Brand (XBLIG): "A Game With A Mythology All It's Own"

There are many mythologies in the world of gaming. You'll find epic games that revolve around various science fiction universes, and games that are based on fantasy realms. As a gamer I've seen many of these mythologies come, and go throughout the years. Some of them have even lasted through many different genres of consoles. It's always nice to see new realities/mythologies being born from the imaginations of gaming developers. Being able to experience these mythology based games provides an escape from everyday life for many video game enthusiasts such as myself. I often feel as if I'm a part of the world's, and mythologies that game developers create and enjoy the artistic trip that ensues. Recently I got the opportunity to play, and review an indie game that had it's own "Brand" of mythology. Nine Dots Studio, the developer behind the indie game "Brand" has brought their own mythology of sorts to the XBLIG library in an entirely new way. The game revolves around a quest to make a sword that's worthy for a king by completing side quests that involve ancient creatures called Troglodytes.

Soul Calibur V - "The Lowdown On The Beatdown"

I'm a gamer who takes things seriously when it comes to fighting games. I have actually spent most of my gaming career playing fighting games. I've enjoyed everything from 2D fighters to the latest 3D oriented fighting games. To cut straight to the point though, I have noticed a bad trend going on with next-gen fighting games and "Soul Calibur V" is sadly no exception to that. The following article is going to be about my experience with the latest installment of the Soul Calibur series, Soul Calibur V. I have a lot of things I feel I need to address about the game, and some things gamers need to be aware of if they are thinking about buying this game ...

Magic Racing GP 2 (XBLIG): " A Highly Customizable & Realistic Indie Racing Game"

I absolutely love games that have a lot of customization options. Such details allow the gamer to make the experience of a video game more personal. In "Magic Studio's" latest release of "Magic Racing GP 2" they not only give the gamer a lot of customization options but deliver them in a fashion that makes the overall game experience more realistic than most mainstream racing games available today. In fact the developer's attention to details in the game are so impressive that I tweeted them a message complimenting them on a job well done. In the following review I hope to cover as many details as possible with out overdoing it. Sometimes a reviewer such as myself can lose his audiences' attention with too many details, and I don't want to do that. The fact of the matter is I could go on for many paragraphs about the details of the game since it has so much to offer, but I'll try to narrow it down without leaving out significant info on the game.

Diamond Digger (XBLIG): "A Truly Challenging & Entertaining Puzzle Game"

In early 2011 I got the chance to review "The Cannon" by "Elemental Focus (The Developer)". It was a game that used shmup style gameplay in a new, and innovative way. As a reviewer, and gamer I loved their approach to game design. It's always nice to see a game developer who goes out of their way to make something new that gamers like myself haven't seen before. I'm definitely glad to see this developer return once again with a game that's equally as unique as their first. The game I'm speaking of is a puzzle game called "Diamond Digger" that utilizes a greater than, and less than gameplay mechanics. It features a puzzle solving system comparable to "Ro-Sham-Bo", or as you may be more familiar with, "Rock-Paper-Scissors". By basing their game on this basic theme the developer created a game that goes beyond what traditional puzzle based video games such as "Tetris" offer. Their brilliantly designed levels make the player actually think about their objective instead of blindly rushing forward through the game. It's a game that's definitely geared towards the more intellectual gamers out there, but that can be enjoyed by any gamer who wishes to challenge themselves.

Little Racers STREET (XBLIG): "Micro Street Racing At It's Finest!"

There are only a handful of highly recognizable indie game developers on the Xbox LIVE marketplace, and "Milkstone Studios" just happens to be one of those developers. In the past year I've had the privelage of reviewing some of their extremely noteworthy games. They have yet to let me down with any of there releases, and "Little Racers STREET" is no exception to that. This latest top-down racing title has all of the bells, and whistles (features) that you'd expect from an XBLA game, and will possibly have more features added as more purchases of the game are made. I did a thorough playthrough of the game today, and experimented with all of it's features so I could give you (my readers) the lowdown on what the game is all about.

The Fall Of Gods (XBLIG): "Code Giveaway!!!" (CLOSED)

It was recently brought to my attention from Stephane Royer of 'Geex Games' that there were some significant changes to "The Fall Of Gods (XBLIG)" game. The most significant of those changes would likely be the price drop. Originally the game was selling for 240 msp, but that has been lowered to 80 msp! There were also some in-game changes that involved movement speed control, a sneak mode, new spells, new items and new animations. Along with this good news Stephane Royer (Geex Games) has also given me one code for the game to be given away to one of my readers. This of course means a contest!!! Stephane actually set the rules for the contest, and as such I will abide by them. The first rule of the contest is you must have downloaded the trial of "The Fall Of Gods (XBLIG)", and have played it. Secondly you must answer a question about the trial version of the game. The first person to reply to this post with the correct answer wins the code. Please be sure to leave your twitter username, or email in the comment so that I can give you your prize. On that mercenary note, let the games begin!!!