While it manages to capture most of the magic that made its predecessors memorable, much of the whimsy is dwindling with this next-gen update.
Review: WhipCrack
On November 13, 2009
In Review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
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Independent games are always a source of great inspiration (and sometimes, ridicule) in that you never know what you’re going to find nestled away in the depths of indie creations. You’ll find some hidden gems, and you’ll get into some real stinkers. In the case of WhipCrack, you have a bit of a diamond in the rough that presents some fair challenge, interesting game mechanics, and a very strange story.
Review: Ion Assault
On November 13, 2009
In Review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
With Comments Off on Review: Ion Assault
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Everywhere you venture in the world of indie gaming and the Xbox Live Arcade you’ll find clones of the wildly successful Geometry Wars from Bizarre Creations. Usually, most of them don’t live up to the standards that the original set and ultimately end up failing. Some take different paths to branch out, essentially creating variations on the dual-stick shooter that made such a splash. Ion Assault is one that attempted to go in a different direction from the rest of the pack. While the analog sticks are used, the elements that made up Geometry Wars have been traded in for a solo asteroid-shooter that works rather well — if you can get the hang of the controls.
Review: The Warriors: Street Brawl
On October 11, 2009
In Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
With Comments Off on Review: The Warriors: Street Brawl
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In 2005 Rockstar Games released a very different version of The Warriors, an adaptation of the classic 70s film that enjoys a cult following. For some strange reason, Paramount Digital Entertainment felt as if reviving the franchise one more time for a lackluster brawler of an arcade game was a good idea. Then again, these people were the same people responsible for Star Trek D-A-C, so it’s really no wonder that The Warriors: Street Brawl misses the mark entirely both as a game and both as a piece of entertainment drawing correctly from superb source material.