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.

Super Contra (XBLA, 2007)

Super Contra
Developed by Konami/Backbone Entertainment
Published by Konami
Released for XBLA (7/25/2007)
Also on Arcade/Amiga/NES/PC
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

Super Contra was released in arcades by Konami in 1988 and was the sequel to the popular Contra (1987). Super Contra takes the familiar run & gun formula and pumps up the excitement with 5 action-packed new levels and support for up to 2 players. Load up your firearms and prepare to shoot everything in sight as "the quest for freedom continues!" The XBLA port of Super Contra was released in late July 2007, around 7 months after the original was put up for download.

There are 5 levels in Super Contra and while the game is a bit shorter than Contra, the pacing is much quicker and the action more frenetic. The corridor sections that broke up the 2D platforming in the first game are gone, replaced with the new overhead shooter segments which play a bit like Capcom's Commando (1985). The game alternates between stage types, featuring a total of 3 side-scroller and 2 overhead-shooter stages. Regardless of how you feel about the overhead stages, the 3 side-scroller stages are top-notch and the bosses are menacing. The overhead levels can be fun once you become familiar with the layouts, but enemies love to quickly appear from the sides of the screen to wipe you out sometimes resulting in some cheap deaths. The biggest hurdle to clearing this game in a single credit are definitely going to be these overhead stages.

Konami Classics Vol. 1 (Xbox 360, 2009)

Konami Classics Vol. 1
Ports Developed by Digital Eclipse
Published by Konami
Released for Xbox 360 (12/15/2009)
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

It wasn't very often you'd see games released for Xbox Live Arcade receive a retail-disc release, so Konami Classics Vol. 1 is worth a look for fans of physical media as it packs 3 of Konami's XBLA titles into one package. Released simultaneously with a second volume in mid-December 2019, this disc features Frogger, Super Contra and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's definitely an odd grouping, but each are classics in their own respect.

Each of these games have already been reviewed individually on this site, so be sure to check them out here at these links:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA, 2007)
Frogger (XBLA, 2006)
Super Contra (XBLA, 2007)

Rush'n Attack (XBLA, 2007)

Rush'n Attack
Developed by Konami/Backbone Entertainment
Published by Konami
Released for XBLA (5/23/2007)
Also on Arcade/C64/CPC/MSX/NES/PC/ZX81

Rush'n Attack, also known as Green Beret, was originally developed by Konami and released to arcades in 1985 and is one of the earliest examples of a 2D side-scrolling run & gun action game. It may even be the first, but it's hard to make such an assumption when there's such a wide number of forgotten and unknown games out there. This XBLA port was handled by Backbone Entertainment, the same team that responsible for Konami's other classic titles that arrived on the service.

Rush'n Attack has you take control of a spec-ops solder who has been sent into enemy territory. Your mission is to infiltrate the hostile grounds, locate and rescue your fellow soldiers who are being held captive. Armed with only your combat knife, you'll have to stab or avoid oncoming enemies. A single hit from an enemy or a projectile spells instant death, at which point you'll be sent back to a checkpoint to try again until you run out of lives.

Contra (XBLA, 2006)

Contra
Original Game Developed by Konami
Ported by Backbone Entertainment
Published by Konami
Released for XBLA (11/8/2006)
Also on Arcade/C64/CPC/Mobile/MSX/NES/PC/PS2/PS4/ZX
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

The original Contra game was an important release in the history of video games and the classic run 'n gun shooter got its start in the arcade back in 1987. Featuring 8 action-packed stages and allowing 2-player simultaneous co-op gameplay, Contra was an incredible game when it came out. A mysterious meteor has landed in the jungle (presumably somewhere in South America) that has brought with it deadly alien lifeforms called the Red Falcon. So of course the first course of action is to send 1 or 2 commandos to the island to put a stop to the deadly aliens. It's not much of a story, but it's enough to justify some blasting excitement.

The first 4 stages of Contra alternate between side-scroller and behind the back levels, but all stages following these are side-scrollers. There are a total of 8 different areas, though the last 4 are linked together and many consider stage 5 to be 1 level with 4 sections. It feels a bit uneven though there wasn't much more Konami could have done with the base levels and it would have gotten a bit monotonous had there been any more of them. The existing 2 base areas where you play behind the back are quite similar, but there's a solid amount of variety between the side-scrolling stages. The mission begins in the jungle and will take you through the waterfalls, snow and a few others before ending up at the alien base.

XBLA Origins | Xbox Overview

Xbox Live Arcade Origins

Since Xbox Live Arcade was so prominent on the Xbox 360, it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the service began on that system. Originally announced at the E3 2004 press conference, XBLA would launch in November that same year. The service launched with a limited number of titles, with a few being added as time went on. By the time the console was reaching the end of its life cycle, there were 27 (as far as I could find) titles released for the platform.

On the 360, XBLA offered free trial versions for any of the games listed on the marketplace. The original XBLA offered this feature as well, allowing an Xbox Live subscriber to play a 30-minute trial of any of the titles on offer. Full versions of the games could be purchased as a digital download and as far as I can tell they ranged in price from $10-20. While there were some solid titles being offered on the service, the prices were a bit much considering how simple some of them were.

