Arkedo Series - 003 PIXEL! (XBLIG, 2009)

Arkedo Series - 003 PIXEL!
Developed by Arkedo Studio
Released for XBLIG (12/2009)
Also on PS3

Arkedo Series - 003 PIXEL! would be Arkedo's final XBLIG release. I would say they definitely went out with a bang as PIXEL! stands out as one of the better platformers released on the market. The graphics in the game are a very unique take on the pixelized style, looking like something you'd see on a dot-matrix screen or something. The style works wonderfully and I really love the blue/white color combination everything is displayed in. You play as a cat who defeats his enemies by jumping on top of them. Jumping onto consistent enemies will build up a meter that unleashes a super meow that will take out any enemies within the radius of the "meow.wav" that comes out with the attack. Taking a hit will reset this meter. The game also has a unique feature where you can zoom into certain parts of the screen where you will trigger new paths, find treasure chests or expose the exit door. PIXEL! has collectibles the game calls useless relics tucked away in designated blocks that give the game some replay value while you try to collect them all. There are only six stages, but they are of considerable length and the game has a decent level of difficulty to ensure you won't just plow right through on your first attempt. Like the other Arkedo titles, it retailed at $2.99 which is a bit more expensive than your average indie game, but the entire Arkedo Series on XBLIG is worth coughing up those couple of extra bucks for as you will easily get your money's worth and the quality is high! If you have a PlayStation 3 you can play the game complete with trophy support.

Final Verdict: Arkedo Series - 003 PIXEL! is a wonderful 2D platformer that's worth the extra charge of admission. The game has a style all its own, good control and offers up a fair challenge.

Related Links:
Arkedo Series - 001 Jump! - Xbox Overview
Arkedo Series - 002 Swap! - Xbox Overview
Arkedo Series - 003 Pixel! - GameFAQs

Battle High: San Bruno (XBLIG, 2011)

Battle High: San Bruno
Developed by Matthew DeLucas
Released for XBLIG (2/2011)

Battle High: San Bruno is a throwback 2D one-on-one fighter and almost feels like it came from the early '90's. You have eight different fighters to select from and you have a decent amount of variety between them (in the trial version you can only select from four of them). The game offers an arcade mode, versus mode, challenge mode and extracurricular which is a mode containing mini-games that was added in a title update.

According to Giant Bomb (link below), the game was originally released for PC and was created in GameMaker, but I had trouble locating a download link for the PC version. Battle High definitely looks the part of an old-school fighter, with some great detailed sprite artwork and some pretty good animations to match. The controls are responsive and moves work as advertised. You have four attack buttons, two punch and two kick, all mapped to the face buttons. The layout is similar to Neo-Geo fighters from back in the day. Like many fighters, you also have a super meter which fills up and allows you to unleash powerful moves. Battle High is solid little time killer, though I wish there was a little more impact to the hits. They all feel very light and it's easy to spam moves leaving the computer helpless. Still even with these issues, Battle High is a solid experience and is not the type of game you typically find floating around on XBLIG. Two years later, the game would receive a sequel which was also initially released on XBLIG, but the sequel would receive ports to the Xbox One, PC, Linux, Mac and even the Ouya.

Final Verdict: Battle High is a cool, simple throwback 2D fighter that will prove a fun diversion for fans of the genre.

Related Links:
Battle High 2 - Xbox Overview
Battle High: San Bruno - GameFAQs
Battle High: San Bruno - Giant Bomb

Game Type (XBLIG, 2011)

Game Type
Developed by Mommy's Best Games
Released for XBLIG (12/2011)
Also Released on PC

Game Type is definitely a unique experience on XBLIG. The title of the game is a parody on an older version of the 360 Live dashboard, where indie titles were buried several screens in from the front and were hidden under a general section called "Game Type." Even in later updates, the indie games were still kind of tucked away in the back (before being removed entirely), but those who never experienced the old dashboard will miss out on some of the humor. The developer was nice enough to provide an explanation for this at the beginning.

Game Type begins on a mock dashboard on your "Mediaball" system. You need to navigate through the various areas on the dash to locate the Game Type icon start the game. The dashboard looks pretty authentic and even has ads for other games released on XBLIG on it! Once you've located the Game Type section, you can begin the game proper. The actual game is a horizontal shmup, complete with shot and laser firing modes and a character with a tiny hit-box. You'll be blasting some strange enemies including cats, crabs and donuts. The game definitely gets points for zaniness. The controls are quite responsive and the two firing modes work as they should. Game Type is fun but very short, and after a handful of stages the game starts its loop over until you inevitably die, caravan shooter style. What's here is great fun, and the fact that it loops adds some replay value and in my opinion the game is worth the dollar asking price.

Final Verdict: Game Type is a humorous parody of the old 360 dashboard and a solid horizontal shmup all for the low price of $1. Definitely a unique title.

Related Links:
Game Type - GameFAQs
Mommy's Best Games - Official Site

Alpha Squad (XBLIG, 2011)

Alpha Squad
Developed by Dragon Divide
Released for XBLIG (1/2011)

Alpha Squad is a twin-stick shooter that supports up to four-players, local or online, though the trial version only supports local co-op. If I had to guess I'd imagine it'd be near impossible to find a random player but it's nice to know the option is there if you have some friends that have the game. Alpha Squad plays a bit different from many of the single-screen shooters of this genre in that the screen branches off and you have a little freedom in your path. The screen doesn't scroll but will transition over to the next area when you walk off to the side, helping to add some variety to the environments.

The artwork is very detailed and has a cool '90's comic book style to it. The controls are simple and responsive, with the left stick for movement and the right stick for firing. One issue is that you really seem to have no defensive maneuver, you have to either continuously strafe or duck behind cover if you can manage to find some. A roll move to duck out of fire would have done wonders for the gameplay in my opinion. The rock music in the background suits the '90's 'tude that the game exudes. I definitely found Alpha Squad to be a solid effort. The game retailed for $2.99 which is a bit high compared to most indie games, especially when there are a few top-tier efforts in the twin-stick shooter going for a buck. I'd say Alpha Squad is worth a look as it does have a polish to it that helps justify the price tag and it was released exclusively for Xbox Live Indie Games.

Final Verdict: Alpha Squad is a good looking game featuring some very detailed artwork and though it was a bit more pricey than other twin-stick shooters on XBLIG it's still worth a look.

Related Links:
Alpha Squad - GameFAQs

Invasion (XBLIG, 2011)

Invasion
Developed by Heart Attack Machine
Released for XBLIG (11/2011)

Invasion is a 2D run 'n gun, taking heavy inspiration from the Contra games. For some reason, at the initial load-up screen the game asks for your storage device two times...strange. You have two weapons you can switch between using the Y button and occasionally enemies will drop a new gun for you to pick up. Invasion goes for an old school 16-bit look and the pixel art certainly looks good in still screens. While the sprite artwork is quite detailed, the overall in-game look is a bit of a mixed bag. The parallax scrolling in the backgrounds is a nice touch but the explosion and fire effects look a bit out of place next to the pixels. The jump lacks any weight and overall something just feels off about the way your character moves about. You can only shoot forwards unless you use RB to aim upward which was a definitely a strange decision. The level backgrounds and graphics look nice and detailed, however the layouts tend to be dull. Stage layouts consist of the occasional box or two for you to jump over while walking to the right. There was a jetpack segment thrown in at one point where you fly up and while it was a great idea it definitely felt lacking in execution. Invasion is another game that had good intentions, and with some gameplay refinements I believe there could be a good game in here, but on a console with so many great run 'n gun games I can't find much reason to recommend this one.

Final Verdict: Invasion is a good-looking 2D run 'n gun game that's not quite a top contender in the gameplay department, but there's worse ways you could spend a buck.

Related Links:
Invasion - GameFAQs

Apple Jack (XBLIG, 2010)

Apple Jack
Developed by My Owl Software
Released for XBLIG (5/2010)
Also on PC

 

Apple Jack is a 2D platformer/puzzler with some interesting mechanics. Like in Amazing Princess Sarah (which came out well after this game), you can pick up your enemies and throw them at other enemies. Retro game fanatics might recall a similar mechanic in Super Mario Bros 2, although in Apple Jack after picking up an enemy you're able to aim where you want to throw them. If you eliminate multiple enemies in rapid succession, you'll build up a combo multiplier and enemies will spill lots of coins. The higher your multiplier, the more coins, and it's quite satisfying to see an enemy rain coins all over the place when you're doing well.

