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

Downtown SMASH Dodgeball! (XBLIG, 2009)

Downtown SMASH Dodgeball!
Also Known As ダウンタウン激凸ドッジボール！
Developed by Miracle Kidz
Released for XBLIG (8/2009)

Downtown SMASH Dodgeball! (which was listed as ダウンタウン激凸ドッジボール！on all of  the storefronts, making it a difficult title to search for using English characters) immediately struck me with nostalgic flashbacks of the Super Dodge Ball (known in Japan as the Kunio-kun series) games that came out on the arcade/NES way back in the late '80's. Upon further inspection it became apparent that the developer, Miracle Kidz, is composed of former Technos Japan team members, some of which were the same crew that worked on the old Kunio-kun games. While the character names have been changed, the gameplay has remained the same.

In Downtown SMASH Dodgeball you'll have four players on the court and three more on the sidelines of the opposing team. Anybody can attack with the ball using the A button while the B button passes to whichever teammate is calling for the ball. Pressing A+B results in a jump. Both offense and defense rely heavily on timing, and if you time your throw properly while dashing (or jumping out of a dash) you can unleash super moves that cause big damage. While on defense, if you press the A button right as a shot is about to hit your player you can catch the ball, avoiding any damage. You can also dodge the ball by crouching with the B button, but this risks it bouncing off-sides where the opponent can take possession. When a player loses all of their HP (seen on energy bars on the top) they float away to the heavens in angel form. Whichever team is the first to lose all four main players on the court loses the match. The game allows up to four-player local action and is an absolute blast if have some friends over to play it with.

Before a round begins, you're allowed to select from nine teams and then choose the positioning of your characters. It's always a good strategy to prioritize putting players with the highest attack on the main court. At the main menu you can select from tournament, one to one (the translation is a bit off in this game, but it has its charm and its nice they even bothered to include an English translation), options, controls and quit game. In tournament mode you'll play through eight rounds with a nice mix of different backdrops that rarely repeat themselves. There are five different difficulties to select from, and the harder difficulties will certainly provide a challenge. One to one allows you to just play a single round using the same teams as in tournament mode.

Downtown SMASH Dodgeball allows quite a bit of customization under the options menu, where you'll find of ton of settings you can mess with. You can select the language (English or Japanese), sound volume, toggle stereo sound, adjust game/ball time, shot speed, shot rule (not sure exactly what this is), setup the button layouts, adjust manual catch and a few other options I'm not certain what they do. The controls menu features three detailed pages and serves as the games instruction manual.

The gameplay is very faithful to the source material and after all these years it still feels satisfying to get a running start, launch a super shot and smash the opponent so hard they fly across the screen. The graphics are a tad more detailed but retain the same style of the classic Kunio titles and the sound effects are true to the originals. The music sounds like something you would have heard on an old CD-ROM title and fits the action quite well. While playing the game the characters will have constant banter that will be shown at the bottom of the screen, very similar to River City Ransom. It's a bit tough to read these and play at the same time, but it's a cool throwback to an old classic and surely there's some nice "Engrish" going on down there.

Downtown SMASH Dodgeball initially retailed for $10 when it first hit the indie games store, but it was eventually reduced to $5 before the storefront was wiped from the face of Xbox Live. It's a worthy successor to the Kunio dodgeball games and is a great time for players of all ages. Miracle Kidz would release a follow up for the Wii in 2011, but Downtown SMASH Dodgeball was never ported to anything else. It's a bit of a shame that this one will be for the most part lost in time, and it's yet another indie title that would have greatly benefited from online action on XBLA. I wish Miracle Kidz would have found better financial success with this title and released a River City Ransom style game, but unfortunately this would be the only release from the developers on XBLIG.

Final Verdict: Downtown SMASH Dodgeball! delivers some fun old-school arcade action on your Xbox 360 with support for up to four players locally. An often overlooked gem on XBLIG.

Related Links:
Miracle Kidz Official Site
Downtown SMASH Volleyball! - GameFAQs

Mini Ninjas (Xbox 360, 2009)

Mini Ninjas
Developed by Io Interactive
Published by Eidos Interactive
Released for Xbox 360 (9/2009)
Also on DS/iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/Wii

Mini Ninjas is a kid-friendly stealth/action/platformer title from Io Interactive, a crew best known for the Hitman series of games. The game sports some cartoony graphics that have held up well since the game was released. This is a single-player only game, featuring a campaign that should keep you busy for around 10 hours.You'll assemble a small crew and will have the ability to switch your character at will in your journey to take down the evil samurai warlord.

The graphics in Mini Ninjas have a cartoon vibe to them, but they're not cel-shaded like most games that go for this look, giving it a nice distinct look. The environments are detailed and the characters are all designed well, though you will see the same enemies very frequently. Everything looks a bit cute but not so adorable that it hurts to look at. The boss battles are well done and each feels different from the last. The sound design works well and you'll always know when an enemy is nearby, although I'm sure some will be annoyed by the gibberish talk that spews forth from the enemies. The music fits the theme of the game well, though I'm sure you'll struggle to remember any of it once you've turned the game off.

Mini Ninjas features a beefy campaign that spans twenty-two levels, with several boss fights spread throughout. Levels tend to be quite large, allowing for some exploration, and the developers did a nice job making the levels seem even bigger than they really are. There's a decent variety here too, ranging from green forest areas, grassy plains and snow capped mountains. You're on a quest to take down the samurai warlord and restore balance to the land. Apparently they've been transforming animals into their minions to assemble an army. When you take down an enemy, an animal will appear in their place, helping to minimize the violence and keep an "E" for everyone rating. This is actually a pretty cool effect and definitely reminded me of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.

As you work your way through the campaign you'll rescue additional ninjas and once you've found them all you'll be able to switch between five separate characters on the fly. Each character works better against certain enemies and to maximize efficiency you'll want to switch them up quite frequently. Once you get the archer who can fire an unlimited amount of arrows the game gets a bit easy, so if you wish to keep the challenge up you may want to minimize using that character. Other than the over-powered archer the characters are balanced pretty well and are fun to use.

