DreamBreak (Xbox One, 2017)

DreamBreak
Developed by Aist
Published by Digerati Distribution
Released for Xbox One (9/2017)
Also on PC/PS4/Mac

DreamBreak is a cinematic platformer sporting retro pixel-art, similar in vein to old classics like Another World and Flashback. DreamBreak is set in post-Cold War USSR in some type of Orwellian universe and has the player taking control of Eugene. Eugene is a janitor who finds himself accused of a murder in Soviet Russia and must find a way to avoid being apprehended, at least I'm pretty sure that's what was going on.

DreamBreak is a nice looking game, sporting some simple yet detailed sprite art. It definitely looks like something that could have come out for PC in the early '90's. The animation is excellent, with characters moving about fluidly, a staple of the cinematic platform genre. There's a few annoying sounds when destroying some of the robots, but for the most part the sound design is unobtrusive and above average. The music fits the tone of game well. Overall, DreamBreak does a good job in the presentation department.

The character controls might seem a bit clunky to those unfamiliar with these cinematic platformer games, but once you get a feel for the grid style movement of the character it's quite easy to get where you need to go. Holding the LB or RB buttons will cause the player to run while using the triggers and holding a direction will leap. The leap is a long jump, very reminiscent of Prince of Persia.  Holding up near a ledge allows you to climb up. The A button will interact with objects and enter doors. It's a simple control scheme and works well enough.

When you approach an enemy your character will draw his gun, at which point you can fire using RB and engage your shields with LB. This is where we arrive at one of DreamBreak's most glaring issues: the gun battles aren't the slightest bit engaging. You can literally just hold LB and RB during each gun segment and never take a single lick of damage the entire game. Discharging your firearm at your enemy should be an exciting event, but instead in DreamBreak it's reduced to just holding down the shoulder buttons. The game would have greatly benefited from a better combat system, something like the cover system like Blackthorne had or something of that nature.

DreamBreak consists mostly of exploring and getting into the occasional gunfight, but there are also several other game-types mixed in. There's an arcade that can be played, which is a wild west showdown game that unfortunately plays exactly like the gun encounters in the game. There's also a hoverbike game where you see how long you can cruise along on your bike without hitting anything. Another segment has you riding in a taxi being attacked by flying robots. You'll have to hack the robots before they take down your car. Several areas will have you doing the pipe puzzles where you'll need to arrange pipes in order to get water to flow in a certain direction, similar to Pipe Dream. The pipe puzzles were enjoyable, but I didn't really find much notable about any of the other game types. They're mostly forgettable and even a bit annoying. The taxi segment where you have to hack the robots is far more difficult than anything else the game throws at you and it's right near the start of the game! I found myself looking forward to getting back to the core style of gameplay rather than wanting to play the other game-styles on offer.

The world the developers created in DreamBreak is interesting to explore for the most part but there are some issues regarding the story. There's some kind of crazy story delivered through a few dialogue segments about a computer AI going nuts or something like that. It's all a bit convoluted and I found myself more confused than anything by the end of the game. There are at least three different endings to be seen, though two of them end with the same result. It's hard to have much attachment to any of the characters when the game is over so fast. DreamBreak will likely only last you maybe two hours and outside of the multiple endings there's not much to bring you back for another playthrough. The endings can all be viewed quickly by simply reloading your last checkpoint.

While DreamBreak looks good and controls decently enough, the lackluster minigames, boring gunfights, short length and confusing story add up to a game that had some solid potential but ends up missing the mark by a bit. Cinematic platformer fans will likely get a bit of fun out of it, as will achievement hunters looking to add an easy completion to their gamertag. All others I'd recommend checking out the originals that inspired this game first, such as Another World and Flashback. If you do end up getting DreamBreak, I'd definitely suggest waiting for a sale considering you're only getting a few hours out of it.

Final Verdict: DreamBreak is a good-looking throwback to cinematic platformers but the short length, boring gunfights and lame minigames hold it back from being as good as it could have been. Only hardcore cinematic platformer fans and achievement hunters will find much to like here.

Related Links:
Buy DreamBreak - Microsoft Store
Buy Digerati Made in USSR Bundle - Microsoft Store
DreamBreak - GameFAQs
Digerati Distribution - Official Site
DreamBreak - True Achievements
DreamBreak Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

The Tempura of the Dead (XBLIG, 2010)

The Tempura of the Dead
Developed by JPN 8bits fanatics
Released for XBLIG (11/2010)

The Tempura of the Dead is a 2D action-platformer released in late 2010 exclusively for XBLIG. The game has you playing as two different characters that you can switch between on the fly. The main character is Thompson, who is the President of the United States and uses firearms to take matters into his own hands. Accompanying Thompson is a samurai wielding a sword named Sugimoto. Thompson looks like a cross between former US President Barack Obama and anime legend Lupin the Third.

Each stage in Tempura of the Dead will feature a certain number of larger creatures and once all have been destroyed you will progress to the next stage. Stages are selected via an overworld map which also features shops where you can buy upgrades/health for your characters. Items can be purchased with your points which are gained by juggling zombie heads. After the zombies take enough damage, their head will go flying up in the air and if you can juggle it a couple times you'll initiate "tempura fever," and every head you hit in the air after will give you bonus points. Decapitated heads can be juggled with either your sword or bullets depending on which character you're using. There are four boss battles you'll encounter through the game, with the last one having you face off against a possessed Statue of Liberty!

