Shenmue II (Xbox, 2002 | Xbox One, 2018)

Shenmue II

Developed by Sega AM2/d3t Ltd.

Published by Sega

Released for Xbox (10/29/2002) | Xbox One (8/21/2018)
Also on Dreamcast/PC/PS4

Xbox Version Backwards Compatible with Xbox 360/Xbox One

 

 

Shenmue II picks up right where the first game left off, (minor spoiler alert) starting off with Ryo arriving in Hong Kong. Originally a Japan-only release in 2001 for the Dreamcast, Shenmue II was large enough to warrant 4 GD-ROMS (the disc format used for the Dreamcast). English-speaking audiences wouldn't get to experience the game until 2002 when it received a release for the Xbox and, thanks to the size of the DVD format, the whole game would now fit on a single disc. A bonus disc was included which contained Shenmue: The Movie, a 90-minute feature that showcased the plot from the original game. The game would remain locked to the Dreamcast and Xbox platforms all the way up until 2018 when Shenmue I & II were released for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The port boasts some nice upgrades, but these are still the classic Shenmue games for better or worse. Has the sequel aged gracefully or is it one of those better left in the past? Let's get into it and explore the world of Shenmue II...

Visually, Shenmue II is very much in line with the original game but there are larger and more diverse environments to explore. The environments you'll explore are impressive and detailed for the most part, though towards the end of the game you'll spend lots of time inside buildings that tend to feel empty and boring. The characters look about the same as the first game and it is still one of the aspects that could really use an overhaul as the characters come off looking a bit stiff and doll-like at times. The music is another department where Shenmue II saw some improvements, featuring a soundtrack with some nice tunes that I found more memorable than the songs in the original. The quality of the voice samples is also much better this time. Overall it's a more polished presentation than the first entry on all fronts.

What is the Xbox Creators Program? | Xbox Overview

What is the Xbox Creators Program?
Published July 2021

The Launch
The Xbox Live Creators Program went live in August 2017. Not to be confused with the ID@Xbox program, which spotlights more high-profile indie games, the Creators Program will allow potentially anybody to publish a title in the store and allowing for more small-scale titles to hit the market. Games released through the Creators Program lack many features in standard Xbox titles, including no achievements and lack of online support. Even if a developer uses a workaround to allow for online play, it's going to be difficult to find populated games in such obscure titles. If it sounds similar to the Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) section on the Xbox 360, that's because it is...

There was a sense of déjà vu when the Creators Program launched, bringing back memories of how the XBLIG were buried within the storefront, making them difficult to stumble upon by accident. The Creators Program storefront was only accessible from the front page of the store, which sounds good at first until you realize that this isn't necessarily a frequently navigated page. Most users will check the new games and the deals, neither of which feature Creators Program games. With the Creators Program service being so similar to what XBLIG was offering, it's a bit of a bummer that they didn't just carry those games over to the Xbox One rather than just close that storefront and ditch the thousands of games that had been submitted on the service.

Shenmue (Xbox One, 2018)

Shenmue

Developed by Sega/d3t Ltd.

Published by Sega

Released for Xbox One (8/21/2018)

Also on PC/PS4

 

Originally released for the Dreamcast in 1999 (2000 in the US) and was a landmark title that was created with the biggest budget Sega had ever used for a video game at the time of its release. Shenmue was created with Yu Suzuki at the helm as director (Outrun, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter) and is considered by many to be one of the most important releases for the short-lived Sega Dreamcast console. In this review we'll take a look at the Xbox One 2018 release of Shenmue, which also came out for the PC and PlayStation 4. 

Shenmue was quite the ambitious project back in the 90's when it came out, featuring a decent size open-world to explore with detail that had been unrivaled at the time. The game tells the story of Ryo Hazuki, who witnesses his father beaten to death in their dojo at the start of the game. The rest of the game is spent trying to identify the man who killed your father and get revenge for his murder. Taking place in Yokosuka, Japan, you'll have access to explore several areas which are linked by brief loading screens. The town is called Dobuita, which is where the majority of the interesting stuff will occur. There are a large number of shops you can enter, NPCs to interact with (though most don't have time to talk to you) and other various activities. Shenmue really excels at making the environments feel immersive and alive, with NPCs that operate on a schedule and will actually go about doing their own thing. In addition to a day and night cycle, there are also varying states of weather including rain and snow. At the end of the day you'll have to go home and sleep, but thankfully the developers spared us from having to eat and use the bathroom. 