Mini Ninjas boasts some unique features, one of them being the ability to possess animals. Larger animals like bears and hogs can be used to attack enemies. Also while in animal form collectibles will be marked in your proximity by purple clouds of smoke. You'll also find a fishing rod which you can use at certain water spots to catch some fish and stock sushi in your inventory. Some of the special abilities are more useful than others, with some like the sunlight power being very underutilized. The sunlight power is used to vanquish the ghosts, which if I recall correctly I only saw on two different levels throughout the entire game. Sunlight spell not included, most of the other spells are fun to mess with and you'll find many of them as you progress through the campaign.

While stealth is an aspect of the game and sneaking up on enemies will result in a one-hit kill, the majority of your enemy encounters will involve direct fighting. I had a tough time sneaking up and killing more than an enemy or two before being detected and having to fight everybody else. Later in the game you will get a camouflage spell that will help you sneak up on enemies, but it's still just as difficult to get successive stealth kills. Luckily the fighting in Mini Ninjas isn't too bad, since you'll be doing a lot of it. You have a standard and heavy attack, and when enemies block (which they frequently do) you'll have to use a heavy attack to stagger them and get some easy shots in. Depending on which ninja you're using you'll attack with a different weapon, including katana swords, spears and hammers. Within your inventory you'll be able to hold additional items to use in battle, such as bombs, caltrops and shurikens. Fighting is basic and works well for the most part, with the biggest problem being the "hatted samurai" that show up later in the game and have teleporting abilities. These guys caused me many problems until I figured out that I needed to use the bow & arrow to easily attack them. Other than these guys I didn't have much of an issue with the combat, just try to make sure you don't let the enemies gang up on you.

There is a fair share of platforming in Mini Ninjas and for the most part there's nothing too frustrating. I did run into a few spots where the camera would turn as I walked, causing me to walk right off the edge, but these sections are few and far between and didn't ruin the overall experience. Being a ninja, you have a wall jump that you'll have to utilize every now and then. Your character swims extremely slow, but luckily you can use your hat as a boat in order to traverse the water much quicker.

As with most modern games, there is a progression system in Mini Ninjas. Defeated enemies will drop little balls which will grant the player XP when picked up. As you level up you'll gain bonus perks such as more health and spirit. The spirit meter is depleted when doing special/magic attacks and sprinting. There are also quite few collectibles to seek out if you're the completionist type. There are 100 "Jizo statues" scattered throughout the campaign in addition to caged animals that can be freed (195 of these in total!). Some of the statues are hidden well and if you're not on the lookout for them can be easy to miss. The collectibles help provide a little replay value if you're the type who likes to get everything.

Mini Ninjas is a solid game and a bit more polished than your average "all-ages" game. I'm not sure how popular ninjas are with today's youth, but I know if I would've had this game in my youth I would've loved it. Even as a 30+ year-old I enjoyed having a run through the rather long campaign. If you find it cheap and have a love for anything ninja related, give Mini Ninjas a shot and you just might enjoy yourself. I was a bit surprised how enjoyable a family-friendly ninja game could be!

Final Verdict: Mini Ninjas is a fun, family-friendly action-platformer with a single-player campaign of decent length. Recommended for those who love some ninja action!

Purchase Links:
Buy Mini Ninjas (Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Buy Mini Ninjas (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Mini Ninjas - Official Site
Io Interactive - Official Site
Mini Ninjas - Xbox Store
Mini Ninjas - GameFAQs
Mini Ninjas Achievement Guide - XboxAchievements.com

Protect Me Knight (XBLIG, 2010)

Protect Me Knight
Developed by Ancient
Released for XBLIG (5/2010)

Protect Me Knight (also known as まもって騎士 Mamotte Naito) was a true hidden gem in the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace. It was listed in the store by it's Japanese title only and due to this was extremely hard to find in the massive library of games available, even if you knew what you were looking for. The game was developed by Ancient, a company founded by veteran music composer Yuzo Koshiro and co-founded by Tomo Koshiro, Yuzo's mother. Yuzo Koshiro is well known to retro gaming enthusiasts, as he composed music for classics like the Streets of Rage series, ActRaiser and Shenmue just to name a few. While Ancient was conceived way back in 1990, they typically just worked on soundtracks for various developers and as far as I can tell Protect Me Knight was the first game I've been able to find released under the company's name.

Right off the bat the game lets you know this is going to be a throwback to the days of gaming past. Upon booting the game up you'll be greeted to a first-person view in front of a television screen, blowing on the cartridge trying to get it start but it keeps loading up a pixelated mess. You'll pop the cartridge back out and press the A button to blow on it and re-insert it, only to be greeted with the same mess of pixels. Anybody who used to game on the old Nintendo Entertainment System will definitely remember these days, and already right from the get-go Protect Me Knight gives you a nice feeling of nostalgia. You can press the start button to skip past this screen at any time and as far as I've been able to tell no matter how many times you blow on the cart it never loads up properly.

Once you press start you'll be greeted to a title screen composed of nice bright pixels and some appropriate chip-tune music. The graphics have a much higher pixel count than the old 8-bit classics, but they still feel like something that came from that era of gaming. The sound is also very true to it's 8-bit roots as well and the presentation on the whole has a very authentic feel to it. If you leave the game idle at the title the game will display profiles for each of the characters, complete with poorly translated "Engrish" to even further cement the retro feeling (these can be viewed here).

Protect Me Knight shares elements of a tower defense and hack 'n slash game. Although there are no actual towers here, you'll be building and maintaining barricades to keep the princess safe from harm. It's up to you to attack the monsters that will try to break through the barricades by utilizing your attack and special attack (called the "killer shot"). You can also guard by pulling the triggers while being attacked. You have the ability to build new barricades at the cost of "love points."  Love points will be gained for taking down enemies and racking up big combos. When you attack next to a barricade it will repair it and if you hold down the build button the barricades can be upgraded. When a barricade is fully upgraded it turns into a catapult that the player can get on and launch boulders at the enemies, taking out groups of enemies if they're bunched together. You don't want to use up all of your MP on building barricades because at the end of each round you'll be able to spend them to upgrade your skills in four different categories: attack, speed, killer shot and defense.