As you can see from the list below, there was a decent variety of games on offer. There were several titles aimed at casual gamers, like PopCap's  Bejeweled and Feeding Frenzy, but there were also some arcade classics for the older folks with titles like Ms. Pac-Man, Gauntlet, Smash TV and Robotron 2084. Many of these titles would make the transition over to XBLA on the Xbox 360, though there were also several that didn't, such as Atomaders, Fuzzee Fever and Hamsterball Gold. With the Xbox Live servers shut down, there's no way to play these unless you have a modded Xbox. It's interesting to look back at the list of games that helped kick off the Xbox Live Arcade service, which would become a huge part of what made the 360 so great.

Following is a list of all known titles released on the original XBLA with links to gameplay on YouTube (credit to uploader FEU3RSTURM). While much of the menu text is in German, you get to see these games in action without having to go through the trouble of modding an old Xbox. Here is a link to the menu where you would navigate your XBLA games.

Alien Sky
AstroPop
Atomaders
Bankshot Billiards
Bejeweled
Bookworm Deluxe
Dangerous Mines
Dino and Aliens
Feeding Frenzy
Fuzzee Fever
Gauntlet
Guardian
Hamsterball Gold
Hardwood Solitaire
Joust
Marble Blast
Ms. Pac-Man
Mutant Storm
Namco Vintage (Dig Dug, Galaga, Pole Position)
Orbz
Pipeline
Ricochet Lost Worlds
Robotron 2084
Smash TV
Super Collapse II
Think Tanks
Zuma Deluxe

Related Links:
Xbox Live on the Original Xbox - Xbox Overview
E3 2004 Complete Microsoft Press Conference - YouTube
Mark Plays Live Arcade on the Original Xbox - YouTube

Bonk: Brink of Extinction (XBLA, Cancelled)

Bonk: Brink of Extinction
Developed by Pi Studios
Published by Hudson
Announced for PS3/360/Wii

Bonk: Brink of Extinction was developed by Pi Studios and was aiming for a 2010 release on XBLA, PSN and WiiWare as a digital-download. It was going to retail for $10, or 800 Microsoft Points. This would have been the first Bonk title in quite some time, not counting the mobile game or re-releases of the old games on the Wii's Virtual Console. This was going to be a 2D Bonk that uses 3D-rendered graphics. It's not the most attractive looking game and much of the charm and tight controls of the old games are lost in the transition. Some of the background design and the colors looked decent, but the character models themselves were just strange looking. The developers had to create something that could run on the Wii, so that definitely held back the graphical presentation a bit. It's still recognizable as Bonk I suppose, but it would have been so much better to just go with 2D sprites.

Bonk: Brink of Extinction was going to feature a story mode with both local and online coop play. Gameplay looks to remain true to the old games, where you navigate 2D platforms while headbutting, climbing, swimming and biting your way to the end. Eating certain items will transform Bonk  into several different forms, acting as a temporary power-up. There are hidden entrances on many levels that will lead to mini-games. From what I've seen of the gameplay, it looked like a rather standard 2D platformer. 3 DLC packs were also planned, 2 of which appeared to be competitive modes and another to be an additional story.

Bonk: Brink of Extinction was actually completed and there were a few contributing factors as to why it stayed unreleased. In January 2011, Konami bought Hudson and began setting projects aside to save money. The US branch of Hudson, Hudson Entertainment, closed down in February 2011 and the following month it was announced that Bonk: Brink of Extinction was cancelled. Developer Pi Studios also closed down around this time. It didn't help matters that the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit in March 2011. Bonk: Brink of Extinction features a natural disaster in the game so this basically ensured that Bonk would stay cancelled.

Related Links:
Bonk: Brink of Extinction - Unseen64 
Bonk: Brink of Extinction Feature - Nintendo Life
Bonk: Brink of Extinction Unreleased Soundtrack - Disaster Peace
Hard4Games Playing Bonk: Brink of Extinction - YouTube
Bonk: Brink of Extinction - Wikipedia

Scrap Metal (XBLA, 2010)

Scrap Metal
Developed by Slick Entertainment
Released for XBLA (3/2010)
Also on iOS
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

Scrap Metal is a car-combat/racing game released as a digital-download for Xbox Live Arcade in 2010. The action is viewed from overhead at a sort of 3/4 angle. The game takes inspiration from several of the old-school racing classics. The camera view, car combat theme and racing is a bit of a throwback to old classics like RC Pro-Am, Carmageddon, Death Rally and Rock 'N Roll Racing. So this relatively obscure XBLA title takes inspiration from some great games.

The bulk of Scrap Metal consists of the single-player campaign. There are several types of events you'll encounter throughout the game, so don't expect this to be a straight racing title. In addition to standard and elimination races, there are derby events, boss battles, survival levels and even the occasional unique event like a time trial or monster truck challenge. There's a decent amount of variety though some events are definitely more enjoyable than others. Scrap Metal is at its best during the race and derby events. In the derby events your goal is to simply blow up as many opponents as possible. The game features eight tracks and each track contains several events you'll need to complete, with a boss battle towards the end. The boss battles are basically like your standard opponents but with more HP and bodyguards, with the exception of the final boss battle which is against a tank. The first couple of tracks are simple in design but as you progress the tracks continue to get more intricate and difficult to navigate.