Brutal Chase (Xbox One, 2018)

Brutal Chase 

Developed/Published by Gamer Bear

Released for Xbox One (12/15/2018)

 

Brutal Chase was developed by Gamer Bear (the same ones that brought us Coconut Farm 3D) and was released under the Creators Collection program in December 2018. If you've ever played any of the arcade classic Chase HQ games then you'll know what to expect from Brutal Chase. The gameplay involves taking to the streets in a police car and ramming your vehicle into criminals as a means of apprehending them. We haven't had the best experience with these Creators Collection games thus far, but with such a cool premise and cheap price tag, I was more than willing to take a chance on this one. Without further ado, let's get into it and see if this one is worth ninety-nine cents that it cost to play it....

In Brutal Chase you'll smash up the cars of criminals in 9 different locations scattered across the globe. The game starts off in New York, but also features stages in San Francisco, Vancouver, Mexico, Isle of Man, Hamburg, Barcelona and Agra. As you smash up the criminals, you'll accumulate credits which can be spent between missions in order to upgrade your current car or purchase a new vehicle. There are a total of 5 vehicles to purchase, with each featuring more stats to grind your way towards upgrading. While pursuing the criminals you'll also have to watch out for civilian traffic, since colliding with innocent cars will deduct credits from your wallet. 

Smash TV (XBLA, 2005)

Smash TV

Developed by Midway/Digital Eclipse

Published by Midway

Released for XBLA (11/24/2005)

Also on Arcade

 

Around a year after Xbox Live Arcade launched, Midway dropped a bunch of arcade classics as download-only titles onto the service and Smash TV was one such title. An arcade fondly remembered by those who played it back in the day, Smash TV is a twin-stick shooter with a game show theme heavily inspired by the Running Man. We'll go into a brief overview of the game to see if it's still worth playing all these years later... 

Smash TV is the textbook definition of an arcade quarter muncher, meaning that the game is excessively difficult and designed to empty out all of the quarters from your pockets. Death will come quick and frequently in Smash TV as you are constantly being swarmed from enemies in all directions. There are only 3 levels, but there are many screens within each. You'll get to choose your own path as you go, making for some nice replay value should you decide to come back for more. Each room is a screen where you'll have to fend off an onslaught of enemies while powerups and bonus prizes appear at random during the action. There's a nice array of weaponry to find here, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Renegade (Xbox One, 2020)

Renegade

Developed by Technos Japan/I.T.L.

Published by Arc System Works

Released for Xbox One (4/16/2020)

Also on PS4/Switch

Renegade holds an important place in gaming history, so before we delve into the Xbox One port I'd like to at least graze over this. Originally released in the arcades back in 1986, Renegade is the first beat 'em up game to add a plane that allows your character to move 8-ways. Kung Fu Master is technically the first beat 'em up, but Renegade is the original belt-scroller of the genre. Renegade was ported to the Famicom/NES in 1988 and for some reason this is the version that Arc System Works felt like bringing to us in this port. Right off the bat, I question why include the 8-bit port and not the arcade original, which looks and plays much better. Why not include both? Let's take a look into the Xbox port of the NES port of Renegade and see if it's still worth playing after all these years...

Considering that this is one of the first beat 'em ups ever made, there's an impressive array of fighting maneuvers at your disposal. You can punch, kick, run and jump kick. Running can be combined with kick or punch. Getting close to an enemy will allow you to grab them and from there you can either knee them or throw them over your shoulder. You can also sit on top of a downed opponent and punch them while down for some extra brutality. While it's cool that there's so many different moves, there's an issue with the control scheme which we'll get into next...

Freakout: Calamity TV Show (Xbox One, 2020)

Freakout: Calamity TV Show

Developed by Immaterial Studio

Published by JanduSoft

Released for Xbox One (4/17/2020)

Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch

 

Freakout: Calamity TV Show was developed by Immaterial Studio and would be their only release on the Xbox One (and the only game they've created as far as I can tell). Published in April 2020 for the Xbox One by JanduSoft, Freakout immediately gave me hopes for a Smash TV-style twin-stick shooter with its game show theme. In the game description, the developer promises "a juicy top-down dual-stick shooter inspired by old arcade games and more recent die & retry shooters." Basically, the game aspires to be a mix of Smash TV and Hotline Miami. It's a premise with a lot of promise, so let's look at Freakout and see how it fares...

