Batman: The Telltale Series (Xbox 360/One, 2016)

Batman: The Telltale Series
Developed by Telltale Games
Released for Xbox 360/Xbox One (9/2016)
Also on iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Switch

Batman: The Telltale Series is one of many licensed franchises that were given the Telltale Games treatment. The game takes many liberties with the Batman universe and while fans of the comics will recognize many of the characters, many of the backstories are quite different than you might be accustomed to. Though to be honest I haven't really followed Batman comics since the early to mid-'90s, so I could be wrong here but it is quite the contrast to the Batman and company that I knew as a youngin. I can see this being an issue with purists, but if you look at it as like an Elseworlds style spin-off there is some enjoyment to be had from Batman: The Telltale Series.

There are going to be some spoilers in the following paragraph as we'll be discussing some basic details of the story, so if you don't want any of the plot revealed you might want to skip ahead to the next paragraph. The first big shocker drops when you find out that your now-deceased father, Thomas Wayne, was involved in some shady business and was a criminal. Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin, was a childhood-friend of Bruce's in this strange version of Gotham City. Other classic characters you'll encounter include Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Two-Face and the Joker. The character actors all do a great job with the voice acting, as has been the standard with Telltale Games in the past. The story is the game's strong suit and I'll leave it up to you if you wish to look into further spoilers, but I will say there are lots of unexpected twists that will leave you scratching your head and wanting to see what the next chapter holds.

Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders (Xbox One, 2016)

Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders
Developed by Artefacts Studio
Published by Microids
Released for Xbox One (2/23/2016)
Also on Android/iOS/Linux/Mac/PC/PS4

Agatha Christie was a prolific author who specialized in crime novels, writing over 60 different books that spanned from the 1920s all the way into the '70s. The ABC Murders was but one of many crime novels she wrote and was originally released way back in 1936. One of her more well-known works, the ABC Murders was adapted into several forms of media over the years, including several video games based on her works. Before an Agatha Christie title ever made it home consoles, there were quite a few adaptations of her works on the PC from DreamCatcher Interactive, so if you're interested in Christie you might want to look into those. The first Agatha Christie title to release on a system other than the PC was the 2009 release for the Nintendo DS that shares the same title as this version, but they are very different games. The DS game is presented more like a visual-novel while the Xbox One game takes the point & click adventure approach. So without further ado let's take a look at Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders for the Xbox One and see how it fares...

The story begins with our detective being informed of a murder in Andover, the beginning of the alphabet-themed kills: the victim's names and the location they are killed both correspond to the alphabet and the killer intends to go down all of the letters. While attempting to solve the mystery you'll investigate murder scenes, interrogate suspects and witnesses on the scene, solve puzzles and use deduction in order to find answers. You'll control the renowned detective Hercule Poirot, who will often be assisted by his helping hand, Captain Arthur Hastings. It may sound like the game checks all the boxes for a great detective adventure, but there issues with the gameplay that drag it down.

The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries (Xbox 360/One, 2016)

The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries
Developed by Telltale Games & Skybound Games
Published by Telltale Games
Released for Xbox 360 (2/2016) & Xbox One (4/2016)
Also on iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4

The Walking Dead: Michonne is Telltale Games third entry into the Walking Dead series of games. If you've played any of  the previous entries you have a decent idea of what to expect, though none of the recurring characters are featured in this game and instead the story focuses on Michonne on her quest for survival.

The main character, Michonne, is constantly haunted by hallucinations of her two missing daughters. She was away from them when the zombie outbreak started and has been unable to locate them in order to find out if they survived or not. Every now and then you'll enter a flashback sequence where you'll try to help them before snapping back to reality. While Michonne is searching for survivors in the first episode, she is captured by another group of survivors with bad intentions. This theme of good-natured survivors being captured by evil survivors is starting to feel a bit played out when it comes to the zombie apocalypse stuff and it's beginning to feel like we've seen it a hundred times (which we likely have). Even with that said, Michonne is a badass character and I had no problem playing through the game to see what would happen to her next, though there aren't as many surprises in this Walking Dead as there were in previous entries. The remainder of the cast aren't bad, but you don't get enough time with any of them to become that invested in them.

The Walking Dead: Michonne is called a Telltale Miniseries for good reason: the game has only 3 episodes and will only last about 3-4 hours before you've finished the story. As usual in Telltale Games, you'll have a few choices to make along the way that make a few scenes play out slightly different. Like other Telltale Games, the story is mostly the same no matter what you choose so it really ends up being more of an illusion of choice than really having much impact. You can definitely sense that Telltale was spread a little thin at this point due to taking on too many projects and they didn't put the same TLC into this game as the first two.

Though not as good as the first two games, if you enjoyed those entries you'll likely enjoy your brief time with the Walking Dead: Michonne. During my playthrough of the Xbox One version, I didn't experience any of the issues I'd run into with previous Telltale Games (crashing, frame dips, etc.). It's good for a quick playthrough, maybe even a second, but you're not going to get more than a few hours out of the game. If you're cool with a short point 'n click style game, give Michonne a try. It's a bit hard to recommend it at the full MSRP, so I'd suggest waiting for a sale. Unlike the first two Walking Dead games from Telltalle, the Michonne Miniseries has yet to receive a physical release.

Final Verdict: The Walking Dead: Michonne is a short but fun zombie survival point 'n click game. Though it doesn't feature any of the characters from the original games, the gameplay will appeal to those who enjoyed previous Telltale releases.

