Games

Hexodius

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Hexodius is what seems to be the first game to be released by new developers Brain Slap Studio, eventually picked up for distribution by Namco Bandai. Geared off your basic dual-stick shooter, the title takes on the concept of rebuilding your own ship to fight against an evil A.I. that is trying to take over. Originally released for the PC through the Steam network, the game eventually found its way over to the Xbox Live marketplace, both locations finding plenty of negativity. Does this simple concept grow into a grand and loveable title that is overlooked and greatly frowned upon out of general fatigue for the style, or is Hexodius actually that abysmal an experience as everyone makes it out to be?

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A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda EX

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A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda EX

Originally released on Steam back in January of 2011, A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda has finally found its way onto the console market, where it belongs. Over two years after the initial release, this EX version of the game will now find a broad, new audience to pick up and play. But, since its release, the title hasn’t earned much love from the gaming community for some reason. Is this a sign of a decreasing interest in the original side-scrolling platformer that defined a generation, or is this love-letter to a beloved blue bomber just that bad a title?

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Outside the Box - Rise of Venice

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Rise of Venice

When it comes to Strategy and Simulation games, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest fan. I do get into my fair share of titles in the genre though, such as the Civilization games, early Sim City entries, and a few war-based titles on the computer that escape me at this time. But, I’m always willing to give a game in this field a fair chance. With a recent press release, screens, and videos for Gaming Minds Studios’ Rise of Venice, a title being distributed by Kalypso Media, sparking some intrigue, I couldn’t help but give it a shot. With an open mind and anticipation, I grabbed this title from the Steam store and loaded it up.

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Foul Play

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Foul Play

Mediatonic and Mastertronic are two game companiews that seem to fly under nearly everyone’s radar, though many have heard of their work at this point. Mediatonic is known for designing many games that Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim is known for constantly promoting during their programming, and Mastertronic is known more for some of their digital and PC titles, such as the Alien Breed trilogy and Serious Sam entries. Now the two have paired up to make the new side-scrolling Action title Foul Play a reality over Steam and Xbox Live Arcade. But, just what is this title, and is it any good?

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Diablo III

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Back in June of 2000, Blizzard released Diablo II, one of their most successful, career defining titles, to the PC market. Gamers ate up this dark and gritty Action RPG title, and since then has demanded more. After years of development hell, Diablo III has been unleashed. Originally made available on PC and Mac, the title had been promised for console gamers as well, but it took well over a year for it to finally make its way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems. With many people already upset over the faults of this new entry, many of which are understandable, it makes one wonder how, if it all, the console version will stack up and survive. But, is Diablo III really as bad as many are making it out to be, or is this long overdue game just well past its prime?

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Zeno Clash II

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Zeno Clash II

Chilean game developer Ace Team is the group behind the rather bizarre first person Action title Zeno Clash, which was picked up by Atlus for release. Atlus also donated their Source engine, and eventually released the title on PC. The game was widely accepted thanks to some simple RPG elements, and it’s approach to being a mix of shooter and brawling similar to games like the recent Elder Scrolls entries. After some success on the Windows platform, it was picked up for digital release on the Xbox Marketplace in 2009. It’s been about four years now, and Ace Team return with Zeno Clash II, a largely under-the-radar sequel that picks up right about where the original left off. But, is this new venture as strong as the original, or is it a far weaker offering?

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