In Scrap Metal you only get four garage slots and at any given point in the game you can select between these four vehicles. The events do have class restrictions so you can't go back and beast the earlier events with the better cars you'll unlock later. While you can access the junkyard at any point, replacing a vehicle in your garage will wipe out any upgrades you've purchased for that particular vehicle. While the vehicle will still be available to use in the junkyard, you'll have to re-purchase any previous upgrades. This seems like an unnecessary restriction and worked against me trying out all of the different vehicles, instead opting to use a handful of fully upgraded vehicles to tackle the events.

Though you can only upgrade four vehicles at once, there's a decent selection of vehicles you can unlock as you progress and they all have drastically different stats. There are bulky, tough and slow vehicles like semi-trucks, monster trucks and even a tank. There are also quick vehicles with weak armor like the station wagon, hotrod or race car. Each vehicle is equipped with a different weapon type and there's a decent amount of variety between them. Some vehicles have ranged weapons like machine guns or rocket launchers, while others are equipped for close combat with spiked rams or flamethrowers. The ranged weapons are obviously more effective most of the time, as using the close-quarter weaponry will often result in taking large amounts of damage.

Scrap Metal features two different control schemes. There's the novice layout which maps acceleration/braking/steering to the right analog stick and the advanced controller layout has the gas/braking mapped to the triggers while you steer with the analog stick. I wound up using the advanced scheme for the majority of my playthrough as I just felt like it granted a bit more precision, especially when cornering. Here we get to Scrap Metal's biggest problem: cornering is a bit of a pain. I managed to get three stars on all events in the game and even by the end I rarely felt confident in my ability to round corners. With most vehicles, turning feels a bit too sensitive forcing you to constantly readjust to stay on the track.

In addition to the single player action, Scrap Metal also supports online, local or system link multiplayer. Local multiplayer allows up to four players to compete in split-screen action. There's three different multiplayer events offered: king of the hill, race and derby. The multiplayer can be quite fun if you have three willing friends to play it with. With the age of the game and the fact that it's not a particularly popular title, you have a very small chance of finding an opponent for an online match when searching randomly. At the time of this writing (early 2019) the servers are still functioning, so it is possible to play online if you coordinate a session with others who have the game. If you're trying to play local with split-screen, you'll have to have four controllers and you'll need a large screen due to how small the view is.

Scrap Metal features a decent amount of content for an XBLA title released in 2010 and the concept is definitely cool. While the over-sensitive steering controls hold the game back from greatness, there's still some fun to be had and there aren't a ton of these derby-style car games out there nowadays. Scrap Metal is backwards-compatible on the Xbox One, so if I'd say give this one a shot if you're into car combat driving games and have either a 360 or One. I purchased it while on sale for a few bucks and don't regret my purchase. Scrap Metal was the second and final XBLA release from Slick Entertainment, with the first being N+ in 2008. In 2017 the team at Slick Entertainment was absorbed into independent developer Klei Entertainment (Shank, Mark of the Ninja).

Final Verdict: Scrap Metal is a decent car combat/racing game and while there is some fun to be had here, the cornering issues hold it back from being as good as it could have been. Still worth a look if you enjoy car combat style games.

Related Links:
Buy Scrap Metal - Microsoft Store 
Buy Scrap Metal - Xbox Marketplace
Scrap Metal - GameFAQs
Scrap Metal Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Scrap Metal - True Achievements

Joy Ride Turbo (XBLA, 2012)

Joy Ride Turbo
Developed by BigPark
Published by Microsoft Game Studios
Released for XBLA (5/2012)
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

Joy Ride Turbo is a digital-exclusive game released for Xbox Live Arcade in May 2012. It's a follow-up to Kinect Joy Ride, a title which received a retail release in 2010 and, as the title implies, required the Kinect to play. Developed by the same folks who did the original game, Joy Ride Turbo strips the game of all Kinect functionality and maps out everything to your game pad for a more traditional racing experience. Joy Ride Turbo features your Xbox Live avatar as the driver of your selected vehicle. There's a decent variety of unlicensed vehicles (42 total) ranging from tuners, trucks, vans and roadsters. For a 2012 XBLA release the game sports some decent graphics with lots of bright colors and a cartoony style that works well with the arcade feel to the gameplay.

Driving in Joy Ride Turbo has an arcade feel to it mixed with kart-racer style weapons and power-ups. Tracks commonly feature ramps and you can perform stunt tricks while airborne. By performing stunts and drifts, you'll build up a boost meter allowing for a burst of speed. Scattered along the tracks you'll find boxes that when smashed will grant the player a random power-up. These are pretty much your standard fare for these type of games: stuff like a massive boost, instant boost meter refill, rockets and an ice cube that slows your opponents. If you're falling behind, there's a power-up similar to Mario Kart's blue shell that homes in on the first place racer.

The driving in Joy Ride Turbo is simple but I had a tough time getting a feel for the drifting in the game. The overall challenge in the game was low enough I still managed to clear each championship so it wasn't a major issue as I made up for my poor turning by using the power-ups. Speaking of the power-ups, there were times I wondered if the game would have been better without the pick-ups and was a more traditional racing game. The randomness of the power-ups can grant you some cheap and frustrating losses. An option to turn the power-ups off would have been nice. 