Freakout starts off with you taking the place of a game-show contestant where you must fight for your life with a firearm, similar to the movie the Running Man or the game Smash TV. This premise alone is enough to build a game off of, but Freakout decided to take it a step further with the plot revolving around our contestant escaping from the game show with the assistance of an off-screen helper. You'll play a total of 3 stages with the game-show theme, at which point our character escapes out onto the city streets. It all sounds cool and it's a solid concept, but unfortunately it's all downhill from here...

Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Developed by Klabater

Published by Punch Punk Games

Released for Xbox One (9/6/2019)

Also on PC/PS4

 

Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (could you have possibly made a longer title?) was released for the Xbox One in early September 2019. Brought to us by Poland-based developer and publisher Klabater, this version of Apocalipsis contains the bonus "One Night in the Woods" episode that was released as DLC for the original PC release. Featuring visuals inspired by 15th century engravings, Apocalipsis is a point & click adventure featuring several dark themes including heartbreak, redemption and the end of the world as we know it...

The story in Apocalipsis is heavily inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and starts off showing our character, a young man named Harry, grieving as his girlfriend has been hung after being accused of witchcraft. Harry is desperate to bring his love back and will do whatever it takes to accomplish this. It won't take but a screen or two in before you realize that Harry is prepared to make a deal with the devil in order to be reunited with his lost love. Those offended by dark and occult imagery will probably want to avoid this game, as it obviously delves heavily into this subject matter.

Wailing Heights (Xbox One, 2018)

Wailing Heights

Developed/Published by Outsider Games

Released for Xbox One (8/15/2018)

Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4

 

 

Wailing Heights is the first and only release for the Xbox One from Northern Ireland-based developer Outsider Games. It's a point & click game with an interesting premise that has you playing as a ghost who can "body-hop" to take control of other characters in the world. Featuring some detailed high-definition illustrations that looked like they popped right off a comic book, Wailing Heights certainly possesses some promise. Let's get right into it and find out if it's as cool as it sounds...

In Wailing Heights, you take control of the soul of Francis Finklestein, who was once the manager of a famous rock band from Great Britain called the Deadbeats. You've recently perished and the afterworld is a strange place by the name of Wailing Heights. There are no regular people in Wailing Heights, which is inhabited by a bunch of monsters. These aren't your regular scary monsters though, instead you'll meet hipster vampires, vegan werewolves and soulful zombies. Finklestein is a ghost himself, which explains his ability to hop into the bodies of other citizens.  The main objective as you go about exploring Wailing Heights is to find each member of the Deadbeats band and bring them together for a reunion show.

King's Heir: Rise to the Throne (Xbox One, 2018)

King's Heir: Rise to the Throne

Developed by Cordelia Games

Published by Artifex Mundi

Released for Xbox One (12/14/2018)

Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch

 

King's Heir: Rise to the Throne was developed by Cordelia Games, the same ones who brought us Path of Sin: Greed, which I found enjoyable enough to check out their earlier effort. This game was previously released as Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne and for some reason the later ports of the game had the title changed to King's Heir: Rise to the Throne. Both names are equally forgettable and I couldn't figure out why the title had to be changed, but they're both the same game so it really doesn't matter in the long run. Enough about the title, let's look at King's Heir and see how it plays...

King's Heir is exactly what you'd expect from Artifex Mundi if you've played any of their other releases: a mixture of the point & click and hidden object genres. The story involves a prince who fell in love with and married a poor girl, which the king did not approve of at all. The king sends the prince off to battle and plans to drive the poor girl away while he's out, which backfires when the prince is killed in battle. The prince's wife later died after delivering their baby, which has now gone missing. You take control of a royal knight who must try to find the missing heir, help them regain the crown and take over the throne. It's a cool setup, but unfortunately the characters and dialogue just aren't all that interesting and I found myself really struggling to care about the plot. While the story is a bit of a letdown, it was at least sufficient enough to provide reason to continue forward to the next puzzle. 

 

Woodle Tree Adventures (Xbox One, 2019)

Woodle Tree Adventures

Developed by Fabio Ferrara

Published by Chubby Pixel

Released for Xbox One (5/8/2019)

Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch

Woodle Tree Adventures was originally created by a single developer, Fabio Ferrara, and was released for PC back in  2014. The Xbox One version was ported and published by Chubby Pixel in May 2019. Woodle Tree Adventures bills itself as an old-school platformer that will take you back to good old days of Banjo Kazooie and Mario 64 with lots of jumping and collecting to be done. Without further ado, let's delve into Woodle Tree Adventures and see if it can deliver on its lofty promises of taking me back with a blast of nostalgia...