Protect Me Knight has four different classes: fighter, ninja, amazon and mage. Each has their own killer shot attack that can be utilized with the B button, which will consume some of your MP. The fighter throws tomahawks, the ninja drops decoy bombs, the amazon tosses a boomerang and the mage can shoot fireballs. Each of these killer shots are effective in battle and will get better as you level them up. Your regular attacks will also improve as you level them up, and what started as a 1-hit attack will end up as a lethal 3-hit combo. The enemies you'll be defending the princess from come in a nice variety, including goblins, ghosts, minotaurs and dragons to name a few. Some of the boss enemies are pretty huge and the detail in the pixel sprites is quite impressive.

Before starting a game in Protect Me Knight, you have the option to listen to all the music and adjust the volume or you can go ahead and select your character and color. Once you've chosen your character there are two different modes to choose from: arcade and survival. In arcade mode you'll fight your way through ten stages, while in survival you'll face an endless horde of monsters to see how long you can hold out. Both modes support up to four players who can join in at any time. There are also four difficulties: easy, normal, hard and hell. While arcade mode is relatively short and ends after only ten rounds, the replay value is rather high with having four unique characters and also four difficulties to choose from. While some may view the games shortness as a problem, I personally thought it was just right. There's no option to resume your game at a later time and the short length makes it very feasible to complete a game in a sitting. You also can't die, since when you run out of HP you'll respawn back in after a few seconds. You can still lose however, as at the bottom right corner of the screen you'll see the HP of the princess, and if this is depleted then it's game over, but the game is generous enough to allow you to continue from the beginning of the round you died on. The additional difficulties are a nice challenge, but I wouldn't count on beating hell solo so try to have some friends over if you plan to attempt that one!

It's an absolute shame how overlooked Protect Me Knight was, mostly due to being listed only by its Japanese title and probably not reaching most of its target demographic having been released onto XBLIG. This is yet another case where Microsoft should have stepped in and gave the game a promotion to XBLA (online co-op support would have been great!). It's a unique tower-defense/hack 'n slash hybrid and sets a prime example of how to really nail the retro aesthetic. Protect Me Knight is easily one of the finest titles released for XBLIG, the music is outstanding as you'd expect from Yuzo Koshiro and the gameplay is incredibly fun. There's solid replay value thanks to the variety of the characters, the various difficulty settings and the option for up to four-players to join up is an excellent bonus. It's also worth noting that Ancient would release a sequel for the Nintendo 3DS in 2014, titled Gotta Protectors.

Final Verdict: Protect Me Knight is a fantastic mix of tower-defense and hack 'n slash with a true retro presentation. Easily among the best games ever released on XBLIG!

Related Links:
Protect Me Knight Profile Screens - Xbox Overview
Ancient - Official Website
Protect Me Knight Trailer - YouTube
Protect Me Knight Article - Wired
Protect Me Knight - GameFAQs
Protect Me Knight - Hardcore Gaming 101
Protect Me Knight Review - xblig.co
Protect Me Knight - Giant Bomb

 Alternate Japanese Artwork

General Battlefield Tips & Tactics | X-Box Overview

General Battlefield Tips & Tactics
X-Box Overview

I have a confession to make: I've spent an enormous amount of time playing the Battlefield games over the years and I'm pretty sure I have an addiction. I play a ton of other games, but these shooters always seem to bring me back for a fix of the chaos these titles offer up. I've heard many players rag on the Battlefield games saying that they don't feel like they're improving as they continue to play, then they promptly give up on the game and go right back to the simplicity of the Call of Duty games. While the games do have a higher learning curve than your average FPS, once you get the hang of it there are few shooters that can compare. Veterans of the series will already know this stuff, but for newer players I'll provide some general tips & tactics from somebody who typically plays with random people that should help minimize your frustrations with the games.

Squad
The first thing you should do upon entering a round is make sure you're in a squad. If necessary, go into the squad menu and select the squad with the most players. If your squadmates aren't sticking together, I'd suggest switching to another squad that runs in a pack. You'll always be more effective when you function as a group in these games so try to work with your teammates.

Class
Take note of what classes the players in your squad are using. If there's nobody using the medic kit go ahead and switch over to that class as it's arguably one of the most important in the game. There's never any need for a squad full of the same class and each one serves an important purpose in the game. Everybody will likely find their favorite class to play, but try to get a good feel for each one and change them up as needed by your squad.

Vehicles
If you're having a bad round shooting enemies while on foot, consider using a vehicle. Tanks, AA vehicles, LAVs, choppers and jets can all help the team immensely when used properly. Try not to get too greedy and spend the majority of the round waiting for vehicles to spawn in though as you'd be much more helpful out on the battlefield helping the team out. If you're having trouble spotting the enemies while in the ground vehicles, equip the thermal optics and/or proximity scan to make it tougher for enemies to get the drop on you.

Check Your Fire-Rate Frequently
Thanks to the 360 controller's crappy d-pad, it's very easy to accidentally hit down on the d-pad while switching to gadgets, which in many of the games will change your rate of fire between single, auto and burst. I can't even tell you how many times I've engaged an enemy only to die thanks to the fact I didn't realize my fire-rate was on single shot. This is extremely frustrating when it happens so try to make it a habit to check it every now and then to avoid unnecessary deaths.

Use the Spot Button!
Make a habit of spotting any enemy in your line of sight. Chances are, even if you can't manage to shoot them, a teammate will notice the enemy resulting in an easy kill. This is very valuable to the team and I've witnessed a large number of players that just don't make use of it. Spot the enemy always!

Know When to Quit
If the game becomes more frustrating than fun, and trust me it will if you play it enough, recognize that maybe your anger is preventing you from playing at your best. Sometimes it's best to just turn the game off or back out and find another server. The game is not worth boiling your blood pressure over or smashing your controller/screen as this will only piss you off even further.

Flank Your Enemy
If you see a bunch of fellow teammates running straight into a bottleneck and dying in large numbers, it's time to consider flanking your enemy. Pretty much every map in the game has more than one way to get to each capture point and getting the drop on your enemy from behind is an excellent way to open that choke point up for your team. You'll want to make sure you have a suppressor on your gun when doing this, otherwise the enemy will be immediately alerted to your presence as soon as you open fire which almost always results in a quick death.

Utilize Those Gadgets!
The Battlefield games provide a wealthy amount of options for each kit when it comes to gadgets, and all of them can be very useful when in the right situation. If the vehicles are tearing your team up, throw down some tank mines in commonly traversed spots. If the helicopter is devastating everybody, use your AA mine or laser paint the target. If enemies keep getting the drop on you use one of the numerous spotting devices that the recon soldiers possess. Mess around with the gadgets and know when to switch them up to get the best use out of them.

Don't Be That Guy...
Don't be that guy who plugs his mic in just to complain about everything the entire time. The type of dude who blames every death on "lag" or blames the team for their shortcomings. You're going to die in Battlefield, nobody really thinks any less of you because of it. I seriously doubt anybody is ever going to look at your stats so don't make a big deal about nothing. Luckily the game offers an option via the scoreboard that allows you to mute players, though for whatever reason sometimes it fails to function properly. You also have the option to just create a party or just turn down the chat volume using the dashboard menu. The other type of annoyance with mic users are the ones who blast the game volume on a loud system which gets picked up by their mic and results in the players on the other end hearing garbled echoes of the in-game sound. If you're going to blast the game on your system, please do us all a favor and don't use your headset. I'll be honest with everybody and admit that I usually curse up a storm something fierce when playing these games, but I don't use my headset mic and I'm generous enough to spare everybody else from having to hear it.

Tea-Bagging Is For Tools
There are several types of gamers, one which takes genuine pleasure in maximizing the saltiness of their opponents. In FPS games, one way that many players like to celebrate a kill is to crouch and stand repeatedly and quickly, signifying that they are "tea-bagging" you. Speaking for myself, when a player does this to me they overtake all other priorities within the game and shoot right to the top of my hit-list. More often than not I'm successful in taking down these guys, which should prove that maybe it's not in your best interest to tea-bag everybody you kill. I once used to play with a gentleman that went by the name of Capt Crunch who said it best, "Act like you been there, bruh!" I can't tell you how many players I've shot down while they're attempting to tea-bag their victims, where if they would have been paying attention they likely could have gotten me. To top it all off it's just bad sportsmanship and unless you're really dominating the player on the receiving end (which is rarely the case) then you just look like a bad sport. This is all my opinion of course, and as long as there are competitive video games there will be taunts like the tea-bag, but if you must use it then save it for special occasions and don't do it every kill to avoid looking like a complete ass.

X-Box 360 Console Review | X-Box Overview

 X-Box 360 Console Review

User Interface (latest update)
For the most part, the GUI for the 360 is easy to use. After booting the system and selecting your user profile, you'll be taken to the dashboard. From the dashboard you have 7 different sections: home, social, games, movies & tv, music, apps and settings. Under home you'll see if a game is loaded in the disc tray, pins and your recent history. Recent will show the last 12 games or apps you've used in order to get back into it quickly. Pins allow you to view whatever you've selected to pin to the front page. The pins are a nice idea but in execution they're pretty useless. It takes forever in order to add something to the pins (at least on my consoles) therefore I just don't bother with them anymore.

The social area allows you to view your friends and visit the avatar store. Under games you'll be able to view your game library and visit the store to purchase games (assuming you have an online connection). Under my games you're able to select between viewing everything, full games, demos, kinect, arcade, indie or game videos. You also have an option to sort by title or most recently used. The games library is basic but gets the job done. Under movies & tv you'll be able to view any videos you've downloaded and access the store. This is an area I hardly ever used on my console as I bought it strictly for gaming, though I imagine there are many people who get some good use out of this section.

Next is the apps tab, where you can access your apps and download new apps. Under my apps you'll be able to access the system music player which allows you play music you've ripped to your hard drive. If you choose to play music while playing a game, the system will mute the in-game music so you'll be able to hear whatever you've selected. The apps are likely the second most commonly used section after games, largely due to apps like Netflix and YouTube. Last but not least we have the settings, which allows you to adjust various console/Kinect/network settings and access your storage device. 

I've always found the storage on the 360 a bit cumbersome to use. This is where you manage all of your files and game-saves. Seeing that this is from the same company that makes Windows, you'd think they'd have an easy way to select multiple files to copy but instead you're forced to either copy all files within the folder or one at a time. This has caused just merely transferring saves to become a drawn-out chore at times. This is something that could have easily been added in any of their numerous patches they've released over the years.

Another area where the 360 struggles is with offline play and at times the profile usage. I've encountered several titles that I had purchased digitally that appear as only the trial version while playing offline. Unfortunately, in some instances the only way I was able to play the games was to connect online, sometimes even when the game has no online functionality. I've run into issues with the profiles where other users on the same system can't play digitally purchased titles, even though they're playing it on the same console I bought the game on! Overall, Microsoft's strict DRM can create some issues for the user, though I suppose it does help cut back a bit on software piracy.

Last but not least I would have appreciated the option to select the dashboard layout style. I know I'm not alone in wanting to use the old "blade" dashboard from the early days of the system but there is no such option to do so other than to mod your system. Overall the user interface on the 360 is rather basic but it is easy to use and find what you're looking for.

Console Varieties
Throughout the lifespan of the Xbox 360, Microsoft would release three different versions of the console. There were of course numerous variants of each console type for special edition bundles and such, but here we are just focused on the three different varieties of the systems.

The Original "Fat" Xbox 360

Originally launched worldwide in 2005-2006, the original Xbox 360 system was sold in several different packages. The biggest difference between the console packages is typically the hard drive space. These are risky to buy these days due to the infamous red-ring of death these commonly suffered from. If you can find one of the later models you should be okay, so make sure to do some research in order to help you identify these before purchasing. This version did not have wireless functionality built in, so if you can't hook it up via cable you'll have to purchase a wi-fi adapter separately (unless of course you intend to just play offline). These older 360's are quite loud, but if you tend to play your games loud like I do it won't be much of an issue.

My first Xbox 360 that I ever owned was the "fat" model, but I was not an early adopter and didn't purchase mine until 2010 so it was well after Microsoft had begun creating more reliable consoles. If I recall correctly it was the Elite model (120 GB hard drive) and was bundled with Resident Evil 5. I was a bit letdown there wasn't any Resident Evil artwork on the console or controller, though they were both at least colored red. This console is still running after all these years, though it has had its share of issues and seems to run a bit slower than the later models. Any video game system that uses a loading tray for the discs is something that is prone to malfunction at some point. These consoles are also prone to overheating issues, so make sure you have it set somewhere it can breathe. These systems can generate enough heat to almost double as a space heater!

Xbox 360 S

The revision of the 360 console, dubbed the "S" or slim model, was released in 2010. These consoles would feature a re-designed motherboard in addition to having wi-fi capabilities built into the system. The console is quite a bit smaller and due to the more efficient innards it operates much more quiet than the original model. There are also a few additional USB slots on the back in addition to the Kinect sensor input. Changing out your hard drive isn't quite as simple as the old systems, but using one of the USB ports you can easily hook up an external drive for extra storage space.

Xbox 360 E

In 2013 Microsoft would release the final revision of the 360 with the "E" model of the system. This is a revision of the "S" model and ditched the angular design for a more rectangular shape. There are a few differences, this model features one less USB port than the S, no YPbPr component or S-video connections and no S/PDIF audio output. The internals are similar to the S, so performance-wise it's going to be mostly the same as that model.

Final Verdict: The Xbox 360 has an incredible library of games and is definitely still worth spending some time with. If you're in the market for the console, I'd recommend the S model first, but if you're unable to find one of those the E model works great too. Buy the old fat models at your own risk, and if you have to go with one of them try to make sure the system at least turns on first!

Related Links:
List of Xbox 360 Retail Configurations - Wikipedia

Explosionade (XBLIG, 2010)

Explosionade
Developed by Mommy's Best Games
Released for Xbox Live Indie Games (10/2010)
Also on PC

Explosionade is the third release from Mommy's Best Games (MBG) for XBLIG. After Weapon of Choice and Shoot 1Up, it was clear that these guys were putting out some of the best games on the service, and Explosionade doesn't disappoint. The game is a 2D run 'n gun with some platforming, where you'll play as a dude in a mech suit blasting everything while working your way to the exit. The game features the same art style as MBG's other efforts and looks far better than your average offering on XBLIG.

In Explosionade players take control of a mech suit while blasting your way through 40 short but action packed levels. The presentation is nice overall with detailed graphics and a zoom feature to help you see more of the playfield when needed. There's some written dialogue before stages every now and then, containing the kind of silliness we've come to expect from the developer. The title allows for a second player to join in on the action for some nice couch co-op. With this being an XBLIG release, there are no options for online co-op.

Explosionade features three difficulty modes: chilled, normal and serious. Different difficulties will have their own enemy arrangements, making for some decent replay value. After choosing a difficulty you also have the option to pick the game speed, ranging from 25% to 200%. Most levels are quite small and can be completed within a few minutes, though there are some secrets tucked away for those who like to explore. There are a total of 40 levels with the option to resume from whatever level you left off on when coming back. There are also 4 boss encounters throughout the game. The game isn't terribly challenging but is still a fun play, and they do have some nice options provided to help boost the difficulty if you so wish. Explosionade is easy to pick up and play due to the fact you're allowed to continue from the last stage you left off at via the main menu.

In addition to your regular firearm, which is conveniently mapped to the right analog stick for easy aiming, you also have a grenade launcher. You're allowed to fire up to three at a time, at which point you'll have to reload. In Explosionade you'll find gold bars scattered about and for every ten collected you'll earn temporary infinite grenades for some real explosive action. The grenades can blow up destructible walls, which will often open a new path in the stage. The game also has the Mommy's Best Games pies scattered about (sometimes hidden) on some of the levels, serving as the games collectibles.

The main menu offers a high score table which keeps track of the top 10 scores. There is also an awards menu, serving as the in-game achievements, but since this is an indie title you won't earn gamerscore for completing these objectives, but it is still a nice feature. The options mode allows you to customize your controls as well as a few various hud and brightness settings. In 2015, five years after the game's initial release on the 360, Explosionade would see a release on Steam, preventing this one from getting completely lost in time. The Steam version also has achievement support, so if you're into 2D mech-shooters you may want to give this one a look.

Final Verdict: Explosionade is a fun 2D mech-shooter/platformer offering up 40 levels of blasting action. Mommy's Best Games were easily some of the best devs putting out games for XBLIG!

Related Links:
Buy Explosionade - Steam
Explosionade - Official Mommy's Best Games Site
Explosionade Dev Delaying Release - Engadget.com
Explosionade - GameFAQs

Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360/One, 2013)

Battlefield 4
Developed by DICE
Published by Electronic Arts
Released for Xbox 360 (10/2013) & Xbox One (11/2013)
Also on PC/PS3/PS4

It's no understatement to say that Battlefield 4 had one of the worst video game launches in recent years. Early on, there were issues even getting into a match and there were numerous bugs. Many people passed up this title completely due to this, which is a shame because as years went by DICE did a great job repairing the game and crafting another excellent shooter. We'll start off talking about the Xbox One version of the game, but the 360 version will also be addressed at the end of this review.

The look and feel of Battlefield 4 is very similar to the third installment, though if you've been playing these games on consoles up to this point then this game is going to be a major upgrade. The player count on conquest has been expanded to 32v32 rather than the 12v12 you'd find on the old consoles. The frame-rate is much smoother when compared to the 360 Battlefield games but the One still struggles to hold a steady 60 fps. Overall the game is much closer to its PC counterpart this time around, at least on the PS4 and the One.

