Pinball FX2 (XBLA): "MARVEL Pinball: Vengeance & Virtue"

Zen Studios, the developer of all 'Pinball FX2' tables have once again allowed me to review their latest release. This time around they created four new tables in the 'MARVEL Pinball" series. This DLC set was properly titled "Vengeance & Virtue". The brand new tables feature 'X-MEN', 'THOR', 'Ghost Rider', and 'Moon Knight' themes. Each table has details that stay true to the corresponding comic book hero's, and villain's stories. As with any Pinball FX2 table there are 3D elements, impressive voice acting, and animated events that accent each table's theme. After playing each table for a while I found them to have a moderate to hard difficulty, and a variety of different features that take some getting used to. I will breakdown each table's pro's, con's and details for you in this review.

They Breathe (XBLIG): "An Eerie Underwater Survival Game"

This is one of those games that takes an old concept, and makes it into something totally unique. If you have ever played the old "Sonic the Hedgehog" games then you'll be familiar with the air bubble concept. The developer (The Working Parts) took the air bubble concept a giant leap forward, and made it into an indie game titled "They Breathe". The game has the player taking on the role of a frog who is constantly diving to the lower depths of what seems to be a flooded forest area. Along the way the frog must compete against other living creatures for air that comes in the form of air bubbles. The game is filled with odd land dwelling, and water dwelling creatures (frogs, moose, giant jellyfish). If you can last long enough to make it to the bottom of the flooded plain then you will be met with a surprise ...

Nyan Cat Adventure (XBLIG): "A Game Of Sensory Overload Featuring Nyan Cat"

It wasn't until I reviewed "Bloody Checkers (XBLIG)" earlier this year, and found the hidden Nyan Cat easter egg in it that I realized what Nyan Cat was all about. On my occasional hunt for new Youtube videos to watch I would sometimes see Nyan Cat related videos that were uploaded. I passed them up many times thinking that it looked like another silly trend. After a while I noticed that it was seriously becoming a trend, and that other Nyan Cat type creatures were being shown on Youtube as well. One day (recently) when I was searching for review material on I noticed a gameplay video of "Nyan Cat Adventure", and out of sheer curiosity I watched it. After seeing what I saw I just had to get it for review. I realized that it was a score based game, and to be honest it looked really interesting to me. As usual I sought out the developer's (21 Street Games LLC) permission to review their game, and did my playthrough of all the modes before finally sitting down to do this review.

Spartans In Candyland (XBLIG): "THIS ISN'T SPARTAAAAAA! It's A CTF Shmup!"

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a shmup (shoot 'em up) that featured CTF (Capture the Flag) gameplay along with a Spartans versus Aliens conflict? Well if you have, Marklund Games (the developer) has an answer for you with their latest dual thumbstick shmup/CTF hybrid, "Spartans in Candyland! This one to four player game features a unique roster of four half naked (according to the developer ^.^) gun carrying Spartans who's sole purpose is to survive the constant attacks of swarming Candyland aliens. You have at your disposal (upon pick up) a variety of weapons that include a flamethrower, rocket launcher, grenade launcher, scout rifle, shotgun, and two special abilities (varies per Spartan). The battlefield in which this games unique war takes place is a suburban setup that is 3D in nature, and features a labyrinth style layout filled with parked cars, buildings, and gigantic sweet deserts. The enemies are plenty, but vary little in design. The longer you survive the game the more difficult the aliens will become to kill. Your goal/purpose in this madness is to capture highlighted areas for points which appear at random locations on the map.