You play as a character with a human body and an apple for a head. Apple Jack is definitely a strange game, and I can easily say this is the first time I'd ever thought of or seen a washing machine get chucked at a panda. The zaniness definitely gives the game some charm, but a 2D platformer is only as good as its controls. Luckily, Apple Jack provides the player with some very responsive play controls. Jack can crouch, roll under low surfaces and jump off walls to reach higher platforms, all with ease. A stage is cleared once you've eliminated all enemies and the game transitions quickly into the next stage. The levels get tough pretty quick and even so much as touching an enemy means instant death unless you land directly on top of them. The game is generous and allows you to retry the stage you're on as many times as needed. The full game sports 100 levels which gives it tons of replay value, and it went for only a buck when it was on XBLIG! Fans of retro platformers, give Apple Jack a look! The game lives on beyond XBLIG and can easily be played on your PC. The package available on Steam contains both the first and second games in the Apple Jack series (link below).

Final Verdict: Apple Jack is a solid 2D platformer that rests among the top tier of XBLIG games. For a buck, this one's no-brainer for platformer fans!

Related Links:
Apple Jack 2 - Xbox Overview
Amazing Princess Sarah - Xbox Overview
Apple Jack - GameFAQs
Apple Jack 1&2 for PC - Steam
My Owl Software Official Website 

ゆっくりの迷宮 (XBLIG, 2010)

ゆっくりの迷宮
Developed by Hossie
Released for XBLIG (5/2010)

ゆっくりの迷宮, which Google translates to Slow Labyrinth, is an oddity released for XBLIG. The game plays like an old-school dungeon crawler where you explore from a first-person perspective. You can move forwards and backwards and you can turn your view left or right. It feels a bit clunky but it's not too bad once you get used to it. You use the triggers to punch left and right accordingly. From what I can tell, the mazes seem randomly generated. You are given a time limit and need to find the ladder leading down to the next floor before that time limit expires. There are weird giant face enemies scattered about that can be disposed of with your fists. These appear to be the only enemies you'll encounter and come in varying colors.

You will be rewarded for exploration with treasure chests, often containing food that replenishes your life. Several chests I opened also showed gamerpics and gamertags from my friends list, but without the ability to read kanji I'm not sure exactly what was going on with that. I've read somewhere that depending on how high your Xbox Live friends gamerscore is will change the amount of treasure chests you'll find in a stage. Upon finishing a level you are graded for your performance, and from what I can tell seem to be stats for time, exploration and maybe enemies killed for the third category but I'm not certain on any of those. The game offers up three difficulties if you feel like coming back for more. I found the game to be unique for XBLIG and enjoyed my play of the trial despite not being able to read any of the text.

There is some relation to the "Touhou Poject" but I'm not familiar enough with the source material to explain it to you. The game on the whole seems moderately well designed and it really oozes with that strangeness you can only get from Japan. If you love dungeon crawlers and/or strange Japanese games, ゆっくりの迷宮 might be just the title for you!

Final Verdict: A strange dungeon crawler that is playable but will present some language barrier issues for most. Check it out if you're into weird Japanese games and/or dungeon crawlers; all others can safely avoid this one.

The Incident of Dreamy Vale Church (XBLIG, 2011)

The Incident of Dreamy Vale Church
Developed by DarthCheesiest
Released for XBLIG (1/2011)

Upon booting up the Incident of Dreamy Vale Church, the developer beckons you to "Please rate this game" at the initial loading screen. Just thought I'd note that as I found it a bit odd and have never seen that in all of the XBLIG titles I've played. This game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up, from the same creator as the mediocre Burning Fist of Rage. This becomes evident very quickly as the two games play very similar. If you've read my review of that game you'll know this is not a good thing.

The game features a "sexy" protagonist whose rendering just ends up looking more strange than anything else. In the first stage of the trial, I walked through a church beating up a whole bunch of identical-looking skeletons. The controls are responsive enough but the hits lack any real sense of impact. My biggest gripe with this game is the lack of enemy variety, you literally just fight the same skeletons over and over. I just couldn't find the motivation to even play through the trial for the full three-minute duration. If you're one of those people who enjoys playing terrible games you may want to check this one out, but everybody else can rest assured this title isn't worth any of your limited time on this planet.

Final Verdict: Beat 'em up fans can skip the Incident of Dreamy Vale Church as it is a sub-par effort. If you enjoy bad games than you may get something out of this one, but you've been warned how forgettable it is.