While Battlefield 4 does feature a single-player campaign, it's basically the same old stuff you usually find in military shooter campaigns, following the same routine of shooting waves of enemies before moving to the next checkpoint and doing more of the same. It's not bad, but it doesn't really do much to stand out. I encountered some issues with the game losing my progress in this mode, but I played it back when the game came out and these issues have likely been patched by now. DICE did not include the co-op missions that were featured in Battlefield 3, which is a bummer as I would have liked to see those expanded on. Don't let the so-so single player deter you from trying the game, as the multiplayer is always the main attraction in any Battlefield title.

For some reason DICE feels the need to slightly change up the control scheme with every Battlefield game with quite minimal configuration options, which can make going back and forth between games a bit more of a pain than it should be. The sprint, knife, spot and crouch have all been re-mapped and to players of Battlefield 3 it will take some getting used to. They also felt the need to change up the progression system a bit with the introduction of "battlepacks" to the series. As you level up you'll earn battlepacks which will contain random accessories for your guns and XP boosts. Using a particular weapon will also unlock battlepacks for that specific gun. When an XP boost is used, they only grant the bonus experience to the individual player that activated rather than your entire squad. There is also the option to pay real world money to unlock battlepacks, but don't fall for it as you'll unlock plenty of these through regular play and they mostly just give you the worthless XP boosts anyways..

The squad perk system has changed up quite a bit in this entry as well. In Battlefield 3, you could equip your chosen spec and receive the perks the whole time you play. In Battlefield 4 you now have a meter that is filled by completing "squad actions" such as healing, spotting, reviving, etc. The spec meter has four tiers and each time you fill the bar to a tier you'll receive one of the perks. When all squad members are dead simultaneously the bar will deplete. I never cared for this system since I often play with random people who love running straight into death.

Despite all the numerous issues with Battlefield 4 (especially in the game's first year), there are several aspects of the game that were improved from the previous versions. You are now allowed up to five members per squad where the previous titles would allow only four. Commander mode has made it's return to the series, which has been missing in action since Battlefield 2142 from 2006. The commander is able to issue squad orders and when certain objectives are held they are able to assist the team with supply drops, vehicle drops, UAV scans, radar jams and even drop a missile down.

Soldier classes feature some interesting new gadgets to mess around with. This time around there are some excellent vehicle additions, including the powerful heavy boats and mobile artillery launchers. The LAV and tanks don't seem quite as effective as in the previous game but are still a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately the tanks can no longer seat three players like in Battlefield 3, now allowing only a driver and gunner (the third seat allowed a player to spot and laser paint targets). The helicopters and jets are still extremely deadly in capable hands. There's a great variety of vehicles to use and it really helps keep the game fresh so you're not always doing the same thing. There's a new feature that allows you to counter-attack while being knifed and is one of my biggest gripes about this game. It's not very reliable and it really sucks to sneak up behind a guy and have him dead to rights yet you end up getting knifed thanks to this stupid counter-attack.

Battlefield 4 included ten maps in the base game and in many respects these maps were more of a return to form for the series, featuring sprawling maps as opposed to the somewhat cluttered maps of Battlefield 3. Zavod 311 is a tank graveyard of sorts, with a warehouse in the center of the maps for some intense firefights. Lancang Dam is one of the less enjoyable maps with a rather boring layout featuring a dam, an island and a few buildings. The scout choppers and boats do help salvage the map a little bit though. Flood Zone is an interesting map that takes place in a shantytown where a dam can be blown open to flood the map. Golmud Railway is a large map with one of the capture points on a moving train. Paracel Storm is an excellent naval focused map featuring boats and scout helicopters (in my opinion one of the best maps in the game). Operation Locker is the "meat-grinder" map of the bunch with infantry only and tons of choke points for lots of kills. Hainan Resort takes place on the shores of Hainan and features a large hotel in the center for teams to battle over control of. Seige of Shanghai takes place in downtown Shanghai and contains a large skyscraper in the center. Rogue Transmission has a very large radio telescope in the center and has some excellent tank/helicopter/jet warfare. Dawnbreaker is set in downtown Hong Kong right in the middle of a sprawling city. Dawnbreaker is definitely one of my least favorite maps, due a large part to a lack of destructible environments. None of the buildings can be taken down and you can barely even damage the walls on a majority of them. Overall this is a solid map lineup in the core game.

In addition to the the standard conquest mode, Battlefield 4 features several other modes of play, but these days the only ones besides conquest that you're likely to find a game on are rush and team deathmatch. Rush is still a fun objective-based mode, with one team attacking while the other defends. The firefights are bit more confined than conquest and it can get pretty intense at times (player count is reduced to 32). Team deathmatch can a good time if you don't feel like having to mind any objectives and want to just shoot at people. Personally, I don't play much other than conquest but I know there are players out there that enjoy these three particular modes.

Battlefield 4 uses DICE's Frostbite 3 engine, and one of the big new features here is the "levolution" events that can be triggered within the maps. When key events are triggered (usually blowing up a certain support spot) there will be some sort of event that drastically change up areas of the map. For instance, on the Siege of Shanghai map typically the skyscraper has a capture point on the rooftops. If you blow out the support columns at the base of the building it will topple over and the capture point will now be in the rubble. These are all admittedly pretty cool the first couple of times you experience them. The main problem with "levolution" is that these are all predetermined, so if you've seen that skyscraper topple over once it'll be exactly the same every time after. Hopefully in future Frostbite engine updates the games will have more dynamic destruction physics. DICE did a good job adding in some interactivity in the maps, featuring elevators that can be used, doors that can be open/closed and bollards that can be activated to block vehicle entry.