Joy Ride Turbo features both single and multiplayer game modes. In single player, you can choose between championship, stunt track and time trials. Championship mode features three classes: 100 HP, 200 HP & 300 HP. Each class contains four events and each event has three races. There's a decent amount of variety between the tracks. Multiplayer is supported both online and locally with up to four-players split-screen. You'll have a hard time finding random players online but the local multiplayer can be fun if you have the controllers & friends.

Time trials allow you to race on each track and try to set the best lap time. The stunt tracks offers two different areas where you're allowed to explore and perform tricks to your heart's content. These are fun little playgrounds and make for a nice diversion from the standard racing mode, however there are also a bunch of collectibles scattered around the stunt tracks, which you're required to collect in order to unlock new vehicles which we'll go into next...

Initially in Joy Ride Turbo you'll have one vehicle available for each class. One thing I found a bit annoying with the game is the fact that you not only need to save up the in-game currency to purchase new cars, but you'll have to collect three car parts in order to unlock them first. There's a good amount of these car parts scattered around the race courses while the rest of them can be found on the stunt tracks. In total there are 126 car parts you'll have to collect if you wish to purchase all of the vehicles in the game. I typically don't mind collectibles in games, but forcing you to collect them just to be able to use the other vehicles in the game wasn't the best design choice. In addition to the car part collectibles, the stunt track courses also feature trophies to collect, which don't actually do anything other than unlock an achievement for getting all of them. Some of the trophies are quite tough to get and you'll likely never want to return to this mode by the time you've collected them all.

While Joy Ride Turbo is a bit generic as far as racing games go, it's a good arcade-style racer that can be fun to play in short bursts. Many standard features of the genre are present such as drifting, boosting and weapon pick-ups. These are well implemented for the most part and the four-player local co-op can be fun with some buddies over. There's a decent amount of content with lots of different vehicles to unlock and the stunt mode areas. At the time of this writing, Joy Ride Turbo is currently available on Game Pass and is worth a look if you want a more simple, arcade-like racing game.

The developer, BigPark, worked on a Kinect Joy Ride and Kinect Sports: Season Two before releasing Joy Ride Turbo which would be the company's final release. As Microsoft moved away from supporting the Kinect device, BigPark was shut down and consolidated into other Microsoft studios and teams.

Final Verdict: Joy Ride Turbo is a fun arcade-style racer mixing nitro, drift and stunt mechanics with kart-style weapons and power-ups. It's a bit generic but still a solid game especially when stacked up against your average Xbox Live Arcade release.

Related Links:
Buy Joy Ride Turbo - Microsoft Store
Buy Joy Ride Turbo - Xbox Marketplace
Buy Game Pass - Microsoft Store
Joy Ride Turbo - GameFAQs
BigPark - Wikipedia
Joy Ride Turbo - True Achievements
Joy Ride Turbo 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

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA/Xbox One, 2013/2015)

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Developed by Starbreeze Studios
Published by 505 Games
Released for XBLA (8/2013) & Xbox One (9/2015)
Also on Android/iOS/PC/PS3/PS4

Brothers: A Tale of Two Suns was developed by Starbreeze Studios, best known for their work on The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick games. The game follows the journey of two brothers as they search for a cure to their fathers sickness. Brothers is unique in that you control both siblings simultaneously. Each brother is assigned to their own analog stick and the corresponding triggers allow them to interact with various objects and people.

Brothers is a beautiful game to look at in many aspects. The fantasy world feels unique and well-realized. Every so often you'll come across benches, where you can take a seat and soak in some of the lush backdrops. Visually, Starbreeze really did a fantastic job here and everything from the characters to the levels look great. The lighting and shadows are also well done, especially for a title released in 2013. There are also some nice little details such as your characters leaving footprints in the snow as they walk.

There's a bit of dialogue in Brothers, but the characters speak in gibberish you'll have to take in the story by watching and you'll be able to get a sense of what the characters are talking about by the tones used while speaking. Along your journey you'll encounter several puzzles you'll have to solve in order to advance. None of these are too difficult but they make smart use of both brothers. The game is short and will be over before you know it, but it's nice in that it doesn't overstay its welcome. The control scheme is interesting and will feel like it's racking your brain moving around both brothers some times, but the game does a good job of not demanding too much from the player in this regard. For the most part you'll have time to control each brother individually in order to get where you need to go.

During my playthrough of Brothers, I did encounter one of a few commonly reported glitches that made it so I couldn't complete the second chapter. Fortunately after restarting the chapter and going through it again I was able to progress further. It's worth noting that this was on the Xbox One version of the game and I don't recall encountering this glitch on the 360 version of the game.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is totally worth your time, especially when taken into consideration that the game only asks for 3-5 hours of your time. The game doesn't have the highest replay value, but I'd still easily recommend anybody who enjoys more relaxing video games to give it a play. Brothers provides a distinct and unique experience without the frustration of failure so many games have.

Brothers was originally released for XBLA in August 2013. The following month after it was released on PC and PlayStation 3. Then over the following years it would receive ports to a few other platforms, including the Xbox One in September 2015. While the game was available as a digital-download only for the 360, Brothers received a physical-disc release in addition to being available digitally on the Xbox One.

Final Verdict: Brothers is a short but enjoyable adventure/puzzle game where you control two brothers simultaneously using an analog stick for each. Recommended for a nice laid-back single player experience.