Related Links:
Incident of Dreamy Vale Church - GameFAQs

Zombie Compound (XBLIG, 2013)

Zombie Compound
Developed by Smoodlez
Released for XBLIG (4/2013)

Zombie Compound is another entry into the abundant twin-stick shooter genre. The game also uses an 8-bit pixel graphic style, which has become another cliche of indie games in recent years. So far the game doesn't seem to have much originality going for it, but the core game here is actually pretty decent. You have just one game mode where up to 4-players try to survive for as many rounds as possible, collecting money to spend at the shop between rounds. At the shop you're able to purchase new weapons. Zombie Compound slightly differs from the norm in that the right stick does not fire but aims, while the right trigger is used to fire your weapon. Also, you have limited ammunition for all of your weapons except for your pistol, so you'll want to maximize your accuracy with the more expensive weapons. The shooting/aiming setup works pretty well and murdering the undead horde is easily done. Maybe a little too easy, though. I had trouble maintaining enough interest in order to get far enough to see if/when the game ramps up its difficulty (I'm sure it does). I would definitely hope that the game further ramps up the challenge for multiple players, but I didn't have anybody around to help me test out the coop mode. I'm definitely not saying the game is bad, it's quite competently designed on the other hand, I just have other twin-stick shooter games that hold my attention better than this one.

Final Verdict: Zombie Compound is by no means a bad game and as far as zombie twin-stick shooters go, it's definitely above average. If you can't get enough of either zombies or twin-stick shooters then you may enjoy this title.

Related Links:
Zombie Compound - GameFAQs

Space Police on Super Highway 9 (XBLIG, 2010)

Space Police on Super Highway 9
Developed by Haiku Interactive
Released for XBLIG (11/2010)

Space Police on Super Highway 9 is an interesting little indie game. You drive your police car viewed from a top-down perspective, much like the old arcade game APB or the early Grand Theft Auto titles. Your objective as a police officer is to drive down the highway, ramming into the criminal cars until they break down similar to the classic arcade Chase HQ series. So, the game draws inspiration from some old video game classics and I'd say the end results are a mixed bag. On the one hand, the premise is cool and is decently executed. The controls are tight and driving your car is a breeze. The graphics are detailed enough that I can tell what everything is supposed to be. The problem is that as far as I can tell the perpetrators only come in four different varieties. That's it, you just ride down the highway ramming the same four varieties of criminal cars until you inevitably break down. There's also civilian traffic to contend with and hitting innocent cars will subtract from your overall score. Your police cruiser comes equipped with a siren and the traffic will usually pull over to the side to allow you a straight path to ram the bad guys. You also have a turbo button which has to be charged up before you can unleash it. The game goes until you've depleted your health bar, which will automatically regenerate when not ramming into vehicles. Space Police on Super Highway 9 is definitely an above-average effort for XBLIG and if you're a big fan of classic overhead car games like Grand Theft Auto, Spy Hunter or APB I think you might enjoy this title.

Final Verdict: Space Police on Super Highway 9 features good simple arcade-style fun in the form of ramming into cars, but it can get rather monotonous in a hurry.

Related Links:
Space Police on Super Highway 9 - GameFAQs

Infinity Danger (XBLIG, 2011)

Infinity Danger
Developed by Milkstone Studios
Released for XBLIG (3/2011)
Also on iOS

Infinity Danger is a twin-stick shooter that basically plays like a boss rush mode. The concept of the game is that your enemy continues to evolve every stage. The boss is a giant floating fortress with extensions holding turrets. As you progress it will gain additional extensions with more turrets and firepower. The game keeps track of your high scores and also has a nice built in award tracking system that works much like achievements. Like most titles from Milkstone Studios, the presentation is very slick with solid graphics and nice menus. While the enemies look nice, they would benefit from some more variety. Your ship is a bit more detailed than you typically see in these style of games and everything feels really nice when it blows up. Infinity Danger is definitely a cool take on the twin-stick shooter. The game is easily worth it's original asking price on XBLIG as it was only $1. Infinity Danger would receive a port to iOS devices in October 2013.

Final Verdict: Another enjoyable twin-stick shooter, Infinity Danger costs less than a 20 oz drink and was easily worth its asking price on XBLIG.