I must say, the Battlefield games in general (and many online competitive games for that matter) can be either incredibly rewarding or frustrating, and much of that depends on your squadmates. If you can function as a unit it can be a grand ol' time, but if everybody wanders off just trying to do their own thing the game can become a miserable experience at times. I give DICE credit for stabilizing everything after the game's rocky launch, providing multiple updates to the title pretty much up until Battlefield 1 launched. They were even kind enough to offer a few new maps outside of the DLC so all players would have access regardless of whether they've purchased the season pass.

The Xbox 360 Port
Battlefield 4 came out for the Xbox 360 a month before it would come out for the One, but it never felt very optimized to run on the aging hardware. The game was plagued with some pretty bad issues for the initial months after release and while some were fixed in patches there were many that stayed with the game. The Operation Dawnbreaker and Hainan Resort maps were a guaranteed system-freeze every time making the maps virtually unplayable, fortunately these were fixed in later patches and are now playable. Sometimes the game struggles to load the assets in at the start of rounds, not only with the graphics but also with the audio. Spawning in a tank at the beginning of the round will often be presented in low-res blocky polygons, taking around a minute before the proper graphics load in. While in low-res mode the tank also bobbles around for no apparent reason other than poor optimization. Another glitch happens upon spawning in there is a strange delay before your character pulls up their weapon. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've died spawning in and unable to defend myself because my gun hadn't loaded in yet!

The game's overall performance definitely feels like a step down from Battlefield 3 and even the Bad Company games. The frame-rate definitely doesn't keep up as well and your soldier at times has major issues jumping over objects in your path. It's another one of those cases where the company was more concerned with the newer consoles as far as development goes and the old console ports were more of an afterthought. The game is by all means still playable it's just not optimized as well as the Xbox One version of the game. I also want to mention that the game will take up a massive amount of hardware space compared to your typical 360 game. Once you've downloaded all of the patches and updates, the game will take around 22 GB without installing the disc, so make sure you have the required drive space if you intend on getting this game!

Final Verdict: Battlefield 4 is a solid squad-based online FPS on the One, but if you're still gaming on the 360 I'd suggest going with one of the older Battlefield titles for a better experience.

Battlefield 4 Premium Pass/DLC

Just like Battlefield 3 (and likely every entry after), Battlefield 4 featured a Premium Pass you could purchase to gain access to all DLC released for the game. These can be purchased individually but are priced so you get the best value just getting the pass. If you're looking to purchase a physical copy of the game there are Premium versions with the pass included. There were five different map packs released for Battlefield 4 and I'll go into each of them briefly.

Second Assualt gives you four maps that were all featured in Battlefield 3. These were all excellent additions and it was great seeing some of the Frostbite engine's new features implemented into them. The China Rising map pack features four more maps, several of which were quite large and allowed for some nice vehicular warfare. Naval Strike was the third map pack, featuring four naval-themed maps to set itself apart from the other packs. Next came Dragon's Teeth, featuring four China maps each with urban settings. The last map pack would be Final Stand, which had four large maps set in Russia with lots of snowy landscapes. These maps showcase some of the futuristic tech that was seen in Battlefield 2142. Overall DICE did an excellent job with the map packs, providing a nice variety to the map design and with only a few stinkers among the bunch (personally I didn't care for Final Stand but enjoyed all the others). Unfortunately it can be quite rare to find anybody playing the DLC maps so it's hard to really recommend the Premium Pass.

Late in the game's life span, DICE was nice enough to give players a few free maps. First was Zavod: Graveyard Shift. It's the same map as Zavod 311, but at night-time, giving you a good chance to finally use those thermal optics on your tank. The final map released for Battlefield 4 was Operation Outbreak. This map was developed by letting the community vote on the map layout, and the end result was a fun jungle map. The problem with these last two maps is that they were always placed in server rotations by themselves, and players quickly grew tired of playing the same map over and over.

Final Verdict: While the maps included in the Premium Pass are good fun for the most part, finding active servers for these is pretty rare these days. Worth it only if you can find it cheap.

Purchase Links:
Buy Battlefield 4 (Xbox One - Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360 - Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Search Battlefield 4 (Xbox One - Disc) - eBay
Search Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360 - Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
General Battlefield Tips & Tactics - X-Box Overview 
Battlefield 4 - Official Site 
Buy Battlefield 4 on Xbox One - Microsoft Store 
Buy Battlefield 4 on Xbox 360 - Xbox Marketplace 

Zombie Estate II (XBLIG, 2013)

Zombie Estate II
Developed by JeremyVerchick48
Released for XBLIG (4/2013)
Also on PC

Zombie Estate II plays and looks much like the original title (review here), but this time around you have four different environments to choose from for some needed variety. Levels include the estate, high school, shopping mall and skyscraper rooftops. There are tons of unlockables this time around, including characters and hats that will grant you bonus stats. These will be unlocked by spending points earned from playing well. There are also over eighty guns to mess around with. The game takes what was good about the original and piles on quite a bit more content. There is still support for up to four-players local and a much better variety of enemy types this time around, in addition to much more detailed environments to do your zombie blasting in. The pixelated gore is pretty nasty as zombies satisfyingly get reduced to bloody chunks as you mow them down. The game offers three difficulties (casual, hard and insane) that go for fifteen waves and there is also an endless mode. Zombies will drop ammo and money as you kill them, which can be spent between rounds to purchase new weapons. The game is simple yet fun and offers up a decent challenge at the same time. The Zombie Estate series is, in my opinion, one of the better zombie shooters available on XBLIG. The game would later see a release on Steam with some additional content.

Final Verdict: Zombie Estate II is an excellent sequel and delivers quite a bit more content than the original. The four-player mode is a blast with some buddies!

Related Links:
Zombie Estate I & II - Official Site
Zombie Estate II - Steam
Zombie Estate II Official Trailer - YouTube
Zombie Estate - Xbox Overview
Zombie Estate II - GameFAQs
Zombie Estate II - Steam

The Little Acre (Xbox One, 2016)

The Little Acre
Developed by Pewter Games
Published by Curve Digital
Released for Xbox One (12/2016)
Also on iOS/Linux/Mac/PC/PS4

The Little Acre is a point & click style adventure game with some very nice looking HD artwork. It looks very much like an old-school cartoon from before the CGI takeover. The game packs a ton of charm and offers some fun puzzles though it is very short in length.