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

Related Links:
Brothers for Xbox 360 - GameFAQs
Brothers for Xbox One - GameFAQs
Starbreeze Studios - Official Site
505 Games - Official Site
Brothers Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Brothers - True Achievements

The Maw (XBLA, 2009)

The Maw
Developed by Twisted Pixel Games
Released for XBLA (1/2009)
Also on PC
Backward Compatible on Xbox One

The Maw was the first release from developer Twisted Pixel Games. In the game you play as an escaped alien convict named Frank roaming around with his pet, the Maw. Each level has you working with the Maw in order to eat everything up and escape to the next stage. The presentation is solid with bright colors and a nice cartoony look to the graphics. The game is light on story but there are some brief cutscenes scattered here and there as you progress. The Maw is not a very difficult game, making it ideal for younger players or those just wanting to play something a bit more laid-back.

During play you have no direct control over the Maw, but you can activate a leash to keep him near and have it follow close by. If the Maw gets too far away, you can call it back to you with a simple press of the X button. The basic idea of the game is to feed your Maw and once it's eaten enough the exit to the stage will open up where you'll repeat the process on the next. In addition to growing in size from eating, the Maw will also take on traits of certain creatures he eats. These can range from gaining a shock ability, floating or even firing lasers. Each stage offers a different ability for the Maw to obtain and completing the level will require use of whatever special move the Maw has gained.

The Maw is a mix of action and light puzzles with some platforming bits thrown in here and there. The puzzles are all simple and will always involve using whatever ability your Maw just acquired. The action involves getting your Maw to eat the creatures around you. In addition to being able to put the Maw on a leash, you can also use your tether to grab objects. After grabbing something, you can either slam it, throw it or feed it to the Maw. Occasionally you'll be able to hitch a ride by grappling onto an object being carried by a flying creature. The occasional platforming segments are all easy to line up your jumps and the camera is adjustable with the right stick to help, so any frustration commonly associated with 3D platforming is pretty much nonexistent here.

Overall the Maw is an easy game and is definitely a solid title for younger gamers or older gamers who don't mind a fun but simple game. It's also quite short and you'll complete the main story probably within 2-4 hours. There are collectibles in the form of creatures called Snuffles that the Maw will need to eat. There are one of these on each level. In order to obtain 100% on a level you'll need to eat all of the creatures within that stage. So there is at least a small amount of potential replay value in going back to find the Snuffles and eating 100% on each stage. The Maw definitely packs that Twisted Pixel charm you'd see in their later releases and I'd say it's worth a play, especially if you can find it on sale or on Game Pass.

There were also three additional levels released for the Maw in the form of DLC. They are each sold separately and retail for $1.25 a piece. These are called "Deleted Scenes" and will be placed in their appropriate spot in the campaign if you have them unlocked. I haven't purchased these at this point but if I do I'll come back and update this review. These really should have been included in the base game with it being as short as it is, but what can you do...

Final Verdict: The Maw is a short but enjoyable action/puzzle/platforming game where you get to feed your alien pet and watch it grow larger with each level.

Related Links:
Buy The Maw - Xbox Marketplace
Twisted Pixel Games - Xbox Overview
The Maw - GameFAQs
The Maw for PC - Steam
Twisted Pixel Games - Official Site
The Maw Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
The Maw - True Achievements

Wolfenstein 3D (XBLA, 2009)

Wolfenstein 3D
Developed by iD Software
Ported by Nerve Software
Published by Activision/Bethesda
Released for XBLA (6/2009)
Also on 3DO/GBA/Jaguar/Mac/Mobile/PC/PS3/SNES
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

The classic Wolfenstein 3D was originally released for PC back in May 1992. Developed by iD Software, the game is the original first-person shooter and laid much of the groundwork for what would become Doom. I remember being absolutely blown away by this game the first time I played it. I'd never witnessed a game where the violence was happening right in your face like this and as a ten-year old it felt like a horror game to me at the time, what with all the creepy Nazi camps and bones scattered about. The game might not look so impressive to the younger crowd, but Wolfenstein 3D with it's smooth-scaling sprites and first-person perspective was a big deal back when it came out.

The PC classic was ported over to the Xbox Live Arcade and originally released in 2009 released to coincide with Raven Software's Wolfenstein, published by Activision who held the rights to the franchise at the time. In 2013, the game was released once again after being de-listed, this time published by Bethesda and re-issued just before the release of Wolfenstein: The New Order. Both versions of the game are exactly the same except for the publisher credits. For achievement hunters, it was possible to unlock achievements separately for both releases of the game if you happen to enjoy Wolfenstein 3D enough to play through it twice.

This is, for better or worse, pretty much a straight-up port of the PC classic. It contains all six episodes that were included in the registered version. Each episode contains nine levels and one hidden level that's accessed by finding a secret exit, for a grand total of sixty levels. So if you enjoy the maze-like layouts of the levels, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck. Remember, this is the first FPS, so there's not a whole lot of variety when it comes to your arsenal. When you first begin you'll be armed with only a handgun and your knife. As you progress through the game, you'll eventually find an automatic rifle and a minigun. After acquiring the next best weapon there's really no point in going back to the handgun, so you won't have to worry about switching between your weapons during battle. This is a good thing in Wolfenstein though, because the key to staying alive is to always shoot first when you encounter an enemy. On the harder difficulties, an enemy getting off even a single shot before you can easily mean death. This game is old-school, meaning you have a limited number of lives, but can obtain more by picking up 1-ups in hidden areas or racking up enough score. Score can be gained by picking up treasures scattered about, mostly found in secret areas. The whole lives system is pretty much void thanks to the fact you can save & load at any point in the game, but can be used to add additional challenge if one wants to avoid using saves.

