The original Trine came out of nowhere, providing players with the closest thing to a Lost Vikings sequel they could imagine. Or maybe that’s just my interpretation of it. Nevertheless, Trine succeeded because of its three character dynamic, fun puzzles and mostly-enjoyable platforming. Although it doesn’t change things up too much, Trine 2 manages to keep that winning formula fresh with plenty of new and interesting levels and puzzles. READ MORE
Once just a spinoff from the Rayman series, the Raving Rabbids have developed into their own full-scale franchise. Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking is the newest in the series, and the first to support Microsoft’s Kinect sensor. With the franchise’s history of motion-sensing minigames on the Wii, it is interesting to see what new tricks the team at Ubisoft put together for this release. READ MORE
I’m not going to lie to you. Defense Grid is one of my favorite XBLA games ever released. I like it enough that I bought it, along with all of the available DLC, on Steam after beating in on 360. It is the best tower defense game that I have ever played, the narration is wonderful, there is a great variety in the types and useful applications of towers, and levels switch between the two TD standards of “here is your path, defend it” and “here is your playfield, make a path.” Defense Grid is my typical go-to game when I know I want to play something but can’t decide what that something is. And then it’s 2:00 in the morning because I got caught up in it all over again. READ MORE
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is a difficult game to review for a couple of reasons. First, I loved the N64 original. I remember surrendering an entire summer to split-screen multiplayer in my parents’ basement. GoldenEye was the first game that really grabbed me and showed just how much enjoyment you can wring out a game when it’s got great multiplayer. I’ve played single-player campaigns multiple times before (including GoldenEye’s), but I don’t think I’ve ever poured as much time into a multiplayer game as I have the first GoldenEye. Second, it’s hard not to compare Reloaded to the original in other areas. The story here has been modernized (due to contractual issues, the game could not be simply ported). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re looking for the original script, you won’t find it here. READ MORE
It has been just ten short years since Halo: Combat Evolved singlehandedly put the original Xbox on the map for many gamers, and to celebrate, Microsoft and 343 Industries have released a remade version of the Halo that started it all. Shooter mechanics have advanced a lot in the past ten years though, so how does Halo: CE hold up? Unsurprisingly, it’s a mixed bag. READ MORE