Related Links:
Buy The Walking Dead: Michonne for Xbox One - Microsoft Store
Buy The Walking Dead: Michonne for Xbox 360 - Xbox Marketplace
Telltale Games - Xbox Overview
The Walking Dead: Michonne - GameFAQs 
The Walking Dead: Michonne - True Achievements
The Walking Dead: Michonne Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

The Walking Dead: Season Two (Xbox 360/One, 2014)

The Walking Dead: Season Two
Developed by Telltale Games
Released for XBLA/Xbox One (10/2014)
Also on Android/iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Vita

The Walking Dead: Season Two continues shortly after where the original game left off. You'll be following Clementine as she struggles to survive in the midst of a giant zombie outbreak. The game looks and plays largely the same as the first game, featuring a mixture of point & click, dialogue and quick-time event segments. Much like with any Telltale Games title, the mostly story-driven gameplay won't be for everyone, but those who enjoyed the first game will definitely find something to like with this second installment.

The voice-work is top-notch and one thing that remains consistent among Telltale Games. Even if the written dialogue isn't always the best, the actors do a very convincing job delivering their lines. The sound design is decent but feels a bit lacking in some areas, but the excellent voice acting makes this easy to overlook. The music does a good job of adding some mood while usually staying in the background, but does a good job conveying emotion especially in the more dramatic moments.

The following paragraph will feature spoilers, so if you haven't played the game yet and wish to do so you may want to skip ahead. Story-wise, the second season installment is a solid follow-up to the original game, though not quite as good for a few reasons. Personally I didn't find the cast of characters as good as the original, but I mostly chalk this up to the absence of Lee. Running into Kenny shortly into the game was quite emotional, despite the fact I didn't even particularly like the guy in the first game. Shortly after uniting with Kenny he brings up Lee and even though it'd been at least half a year since I'd played the original title I found myself tearing up instantly. That right there goes to show how they did a great job establishing Lee as a stand-up dude that was easily likable in the original release. I didn't really get that kind of feeling from any of the characters this time around unfortunately. I feel like I could have liked some of the characters introduced here, but nobody is really given enough development to really get the player to care. Kenny is a bit war-torn by previous events and it only gets worse as you continue through the story, so you'll end up fearing him more than you will liking him.

As with most titles released from Telltale Games, the game is linear and though you are able to make some decisions throughout, the end result is usually the same. What's here is enjoyable if you like cinematic point 'n click games, though once you've completed the game there won't be much as far as replayability. It's worth a play but I'd advise waiting for a sale or searching for a cheap physical copy since you likely won't get a whole lot of play time out of it. Though with Telltale Games recent shutdown, it's only a matter of time before the license of this game causes it to be removed from the marketplace, so if you want a digital copy you may want to go ahead and get it while you can.

The Walking Dead: Season Two was originally released in late 2013 for Android and iOS devices. On October 14, 2014 the title was put out for XBLA and PSN. Just a week later on October 21 the game would receive a release for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is more or less the same on the 360 as it is on the One, with the One version running a bit smoother, looking a bit sharper and loading a bit faster. The Walking Dead titles are easily among Telltale Games best work and one of their more stable games as well. I didn't run into any freezing or glitches and it's clear that a bit more time and effort went into this series than many Telltale games that would follow.

Final Verdict: The Walking Dead: Season Two is a worthy follow-up to the original. Fans of the first game will find something to like here.

Purchase Links:
Buy Walking Dead: Season Two (Xbox One Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Walking Dead: Season Two (Xbox 360 Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Search Walking Dead: Season Two (Xbox One Disc) - eBay
Search Walking Dead: Season Two (Xbox 360 Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Telltale Games - Xbox Overview
Point & Click Adventures - Xbox Overview
Telltale Games - Official Site
The Walking Dead: Season Two - Metacritic
The Walking Dead: Season Two on Xbox 360 - GameFAQs
The Walking Dead: Season Two on Xbox One - GameFAQs
The Walking Dead: Season Two Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
The Walking Dead: Season Two - True Achievements

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Xbox One, 2016)

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
Developed by Frogwares
Published by Bigben Interactive
Released for Xbox One (10/2016)
Also on PC/PS4

Sherlock Holmes and video games have quite the history, going all the way back to the early '80's. Developer Frogwares have been pumping out Sherlock games for the PC since 2002, as well as being the developer responsible for all the Sherlock games released for Xbox consoles. This is my first experience with any of the Sherlock games, but seeing that Frogwares are veterans at these games I'm hoping for an enjoyable experience.

The Devil's Daughter is setup somewhat similarly to the Telltale Games, but instead of episodes the game is broken up into 5 cases. Each of the cases are unrelated to one another, though they do contain characters and story elements that carry over into the main story. Cases involve the type of stuff you'd expect from a detective game, such as revenge, betrayal and there's even some supernatural stuff thrown in for good measure.

Sherlock Holmes is a good-looking game featuring detailed environments and decent character models, though the frame-rate fluctuates quite a bit especially during some of the action sequences. The graphics should look good, because the loading screens are abundant and feel like they take an eternity! Each time you have to fast travel somewhere, which will occur frequently, you're greeted to a lengthy loading screen while watching Sherlock sitting in his wagon en route to your destination. As one could imagine, this gets old incredibly fast and made getting through a case in a single setting impossible for me.

There is a decent amount of variety found within Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter with several different game-types mashed into one title. Certain mini-game style events work much better than others, but the game is definitely at its best when you're actually doing detective work. Fortunately there is quite a bit of this found throughout the game, though at times the required actions to progress the story can be a bit vague. If you'd like to minimize some frustrations with the game, there are some great guides written on the game which I'll provide links to down below.

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is a game with many ups and downs. The detective segments are usually enjoyable and rewarding to figure out, but some of the minigame and other sequences bring the game down a bit. The excessive and lengthy loading screens also hamper the fun. If you're a patient person who enjoys either detective or point & click adventures then you may want to give it a go, but I'd say it's an easy miss for anybody else. There's a small niche audience who this game will appeal to.

Final Verdict: Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is an above-average point and click style game that will appeal to those who enjoy detective action.