While there are a large amount of levels to play through, the variety between them isn't the greatest. There are some nice details scattered about, like tables, pots and skeleton bones, which helps compensate a bit for the lack of floor and ceiling textures. There are also different colored sections within levels, which helps make it a bit easier to tell where you've already been and need to go, though unless you're using a map it's pretty much guaranteed you'll lose your way at least a few times throughout the game (there is no in-game map of any sort). The episodes vary a bit in quality and the third episode is definitely my favorite, as this is the one where you face off against Hitler in the last level. In the third episode the level design is lot more simple and straight-forward, ramping up the difficulty with enemy placement instead of complicated mazes like most of the other levels in the game. The last three episodes are definitely not as memorable as the initial three, mainly due to even more maze-like layouts and a lack of new enemies, but they are still worth a play if you enjoyed the first three episodes and add quite a bit of replay value. There's a particularly nasty level to be found in the fourth episode (level 5), where one of the keys you'll need to complete the level is hidden behind a secret wall.

Performance-wise, Wolfenstein 3D runs smooth as you'd expect from a console like the 360 with one notable exception. For some reason whenever you press against a wall to reveal a secret there's a bit of a pause, as if the game is loading or something. The game also pauses when you're unlocking an achievement, but this is something I've run across in many titles before and is not terribly uncommon. The game did freeze on me a few times at the end of level results screen, but I was still able to access the Xbox menu for an easy exit to the dashboard. The controls are mapped out to the pad in a manner that makes the game easy to play. The run button is assigned to the left trigger so it's easy to toggle on and off. You can't turn around as fast as you can with the mouse, so make sure to use that save if you don't know what lies around a corner. When it comes to the save and load functions they work just as you'd expect though a quick-save button would have been a welcome addition. The game does contain leaderboards that rank you score on each level, but unfortunately there's no way to save or watch replays.

Wolfenstein 3D is now going on over 26 years since its release at the time of this writing, and time certainly has not been as kind to this game as it has with later FPS games. While I personally still found the game enjoyable, I chalk a large portion of that up to the severe nostalgia kick I get from playing it. Even as somebody who grew up absolutely loving this game, I can admit that the action can be quite repetitive and the maze-like level design borders on obnoxious at times. Whether you're coming back to it or playing it for the first time, Wolfenstein 3D can still deliver a good time, but it hasn't aged as well in the gameplay department as later FPS titles like Duke Nukem 3D or Doom. If you've already finished those and need more retro FPS action, Wolfenstein 3D should hold you over for a little while.

Final Verdict: Wolfenstein 3D is a certified classic and this is a good port, however the game has not aged all that well, featuring simple gameplay with little variety. The game is still fun and can be enjoyed by those looking for a retro blast from the past.

Related Links:
Buy Wolfenstein 3D - Xbox Marketplace
Bethesda - Official Site
Wolfenstein 3D - GameFAQs
Wolfenstein 3D - Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Wolfenstein 3D - True Achievements
Wolfenstein 3D Ports (Stop Skeletons From Fighting) - YouTube
History of Wolfenstein (Gaming Historian) - YouTube

Mark of the Ninja (XBLA, 2012) | X-Box Overview

Mark of the Ninja
Developed by Klei Entertainment
Published by Microsoft Game Studios
Released for Xbox 360 (9/2012)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch/Xbox One

Back in the '80's, ninjas were immensely popular and the majority of young boys were fascinated by the stealth assassins. I'd compare the popularity of the ninja back then to how big zombies were in the last decade or so. There was Ninja Gaiden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the American Ninja movies just to name a few examples. For some reason or another, the popularity of the ninja steadily declined over the years thus we saw less ninjas in popular media. There were only a handful of ninja-themed titles that I'm aware of released in the 360's life cycle and Mark of the Ninja stands tall as one of the best pure ninja games I've played on any system.

Klei Entertainment, the same crew that brought us the Shank series, created Mark of the Ninja using the same engine as those games. Players familiar with the Shank games will immediately notice the similarities both in the art-style and character movement/animation. The major differences between Shank and Mark of the Ninja lies in the gameplay department. While the Shank games were beat 'em ups, Mark of the Ninja is focused entirely on stealth (as any true ninja game should!).

The graphics in Mark of the Ninja are quite dark, which is understandable considering the game is all about sneaking around in the shadows. The backgrounds are all well illustrated with lots of detail and there are several layers to help give a sense of depth. The characters look very similar to Shank and definitely remind me of modern cartoons. Initially I was not the biggest fan of the character art style, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the game in the slightest and I warmed up to it as I continued to play. The game makes heavy use of shadows and lighting effects really pop to let you know when your character is illuminated. While at a glance it can be hard to tell what's going in the game at times (mostly due to the darkness), once you play the game a bit and become accommodated you'll be able to navigate with ease.