The Tempura of the Dead features an 8-bit pixel style that feels very true to form, very similar to the developers' other effort Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes. You can see the developer took a lot of care in presenting this game in a retro aesthetic. The controls are solid and the only complaint I can find is that jumping doesn't work while moving near an edge sometimes, which becomes a bit of an issue in later stages with very narrow platforms. It's extremely frustrating to see your character simply walk over the edge of a platform to his death when you know you pressed the jump button. You'll have to adjust to jumping before pressing over in the direction you're trying to move, which is a shame but I've found this is a common issue with several of the more challenging XBLIG platformers. It's not totally game-breaking though and you'll adapt to it if you play the game enough, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Also, while the music is decent and has the appropriate chip-tune sound, the game would have benefited from a bit more variety as the tracks are quite short and they tend to loop fast.

Tempura of the Dead features 24 levels with a few boss battles sprinkled throughout and it never feels like it drags on too long. It feels about the perfect length for the original $3 asking price. The currency/upgrade system pads the game out a tad but I found it enjoyable enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind. A playthrough of the game will probably last around 5 hours, which isn't bad for the cheap price. Tempura of the Dead was a solid XBLIG title with a retro feel and it would be nice to see it released again on a future platform so it's not completely forgotten in the sands of time. If you're a fan of late '80's/early '90's retro gaming, The Tempura of the Dead is one you'll enjoy!

Final Verdict: The Tempura of the Dead is an excellent 2D action/platformer that looks, plays and sounds like a classic 8-bit title. Highly recommended!

Related Links:
8bits Fanatics - Xbox Overview
The Tempura of the Dead - GameFAQs
Tempura of the Dead on 8bits Fanatics - Official Site

Zeroptian Invasion (Xbox One, 2019)

Zeroptian Invasion
Developed by Josyan
Published by Ratalaika Games
Released for Xbox One (4/2019)
Also on Linux/Switch/PC/PS4/Vita

Zeroptian Invasion pays homage to one of the all-time arcade classics, Space Invaders, and aims to deliver some retro shooter action. Featuring a low price point and an easy achievement list to complete, the game will without a doubt appeal to achievement hunters but let's take a look and see if it's worth anything outside of some easy gamerscore.

Graphically, Zeroptian Invasion is a simple affair. True to it's inspiration, the simplistic graphics look like something that came out in the late '70's or early '80's, featuring blocky enemies that typically consist of only a color or two. Sound effects are the bleeps and bloops that were common in the early arcade era. Though incredibly simple, the graphics and sound do a decent job invoking the retro feel that the designers were aiming for. There's also some nice-looking art featured on the sides of the screen that resembles the type of stuff you'd find on the bezels of old arcade games.

The gameplay is very similar to Space Invaders, with the player's ship being only able to move on a horizontal axis while blasting on creatures that slowly descend the longer they are left alive. Just like in Space Invaders there are three shields that will absorb enemy bullets but will disappear upon taking too much damage. Every so often a UFO will zip across the top of the screen, which will disperse a power-up when hit. These consist of helpful items like a faster shot or a shield. Zeroptian Invasion also features stages with enemies that attack in patterns similar to the arcade classic Galaga.

Every few stages the game throws in a boss battle which upon defeat will mark a checkpoint you'll resume from should you need to continue. There's a decent amount of variety between the bosses and they're much tougher than the average enemies. The designers were nice enough to include a life bar for the boss at the bottom of the screen. You get two ships in Zeroptian Invasion and once lost you'll see an old-school 10-second countdown to continue. There are unlimited continues available, so anybody with a little perseverance can see there way through the game. Using a continue will reset your score and restart you after the previous boss you've defeated, so there is still a penalty for using a continue.

At the title screen you can access the options menu which gives you the ability to rotate the screen if you want to play from a vertical orientation, turn on a CRT filter and toggle sound/vibration. The game also keeps track of your local online scores, which will help give the game at least a little replay value for some people out there. 

You know how most games give you a prompt whenever you ask to exit out to the main menu during gameplay? It's a handy feature in case you accidentally select this option and don't want to lose your progress, but in Zeroptian Invasion no such feature exists, so be careful when pausing the game and navigating the start menu as one button press on exit will promptly send you to the title screen (trust me, I did this on accident!). Outside of this minor issue, I found Zeroptian Invasion to be a stable game and didn't run into any type of glitching or crashing while playing.

It's worth noting just how easy it is to obtain 100% of the achievements in Zeroptian Invasion. Containing one of the higher achievement completion ratios I've seen yet on the Xbox One, more than 50% of the people that booted the game up unlocked all of the achievements. There's a reason for this, as the entire set can be unlocked in about roughly 10 minutes. You'll only have to reach stage 7 and by the time you've made it that far chances are you've unlocked everything else along the way. The game's cheap price point and quick completion time makes this an ideal title for achievement hunters, but luckily for anybody craving some old-school Space Invaders shooter action this is actually a decent title. It's certainly not a great game, but it's an above-average retro-styled shooter that plays well enough and you could certainly do worse when it comes to budget-priced titles on the Xbox One.

Final Verdict: Zeroptian Invasion is a simple and somewhat generic Space Invaders style retro shooter. The achievements can be unlocked super quick but there is also a decent old-school shooter here as well.

Related Links:
Buy Zeroptian Invasion - Microsoft Store

Related Links:
Shmups - Xbox Overview
Zeroptian Invasion - Metacritic
Zeroptian Invasion - GameFAQs
Ratalaika Games - Official Site
Zeroptian Invasion - True Achievements