Purchase Links:
Buy Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Digital) - Microsoft Store
Search for Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter - GameFAQs 
Frogwares - Official Site
Bigben Interactive - Official Site
Devil's Daughter Walkthrough - True Achievements
Devil's Daughter Walkthrough - Game Pressure
Devil's Daughter Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Devil's Daughter Achievements - True Achievements

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage (Xbox 360, 2010)

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage
Developed by Koei
Published by Koei Tecmo Games
Released for Xbox 360 (11/2/2010)
Also on PS3

There have been several efforts over the years to make a video game from the popular anime/manga series Fist of the North Star, but most were either disappointing or never left Japan. Koei seems like a good candidate to develop the game, given their track record with the long-running Dynasty Warriors franchise. Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is incredibly faithful to its source material. If you are a fan of the story and characters you will definitely find something to appreciate here. There's a sizable cast here and all are easily recognizable, the story remains true to the original and the voice acting is quite good in both the English and Japanese variations.

The menus, stage and character select screens are all well composed and attractive. The in-game graphics themselves are a bit of a mixed bag. The characters are well detailed and look nice, though you will tire of beating up the same handful of thugs hundreds of times over. The environments are somewhat detailed, though suffer from some drab design which we'll get into shortly. The gore effects are quite detailed and are pleasing to look at, as you'll constantly see groups of thugs exploding into blood and guts in appropriate Fist of the North Star fashion.

The gameplay in Ken's Rage is basically a beat 'em up, or hack 'n slash as they like to call it these days, but that term feels a bit out of place as you'll be pulverizing your enemies with your fists here. You beat up everybody in a particular area and then move on to the next area where you'll beat up some more dudes. Every now and then the game has some light platforming or random obstacle but it always reverts back to beating up waves of thugs quickly. You have punch, kick and jump attacks in addition to your spirit meter you'll fill up as you hand out beatings. Once you have enough spirit meter you can activate a signature move or go into "spirit aura" mode where your attack is temporarily boosted.

The bulk of Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage lies in the legend and dream modes. There is also a tutorial, challenge and gallery mode option as well. Legend mode follows the story of the original manga and will let you select from Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki, Rei and Mamiya. Dream mode features new "what-if" stories based on the manga characters, and allows you to select from Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki, Rei, Mamiya, Jagi, Thouzer and Shin. Some of these are fun and it's interesting playing from the side of some of the villains. Challenge mode offers two different challenges, one where you'll face off against the guardians of Hokuto and the other where you'll take on the five guardians of Nanto. These feature ranked leaderboards so you can compete with other Xbox 360 players for high scores. The gallery mode will let you look at an encyclopedia which has entries for all of the game's characters, moves, locations, etc. There is also a movie and music gallery which you'll unlock content for as you play. Options allow you to tweak the difficulty, adjust subtitles, change the violence level, turn the life gauge on or off and change the voices between English and Japanese. Overall, the game provides a wealthy amount of content particularly for a game of this nature.

Both legend and dream mode feature cut-scenes before and after each level explaining the plot. These are all quite well done but the amount of them can become a bit overbearing at times. Luckily they can all be skipped with a press of the start button. Dream mode differs a bit in that there are way more characters on the battlefield at once, resulting in some clutter and frame-rate stutters here and there, but nothing game-breaking. Dream mode also offers two-player coop.

There's a good variety of characters to choose from as you play through Ken's Rage, each of them featuring their own expansive skill tree. As you progress through the game, you'll earn spirit points that you'll use to unlock skills, perks and upgrades for your character. Each skill tree is massive and I'd estimate it'd take upwards of 20+ hours to max just one of them out! This is a bit overboard and I really wish your characters would start off with at least some of the skills unlocked. You do start off with a single signature move at least, but all the rest is up to the player to upgrade themselves. It seems more like a cheesy way to try to force replay value out of the game, which really isn't necessary, since if the gameplay is good enough people will keep playing it.

The stage design is probably the weakest aspect of Ken's Rage. The surroundings are all composed of drab browns and grays, which is intentional as the game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. However, hardly any of the levels are discernible from one another so none of them really stand out. The stages are rarely linear, and while you do have a mini-map that will point out where your objectives are, most levels are filled with branching paths with power-ups laid out to reward exploration. I feel that the length of the levels in general is a bit too long, and some tightening up in the stage design aspect would have benefited the game a lot. In general it will take anywhere from 30-60 minutes just to clear a single scenario, which add ups to a really long game when you take into account how many different stages are offered.

While I enjoyed my time with Ken's Rage, it's not a game I'd recommend to everybody. Hack 'n slash and Fist of the North Star fans should definitely give it a look, but outside of that I couldn't see many others playing it through to the end. It's repetitive nature definitely makes it a good game to play inebriated, where you can just kind of zone out with all of the body parts and blood flying all over the place as you beat down wave after wave of punks. The game is well-designed in the sense that it never froze or glitched on me at any time which is a bit of a rarity these days. The main knock against Ken's Rage is that it's extremely repetitive and very grindy by nature, but if you enjoy these types of games that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Final Verdict: Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage will definitely appeal to fans of the anime/manga and beat 'em up/hack 'n slash junkies, but most others will likely find it far too repetitive.

DLC

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage would receive seven additional DLC packs, some featuring new characters and missions with others featuring new costumes for existing characters. Overall the grand total is just under $40 if you wish to access all the extra content. This is quite ridiculous and in previous generations this is the type of content would have been included in the base game as a bonus for meeting certain conditions. While it's cool that they added additional characters (Heart & Outlaw) and new costumes for several characters, by the time I'd achieved 100% on the base game I'd honestly had my fill and certainly didn't want to invest any additional money into the game as I'd rather just move on to the sequel (which will be covered later when I get around to snagging a copy). There is no additional gamerscore attached to this DLC so you won't need it to unlock all the of the game's achievements.

Purchase Links:
Buy Ken's Rage (Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Buy Ken's Rage (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Koei Tecmo - Official Site
Ken's Rage - Metacritic
Ken's Rage - GameFAQs
Ken's Rage Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Ken's Rage - True Achievements
CGR Reviews Ken's Rage - YouTube

Back to the Future: The Game (Xbox 360/Xbox One, 2015)

Back to the Future: The Game
Developed by Telltale Games
Released for Xbox 360/Xbox One (10/2015)
Also on Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Wii

Back to the Future: The Game is likely about the closest we're ever going to get to having a fourth entry in the movie series (until Hollywood inevitably decides to 'reboot' the franchise at least). The game was created by Telltale Games so those who've played any of the companies other entries have a good idea of what to expect: a little bit of exploration, some minor puzzles with a whole lot of narration and dialogue selections.

Back to the Future: The Game was originally released on the Macintosh, PC, PlayStation 3 & Wii back in 2011. With the game's re-release in 2015 for the 360, One and PlayStation 4 the game received new voice-work from original cast member Tom Wilson (Biff Tannen) while the previous version featured an impersonator. Christopher Lloyd is also on board as Doc Brown. Due to obvious complications, Marty McFly is voiced by an actor other than Michael J. but he does a tremendous job with the impersonation and it didn't take long before I forgot it wasn't Fox himself! While the voice acting is solid, there were many scenes that felt a bit too quiet and could have used some improvement in the sound design department. The minor sound issue is easy to overlook with such great voice acting and that incredible Back to the Future music score.

The game is a bit less linear than The Walking Dead titles and may present a few parts that cause players to get stuck but overall the game is pretty easy to see through to the end, especially with the easy mode that provides hints. These point and click style games always play best with a mouse, so if you have a PC or Mac you may want to make that your first option for playing the game. That being said, the controls are mapped out well enough and the game is still very playable on consoles. You guide Marty around with the left stick and the right stick will cycle through your available interactions around you. The X button brings up your inventory and that's really about all there is to the controls, they are simple yet effective enough and gameplay never felt limited by the control scheme. The in-game graphics aren't bad, but you have to keep in mind this game was released on the Wii in 2011, so the visuals are going to reflect that. They've been touched up a bit and though they are a bit cartoon-ish the characters bear a good resemblance to the real counterparts.

The story mostly takes place in 1931 Hill Valley, which was a bit disappointing as I've always been a big fan of the second movie where they went into the future and would love to see that in video game form. What's presented is still interesting though and the game brings back a lot of classic characters from the series, even if they are in the form of relatives in the past. I'm not going to go in depth with the story as that is the meat and bones of the game and will be the main thing to keep you playing. I will say if you've ever had an interest in the Back to the Future series or time-travelling in general, then this game is worth a look. The story does a great job of showing you how messing with the past can alter the timeline and then shows the futility of trying to go back and fix the mistakes that altered time, only to mess something else up in the process. Definitely a bit of a paradox but that's how a time-travel scenario should be!

On the Xbox One, there's a pretty cool feature regarding achievements that will show the percentage of players that have unlocked each achievement. I found it strange that out of all the people that have played Back to the Future: the Game on the One, under 10% played beyond the first episode! I urge anybody reading this who hasn't to go back and play through the game as the ending is absolutely awesome and should be witnessed before judging the title. At the very least watch a video of the ending, it's definitely one of the best things about this game.

The version released on the 360 and the One in 2015 are the same game, though the graphics are a bit cleaner on the One and the loading times are a bit quicker, but the game is still a fun experience regardless of which platform you choose to play it on. Fans of the old movies definitely need to go back and check this game out at some point! Anybody who enjoyed any of Telltales previous efforts or point 'n click titles in general should give this one a go as well. In the wake of the shutdown of Telltale Games, the game has been de-listed from the digital storefronts, but since Back to the Future also received a physical release for both platforms it is still possible to play using a disc.

Final Verdict: Back to the Future: The Game is another enjoyable entry from Telltale Games. The game does some awesome stuff regarding time travel and is worth a look for fans of the movies and/or point 'n click titles.

Purchase Links:
Buy Back to the Future (Xbox One) - eBay
Buy Back to the Future (Xbox 360) - eBay

Related Links:
Back to the Future on Xbox One - GameFAQs
Back to the Future on Xbox 360 - GameFAQs
Back to the Future for Xbox 360 - Xbox Marketplace

Walking Dead: The Complete Telltale Series (XBLA, 2012/Xbox One, 2014)

The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series
Developed by Telltale Games
Released for XBLA (4/2012) Xbox One (10/2014)
Also on Android/iOS/Mac/Ouya/PC/PS3/PS4/Switch/Vita

The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series is based on the hit television/comic series of the same name. While I definitely feel that the horror genre has been over-saturated with zombies in general, I'm always willing to spend some time on one that does something to set itself apart. In the case of the Walking Dead, the thing that got most of us really invested into the game was the character Clementine. You'll stumble across Clementine, a young girl, at the very beginning of the game. She's hiding out in her treehouse, hoping for her parents to come back home. You end up taking her along with you as your companion and honestly, unless you've got a cold heart, you'll end up caring very much for her as the story progresses. I'm not very familiar with the source material, having only seen the first season of the series and never read any of the comics, so I came into this title with a neutral stance and it doesn't matter as these characters were created originally for the game.

When the Walking Dead was originally released, it was done so in episodic format, with an episode releasing every other month. Personally, I don't like that big of a gap between gaming sessions, especially in a game so story driven. Being the kind of gamer who rarely pays full price for games anymore,  I waited for the entire game to be released and go on sale before playing it. At the beginning of each episode you receive a refresher on previous events though so it really wasn't a big deal if you played them as they came out. The X-Box One release contains the entire game from the get-go while you'll have to individually download the episodes if you're playing on the 360.