Mark of the Ninja features twelve stages spread across four differently themed areas. There's a solid variety between the stages, both in the layouts and objectives. One stage will have you setting fire to a building by opening several gas vents while another will have you infiltrate and kill a particular target. New elements are often added as you progress through the game to help keep things fresh. There are frequent checkpoints so messing up or dying never really sets you back too far, eliminating much of the frustration associated with stealth titles. The game runs a bit longer than your average downloadable arcade title, but with the variety on offer here this is definitely a good thing.

Mark of the Ninja features an upgrade system to help add a sense of progression. While this is more or less a trope of modern video games, it works really well here as it allows the player to become familiar with each new ability as they're unlocked and doesn't overwhelm you with abilities from the start. You'll earn upgrade points based on three things: overall score, collectibles found and three sub objectives found on each level. This provides good incentive to go back and replay levels to get more upgrade points. The upgrades range from new techniques like stealth kills and attack moves to equipment such as caltrops, noise makers and smoke bombs. Before starting a new level you have the option to select your loadout and scattered throughout the game you'll find shrines you can use if you wish to change your loadout mid-mission. The game also features a focus technique, which when using most play styles will stop time and allow you to aim your darts, attack or distraction items.

Mark of the Ninja features six different play styles you'll unlock as you progress through the game. These will change the way you approach each level and definitely add a nice layer of replay-ability to the game. If you want more stealth, there's one style (path of silence) where running no longer makes noise at the expense of attack items and a sword. On the other end of the spectrum you have the path of might which adds additional armor and restores health from stealth kills, but your focus will no longer stop time. After you've selected your style you also have a choice between four distraction and attack items (assuming your style allows for it). The distraction items are noise makers, smoke bombs, distraction flares and a cardboard box. These are all useful in certain scenarios, as smoke bombs will temporarily disable laser tripwires, flares blind guards with night vision goggles and the box makes it so you can hide anywhere on the spot. The attack items on offer are the spike mine, terror dart, caltrops and ravenous insects. All of these attack items are useful in different ways and can assist with taking down some of the tougher enemies with ease. All in all, the various loadout configurations add a nice layer of depth to the game and allow you to replay stages using different techniques to complete them.

Mark of the Ninja is an excellent stealth game and provides a wealth of content, especially when compared to your average XBLA title. There's a lot to go back and do for each stage, a well implemented upgrade system and even a new game plus feature that allows you to carry your upgrades over and replay the levels with increased difficulty. There are even two separate endings to wrap up the game's interesting plot. The amount of time you can potentially spend with this game rivals many games that received disc releases. Klei Entertainment really did a fantastic job with this one and Microsoft would have been smart to bring the company on board as an exclusive developer for Xbox platforms, but unfortunately this was not the case and Klei has gone on to support the PS4 over the One in the current generation of consoles. In October 2018, a remastered version of this game would release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch.

Final Verdict: Mark of the Ninja is a fantastic stealth title, easily among the best stealth games on the system and up there with the greats on XBLA. Ninja fans don't miss this one!

DLC: Mark of the Ninja Special Edition
Released 8/2013

Just short of a year after the release of the original game, Mark of the Ninja received some DLC in the form of Special Edition. This grants players an additional level, developer commentary, a new play style and a few new gadgets that can all be used in the original levels as well. The additional level is fun with a design that fits in well with the original stages, featuring a story that serves as a prequel to the main game. The new play style is interesting, taking away the sword and allowing players to knockout enemies instead of killing them. KO'd enemies can be revived if discovered by another enemy. In order to compensate for this the player is allowed to hold more distraction and attack items in their inventory.

The special edition DLC introduces new distraction and attack items as well. Dusk moths are added to the distraction items and fungal spores are the new attack item. The dusk moths work similar to the smoke when thrown at enemies, distracting them and allowing you to move in for an easy kill. Unlike the smoke bombs, dusk moths can be thrown at lights to temporarily block them out, which can come in handy for those indestructible spotlights. The fungal spores will take down a target when thrown at them and will unleash a nasty cloud which will incapacitate anybody who comes to investigate the body. The DLC also contains developer commentary, which delivers an interesting look into the game's design. As a heads up I'd recommend making sure it's turned off on your first playthrough as it does contain several spoilers. In closing, the DLC for Mark of the Ninja is definitely worth checking out for those who enjoyed the main game.

Final Verdict: Even though the Special Edition DLC only contains one level, the extra play style and items that carry over into the main campaign make it worth a look, especially for just $4.99.

Related Links:
Buy Mark of the Ninja - Xbox Marketplace
Mark of the Ninja - Official Klei Entertainment Page
Mark of the Ninja - Metacritic
Mark of the Ninja - GameFAQs
Mark of the Ninja - True Achievements
Mark of the Ninja Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA, 2007)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Originally Developed by Konami
Port Developed by Digital Eclipse
Published by Konami
Released for XBLA (3/2007)
Also on PlayStation/Saturn
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

Originally released for the Sony PlayStation back in 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night stood out for delivering some of the best 2D visuals in a time when the emphasis was on 3D graphics. The game looked amazing back then and due to the detailed sprites the graphics have held up much better over time than most games of the era. Symphony of the Night was quite different than the Castlevania games that preceded it. The game no longer consisted of linear stages but featured a massive map that allowed the player to explore on their own. There are of course areas you will not be able to access initially, but once certain items, relics or powers have been obtained you'll be able to discover areas you couldn't get to at first.