Related Links:
Milkstone Studios - Xbox Overview
XBLIG Twin-Stick Shooters - Xbox Overview 
Infinity Danger - GameFAQs
Milkstone Studios - Official Site

Inferno! (XBLIG, 2011)

Inferno!
Developed by Archifishal Software
Released for XBLIG (8/2011)
Also on Acorn/iOS

Inferno!, not to be confused with radiangames Inferno, boasts on its title card that it contains 100% retro action. After checking out the trial version, I'd have to agree with the developers claim as the game definitely does have a retro charm to it. Inferno! is a throwback to old-school maze style games that were huge back in the '80's including titles like Pac-Man and Rally X. You guide your character around a maze like level, picking up power-ups and cleaning up what looks to be lava. The game's description states that you're sent in to clean up after a radioactive core meltdown strikes a power plant. You can pick up ammo to fire and take down your enemies. The game's graphical presentation feels true to the era of the games that inspired it and I'd say it looks like something you may have seen in the arcades in the mid-80's. If you're a fan of those old types of arcade pick up & play quick games then Inferno! might be something you want to check out.

Inferno! originally came out for the Acorn Archimedes, a computer line that had its own operating system called the RISC OS. There's an informative Wikipedia entry on it here. The game is apparently a bit obscure, as GameFAQs has no entry for either the Acorn or Apple iOS releases of the title but does acknowledge the 360 release.

Final Verdict: Fans of old-school maze games should give Inferno! a go as it's an enjoyable little time killer.

Related Links:
Inferno! - GameFAQs

*As stated above, this title is a bit obscure so I was only able to find this single lonely screenshot.

Raventhorne (XBLIG, 2011)

Raventhorne
Developed by Milkstone Studios
Released for XBLIG (8/2011)

Raventhorne is a side-scrolling 2D game presented in a fantasy universe and released exclusively to XBLIG in 2011. The artwork is very detailed and looks great when viewed in stills, however the characters are articulated like action figures and animate like marionette puppets. It doesn't look terrible but definitely leaves room for improvement. The game plays like a 2D beat 'em up with some light platforming thrown in. Enemies have life bars and will take several hits to kill. You have a light and heavy attack in addition to magic attacks you can use to take down your foes. The game also features a progressive level-up system as you rack up kills. I don't have any complaints about the controls other than the jumping feels a bit too floaty. If you're a big fan of fantasy-themed settings you might enjoy Raventhorne but personally I had my fill of this one after playing the trial. It's not bad, but it's also pretty average. I've read that the complete game lasts roughly about an hour, so the $2.99 asking price is a bit much for me as this is not a game I could see myself replaying once I beat it.

Final Verdict: If you're a fantasy nut or 2D beat 'em up fanatic you may enjoy Raventhorne, otherwise I'd say you can safely skip this one.

Related Links:
Milkstone Studios - Xbox Overview
Raventhorne - GameFAQs
Milkstone Studios - Official Site

Zombie Estate (XBLIG, 2010)

Zombie Estate
Developed by JeremyVerchick48
Released for Xbox Live Indie Games (5/2010)

Zombie Estate plays similar to your average twin-stick shooters, but adds some weapon customization not unlike the Call of Duty zombie modes. First, let's get the graphics out of the way. This game is a bit on the ugly side, with super blocky and chunky pixel graphics that don't really contain that much detail. The world is presented from a 3/4 perspective and all the objects appear as flat sprites like in the Paper Mario titles. It looks much better in motion that it does in screen shots but the game is by no means going to really blow anybody away with its graphical presentation.

Despite the rough graphics, Zombie Estate manages to be a pretty fun title due to the gameplay. Your play area is on an estate, featuring a house with a couple rooms inside and a decent sized yard. You will fight off as many waves of zombies as possible until you reach the 25th and final wave. Some killed zombies will drop ammo, health or money, the latter of which can be used to purchase items in between rounds at a shop. The shop sells all kinds of stuff, ranging from your typical shotguns and assault rifles to craziness like the fish mortar or the cattle launcher. The early waves tend to be a bit boring, because the zombies are so slow but once you get further in the challenge does ramp up a bit as the waves of zombies get larger in number. The game supports up to four-player local co-op and can be a good time with some buddies. The music is a bit drab but can be turned off. Zombie Estate is certainly not the greatest zombie shooter of all time, but it provides some good fun and if you enjoy couch co-op games then it may be of interest to you.

Final Verdict: While not the greatest looking game, Zombie Estate is a fun zombie shooter that gives you a nice sense of progression due to the variety of weaponry you can unlock and has some enjoyable four-player co-op.

Related Links:
Zombie Estate - Official Website
Official Trailer - YouTube
Zombie Estate - GameFAQs
Zombie Estate Cheats - IGN