DreamBreak (Xbox One, 2017)

DreamBreak
Developed by Aist
Published by Digerati Distribution
Released for Xbox One (9/2017)
Also on PC/PS4/Mac

DreamBreak is a cinematic platformer sporting retro pixel-art, similar in vein to old classics like Another World and Flashback. DreamBreak is set in post-Cold War USSR in some type of Orwellian universe and has the player taking control of Eugene. Eugene is a janitor who finds himself accused of a murder in Soviet Russia and must find a way to avoid being apprehended, at least I'm pretty sure that's what was going on.

DreamBreak is a nice looking game, sporting some simple yet detailed sprite art. It definitely looks like something that could have come out for PC in the early '90's. The animation is excellent, with characters moving about fluidly, a staple of the cinematic platform genre. There's a few annoying sounds when destroying some of the robots, but for the most part the sound design is unobtrusive and above average. The music fits the tone of game well. Overall, DreamBreak does a good job in the presentation department.

The character controls might seem a bit clunky to those unfamiliar with these cinematic platformer games, but once you get a feel for the grid style movement of the character it's quite easy to get where you need to go. Holding the LB or RB buttons will cause the player to run while using the triggers and holding a direction will leap. The leap is a long jump, very reminiscent of Prince of Persia.  Holding up near a ledge allows you to climb up. The A button will interact with objects and enter doors. It's a simple control scheme and works well enough.

When you approach an enemy your character will draw his gun, at which point you can fire using RB and engage your shields with LB. This is where we arrive at one of DreamBreak's most glaring issues: the gun battles aren't the slightest bit engaging. You can literally just hold LB and RB during each gun segment and never take a single lick of damage the entire game. Discharging your firearm at your enemy should be an exciting event, but instead in DreamBreak it's reduced to just holding down the shoulder buttons. The game would have greatly benefited from a better combat system, something like the cover system like Blackthorne had or something of that nature.

DreamBreak consists mostly of exploring and getting into the occasional gunfight, but there are also several other game-types mixed in. There's an arcade that can be played, which is a wild west showdown game that unfortunately plays exactly like the gun encounters in the game. There's also a hoverbike game where you see how long you can cruise along on your bike without hitting anything. Another segment has you riding in a taxi being attacked by flying robots. You'll have to hack the robots before they take down your car. Several areas will have you doing the pipe puzzles where you'll need to arrange pipes in order to get water to flow in a certain direction, similar to Pipe Dream. The pipe puzzles were enjoyable, but I didn't really find much notable about any of the other game types. They're mostly forgettable and even a bit annoying. The taxi segment where you have to hack the robots is far more difficult than anything else the game throws at you and it's right near the start of the game! I found myself looking forward to getting back to the core style of gameplay rather than wanting to play the other game-styles on offer.

The world the developers created in DreamBreak is interesting to explore for the most part but there are some issues regarding the story. There's some kind of crazy story delivered through a few dialogue segments about a computer AI going nuts or something like that. It's all a bit convoluted and I found myself more confused than anything by the end of the game. There are at least three different endings to be seen, though two of them end with the same result. It's hard to have much attachment to any of the characters when the game is over so fast. DreamBreak will likely only last you maybe two hours and outside of the multiple endings there's not much to bring you back for another playthrough. The endings can all be viewed quickly by simply reloading your last checkpoint.

While DreamBreak looks good and controls decently enough, the lackluster minigames, boring gunfights, short length and confusing story add up to a game that had some solid potential but ends up missing the mark by a bit. Cinematic platformer fans will likely get a bit of fun out of it, as will achievement hunters looking to add an easy completion to their gamertag. All others I'd recommend checking out the originals that inspired this game first, such as Another World and Flashback. If you do end up getting DreamBreak, I'd definitely suggest waiting for a sale considering you're only getting a few hours out of it.

Final Verdict: DreamBreak is a good-looking throwback to cinematic platformers but the short length, boring gunfights and lame minigames hold it back from being as good as it could have been. Only hardcore cinematic platformer fans and achievement hunters will find much to like here.

Related Links:
Buy DreamBreak - Microsoft Store
Buy Digerati Made in USSR Bundle - Microsoft Store
DreamBreak - GameFAQs
Digerati Distribution - Official Site
DreamBreak - True Achievements
DreamBreak Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

The Tempura of the Dead (XBLIG, 2010)

The Tempura of the Dead
Developed by JPN 8bits fanatics
Released for XBLIG (11/2010)

The Tempura of the Dead is a 2D action-platformer released in late 2010 exclusively for XBLIG. The game has you playing as two different characters that you can switch between on the fly. The main character is Thompson, who is the President of the United States and uses firearms to take matters into his own hands. Accompanying Thompson is a samurai wielding a sword named Sugimoto. Thompson looks like a cross between former US President Barack Obama and anime legend Lupin the Third.

Each stage in Tempura of the Dead will feature a certain number of larger creatures and once all have been destroyed you will progress to the next stage. Stages are selected via an overworld map which also features shops where you can buy upgrades/health for your characters. Items can be purchased with your points which are gained by juggling zombie heads. After the zombies take enough damage, their head will go flying up in the air and if you can juggle it a couple times you'll initiate "tempura fever," and every head you hit in the air after will give you bonus points. Decapitated heads can be juggled with either your sword or bullets depending on which character you're using. There are four boss battles you'll encounter through the game, with the last one having you face off against a possessed Statue of Liberty!

The Tempura of the Dead features an 8-bit pixel style that feels very true to form, very similar to the developers' other effort Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes. You can see the developer took a lot of care in presenting this game in a retro aesthetic. The controls are solid and the only complaint I can find is that jumping doesn't work while moving near an edge sometimes, which becomes a bit of an issue in later stages with very narrow platforms. It's extremely frustrating to see your character simply walk over the edge of a platform to his death when you know you pressed the jump button. You'll have to adjust to jumping before pressing over in the direction you're trying to move, which is a shame but I've found this is a common issue with several of the more challenging XBLIG platformers. It's not totally game-breaking though and you'll adapt to it if you play the game enough, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Also, while the music is decent and has the appropriate chip-tune sound, the game would have benefited from a bit more variety as the tracks are quite short and they tend to loop fast.

Tempura of the Dead features 24 levels with a few boss battles sprinkled throughout and it never feels like it drags on too long. It feels about the perfect length for the original $3 asking price. The currency/upgrade system pads the game out a tad but I found it enjoyable enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind. A playthrough of the game will probably last around 5 hours, which isn't bad for the cheap price. Tempura of the Dead was a solid XBLIG title with a retro feel and it would be nice to see it released again on a future platform so it's not completely forgotten in the sands of time. If you're a fan of late '80's/early '90's retro gaming, The Tempura of the Dead is one you'll enjoy!

Final Verdict: The Tempura of the Dead is an excellent 2D action/platformer that looks, plays and sounds like a classic 8-bit title. Highly recommended!

Related Links:
8bits Fanatics - Xbox Overview
The Tempura of the Dead - GameFAQs
Tempura of the Dead on 8bits Fanatics - Official Site

Zeroptian Invasion (Xbox One, 2019)

Zeroptian Invasion
Developed by Josyan
Published by Ratalaika Games
Released for Xbox One (4/2019)
Also on Linux/Switch/PC/PS4/Vita

Zeroptian Invasion pays homage to one of the all-time arcade classics, Space Invaders, and aims to deliver some retro shooter action. Featuring a low price point and an easy achievement list to complete, the game will without a doubt appeal to achievement hunters but let's take a look and see if it's worth anything outside of some easy gamerscore.

Graphically, Zeroptian Invasion is a simple affair. True to it's inspiration, the simplistic graphics look like something that came out in the late '70's or early '80's, featuring blocky enemies that typically consist of only a color or two. Sound effects are the bleeps and bloops that were common in the early arcade era. Though incredibly simple, the graphics and sound do a decent job invoking the retro feel that the designers were aiming for. There's also some nice-looking art featured on the sides of the screen that resembles the type of stuff you'd find on the bezels of old arcade games.

The gameplay is very similar to Space Invaders, with the player's ship being only able to move on a horizontal axis while blasting on creatures that slowly descend the longer they are left alive. Just like in Space Invaders there are three shields that will absorb enemy bullets but will disappear upon taking too much damage. Every so often a UFO will zip across the top of the screen, which will disperse a power-up when hit. These consist of helpful items like a faster shot or a shield. Zeroptian Invasion also features stages with enemies that attack in patterns similar to the arcade classic Galaga.

Every few stages the game throws in a boss battle which upon defeat will mark a checkpoint you'll resume from should you need to continue. There's a decent amount of variety between the bosses and they're much tougher than the average enemies. The designers were nice enough to include a life bar for the boss at the bottom of the screen. You get two ships in Zeroptian Invasion and once lost you'll see an old-school 10-second countdown to continue. There are unlimited continues available, so anybody with a little perseverance can see there way through the game. Using a continue will reset your score and restart you after the previous boss you've defeated, so there is still a penalty for using a continue.

At the title screen you can access the options menu which gives you the ability to rotate the screen if you want to play from a vertical orientation, turn on a CRT filter and toggle sound/vibration. The game also keeps track of your local online scores, which will help give the game at least a little replay value for some people out there. 

You know how most games give you a prompt whenever you ask to exit out to the main menu during gameplay? It's a handy feature in case you accidentally select this option and don't want to lose your progress, but in Zeroptian Invasion no such feature exists, so be careful when pausing the game and navigating the start menu as one button press on exit will promptly send you to the title screen (trust me, I did this on accident!). Outside of this minor issue, I found Zeroptian Invasion to be a stable game and didn't run into any type of glitching or crashing while playing.

It's worth noting just how easy it is to obtain 100% of the achievements in Zeroptian Invasion. Containing one of the higher achievement completion ratios I've seen yet on the Xbox One, more than 50% of the people that booted the game up unlocked all of the achievements. There's a reason for this, as the entire set can be unlocked in about roughly 10 minutes. You'll only have to reach stage 7 and by the time you've made it that far chances are you've unlocked everything else along the way. The game's cheap price point and quick completion time makes this an ideal title for achievement hunters, but luckily for anybody craving some old-school Space Invaders shooter action this is actually a decent title. It's certainly not a great game, but it's an above-average retro-styled shooter that plays well enough and you could certainly do worse when it comes to budget-priced titles on the Xbox One.

Final Verdict: Zeroptian Invasion is a simple and somewhat generic Space Invaders style retro shooter. The achievements can be unlocked super quick but there is also a decent old-school shooter here as well.

Related Links:
Buy Zeroptian Invasion - Microsoft Store

Related Links:
Shmups - Xbox Overview
Zeroptian Invasion - Metacritic
Zeroptian Invasion - GameFAQs
Ratalaika Games - Official Site
Zeroptian Invasion - True Achievements

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox, 2005)

Star Wars: Republic Commando
Developed/Published by LucasArts
Released for Xbox (2/2005)
Also on PC
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One/Xbox 360

There were a total of 14 Star Wars titles released on the original Xbox, making it hard not to overlook at least a few of them. I'm always a bit skeptical coming into any Star Wars game, as the license has a bit of a checkered past when it comes to quality, but I was pleasantly surprised by Republic Commando. The game was released for both the Xbox and PC in 2005, and is a squad based first-person shooter.

Developed and published by LucasArts, Republic Commando delivers some nice visuals for a 2005 release which are powered by the popular Unreal Engine 2. The menus are simple, easy to use and the game allows you to save at any point in addition to autosaving at designated checkpoints. The on-screen HUD does a good job keeping you aware of your squad's health status and ammunition is displayed on each weapon. All of the text used is easy to read and while the presentation is nothing special, you'd have a hard time finding much to complain about. The voice acting and sound effects are solid. The game does feature music, but a good majority of the time you'll only have the ambience. While the music is used sparsely, what is present here is similar to the stuff you would hear in the Star Wars prequel films of the time.

Scrap Metal (XBLA, 2010)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NBA Playgrounds (Xbox One, 2017)

NBA Playgrounds
Developed by Saber Interactive
Released for Xbox One (5/2017)
Also on PC/PS4/Switch

NBA Playgrounds is an arcade-style basketball game, heavily inspired by the classic NBA Jam games. At the time of this writing, the game has been removed from the Microsoft Store and all other outlets that had it for sale. More than likely the reason for the removal of this game is due to the fact that 2K Sports published the sequel and wants everybody to buy the newer title, which from what I've heard places a heavy emphasis on in-game transactions. Though you may be able to spend money for new players in the original game, it's so easy to to unlock them by just simply playing the game that there was no necessity to spend any extra money.

The graphics and overall presentation in NBA Playgrounds looks decent for the most part though there are some issues. The characters sport a cartoony look and often hardly even look like the player they're representing. The backgrounds are well done and there's a decent variety of courts to play on, though the differences between them are purely cosmetic. Sound effects and music are just sort of there, not bad but definitely not very memorable either. The menus are simple enough and easy to use, though it feels like it takes a bit longer to load matches than it should. Overall, despite some of the characters looking a bit goofy, the game looks okay.

There are no achievements involving online play, which is a good thing because I didn't have any luck finding anybody the couple times I tried searching for an opponent. Bear in mind there is already a sequel out when I'm playing this, so I wasn't surprised by this at all. The bulk of your playtime will be spent playing tournament mode, which features a world map with several different courts that will be unlocked as you progress. In each country there are four predetermined match-ups and within each match there is a challenge to complete. The challenges range from making a certain number of three-pointers to getting a certain number of steals or blocks. The challenges ramp up in difficulty as you progress and get pretty tough towards the end. Once all challenges for a region are completed you'll unlock a new basketball that can be selected in exhibition mode.

Gameplay wise, NBA Playgrounds shares a lot in common with the classic NBA Jam titles. The game features a roster that was current at the time of the game's release, which would be the 2016-2017 roster. On the court you have a turbo button that drains stamina. While using the sprint you can perform ridiculous high-flying dunks. On defense, you can swipe, block and shove. Unlike NBA Jam, when you try to swipe or shove your opponent this will drain your stamina meter in an effort to prevent mindlessly spamming the steal button. On offense you have the ability to perform crossover moves which will also consume your stamina bar. When performing a crossover, a player is invulnerable to steals for a limited time so you'll want to time your steal attempts carefully while on defense. The ball handler can also throw their elbows out to get some space when necessary. Taking a page out the NBA 2K series, when you take a shot in NBA Playgrounds you'll have a shot meter where you'll want to stop in the green. The better a players shooting stats are the easier the shot will be to make. You can also call for an alley-oop for your teammate.

On paper everything looks and sounds like it'd be good time, but there are a few issues that hold the game back from greatness. There's no nice way to put it: the defense in NBA Playgrounds sucks. The timing for blocking shots is incredibly picky to the point I pretty much exclusively had to go for steals on defense. Rebounding is also terrible, but the CPU seems to excel at it. Every time I would try to jump to grab a rebound my player would swat the ball away since he was still in block mode. This is quite frustrating and the only way I could ever get rebounds is to stay put on the ground while hoping the ball bounced to me. More often than not the CPU would jump over me and grab the board due to this. These rebounding issues really drag down the defensive side of the game. Even with that being said, the offensive aspect of the game was fun enough that I enjoyed spending some time with this game.

NBA Playgrounds was quite suddenly pulled from the Microsoft Store in October 2018, just a little after a year from its release. I played the game via Game Pass and it was removed from that service at the end of December 2018. NBA Playgrounds is pretty much gone unless you previously purchased it before its removal, which is a shame as it was a shallow but enjoyable title. 

Final Verdict: While not quite as good as the classics that inspired it, NBA Playgrounds is a fun little digital title that was pulled from the the Microsoft Store quicker than most games that suffer the same fate.

Related Links:
NBA Playgrounds - GameFAQs
NBA Playgrounds - Microsoft Store
Saber Interactive - Official Site

Life is Strange (Xbox 360/One, 2015/16)

Life is Strange
Developed by DONTNOD Entertainment
Published by Square Enix
Released for Xbox 360 (10/2015) & Xbox One (1/2016)
Also on Android/iOS/Linux/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4

Life is Strange is a point 'n click style adventure game originally released for the Xbox 360 in October 2015 and in January 2016 the game received a port to the Xbox One. The gameplay is similar to the Telltale Games titles, but rather than using an already existing license the developers have created the characters and story specifically for this game.

The game is broken up into five episodes, with each episode initially being released around two months apart. As is the case with games of this nature, it tends to work out best to wait for the entire story to be released before digging in since it can really suck waiting months to see what happens next. While the first episode was released in January 2015 for the Xbox 360, the final episode wasn't put up for download until October 2015. That's way too much time for a game of this nature, but luckily the end product turned out well and doesn't feel rushed. By the time Life is Strange received a release for the Xbox One, all episodes had already been released so the game was released in its complete form right from the start.

The story has the player take control of Max, an 18-year old attending Blackwell University who loves photography. Max discovers early in the story that she has the ability to turn back time and has to put it use quick. She witnesses one of her old childhood friends, Chloe, being shot and killed in the bathroom. Using her newfound powers, Max is able to go back in time and change the outcome of the event. As the story unravels, Max and Chloe get a chance to catch up and try to unravel the mysterious happenings at Arcadia Bay. The pacing of the story is very well done, giving Max several interesting scenarios to manipulate time and multiple outcomes as the result of your decisions. Each episode also does a great job ending on a cliffhanger and keeping the player anxious to come back and see what happens next. The story also deals with a lot of issues that will hit home for many players including bullying, friendships and loss of loved ones.

The cast of characters are excellent, offering a nice diversity and the writing/voice-acting makes them all believable. The characters are memorable as is the setting of Arcadia Bay and Blackwell University. Gameplay consists mostly of walking around, examining things and talking to people. Occasionally Max's time manipulation powers will come into play, allowing you to rewind time using the left trigger. There's a good balance between playing and watching, and it feels a bit more interactive than your average point 'n click from Telltale Games. The controls are simple and work effectively, making the game easily accessible to players of all types.

Rather than your standard collectibles, each chapter in Life is Strange features ten objects that you can take photos of. Once a photo is taken, it can be viewed in Max's journal which can be accessed by hitting the back button. It's an original take on collectibles and it was fun trying to find them all. If you miss any of them while playing, there's a handy chapter select available from the main menu to make it easy to hop back in to find them.

While Life is Strange is an excellent point and click adventure, no game is without its faults. The game crashed on me twice while playing on the Xbox One, but luckily both instances occurred at the main title screen so I didn't lose any story progress. The only other thing I found worth complaining about is that the lip-sync seems a bit off at times. One sequence had Max speaking with no mouth movement, making the whole scene look a bit silly. The lip-sync isn't a frequent problem as I only noticed it in a couple of scenes and most players likely won't even notice or care.

In closing, Life is Strange is up there as one of the best point and click adventures I've played in recent years. The characters and story are interesting enough to keep the majority of players invested until the end. If you enjoy a good point 'n click adventure or are intrigued by time travel, make sure you give Life is Strange a play. Try to go in as blind as possible though, as spoilers can really hamper the impact of the events that happen within the game. The game was released in physical format for the Xbox One and is available digitally on both the Xbox One and the Xbox 360.

Final Verdict: Life is Strange is an excellent point 'n click adventure, featuring a main character with the ability to manipulate time, an interesting cast of characters and a well-delivered story. Point 'n click fans should definitely give this one a play.

Related Links:
Buy Life is Strange for Xbox One - Microsoft Store
Buy Life is Strange for Xbox 360 - Xbox Marketplace
Search Life is Strange on Xbox One - eBay

Related Links:
DONTNOD Entertainment - Official Site
Square Enix - Official Site
Life is Strange - GameFAQs
Life is Strange Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Life is Strange - True Achievements 

Headlander (Xbox One, 2016)

Headlander
Developed by Double Fine
Published by Adult Swim
Released for Xbox One (11/2016)
Also on Mac/PC/PS4

In Headlander, the player will take control of a head encapsulated in a helmet equipped with thrusters that enable it to navigate the environment. It's a silly premise for sure, but with this being a Double Fine game there's an excellent sense of humor within that makes the whole premise work wonderfully. The world is presented with a retro '60's-70's vision of the future and it feels quite unique. Headlander is a "Metroidvania" game, meaning the player will be navigating a large map with access to new areas opening up as the player gains new abilities.

At the beginning of the story you have the option to choose between three different heads (two male, one female). The game plays the same regardless of which head you choose, since none of them are able to actually speak due to the lack of any vocal cords, but the option to select a character is still welcome. You'll then be let loose to explore the mysterious world featured in Headlander, which is some sort of utopia inhabited completely by robots with not a human in sight save for the floating head you control. The floating head starts off with a vacuum ability, allowing the player to suck the heads off enemies, land on top  of them and assume control. This head-swap mechanic is a big part of Headlander, with certain robot guards granting access to locked doors. There's a decent variety of robots to take control of throughout the game, featuring both civilian models and guards. There are also little dust vacuums and robot dogs that can be possessed, with certain hidden areas only accessible by using these little guys. The "head landing" is an awesome gimmick and gives the gameplay a unique feel. There's no jump button in Headlander, but it's not really necessary thanks to the whole floating head mechanic.

With Headlander being a Metroidvania style game, it should go without saying that you'll be unlocking upgrades as you play. There are energy orbs scattered throughout the game that add to your XP when collected. The upgrade menu can be accessed at any point and will allow you to choose what you'd like to upgrade next, with more options unlocking as you progress through the story. There's a nice range of upgrades, some of which make the combat drastically easier. There's the obvious stuff like upgrading your health regeneration and vacuum suck abilities and then more original stuff like the ability to turn an abandoned body into a sentry gun.

While initially you'll do all your fighting using the bodies you possess, you'll eventually unlock some nice upgrades to boost the power of your head. You'll get boosters on your helmet which can be upgraded to damage enemies while boosting. In addition to your booster attack, you'll also be able to unlock a shield to give you some defensive capabilities. The upgrade system is well implemented, though I found myself wishing there was more game to use these on. The story mode is a bit on the short side and will give most players about 7-10 hours of gameplay. Personally I felt like the game had a good length to it and the fact I wanted more when it was over is more of a testament to how fun the game was rather than a knock against it being too short.

Most players will likely die quite a bit throughout their adventure, but frustration is kept low thanks to Headlander's generous respawns. Upon death you'll spawn back into the last room you were in with a quick reload, making it easy to get right back into the game after making a mistake. The game auto-saves every time you enter a new room as well, making it easy to quit and resume when you need to go do something else.

Any good Metroidvania game needs a solid map to help keep tabs on where you're at. Headlander's map is a bit basic, but gives you enough to keep you informed where you need to go and where you haven't been. While the areas themselves aren't labeled on the map, nearby collectibles and points of interests will be clearly marked. As you explore you'll find access to teleports, allowing you an option to quickly travel from one section to the next. There are a few areas that are outside the map and there are special warps you can find to switch back and forth between sections.

Headlander is another awesome effort from Double Fine, though I did run into a minor issue while playing. There's some pretty bad slowdown that occurs when there are too many lasers on screen at once. Towards the end, there was a particular room that really had the frame-rate chugging. It didn't cause any unfair deaths or anything, but it's worth a mention and I'm sure some will be bothered by it. Outside of the slowdown, I didn't really encounter any other issues while playing. Double Fine did a nice job polishing the game for the most part and it's always refreshing to play a game that didn't crash on me at anytime during my play.

I've never been let down by a game from Double Fine before and Headlander continues that tradition. The game is well-polished and original enough to stand out amongst the many Metroidvania titles out there. The mysterious world you'll explore is intriguing and the head-swap mechanic makes the game a joy to play. There's even a couple of Easter eggs hidden in the game that reference past Double Fine games. If you're a fan of 2D Metroidvania style games, make sure that Headlander is one you don't miss!

Final Verdict: Headlander is an excellent 2D Metroidvania style game with a retro-style vision of the future and an interesting head-swapping mechanic. Genre fans need to check this one out!

Related Links:
Buy Headlander - Microsoft Store
Double Fine - Official Site
Adult Swim - Official Site

Strategy Guides/Walkthroughs:
Headlander - GameFAQs
Headlander Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Headlander - True Achievements

Xbox Game Pass (Xbox One)

Xbox Game Pass

There's no denying that gaming can be an expensive hobby. Those who game on consoles can expect to pay a fee in order to play online in addition to the often $60 price tag attached to many of the popular releases. Expenses can add up fast and with the incredible amount of games coming out each year gamers will no doubt overlook several titles due to budget constraints. This is where a service such as Game Pass can come in handy...

Xbox Game Pass originally launched on June 1, 2017 and is a monthly-charge service offering players full access to over a hundred different titles. You can download and play any of the eligible games to your heart's content so long as you retain your Game Pass membership. First-party titles published by Microsoft Game Studios will be available on Game Pass from release, making this an enticing offer for those who want to see what the Xbox One has to offer.

An Xbox Live subscription is not required in order to use Game Pass, though you will need it to access the online multiplayer games. While Microsoft will typically remove a handful of games at the end of each month, from what I've seen they typically add just as many if not more in order to keep the selection fresh.There's a wide variety of genres on offer and the only one I found lacking was sports titles. While there are a few sports games featured, there are none of the bigger sports titles from publishers like 2K and EA. It's understandable with EA since they have their own service, EA Access where you can subscribe and play their titles. 2K has become a bit too money-hungry with their sports franchises over the recent years so it's doubtful you'll see any of their newer titles featured here.

At the time of this writing the subscription rates are $9.99 per month or $119.99 yearly. If you're interested but not willing to pull the trigger at those prices, keep your eyes peeled as Microsoft will often host sales and promotions for the program, including discounted prices and a 14-day trial to see what's on offer. As is the case with subscribing to Xbox Live, Microsoft will by default enable auto-pay when you add the service so make sure to turn this off if you don't want to be automatically billed.

Xbox Game Pass is primarily focused towards the Xbox One, however you will have access to several of the "play anywhere" titles. Play anywhere titles are a selection of titles that came out on both PC and Xbox One. You can play any of these compatible titles on your PC if you have an Xbox Game pass subscription. With the immense number of games coming out these days, Xbox Game Pass is a great way to sample and experience games you might have overlooked. You're bound to find a few sleepers you didn't know about. Hopefully Microsoft carries this service over to the next console generation!

Final Verdict: Xbox Game Pass is an excellent service that gives you access to over a hundred different games on your Xbox One. A great way to give anybody an instant backlog of stuff to play.

Related Links:
Buy Xbox Game Pass - Microsoft Store
List of Game Pass Featured Titles - Xbox

Joy Ride Turbo (XBLA, 2012)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thomas Was Alone (Xbox One, 2014)

Thomas Was Alone
Developed by Mike Bithell
Published by Curve Digital
Released for Xbox One (11/2014)
Also on Android/iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4/Vita/WiiU

Thomas Was Alone is a 2D puzzle/platformer originally released on PC & Mac in 2012. In 2013 the game would see a release for the PlayStation 3 and Vita. The Xbox One port would arrive in late 2014, this same year the game would also release on mobile devices, the PlayStation 4 and the WiiU. Thomas Was Alone has the player taking control of various shapes in order to navigate them to the exit, move on to the next screen and do it all over again. The puzzles ramp up in difficulty along the way.

Graphically, Thomas Was Alone is a very simple looking game. The graphics are all composed of squares and rectangles, giving the look an almost Atari 2600 vibe. There are some minor background details and lighting effects that help the game feel a bit modern, but overall the game looks incredibly simplistic. The sound effects match the old-school graphics and many of the sounds reminded me of the Bit Trip games, which also sported a throwback Atari aesthetic. The shapes you'll take control of each have a name and voice attached to them, and you'll frequently hear a voice actor narrating the thoughts and back-stories of the characters as you play. The story in the game has a lot to do with friendships and loneliness. It's decently written and the voice actor does a good job reading it. If you tire of hearing the narration, there's an option to turn it off.

When you first begin in Thomas Was Alone, you'll take control of the rectangular titular character Thomas. There will be an outline of your character in each stage and once you've lined your character up you'll progress to the next screen. There are 11 total chapters, or scenarios as the game calls them, with each scenario containing 10 screens. As you play through, new characters will be introduced. Each have their own shape, name and characteristic. The big blue square can float on water while the pink flat rectangle can be used as a trampoline. You can switch between the available characters on the fly and you'll have to work together with them to pass each stage.

There are collectible pickups scattered throughout the campaign. Each scenario is composed of 10 screens and each of the first 9 scenarios feature 2 collectibles hidden somewhere within. The final 2 scenarios were released as DLC for the first releases of Thomas Was Alone, but here we see it included in the base game. These final 2 scenarios definitely stand out from the rest of the game and feel more like an entirely different game, featuring far less emphasis on puzzles and more on difficult platforming sections with lots of spikes. It feels more like Uncraft Me than it does the first 9 scenarios. These final two episodes aren't bad, they just offer a different and more difficult challenge than anything you've faced up to this point.

There is a frequently reported save bug, with many players stating that when resuming their game it would set them back, sometimes as many as 60 screens! While the game is short, this can become annoying quick. I was lucky enough to not encounter the bug, but I completed the game within three play sessions so I didn't give it much of a chance to glitch out on me. Another thing to watch out for is when starting the game up the menu option for new game is always selected and accidentally pressing this will clear your progress and restart the game. It's something we take for granted that most games start off at the resume game option by default.

Those who dig a good puzzle game and/or retro-style platformers will find something to enjoy in Thomas Was Alone. Throughout the original 9 episodes, there's a nice variety of puzzles you'll encounter and the developer did a nice job keeping it from getting too difficult or frustrating. The final 2 episodes crank up the challenge quite a bit and while they feel a bit out of tune with the rest of the game, but it's not enough to drag the entire game down.

Final Verdict: Thomas Was Alone is a short but enjoyable 2D platformer/puzzle game with some very blocky pixels as its stars. Recommended for genre fans or anybody who wants a quick and relatively easy game.

Purchase Links:
Buy Thomas Was Alone - Microsoft Store

Related Links:
Thomas Was Alone - GameFAQs
Mike Bithell's Games - Official Site
Curve Digital - Official Site

Strategy Guide/Walkthroughs:
Thomas Was Alone - True Achievements
Collectible Pickups Guide - True Achievements
Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements