Crimsonland (Xbox One) - Review

Crimsonland is available now on Xbox One and is priced at £9.99.

Crimsonland is a remaster of a PC game released way back in 2003, which has since been re-released on both PS4 and Xbox One. It's a top down twin-stick shooter all about wiping out the waves of enemies that come your way.

It reminded me a lot of a game I loved on the Xbox 360, the XBLIG title I Maed A Gam3 With Zombies In It!!!1, most probably best recognised from this song. This was a twin-stick shooter that was challenging, but more importantly a lot of fun, something which Crimsonland emulates and expands upon perfectly.

The controls are slick and super-responsive, as they should be with this type of game. Graphically the game is just ok really, but can any of us say we play a twin-stick for the visuals?! No, we play them for the quick, mindless sense of gratification that comes with mowing down hundreds of enemies with minimal effort. In a slight move away from the usual twin-stick controls though, Crimsonland has you pressing RT to actually fire your weapon, something which I struggled with at first but ultimately ended up feeling like it added to the experience of the game.

Crimsonland has two modes, Quest and Survival. Quest features 70 levels that each pits you against waves of enemies, with plenty of unlockables and power-ups to collect. Obviously these levels get a little more difficult as you progress through the game, but I found the curve to be just right really - actually erring on the easy side if you played with a friend. Survival mode is what you'd expect, but there a few different variants within the mode to playa round with.

Overall I'd say Crimsonland is a solid addition to the Xbox One game library. I went into the game not expecting to think that much of it if I am honest, but in the end I was really enjoying myself. At £9.99 I would say it is a little pricey - I would have been more comfortable recommending it to you if it was around the £7.99 mark instead. But with a sale probably somewhere in the not so distant future I'd say this is a game that is definitely worth picking up.

8/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review

2D Voxel Madness (XBLIG) Review

 2D Voxel Madness is available now on the XBLIG Marketplace.

I never played the prequel to this game, Volchaos, so I am in no position to compare the two. I played this game as a stand-alone game, as when I first approached the developers that's what I understood it to be. I was soon corrected upon loading the game!

Now I have to just say this game is weird. I've just finished playing it and I'm still struggling to adequately put my thoughts into words for you. I'm not undecided on the game or anything, but I guess I don't have that much to say about it.

It's easy to see that this game could easily become a time-sink. Put it on for five minutes and there is a large possibility you'll still be sat there an hour later. If you don't know much about the game let me give you a quick overview. You're a little guy mining for diamonds and fighting off weird monsters. There doesn't seem to be an overall objective from what I could gather. You collect stuff, destroy stuff and can build stuff. It is like the most simplistic version of Minecraft ever.

Now I have to be honest and say I did struggle to see the point in playing this game. There is no rhyme or reason to it at all but it is not an horrific game. It's ok. And at 80MSP you can't really go wrong. I'm betting there are people out there that could do all sorts with this game, but personally I don't have the patience. It is a nice simple little game, but it does have scope for more if you're a more patient person, or have more time on your hands.

Graphically it's quite nice. It kept my daughters attention with the cartoony monsters anyhow. And the music is nice too. As I say theres nothing I hate about this game, but nothing really that stands out either.

5/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Vampire Slayer FPS (XBLIG) Review

Vampire Slayer FPS is available now on the XBLIG Marketplace for 80MSP.

Vampires are cool right? Well this game gives you the choice of playing as them or against them, either online or with bots and the biggest thing you need to know about this game is that you should BUY IT! There review complete!

Just kidding, obviously I'll give you more than that. So here are some details.

Upon loading this game I have to admit to feeling a little disappointed at first. The graphics are pretty bad. BUT I overlooked this for the moment to see what else this title had to offer and I'm so glad I did! I chose to play as a Slayer in my first bot-match. And it was pretty damn scary! This is a game which I felt gave real credit to how difficult vampires would be to kill. They are frightening! I found myself cowering in the corner for a good part of my first match because all I could hear was the vampires creepy noise and all down my screen was a list of my team-mates being decimated by the vamps. No fair!

I mustered up the courage and was basically met by a vampire who seemed to appear from nowhere. I came off worse in that meeting. Renewed though I kept trying and eventually I could almost hold my own against them, so it was time to try out the Vampires themselves.

I had my suspicions upon loading this game that the vampires would be pretty hard to master. How right I was. I found myself constantly overthrowing where I wanted to be and again, was coming off worse. I was dying continuously!