The Walking Dead features a graphic style similar to cel-shading, giving a comic book style to the visuals that works quite well. There are a few instances where the characters move a bit robotic, and it's a bit cheesy how the tears from a character look painted on, but for the most part the graphics look good. The zombies look pretty horrifying with lots of decay and there's a good variety in their designs. Of course, the zombies are just a sub-plot to the living who usually end up being their own worst enemy, as how it usually works out in zombie stories ever since Night of the Living Dead came out back in the late '60's. There's a good diversity of characters throughout the game, and there are several different outcomes depending on how you interact with them. The dialogue and voice acting is very well executed and the game does a good job of making it seem like your decisions hold real weight to them, which is important considering some of them are life and death scenarios. While the game does a good job making it seem like your choices are impactful, most of the major events in the game are fixed. There are some ways your choices will affect the story, it's just not as drastic as Telltale would like you to believe.

The first episode starts off with a bang, which is a must as this was the one that would draw you in. The introduction of Clementine is very well done and when the chapter ends you'll be anxious to see where the story goes from there. There are of course dips and dives throughout, with the middle section of the game dragging on a bit with some forgettable parts, but for the most part the story is well done and often to the point. The finale in chapter five is quite tragic and will stir some emotions in players who got invested in the game. I won't provide much for details because if you somehow haven't played the Walking Dead I'm not going to be the one to spoil it for you. There was also a bonus episode, 400 Days, that tells five different stories of survivors and then connects the dots at the end. It's not bad and is worth a look, but the stories are too short to accomplish much.

There's not a whole lot of gameplay involved in the Walking Dead, and when there is it usually involves walking around a small area and using the cursor to highlight/interact with people/objects. It's really one of those games you need to be in the mood to do a lot of observing, as the game will frequently take control away from the player for a dialogue or action scene. The developers did a good job of giving the player control at key spots, and it is possible to die if you don't react fast enough, though none of it is really difficult and you'll come back from a recent checkpoint. It's definitely a game that will be appreciated by those who like some good storytelling, but players requiring constant interaction in their video games may be put off.

In the X-Box 360 version of The Walking Dead I was able to complete the game without any glitches, which is bit surprising in retrospect considering how much trouble I've had with certain Telltale Games products in the past. It should be noted that I downloaded the game so all my experience is based on the digital version. I've read there are some issues with retail disc copy of the game, so that's something to consider if you're intending to play the game on your 360, particularly if you have one of the systems with a 4 GB hard drive. The X-Box One version contains much more acceptable load times and some slightly improved visuals. I only ran into one glitch on the One, where I would suddenly die for no reason at a certain point even upon restart, but using the game's rewind feature I was able to start the chapter over and finish it out.

Overall, the Walking Dead tells a gripping story of survival and is definitely worth visiting at least once for a playthrough. The game allows you to make some heavy decisions and there are some variations on the story based on your choices, which can provide a little replay incentive to go back and try some other options. Telltale Games did a great job creating their own story based on the source material and the game would be a smash hit for the company, and of course they would eventually follow up with a sequel...

Final Verdict: The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series is an excellent story-driven game, which has various outcomes based on your decisions. If you've somehow managed to not play this game, it's definitely worth a look.

Purchase Links:
Buy Walking Dead (Xbox One Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Walking Dead (Xbox 360 Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Search Walking Dead (Xbox One Disc) - eBay
Search Walking Dead (Xbox 360 Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Point & Click Adventures - Xbox Overview
The Walking Dead - Metacritic
The Walking Dead on Xbox 360 - GameFAQs
The Walking Dead on Xbox One - GameFAQs
The Walking Dead Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
The Walking Dead - True Achievements

Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360, 2008)

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
Developed by High Moon Studios
Published by Sierra Entertainment
Released for Xbox 360 (6/3/2008)
Also on PS3

Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Conspiracy is an admirable effort to create an experience with a mixture of hand-to-hand and gunfighting combat styles. There are also some chase sequences sprinkled in for good measure. The main protagonist is, of course, Jason Bourne, though he shares no likeness to Matt Damon so I guess we're to assume this is based on the novels. I enjoyed the first two films, but I lost interest in the many sequels and haven't felt compelled to watch them at any point. I like the concept for a game though; who doesn't want to play as a highly-skilled and trained killer? So, let's dive into the Bourne Conspiracy and see what's in store.

Graphically, the game looks pretty nice for a title released in 2008. The character models and environments sport some nice detail. The sound design is all above average, nothing stood out as bad nor exceptional. The story is there, but I'm afraid I'm unable to recall any of it as I just couldn't find myself interested enough to pay attention during the cut-scenes. That's not to say that it's bad or anything, just that I didn't care about them and was playing the game purely for the action.

When it comes to the gameplay, Bourne tries to blend hand-to-hand with gunfighting and you'll be going back and forth between the two very frequently. We'll start off with the melee combat. When you get within a couple feet of an enemy you'll engage the hand-to-hand system and the screen pans back to give you a view of both fighters. It somewhat resembles the Fight Night games in some respects but is nowhere near as deep. You have two buttons to attack with and a block button. Fights can be easily won by just mashing the two buttons back and forth. The game does have some simple combos you can do to increase your damage, but I never found myself caring to learn them when you can just mash the buttons and win all the same. As you inflict damage on your enemies you build up a bar that can store up to three meters. You can activate these at any time for an instant takedown. Some of these takedowns are pretty brutal and Bourne will utilize the enviornment when there is something within reach, which is definitely a nice touch.