At the time of its release, Symphony of the Night was a top-tier game in presentation, featuring detailed sprite graphics with an incredible Castlevania soundtrack. The enemy diversity is impressive, featuring many favorites from previous titles and tons of new entries. While the game technically takes place in one giant castle, there is excellent variety between the sections of the castle that will keep you wondering what you'll come across next. There is a small amount of 3D mixed in with the 2D sprites at several points within the game but it is well executed and they fit together wonderfully. This was one of the first instances I recall seeing 2D & 3D graphics used together like this and was quite impressive back in the day. The voice acting is almost as cheesy as the original Resident Evil, but it's definitely part of the game's charm.

Symphony of the Night features some tight controls, making it easy to navigate the environment with minimal frustration. The game still features the knockback when you get hit and flying medusa heads knocking you around is just as frustrating as it ever was, but the controls are improved from the previous games and your character is very well equipped to take on danger. There are eight different spells that can be discovered, which can be executed by inputting Street Fighter style joystick + button combinations. In addition to your weapon and special attacks, there are also sub-weapons at your disposal. Several of these are old classics, like the dagger, holy water, axe and stop-watch, but there are also several new additions to the series including the cross, holy book and the arguen. There's a good variety between the sub-weapons, though some of them are certainly more useful than others. Using your sub-weapon consumes your hearts, which can be replenished from whipping candles found all over the castle in traditional Castlevania fashion.

There is a ton of stuff to collect throughout Symphony of the Night, including weapons, shields, armor, cloaks and relics. Certain relics will allow you activate a familiar which will follow you around and assist in different ways. There are five in total: fairy, devil, sword, ghost and bat. Other relics you collect will grant buffs to certain stats, giving the player a good incentive to search every nook and cranny to find some of the more powerful items. As you progress further into the game, Alucard will gain the ability to turn into a bat, wolf and mist. The mist will grant you access through certain blocked walls and the bat will help reach high areas, but to be honest I never found much reason to use the wolf form outside of accessing a secret area. The fact that the game offers so much in the way of customization makes it fun to replay while experimenting with different loadouts.

If you complete the normal castle while meeting certain conditions, you'll gain access to the second half of the game where you run back through the castle upside-down. The enemy layouts have changed completely and there are all-new bosses to encounter in order to keep things interesting. Complete that mode and you'll be able to start a new game as Richter Belmont. Playing as Richter is a bit more like the old Castlevania games as you no longer level-up, nor can you equip weapons and items. Richter is also armed with a whip just like all of the previous Belmonts, and other than the whip the only other weapon you'll be able to use are the sub-weapons. Being able to play as Richter is an awesome bonus and makes the game feel fresh on a replay.

While Symphony of the Night is a great game and a definite classic, there are a few things worth griping about, both with the original title and with this port. It's arguable how useful some of the sub-weapons are as some of them are definitely more effective than others. Alucard will become over-powered rather quick as you find and equip new weapons & armor. Certain weapons pretty much break the game, such as the shield rod and Alucard shield combo, but there are many other options to equip if you'd like a bit more of a challenge. The inverted castle could be looked at as a somewhat lazy way to pad out the game, but the developers did at least take the time to introduce new enemies and boss fights rather than just recycling from the normal castle.

The annoying process of dying, having to view the game over screen, return to the title, select your hard drive and to reload your save has carried over, though you can at least access the pause menu to exit quickly and speed things up a bit. The screen starts out small, and though the game does offer the option to resize the screen, for some reason it doesn't save this setting and requires you to re-adjust the screen every time you play. The only other option for the visuals is an "enhanced" setting which basically just smooths the pixels out a little bit. I've read complaints from other players having issues with the game freezing, but I never ran into any issues in my time spent with the game.

There were several new features added in for the Japan-only Sega Saturn port, including new areas to explore, some bonus weapons/equipment and you could unlock Maria as a playable character. Sadly, none of the Sega Saturn exclusive features were included in this port which would have been awesome considering how expensive it can be procuring anything Saturn-related these days.

It feels a tad lazy that Digital Eclipse just ported over an emulation of the original PlayStation game without giving us much in the way of extras. That's not to say that this is a bad version or anything, as the actual game is emulated well and plays just as we all remembered it. A little extra in the way of content would have been nice, if not the Saturn content mentioned earlier than at least like some unlockable concept art or something. While Symphony of the Night was never my favorite Castlevania game (I prefer the old linear games personally) it is still a fantastic game that has held up remarkably well over all these years. This is a solid port of an old classic, whether you're re-visiting the game or playing it for the first time it's a much more financially-friendly way to play the game than purchasing the original on PlayStation.

It's also worth noting that this was released for the Xbox 360 on a physical disc and can be found in the retail release Konami Classics Vol. 1. Inserting this disc into your Xbox One will allow you to download the game onto your hard drive.

Final Verdict: While the XBLA version is a bare-bones port, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night still stands as a fantastic title that kicked off the "Metroidvania" genre. A 2D classic and a steal for $4.99!

Purchase Links:
Buy Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Microsoft Store
Search Konami Classics Vol. 1 - eBay

Related Links:
Some Handy Maps For Both Normal Inverted Castles
Symphony of the Night Achievement Guide - XboxAchievements.com
Symphony of the Night - True Achievements