Anyway long story short I feel this game provides more than enough of a challenge for most gamers. It's great to pick up and play for a quick match, but at the same time you could sink hours into trying to master it. Yes the graphics are bad BUT the game isn't and at 80MSP what does it even matter. We spend more than that on a bar of chocolate. Skip the choc for today and treat yourself to this instead!

9/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Three Dead Zed (XBLIG) Review

Three Dead Zed is available now on the XBLIG Marketplace for 80MSP.

 Ok so even if you're the biggest Zombie-nerd ever you could be getting tired of the endless Zombie clones finding their way on to your Xbox. Nothing feels new anymore with Zombies (except The Walking Dead) there doesn't seem to be much creativity in them anymore, right?

Wrong! Three Dead Zed is a zombie game with n actual difference. Albeit a few slight ones but still it is NOT a carbon copy!

This game has coupled HUMOUR with ZOMBIES. No, you didn't read that wrong. They have made Zombies funny. Whilst this may be refreshing for some, I can imagine some of the more hardcore zombie-fans getting pretty annoyed right now. To be honest I thought I would hate a humorous take on Zombies to but this game doesn't totally stink.

Basically some scientists are trying to create a smart Zombie. You play as three of their creations. You morph between them to suit the levels needs. The first one, default Zombie can flick switches, the second can run pretty fast and bounce off walls. The third one is a heifer that can crush pretty much anything, or at the very least move it out of your way.

Graphically it is impressive, it's done in a real nice cartoony comic style. It does look a lot better than a lot of indie games. Unfortunately this can not be said for the controls. I am not normally one to just slate controls in games but this one is ridiculous. The controls are all over the place. There are more than a few points in that game that had me annoyed. The running zombie on all fours can cling onto walls and jump onto the next. Sometimes this works great, but at other times he would only bounce off the wall if you hit a teeny tiny bit of the wall. Irritating.

It is a pretty fun game though. It is pretty short-lived fun though with the problems it has at the minute. I found myself getting too irritated to carry on a few times, and I struggled with motivation to attempt it again because of the poor controls. I do like the system of weaknesses and strengths in different Zombies though, and feel like this game pays enough attention to each Zombies shortfalls.

Overall this game is a pretty good idea executed pretty poorly. With a few patches though I think you should give it a try. It is good fun, sometimes.

5/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Code Breaker (XBLIG) Review

Code Breaker is available now on the XBLIG Marketplace for 80MSP.

I know there are a lot of people that don't see the point in games like these. But give them a chance people! They keep your brain active and are actually pretty fun. Obviously you aren't gonna spend hours immersed in a game like this, but it's easy to pick up and play for a quick battle against a friend or computer.

The point of the game is simple, solve the code in as few moves as possible. There will be a green light under it if it is correct, a yellow light if it appears in the code but not quite there and a red light if you're completely barking up the wrong tree.

Quick, simple fun for when your killing half an hour. At just 80MSP there really is no reason to pick this one up. The art style is nice, like a notepad with lots of scribbles on in the background and the game itself is good fun.

8/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Comedy Night (XBLIG) Review

 Comedy Night is available now on the XBLIG Marketplace for 80MSP.

Ok. I'm gonna hold my hands up and say, this has been one of the hardest games to review. I really feel for the developers. This game is one of the most original game ideas on the XBLIG Marketplace and the community have ruined it. I have attempted to play this game on numerous occasions and each time have been met with idiots who just shout and scream and play music down their mic. There have been probably two people who have attempted to make jokes. That's about it. So of all the time I have spent on this game, much of it was spent backing in and out of games, hoping to find someone who was actually playing the game as it should be played.

As mentioned, this game has a great, original idea. It gives us Xbox LIVE users a stage on which to perform. It is meant to be a stage for stand-up comedy, something to entertain the others in the room. 

The graphics are really good. It is an avatar game, which works well. But the environments you are placed in are nice. 

There are options to boo people of the stage, but for some reason the most annoying people weren't leaving the stage, and if they did they just came back.

I have been struggling with what score to give this game, seeing as I haven't really had the true experience the developer meant for us. 

It is with a heavy heart that I have given this game the score I have and really it doesn't reflect on the developers at all. It is the community that have received this score. 

Overall I would say skip this game, and that is solely because the community hasn't gotten into the true spirit of the game. Unless you wanna be annoyed by twelve year olds playing their CD's...

2/10 SKIP IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.