The story in Woodle Tree Adventures involves the great tree tasking you with finding 3 fairy tears on each stage in order to restore peace to the forest (or something like that). There are 6 worlds to explore, with 2 bonus levels that open up once you've collected enough berries, which act as the games collectibles. There's a decent amount of variety to the stages that no 2 feel alike, though they all feature the same task of finding the 3 tears and then taking them to the exit. In addition to the platforming and collecting, there's also some very basic combat that involves your tree character smacking enemies with his leaf. Initially, the combat feels clunky and you have to be practically on top of enemies before they drop. As you collect enough berries, you'll eventually unlock acceess to new leaves of a different color. These upgraded leaves will fire projectiles, which help make the combat more tolerable than trying to swing the default leaf right next to the enemies.

Concept Destruction (Xbox One, 2020)

Concept Destruction

Developed by Thinice Games

Published by Ratalaika Games

Released for Xbox One (5/20/2020)

Also on PC/PS4/PS5

 

Concept Destruction comes to us from Thinice Games, a one-man development studio out of Barcelona, Spain. Published by Ratalaika Games, the game features cardboard cars squaring off in arenas, destruction derby-style. It's an interesting concept and retails for a reasonable $4.99, so without wasting any more of our precious, limited time, let's get right into the review...

Concept Destruction features some rather simple graphics, but the textures are sharp and everything is easy to distinguish. The concept of racing around in cardboard cars is unique and the cars look the part, right down to the corrugated edges. There's an impressive damage system where the cardboard will react to where they are smashed. 

 

For this review, the game was played on an Xbox One X and the frame-rate dipped frequently when you played with maximum amount of opponents. While the game is still totally playable, this was worth pointing out and you might want to hesitate if you're playing this on anything less than an Xbox One X, since performance may become an issue on the lower end systems. This game is optimized for the new Series consoles, so I'm quite certain the game runs silky smooth on those systems (if I had one I'd be happy to test, but like most of you I've still been unable to find one as of May 2021!). The sound design is what you'd expect, with the sound of motors and cars bashing into each other being the main things you'll hear while playing. The music consists of some generic heavy metal that does a good job of fitting the destruction theme. The menus in the game are easy to navigate, rounding out an overall solid presentation here.

 

Path of Sin: Greed (Xbox One, 2019)

Path of Sin: Greed

Developed by Cordelia Games

Published by Artifex Mundi

Released for Xbox One (8/23/2019)

Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch

 

Path of Sin: Greed will mark my first experience delving into the Artifex Mundi series of games. I've been intrigued by their releases for a while and picked this one up on sale a while back. This is far from the first release from the publisher, but we've got to start somewhere and this just happens to be their first title I got my hands on. Hidden object games are a niche genre and it's nice to see publisher Artifex Mundi not only giving the genre some love, but also porting these games over to a wide range of platforms so more people can play them. Without further ado, let's delve into Path of Sin: Greed and see if it's worth your time...

Right off the bat, the first thing that struck me with Path of Sin was the excellent artwork. The illustrations are incredibly vibrant and the attention to detail really shines through in high-definition. While there is a limited amount of animation, there is enough so that the environments and people don't feel like static images. The sound design, like the animation, is used sparsely but does a good job bringing the illustrations to life. The music isn't anything you're going to want to bump in the car, but it does a good job adding to the suspense at times and at other times conveys a mystery mood. Overall, the developers have done an excellent job on the overall presentation.

 

Gaijin Charenji 1: Kiss or Kill (Xbox One, 2019)

Gaijin Charenji 1: Kiss or Kill
Developed/Published by overGame Studio
Released for Xbox One (9/4/2019)
Also on PC

Gaijin Charenji 1: Kiss or Kill was released in early September 2019 and is easily among the weirdest games I've encountered on the Xbox One. For starters, this game has an interesting back-story to its creation. If the game is left idle at the title screen, a crawler will pop-up explaining the origins of how Gaijin Charenji came to be. The game was originally being programmed for the Dreamcast by the developer's father back in 1998, but it wasn't finished in time before the system met its untimely demise. After his father passed away before completing the game, Yosuke Takahashi vowed to finish what his father started and release it to the public when it was finished. Over 20 years after the development began, Gaijin Charenji 1: Kiss or Kill finally saw a release in September 2019.