As already stated, the graphics in the Little Acre look like an old-school cartoon featuring a style I'd compare to something from Disney or Don Bluth back in the day, but presented in HD glory. The voice acting and music are both very well executed and compliment the visuals nicely. As for the game's puzzles, some of the solutions here are a bit odd but there's nothing you can't figure out with a little messing around. The controls are simple and responsive, making it easy to interact with stuff and your inventory. The game switches up between characters quite a bit, but their fates are intertwined and it will come together by the end of the game. The story is a bit strange and involves teleporting to another dimension, but I'll leave the details out of this review as I don't want to spoil the game for those who might go on to play it.

The biggest issue I can see most having with the Little Acre is that it ends too fast. The game has an achievement for completing the game in less than an hour so this should be a clear indicator of just how short this title is. If you go about playing the game on your own with no guide you can expect anywhere between 2-5 hours of gameplay. Personally I didn't find short length of the game to be an issue as I got it dirt cheap but I can see those who paid full price perhaps feeling a bit burned. While more would have been nice what is here plays well and I enjoyed my time with the game. I did run into one part of the game where the sprites had some minor clipping issues, but other than that the game ran smooth. If you're a big point 'n click adventure game fan I recommend giving the Little Acre a look. I hope we see more from Pewter Games in the future, I'd really like to see some more games done with this style of animation.

Final Verdict: The Little Acre is a short but sweet point 'n click adventure game. The graphics are pretty, the characters are likable and game oozes with charm. Recommended for fans of the genre, but you may want to wait for a sale price due to the game's short length..

Related Links:
The Little Acre - Microsoft Store
The Little Acre - GameFAQs
Pewter Games Studios - Official Website

Solitaire HD (Xbox One, 2017)

Solitaire HD
Developed by Bernardo Zamora
Published by Iron Apps
Released for Xbox One (7/2017)
Also on PC/Mobile

 

The Creators Program (formerly known as the Creator's Collection) storefront on the Xbox One hasn't really made much noise (most Xbox users probably don't even know it exists), and with just a quick browse through the titles available it's easy to see why. For the most part, the games look like low-end mobile games with very simple game-play. So among the many uninteresting titles on the service, somehow Solitaire HD stands out a bit. I've always enjoyed a good game of solitaire every now and then, so let's take a look and see how this version plays.

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (XBLA, 2011)

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
Developed by Midway/Other Ocean Interactive
Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Released for Xbox Live Arcade (8/2011)
Also on PC/PS3

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (why not Arkade) was released in 2011 and boasted to have the original arcade versions of the first three entries in the series. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was previously released on XBLA but had since been de-listed, so it was nice to see that game make a return in some form. The games all featured support for both local and online versus battles. Let's start off with a brief look at each game:

The original Mortal Kombat game came out way back in 1992. I remember thinking this game looked pretty sweet all those years ago, but looking at it in modern times the first entry in the series really hasn't aged all that well. While the game does seem pretty accurate to the arcade version, the move-sets are quite limited and the characters all play alike except for a few special moves. There's only seven fighters to choose from, and while they are a colorful crew it just feels a bit lacking. Thanks to nostalgia, I'll personally always be able to play and enjoy the original Mortal Kombat but its simplicity will probably bore most of those who didn't grow up with it.

Mortal Kombat II hit arcades in 1993, just one year after the first title. Midway went all-out on this sequel and added in a bunch of new characters, fatalities and secrets. The new characters were all welcome additions and everything about the gameplay just felt better the second time around. There were more moves, better graphics and nastier gore. In my opinion, the second game was always the best in the series when it came to the original arcade Mortal Kombat games and the version included here is a solid port of the arcade.

Mortal Kombat 3 (for some reason they didn't use roman numerals this time) would release in 1995 and would receive an update that same year, titled Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The Ultimate version of the game added in some fan-favorites and is considered by many to be the best version of MK3. The version included in the XBLA trilogy doesn't feel like it was ported from the original arcade code, feeling more like one of the console ports of the time. The character sprites look low-resolution and the colors feel a bit washed out. The game looks quite a bit worse than the previous two and I'm sure that wasn't the case with the arcade version of this game. Personally I was never a big fan of the third game but if it was your favorite beware this is no perfect port. It's still totally playable if you're willing to use the goofy run button and memorize lengthy combo chains.

The games all feature support for both local and online versus competition. While it can be tough to find a random lobby, if you have a friend with the game on Xbox Live and are able to play it the netcode is above average. You'll want to play against a friend for maximum enjoyment as the computer AI in all three games can be downright brutal and cheap. The options and settings are bare minimum but it does at least have a graphics filters and screen-size options. While definitely not a perfect compilation, Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection is still a nice blast of nostalgia for those '90's folks that remember these games. I would have liked to have seen the inclusion of Mortal Kombat 4, which was the last MK title to release as a proper arcade, but for some reason they never bother (likely due to emulating the 3D hardware of the time). The standard Xbox controller isn't the best for these types of games, which are definitely best experienced with an arcade joystick.

Final Verdict: If you're a fan of the original trilogy of Mortal Kombat games, you will enjoy Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection. Nostalgia member-berries galore with this one.

Related Links:
Buy Mortal Kombat Arcade - Xbox Marketplace
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment - Official Site 
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection - Metacritic
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection - GameFAQs
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection - True Achievements

Pill Mania HD (Xbox One, 2018)

Pill Mania HD
Developed by Sprakelsoft
Released for Xbox One (3/2018)
Also on iOS

Pill Mania HD is a port of a mobile game released way back in 2013, and to be quite frank that's exactly what it feels like. The game comes from Sprakelsoft, the same folks who brought us the underwhelming Croc's World. The game is a blatant Dr. Mario rip-off, to the point Nintendo might be able to take legal action should they choose to do so. Just being a rip-off alone doesn't make a game bad, but unfortunately Pill Mania HD just doesn't measure up to the game it mimics.