The gunplay feels a tad loose compared to many other games involving shooting from a third-person perspective, but it works okay due to computer opponents being a bit on the dumb side. You'll want to go for headshots as often as possible, as enemies can eat up quite a few bullets, especially on the hard difficulty. There are several types of guns you can pick up from dead enemies, mostly just the standard fare type of stuff you'll see in these types of games. The shotgun is definitely fun to blast foes with in this game as they tend to launch back like in old action flicks. I appreciate how many of the objects around will take damage during the firefights. The takedown meter works with firearms in addition to melee and will auto-fire a shot guaranteed to kill an enemy, consuming a bar per kill and allowing up to three to be stored. So you can hold on to three bars for tough situations and do a nice triple-takedown. It's an interesting mechanic and I'm sure it was pretty impressive in this pre-Arkham Asylum era of 3D fighting.

High Moon Studios attempted to combine these two styles together, so if in the middle of a firefight you run up on one of your enemies you will enter hand-to-hand mode. This makes for some funny moments watching Bourne go fisticuffs with someone while several enemies are still firing at him. On hard mode this will get you killed though and all of a sudden humor gives way to frustration. It was definitely ambitious but in the end it doesn't really work very well. There's not much flow to the action and on the hard difficulty enemies seem to take forever to die. The melee is definitely unique, but ultimately is just not as fun as other similar titles. I almost forgot to mention, they also included a stage where you get to drive around a bit. This was a welcome deviation and wish it would have been more than one stage! If you've already played through the similar in concept but superior in design 007: Blood Stone (though to be fair, Blood Stone came out a whole two years after this game) and need more third-person shooter action, you could do worse than Bourne Conspiracy.

Final Verdict: The Bourne Conspiracy was rather decent back in 2008, but it is definitely showing its age. If you love third-person action games you may be able to overlook some of its issues and still have a good time with this one.

Purchase Links:
Buy Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy - eBay

Related Links:
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy - GameFAQs
High Moon Studios - Official Site 
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy - Metacritic
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy - GameFAQs
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy - True Achievements
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

The Wolf Among Us (XBLA, 2014)

The Wolf Among Us
Developed/Published by Telltale Games
Released for XBLA (11/2014)
Also On Android/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Vita

The Wolf Among Us is another interactive story from Telltale Games, following up their first two highly successful Walking Dead games. The game is based off the Fables comics, which I had absolutely no knowledge of coming into this game, but I will say that I am definitely interested in checking them out after playing through this title. I've played through at least four other Telltale Games titles prior to this game and never really ran into any serious issues. I say with no exaggeration that I've never had as much trouble trying to play through an Xbox 360 game as I've had with the Wolf Among Us.

I'll start with the glitches I experienced during gameplay. There was a point where everything just kind of stopped in the middle of a fight, the game wasn't frozen but it was as if all the characters just forgot what they were supposed to do next forcing me to restart. I had another instance where the game failed to load the dialogue options, every choice stating "This option is blank," no longer allowing me to proceed. Late in the game the dialogue choices mysteriously were displayed in Spanish while the spoken dialogue was still in English. There is no option to select the language and it did revert back when I got to the next scene but still, very weird. The frame-rate does take some dips pretty much constantly and you'll frequently wonder if the game is frozen while it stops to load, but even worse than all of these issues is the massive annoyance I ran into while trying to start up the second episode.

Every time I'd load it up, it would start to act like it was loading and would then lock my 360 up with a black screen. This was always a hard freeze, meaning you can't access the Xbox guide to properly exit out of the game and are forced to do a system reset. After several attempts and lots of time wasted researching the issue, I found that this among other problems plaguing the game have been complained about on Telltales' support forums pretty much since the game was released. They have no explanation for why these things are happening and only suggest the generic tech support stuff like "clear your system cache" and "delete and re-download the game". I like Telltale Games and all, but man that is some messy programming and just absolutely abysmal after-launch support! Check out the company's terrible BBB rating if you need evidence of this! I wouldn't blame most people for just giving up on it at this point; I really felt as if the game didn't want me to play it!

I eventually found a resolution to the problem which was to re-download the game on my old original 360 as I was playing it on my 360 E (which has never had any issues playing any other games). After booting it up on my old system I was finally able to proceed forth with the game, so beware if you only have a 360 E model stay far away from this title. I'm unable to test it on the S model as I do not own one, but if you've played it on that model let me know if you ran into any problems.

All complaining about technical issues aside, there's a cool story to be enjoyed within Wolf Among Us if you can manage to get past the bugs. The voice-work is superb, the characters and setting are all very interesting. The gameplay offers the player enough choices that they never feel left out of the story as well. Telltale Games have definitely become masters in these interactive-movie style of games, let's just hope that these programming issues involved with this title are not something I come across in their future games. I can't imagine all of the ports have the issues I've experienced in this version. The Wolf Among Us is also available in physical media form with a disc featuring all episodes on it, though I've heard bad things about the disc version as well so I don't think it remedies the game's many issues unfortunately.

Final Verdict: The Wolf Among Us is a cool interactive-movie game with some glaring technical issues. I'd recommend playing it on the Xbox One, though if you must play it on the 360 make certain it's not on a Xbox 360 E console.

Related Links:
Buy The Wolf Among Us (Xbox 360) - Xbox Marketplace
Buy The Wolf Among Us (Xbox One) - Microsoft Store
Telltale Games - Xbox Overview
The Wolf Among Us - GameFAQs
Fables by Vertigo Comics - Official Site
Fables - Wikipedia
Telltale Games - Official Site

The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360, 2007)

The Simpsons Game
Developed by EA Redwood Shores
Published by EA Games
Released for Xbox 360 (10/2007)
Also on PS2/PS3/DS/Wii/PSP (11/2007)

The Simpsons franchise definitely has a checkered past when it comes to video games based on it. Other than the arcade hit from the early '90's, most of the games are regarded as mediocre or worse. I'm coming into this game as somebody who has always enjoyed the television series (earlier seasons at least) and would definitely love to play another good Simpsons title but I came into this one with low expectations, seeing as licensed properties tend to be quick cash-grabs with minimal effort put into them. I was initially very impressed at the quality of the cut-scenes, they look exactly like an episode of the show. As a matter of fact, there were several instances during these I almost forgot I was playing the game! The in-game characters look pretty rough in contrast to the superb cut-scenes, but I'm willing to cut the game a little slack due to it's old age and early release in the life-cycle of the console. I will give the developers credit for including the show's humor in the game and there were several moments throughout the Simpsons Game were quite funny.

The game-play in theory is acceptable, consisting of mostly platforming and single-button combat with some light puzzles thrown in here and there. The platforming isn't too bad and your characters have a double-jump that's easy to use. The single-button combat almost reminds me of the Simpsons arcade from the 90's with it's simplicity, but the hit detection and fighting is nowhere near as enjoyable. The puzzle segments will usually require one of the characters specific powers, sometimes requiring the use of both characters. I forgot to mention, you'll always have two characters, and if you don't have a second player then the computer will control whoever you're not using. This didn't cause too many issues for me, though the computer is rather worthless when it comes to defending themselves and will often die when left unattended if enemies are nearby. The problem with the game lies predominately with the camera controls. You will have to fight the erratic camera every step of the way, as it likes to swing about and give you terrible angles making the platforming segments a complete chore at times. The camera will go nuts if it hits a solid object and will give you problems just trying to get an angle to see what you're doing. The fact that the game made it to store shelves in this state and was never patched post-release goes to show how much EA's quality control dropped the ball on this game.

In between levels, you have an open-world Springfield that you can explore, with bus signs serving as a way to fast travel or change characters. This part of the game serves little purpose other than to pad the game out with collectibles since once you've completed the stages, you must use the main menu to go back and play them. Speaking of collectibles, there are 75 for all four characters scattered about Springfield. Whatever fun-factor the game had pretty much died completely after I beat the game and started scouring for collectibles. The camera-control issues will test every last nerve you have as you attempt to get some of the trickier collectibles.

In an effort to further pad out the Simpsons Game, the developers have included a par time to beat for each of the sixteen levels plus an additional time attack challenge for each level, in which you'll have to clear the various challenges within a given time limit. The events tend to be either item collecting or defeating a certain number of enemies. Some of these challenges are pretty decent and do an alright job of giving you some additional bang for your buck. However asking the player to beat a par time for each and every level has no place in a game of this nature, where most of the scenarios require use of both characters and speed is never really stressed throughout the game with the exception of maybe one or two timed segments. Just a completely unnecessary addition to and only the most dedicated gamers will persevere and earn that 50 gamerscore achievement for beating the times on all levels.

What could have been an above-average licensed game is brought down by one of the worst cameras I've experienced on the Xbox 360 game library. It's a shame, because there were many times throughout my time playing this game I enjoyed myself and the cutscenes are great, but the camera will prove too cumbersome for most gamers to stick it out til the end. The game has some very clever level ideas and the Simpsons humor made its transition into the game flawlessly, so fans of the show will still find something to like here. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the camera!

Final Verdict: Due to the abysmal camera, I find it hard to recommend the Simpsons Game to anybody except the die-hard fans of the show. The cut-scenes are a joy to watch, I just wish the gameplay was as good!

Purchase Links:
Search the Simpsons Game - eBay

Related Links:
The Simpsons Game - GameFAQs

007: Blood Stone (Xbox 360, 2010)

007: Blood Stone
Developed by Bizarre Creations
Published by Activision
Released for Xbox 360 (11/2/2010)
Also on PC/PS3/DS

007: Blood Stone was developed by Bizarre Creations and was released for multiple platforms in November 2010. The game creates an original Bond adventure starring the, at-the-time of its release, current cast of actors 3D-rendered likenesses and voices. They are quite recognizable and look pretty good considering when the game came out, but sometimes they appear to be staring off into space during the cut-scenes.  The voice acting sounds like it came from an authentic Bond film and the story serves its purpose well enough to give you some cool locations to shoot people in.

Presentation-wise, it's not quite as cinematic as the Call of Duty campaigns, but it's definitely steps ahead of your average shooter. The game's environments are highly-detailed and look very good, though the level designs are mostly linear. You have a cover system in place that will be instantly familiar to those who have played Gears of War. For the most part, it works pretty well though sometimes jumping between cover points can be a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of tapping versus holding A it's not too bad. Pressing down on the d-pad causes Bond's phone to reveal way-points and other things of interest, lifted right out of the Batman Arkham series' detective mode, right down to the distorted visuals while you use it.

The gun-play in 007: Blood Stone feels good and is similar to the Club, also from Bizarre Creations. Getting close to enemies allows you to use take-down maneuvers, which are a bit over-powered and it can be quite hilarious to watch Bond run into a group of guards armed with machine guns and beat them all down like he was Batman (at least on the lower difficulties). There's some minor stealth involved, mostly involving slowly walking up to unaware enemies and performing a take-down maneuver. I really do wish they would have included a way to make Bond crouch, and if it does exist then I guess I'm a fool because I couldn't figure it out.

To vary the action a bit there are several driving segments between missions. With Bizarre Creations having created the Project Gotham Racing series, they have a lot of experience with driving games so these segments are surprisingly competent although very linear like the rest of the game. There is also a stat tracker that shows your progress towards achievements and the intel screen clearly indicates which levels you've missed collectibles on. I always appreciate when the developer goes the extra mile like this and includes this sort of stuff. After you complete your first run of the campaign you unlock 007 difficulty, adding some nice replay value to the single-player side of things.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Blood Stone and I feel it's better than much of the negative criticism may have you believe. A multiplayer mode was originally included, but the servers have been long dead so I'm unable to assess that part of the game. 007: Blood Stone stands quite well on its own with the campaign. The campaign will only last you about 5-7 hours, but there is some incentive for replay. With that in mind, it's worth a look but just don't pay too much for it.

Final Verdict: If you enjoy third-person cover shooters or the Daniel Craig Bond flicks, it's worth taking a look at 007: Blood Stone. Just beware that the multiplayer portion is dead, so you'll only be able to play the single-player campaign.

Purchase Links:
Buy 007: Blood Stone - eBay

Related Links:
Bizarre Creations - Xbox Overview
Third-Person Shooters - Xbox Overview
Activision - Official Site
007: Blood Stone - Metacritic
007: Blood Stone - GameFAQs
007: Blood Stone Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
007: Blood Stone - True Achievements

Jumper: Griffin's Story (Xbox 360, 2008)

Jumper: Griffin's Story
Developed by Red Tribe
Published by Brash Entertainment
Released for Xbox 360 (2/12/2008)
Also on PS2/Wii

Based off the cinematic flop that was Jumper and developed by Red Tribe, the same folks that brought you the Space Chimps game, comes the video game adaptation to your home console. This game is very much a by-the-numbers brawler of the most boring variety. Beat up a few dudes, move to the next area, rinse and repeat. This could be said of most brawlers but good game designers are able to make it less redundant.

I recall a co-worker lent me this movie to watch back in the day, but I honestly can't remember a single detail from it other than it had sand-hating dude from the Star Wars prequel movies and Samuel L. Jackson in it. So with a completely forgettable movie, the story and characters of this game were obviously of no interest to me. The controls work good enough, and at first it is kind of cool teleporting all over the place but you can only use it while in combat and the novelty wears thin in quite the hurry; plus you can't help but wonder why the protagonist doesn't just teleport to whoever the head dude in charge is and take him out but I suppose there would be no game then.

The visuals are definitely sub-par for the Xbox 360, let's just say you can definitely tell this title was also designed with the PS2 and Wii in mind and didn't do much to advance the graphics beyond the levels of those consoles. It's rare that I find a game that I wouldn't really recommend to anybody, but this would have to be one of those. Jumper: Griffin's Story is just a completely forgettable attempt to cash in on a movie franchise.

Final Verdict: Unless you're looking to grab a quick and easy 1000 gamer score or you're a huge fan of the film there is really no reason to play Jumper: Griffin's Story as it's a very mediocre game.

Purchase Links:
Buy Jumper: Griffin's Story - eBay

Related Links:
Jumper: Griffin's Story - Metacritic
Jumper: Griffin's Story - GameFAQs
Jumper: Griffin's Story Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Jumper: Griffin's Story - True Achievements

Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360, 2011)

Alice: Madness Returns
Developed by Spicy Horse
Published by Electronic Arts
Released for Xbox 360
Also on PS3/PC
Backward Compatible on Xbox One

I'll start the review by mentioning that if you purchased a disc copy of Alice: Madness Returns new, it included a code to unlock the original American McGee's Alice game. This was an awesome bonus for those who purchased a physical copy of the game. No worries if you bought it used or digitally though, because they have it available to download on the digital store (as of this writing it's still up). So for the first portion of this review, I'd like to briefly talk about my experience with the original Alice game before going into Madness Returns...

For a game that originally came out back in 2000, American McGee's Alice has aged surprisingly well. It's had a bit of a graphical upgrade but it still runs on a much older engine (Quake III Arena) causing the jumping to be a tad floaty but you'll get used to it pretty quick. The environments are interesting to explore and continue to get even more twisted as you progress. There are some unique takes on some of the classic characters and despite the old graphics engine, many of them still hold up.. There's a nice variety of weapons provided and they all operate differently. Some of the platforming can seem a bit tough but you can save anytime, so as long as you're smart with saving frequently the game can be an easy, fun ride that's worth the trip if you haven't played it. The voice acting is pretty good and the music is definitely fitting. It's very cool to see a bonus like this and gave me the chance to check out one I'd never played before.

Upon booting up the main feature, Alice: Madness Returns, I was immediately impressed. The game features meticulously detailed environments and the controls have been sharpened up from the original game. The levels are among the longest I can recall in recent history and I struggled to finish a chapter in a sitting in this game. They are broken up into sections and the game does have auto-save checkpoints so it's easy to take a break when you need to. Like I mentioned earlier, the levels are incredibly detailed and the use of color makes this a very pretty game to look at. It's hard to believe this came out back in 2011 it looks so good!

The idea of 3D platforming segments doesn't typically excite me, but everything is laid out so well and the controls are responsive enough that I never really got frustrated due to it. The game has tons of collectibles for those who like that sort of thing, many of them revealing little tidbits of the story. There are now less weapons than you had in the original Alice game, but they are all very different and you will use them each in different situations (where I mostly used the frozen wand weapon the whole time in the first game!).

My only real knock against this game are a few somewhat frustrating mini-games mixed throughout. Most of these are simple, but I wasn't too fond of the 2D side-scroller segments. The graphics look okay, but the jump feels nerfed compared to the 3D platforming and Alice's hitbox is way too large while trying to dodge the fireballs and cannonballs. I also didn't care much for the head rolling segments in chapter 5. The idea is okay, roll the head through a maze like Monkey Ball and countless others that have done this before, but later on it turns into launching yourself from cannon to cannon ala Donkey Kong Country, a segment which can be frustrating. All in all, despite those gripes about a few short minigames, Alice: Madness Returns was an absolute pleasure to play. Electronic Arts definitely did a solid in my book for publishing this one and the programmers at Spicy Horse should be a commended for some incredible work!

Final Verdict: Alice: Madness Returns is a fantastic experience and a fresh spin on the old material. Highly recommended, especially if you like a trippy adventure.

Related Links:
Buy Alice: Madness Returns (Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Buy Alice: Madness Returns (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Spicy Horse - Official Site
Electronic Arts - Official Site
Alice: Madness Returns -  Metacritic
Alice: Madness Returns - GameFAQs
Alice: Madness Returns Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Alice: Madness Returns - True Achievements