Before we get into the review, I want to say that if you're into the strange and eccentric, particularly of the Japanese flavor, then Gaijin Charenji is definitely going to tickle your fancy. This is one of those titles that's best experienced if you go in blind, so you may want to hold off reading this review, download and play the game first, then come back and read the review. The less you know, the more shocking it all is and discovery is part of the fun. Now that we have that out the way, here's a look into the craziness of Gaijin Charenji... 

Horned Knight (Xbox One, 2021)

Horned Knight

Developed by Josep Monzonis Hernandez

Published by 2Awesome Partners

Released for Xbox One (2/24/2021)

Also on Mac/PC/PS4/Switch

Horned Knight was created by a single developer named Josep Monzonis Hernandez and was published by 2Awesome Partners. Not to be confused with the excellent Shovel Knight, Horned Knight does share a few things in common with it. Both games are 2D action-platformers featuring pixel graphics where the player controls a knight in armor. The similarities end there, however, and you can definitely tell that Horned Knight was created by a single dude while Shovel Knight had a whole team behind it.

Horned Knight is presented with 2D sprites, which are a bit blocky and simple but feature some nice animations. The visuals do a decent job conveying that retro look, though lack enough originality to leave much of a lasting impression. We come to another issue in regard to the backgrounds, as every level features the same generic "dungeon" environment that gets repetetive quickly. The music, while decent, will be forgotten the second you turn the game off. The sound effects are sparse and feel like they came from a database of stock sounds. The same grunt that the knight makes when taking damage is also used on the enemies, which comes off just feeling a bit lazy. Presentation-wise, Horned Knight makes a decent first impression, but after playing for any length of time the aforementioned flaws become apparent. 

Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure (Xbox One, 2017)

Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure
Developed by Fabrice Breton
Published by COWCAT
Released for Xbox One (8/2/2017)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch/Vita

Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure was funded via Kickstarter and developed using the Game Maker Studio engine. Coded by a single French developer and published by COWCAT, Demetrios is an interesting blend of both the point 'n click and visual novel genres. There are tons of things to interact with and puzzles to solve, but at the same time there are thousands of lines of dialog to read. With the subtitle of the BIG Cynical Adventure, the game lives up to its name featuring some really wacky dialog that will make it hard to keep a straight face while playing.

Gameplay in Demetrios, as previously stated, is a mixture of the point 'n click and visual novel genres. Consisting of 6 chapters, you'll be given a few different locations in each chapter to explore. There are lots of people and objects to interact with along your journey. While engaging in a conversation with another person there are typically several dialogue options to select from. Like most point 'n click games, some of the puzzles can be real head scratchers, but there is a sense of satisfaction once you figure them out. For players going in blind, you can expect to get a solid 10-15 hours out of Demetrios before it's over, which is a good length for a game of this nature. Even those playing through the game with a guide can expect to blow around 8-10 hours, so if there's one thing you can't hold against the game it's being too short as this is a decent length for a point & click/visual novel game.

Thunderflash (Xbox One, 2021)

Thunderflash

Developed by SEEP

Published by Ratalaika Games S.L. 

Released for Xbox One (2/26/2021)

Also on Series/PC/PS5/Switch

 

Developed by 2-brother indie-team SEEP, Thunderflash is an obvious love-letter to classic overhead shooters from the 80's, such as Commando, Ikari Warriors or Bloody Wolf. The game even names the enemy criminal organization Bloody Wolf and features pixel graphics that look like they came right out of an early 90's arcade game. Much like the titles that inspired it, Thunderflash is designed to be a quick burst of fun and in this review we'll dive in to see if this one's worth a download or is it just another title trying to make a quick sale off nostalgia...

 

With Thunderflash being a retro-throwback title, the controls are extremely simple: d-pad or analog stick to move, A to fire your primary weapon and B to fire your rockets (which are limited in ammunition). The first time you play the game, you'll have 10 credits to try and beat it, but after you make some progress and use all of those up you'll unlock and option to start with 15 credits and eventually another for 20 credits, so even if you find the game difficult you'll eventually be able to plow your way through. There's also an option to put a CRT filter over the screen to give it that old-school monitor look.

Hello there!

Hello and welcome to Xbox Overview. Life got crazy for a while there and I was having trouble finding much time to dedicate to the site, but now I find myself with lots of free time to invest into bringing the site back to life. I'm currently working on fixing a bunch of the links on the old reviews, but the site will be coming back strong very soon, featuring tons of new reviews and articles relating to all things Xbox! Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon!