Chompy Chomp Chomp (XBLIG): "Like Pac-Man Only With Little Devils"

I'm going to be straightforward with you guys & gals. Lately the XBLIG marketplace has been plagued by games that don't really deserve a mention, or review. Some of them are clones, and some of them look so visually uninteresting that they scare away any potential buyers. These are part of the reasons I haven't done any XBLIG reviews lately. Instead of Indie developers who actually strive to make a good product there are a lot that just seem to want to cash in on the opportunity. It's sad. Sometimes I wonder "Where has all the innovation, and creativity gone!?". Well, I'm glad to say that "Utopian House of Sandwiches", the developer behind "Chompy Chomp Chomp" has renewed my faith in the indie game genre. This game is top notch in design, and gameplay. Everything about it is absolutely beautiful, and fun. I don't want to get too far into my opinion though. Let's get into the meat of the game ...

JAM Live Music Arcade (XBLA): "A Deeply Involved DJ Arcade Game"

When it comes down to the various forms of entertainment that the world has to offer I find that music ranks as my most favorite. If you ever follow me on Twitter you've likely seen me tweet links to many different music videos, and music tracks. The fact of the matter is I'm a guy who enjoys nearly all kinds of music. Whether it is classic music like Beethoven, or more hardcore music like Rammstein I find myself constantly immersed in the many different genres that make up the music industry. With that being said I never really got into video games that were based on music. It's just not something that I could see myself getting into. Regardless of that fact I recently got myself involved in the unique genre of games for review purposes. I ended up getting a request from my PR (Reverb Labs/Publishing) earlier this month to do a review on "505 Games" music based game which is appropriately titled "Jam Live Music Arcade". At first I was a little hesitant, because I know most music games tend to require the use of music based controllers. Unfortunately I do not have such a controller. When the PR told me ' Jam Live Music Arcade' was playable with a standard controller I thought maybe this game would be something I could actually do, and enjoy. I took the PR up on his offer, and set out to review a game genre I have never taken on here at "OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno".

Interview With Matt Cannon (Zivix): "JAM Live Music Arcade"

Some of you may know that I recently decided on doing a review of the upcoming XBLA title "JAM Live Music Arcade". The game is scheduled for release this week. If you've ever played those DJ style games with instrument controllers, and liked them then this game will be something you'll want to look into. Since I have no instrument controllers of any kind I'll be playing the game with a standard controller. That is another story for another time though. Below you will find the interview between me, and Zivix producer Matt Cannon. I hope the Q & A session gives you some insight on what the game is about. I definitely tried to come up with some significant questions for the interview.

Growing Pains (XBLIG): "A Groovy Platforming Challenge"

I absolutely believe in trying different things. It's a philosophy that I not only apply to gaming, but to life as well. Limiting one's self to particular things in life only keeps one from experiencing everything else that is available. If you don't try other things you could miss out on something great. With that being said I often times try things/games out that I'm not particularly fond of. It doesn't mean that the said things are bad, but simply that they're not to my liking. In the case of 'Growing Pains' I found myself rather frustrated by the difficulty that the game presented. It's what I like to call an "Impossible Game". If you don't know what I mean let me explain. There are is a sub-genre of platformers in the XBLIG library that exceed in the hardcore difficulty category. These games feature frustrating puzzles/requirements that will have you repeating levels/stages over, and over again. Most gamers end up ragequitting on such games, and in turn never finish them. I have been guilty of this in the past, and once again I find myself repeating that reaction. I will be able to give you the usual game description, and details, so you don't have to worry about that.

Blog Update May 14, 2012

Hi Guys & Girls! I know you're probably wondering if I'm going to post some more reviews. The answer to that is "Definitely". I'm just on a little break/vacation between reviews. I'm currently waiting on my 'JAM Live Music Arcade' review code as well as my review copy of 'Akai Katana'. I have been searching for new games to review in the meantime, but haven't found anything I'm really interested in. When it comes to reviewing I like to cover the games that have substance to them, not clones or games that have been reviewed several times over. You likely noticed that I removed 'Fez' from my "Future Reviews" section. I've decided I won't be reviewing it simply because there are already a lot of reviews, and playthroughs of the game out there already. I don't think it's necessary for me to tell you what you've already heard about the game. With that being said 'Fez' is definitely worth buying. As far as the glitches that were found in the game go I have no clue if they have been patched yet or not. If the glitches are still present that could make the game a little less worth buying, but hopefully the developer has sorted things out by now.

Well, that is my update for now. Hopefully I'll be able to acquire a lot more game titles for review this month, and possibly pick up some worthy indie titles in the process as well. I still support XBLIG titles, but lately there has been a lot of similar, and not-so-impressive games released in that marketplace. I seriously hope things pick up soon. I have great respect for indie game developers who bring something that's new, exciting, fun,  and innovative to the table.

- Brad (OtakuDante) -

Awesomenauts (XBLA): "Like The Saturday Morning Cartoons Of Old"

In the video game marketplace of today there are clones of games, sequels, prequels, and blatant knock offs. Finding something as original as 'Awesomenauts' is gradually becoming a rare occurrence. It's a truly sad situation to say the least, and one that needs to be remedied if the video game marketplace is to survive the long haul. The good news though is that there are still developers out there like 'Ronimo Games (Awesomenauts)' who strive to bring something new to the table. It's definitely a good thing ...

By now most of you have either watched the trailer of 'Awesomenauts', or purchased the game. I was a little late getting in on the action, and getting my review posted though. I have to say that my first impressions of 'Awesomenauts' were a little mixed. I didn't want to dive head first into a game that I knew little about, but the game had a fun look to it that I couldn't shake off. When I had first watched the 'Awesomenauts' trailer I was like "WOW!". It reminded me of the Saturday morning cartoons I used to watch back in the 90's. The cartoonish style, and the catchy theme song really caught, and held my attention. To be honest though I did not know what to expect from the game. After viewing the trailer It looked like some sort of adventure platformer with co-op features. When I finally got around to doing my playthrough I found out otherwise. As you will find out with my following review this is definitely not a bad thing.