Neocore Games - The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (Screenshots)

I learned about Neocore Game's upcoming RPG title "The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing" a few months ago. The game definitely caught my attention with it's unique art style. I'm a fan of RPGs, and anything to do with vampires/monsters. After contacting the developer about doing a review they gladly accepted my request, and added me on their mailing list for info on the upcoming XBLA title. I'm here today to share with you some of the first screenshots that were made available to the media/press. I hope you enjoy the look at this truly amazing game that is set to grace the XBLA library later this year!

Silver Dollar Games - "One Finger Death Punch (Work In Progress)"

Silver Dollar Games is one of my all time favorite XBLIG developers. While some reviewers heckle them over meaningless stuff I find some very intelligent game design in what they produce. I have enjoyed playing many hours on such games as "The Jump Hero", and "Ranger". Their one of a kind shmup called "sins of the Flesh" even held my undivided attention. Not many game developers would continue on after getting bad feedback such as 'Silver Dollar Games' has. I tip my hat off to Jon, and David for their persistence in the face of adversity. I hope they continue to produce many more games in the months to come!

If you have been keeping a watch on Jon, and David Flook's work then you'll likely know of their upcoming game "One Finger Death Punch". I actually featured an article about the game here on my blog some months ago. I am totally psyched about this game! The devs have really outdone themselves this time around, and by the looks of things the game is going to contain their signature simple control layout, and scored based gameplay. I'm absolutely thrilled just thinking about it. My point for bringing up all of this though is that I received an email giving specific details on what's going to be included with the game. I would like to take the time to share the email with you so that 'Silver Dollar Games' hard efforts will not be in vain.

Bang Bang Racing (XBLA): "A Flashy Arcade Racing Game"

There are only a handful of XBLA game developers out there that really grab, and hold my attention with what they release. Digital Reality just so happens to be one of those said developers. While I've actually only played, and reviewed two of there titles (Skydrift & Sine Mora) those two games were so impressive that I ended up recommending them to my readers. When I caught word of "Bang Bang Racing", their latest XBLA title I hoped that the trend of excellence would continue. What I ended up finding was a flashy arcade racer that didn't play as well as I'd hoped. There were some elements that just didn't seem to work in the game's favor, and as a result kept me from enjoying the game to it's fullest. As I give the details of the game in my review I will try my best to explain what I mean, so sit back, relax, and prepare for the truth as told by yours truly ...

Blog Update June 8, 2012

I know you guys, and gals are probably wondering why my production of reviews has slowed down to a crawl. The easiest way to put it is that I'm currently caught up in reviewers limbo. I'm not only juggling two blogs now, but I'm also "patiently" awaiting a review code, and retail game. Some of you have probably seen me tweet about reviewing the new XBLA game "Bang Bang Racing". The delay behind that is due to Digital Reality's, and the PR's involvement in the E3 event. Hopefully I'll receive my copy soon though. In a slightly more depressing turn of events 7Sixty, the developers behind the upcoming "Phantom Breaker" fighting game have pushed back the release date yet again. Last time I checked Gamestop had the release date set as 8/1/2012. I'm not sure what's up with the game, but obviously something significant is going on to keep causing delays. I know from previous chats with the PR that they were making sure all of the bugs were fixed before the release. I honestly don't think there could be that many more bugs to fix, and that the developer/publisher is likely waiting for more pre-orders of the game. That of course is my opinion though. That's my update for now. I will strive to bring you more coverage of all things related to Xbox in the days, weeks, and months to come. Until next time feel free to browse my blog for any reviews that peak your interest!

- Brad (OtakuDante) -