Alien Spidy (XBLA): "An Intergalactic Web Swinger"

Alien Spidy is a simple yet complex arcade platformer. It utilizes simple controls, and challenging gameplay to entertain the player. At the heart of the game is a brief story that is brought to life through a cinematic 3D intro. This visually interesting tale of space exploration, and a lost love ultimately begins with a line of dialogue that all science fiction fans will recognize. This line of course is none other than the one that starts off every "Star Wars" movie (In a galaxy far, far away ...). Within the 3D spectacle that is the intro the gamer will catch a glimpse of the game's protagonist, 'Spidy' as he waves goodbye to his female companion who is headed to planet Earth. After monitoring her progress for a short while (via an intergalactic control panel) he finds that his female friend has crash landed on the intended destination. In a panic Spidy hops aboard a spaceship, and zooms out into space after her. With a quick, and humorous nod towards the camera Spidy shuttles off towards Earth in hopes of rescuing his lost loved one. This my friends is where the story ends, and the game begins.

Investigate This: Scarecrow! (XBLIG): "A Modern-Day Detective Tale With A Twist"

Guy Galer of Twist-Ed Games never ceases to amaze me with his interactive game creations. After seeing the file size (448+ MB) of his latest XBLIG adventure I new he had poured more into this title than he ever has before. Upon loading it up, and getting into the game I discovered just how true this statement really was. He not only updated his usually impressive CG graphics, and cutscenes, but also added interesting dialogue based references as well as some truly eerie tunes. Looking back On my playthrough I can say with certainty that this XBLIG title's graphics, and presentation rivals some of the better XBLA games that have been released in the past. In essence Guy Galer (The developer) makes an affordable yet very noteworthy game that will interest any open-minded gamer. With that in mind let us move into the bulk of this review ...

Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds (XBLA) "A Retro Beat 'em Up With Fighting Game Mechanics"

Around 2010 it was announced that video game publisher 5pb, and game developer 7sixty were going to release a 2D fighting game that included characters from various anime, and manga series. Among the included anime, and manga were the popular titles "Steins;Gate", and "Chaos;Head". This extensive fighter was supposedly going to introduce new fighting game mechanics, and was ultimately slated for a release here in the states. Unfortunately due to some issues the developer, and publisher of the game never released it to the US public. Sadly it ended up being a Japan only release.

After 2011, and 2012 passed rumors emerged through various video game related sites that a "Phantom Breaker" spin-off title was scheduled for release on the Xbox 360. It turns out that these rumors were indeed fact, and that a new "Phantom Breaker" was actually on it's way to the US marketplace. Through some research I found out, as most of you likely did that the new "Phantom Breaker", titled "Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds" wasn't going to be the fighter that many of us had hoped for. Instead the new game was going to be a retro styled beat 'em up with fighting game mechanics. The idea sounded off-the-wall to me, but after getting my hands on a review copy I found out otherwise. The game was solid in every aspect, and offered a truly fun experience, the likes of which I haven't seen in a very long time. The new publisher Mages, and developer Division2 have produced a digital product that was definitely worth having regardless of the fact that it isn't the initially scheduled fighting game release.

H.i.v.e. (XBLIG): "A Visually Pleasing Strategic Board Game"

When I first got the request from Sean Colombo of "BlueLine Game Studios" I was honestly skeptical. I've seen board games come, and go on the XBLIG marketplace. I have even reviewed one or two of them here. For the most part the board game based indies you'll find are neat in their own respect, but these newer generations of gamers love the more ultra-violent, and action packed games offered today. It's a sad truth that becomes more evident with time. As I first got into the game via the solo aspect (2 Player Pass and Play) of "H.i.v.e." I thought, "Dude, what have I gotten myself into!?". Thankfully Sean Colombo (The Developer) was willing to play some online matches with me. After spending a little over 30 minutes playing five matches with him my thoughts turned from dread, to excitement. The game was both fun, and engaging. It's not often that you'll find an indie board game this fun. Hopefully through my following review I will be able to properly relay what this game is all about.

Pinball FX2 (XBLA): "Star Wars Pinball"

In 1977 George Lucas brought to light one of the most highly, and significantly influential sci-fi film sagas ever to grace the entertainment industry. Through this cinematic creation George Lucas set the standard for how a sci-fi film should be created. Many new Star Wars related story archs spawned from this award winning film franchise following the success of the original trilogy's theatrical release, and are still being introduced to this day. Star Wars related merchandise, clothing, novels, and even video game spin-offs have come, and gone over the years. To say Star Wars was popular would be an obvious understatement. Even too this day Star Wars has one of the largest cult followings of any sci-fi related fiction. You likely won't find many people who havn't heard of the many characters that make up the Star Wars universe. Often times you'll even find tons of new internet, and store content relating to the original trilogy, and it's many successors. Recently news about a new Star Wars movie was also leaked.

It's no surprise that a pinball giant such as Zen Studios would pay homage to the greatness that is Star Wars as well. In fact that's the reason why I'm here typing up this review for you today. In an unexpected, and most Awesome turn of events Zen Studios partnered up with Lucas Films in order to bring to us faithful 'Pinball FX2' players an official set of Star Wars movie tribute tables. Through inside information I have found out that there will be a total of 10 Star Wars themed tables released over time. The first set will be a mixture of the old, and new Star Wars film related features. In the following paragraphs I will give you a brief history on each of the table's themes. I'll also do a descriptive breakdown on all the features that each table has to offer. Without further adieu, sit back, relax and prepare yourself for one hell of an interesting read!

Persona 4 - The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena / Persona 4 Arena (PSN/PS3)

First thing's first. I would like to thank the two people who made this review possible. The first person, Isako Tsuburai of Arc System Works has been more helpful to me than any other PR I've ever worked with. This Japanese PR has gone out of their way numerous times to help me with my inquiries pertaining to various Arc System Works releases. Without their help I would have gotten nowhere fast. Thank you Isako! You have been a godsend. Secondly I'd like to thank Alex Armour of Atlus for providing the code for review purposes. Without Alex following through with the code this review, once again would have not been a possibility. Both representatives are definitely awesome in my book, and I hope to continue working with them in the future. It's not often that you'll find such high ranked gaming PRs who are willing to work with smaller journalistic outlets such as the one I provide. I definitely find myself very fortunate in those respects.

Without further delay though I am here to get a job done, and that's what I intend on doing. I hope that you enjoy reading the following review of "Persona 4 Arena", and that it's an informative experience that will help you in your decision on whether, or not the game is worth the asking price.