Xbox One Smaller Games - Voodoo Vince: Remastered out 18th April (p11)

[HSH28]

Don't really know how it qualifies as a 'smaller game'.

[Monkey Man]

Review Embargo lifts Monday at 2pm for LocoCycle, Crimson Dragon, Powerstar Golf, Zoo Tycoon.

[Glowy69]

Seriously considering zoo tycoon

[HSH28]

Any idea on the price? If its not ridiculous I might download it.

[Moggy]

Any idea on the price? If its not ridiculous I might download it.

It's £49.99 on Amazon.

[Ginga]

Zoo Tycoon might not be the most obvious choice of game to pick up on day one for your new console, but it's an unlikely treat - and it's one that could convince you better than anything else out there that you've done the right thing in investing in the next-generation.

[Dblock]

[Monkey Man]

Zoo Tycoon

Polygon 8

Zoo Tycoon is repetitive and a little glitchy; it's simple and sometimes irritating. It's also a smartly designed simulator, accessible for all. It's charming and sweet, to the point that I never wanted to stop playing — even when my colleagues demanded we use the console for one of the bigger launch titles.

Forget them, I just want to see my next task. What can I do to make this zoo better, the visitors happier and the animals healthier? For a game with tycoon in the title, it's got a good heart.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/18/51130 ... oon-review

Videogamer 5/10

Maybe I’m not the target market for this and maybe I’m reading too much into the word 'Tycoon', but even looking past that I didn’t have a whole lot of fun. The Kinect interaction, while cute, is less so after repeated animations, and I’m not sure that Zoo Tycoon really knows what it wants to be.

In the end it felt a lot like playing Kinectimals, and that was almost three years ago.

http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/zoo_t ... eview.html

Shacknews 7

However, the rest of us have some globe-trotting to do. These zoos aren't going to fix themselves, are they? Zoo Tycoon may have taken a best-of-both-worlds approach, but to my surprise and delight, ends up being more successful as a "game" than a mere family-friendly "experience."

http://www.shacknews.com/article/82069/ ... um=twitter

Eurogamer Italy 8/10 - http://www.eurogamer.it/articles/2013-1 ... recensione

Everyeye 7/10 - http://www.everyeye.it/xboxone/articoli ... ione_21089

OXM UK 7/10

For all its shallowness, I couldn't help but fall for Zoo Tycoon. While its charms may indeed be too quickly exhausted, they're potent while they last, and there's an overpowering wholesomeness that's difficult to resist. There are a lot of great ideas, wonderful moments and potential memories to be made here that make it more than worth a look, but much like my experiences with real-life animal parks, Zoo Tycoon becomes less likely to delight upon each subsequent visit.

http://www.oxm.co.uk/66399/reviews/zoo- ... ew/?page=1

Game Reactor 8/10

Zoo Tycoon is very enjoyable. As a family game it excels thanks to gorgeous visuals, user-friendly interfaces, an abundance of interactive features and informative content. It's not a game for everyone, there are plenty of features but it's rarely a hefty challenge. It's a game to be enjoyed at a relaxed pace, an experience to celebrate and share because it's so refreshingly pleasant.

http://www.gamereactor.eu/reviews/99614 ... on/?rs=rss

Metacritic - http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/zoo-tycoon

[Monkey Man]

Lococycle

Eurogamer 4

Ultimately, the whole thing is depressing more often than it's annoying. Twisted Pixel's lineage suggests that LocoCycle is made by talented and creative designers who had a handful of potentially entertaining ideas to play with. The implementation is rushed and slipshod, however, ignoring fundamental problems and expending limited energy on the wrong things. What you're getting for your money feels a little like somebody else's office in-joke: you can sense the well-intentioned laughter, but you can't really join in.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013- ... cle-review

Gameinformer 7

Lococycle isn’t complex, but I was easily sucked into its silliness. I wanted to see where this intentionally stupid story was headed, and it was worth the trip – even if the game itself isn't very deep.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/lococ ... ormer.aspx

Gamespot 6

I loved seeing LocoCycle through to its zany finale, because I enjoyed the jokes and Iris' robotic line delivery, and because I loved seeing the characters get themselves into silly situations. This would have been a great short comic film. But LocoCycle is a game, and in an unexpected twist of fate, it makes the act of catching rockets, fighting soaring robots, and rushing through the rural fields outside of Scottsburg, Indiana, blander than they deserve to be.

http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/lococyc ... 0-6415557/

Destructoid 7

Good: A solid game that definitely has an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

http://www.destructoid.com/review-lococ ... 5718.phtml

Metacritic - http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/lococycle

[Skippy]

Edge - 2

Lococycle is a baffling litany of decisions that misfire. The bike’s handling is horrible, the art style is primitive, and the inclusion of looping FMV backgrounds is an unfunny throwback to the days when developers threw anything at CD-ROMs in a bid to simply fill them up. The abysmally scripted cutscenes perhaps best sum up Lococycle’s wrongheadedness, showcasing the bum notes of its off-colour humour at excruciating length.

http://www.edge-online.com/review/lococycle-review/

[Monkey Man]

Powerstar Golf

GameInformer 8

Powerstar Golf plays a like a seasoned pro, nailing most of the fundamentals of the sport, and establishing its own identity by applying little magic to a gameplay formula we know well.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/power ... ormer.aspx

IGN 7

Powerstar Golf manages to successfully marry an old-school arcade golf experience with some decidedly new-school ideas. The lack of proper online multiplayer is a bit of a blow, but the Rivals mode has the potential to provide an ongoing challenge after you’ve scooped up all of the career medals. It’s not a complete hole in (Xbox) One for golf fans, but it’s a good deal of fun if you desperately want to hit the links on your new machine.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/11/18/p ... olf-review

OXM 7

With a little bit more attention paid to the power gauge, this could have been an instant family classic. As it stands, it's still an enjoyable party game that makes good use of online.

http://www.oxm.co.uk/66420/reviews/powe ... ne-review/


Metacritic - http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/powerstar-golf

[Dblock]

Videogamer 5/10


Quote:

Maybe I’m not the target market for this and maybe I’m reading too much into the word 'Tycoon


That reviewer is an absolute idiot.

[Glowy69]

And zoo tycoon is £50?

it's that or ryse I think. It does sound brilliant fun

[Ginga]

I wish I could say I didn't expect any of that. I'd be a dirty liar, though. The Next Gen is here...and it's...well, it's shite (for a while, it'll get better next year, probably, we hope).

[Dblock]

I wish I could say I didn't expect any of that. I'd be a dirty liar, though. The Next Gen is here...and it's...well, it's shite (for a while, it'll get better next year, probably, we hope).

You're not ''jumping ahead'' ?

[Ginga]

I'm not doing much jumping, to be fair. Can't in these shoes. Should see the state of me, I'm in a State of Decay - which is actually better than all of the schmall schtuff heading to One (regardless of what that evil moderating bastard Buff says).

I'd advise everyone to buy Marvel Lego on One, same happy fun times you're expecting from this lot but it delivers charm in spades.

[Dblock]

I'm not doing much jumping, to be fair. Can't in these shoes. Should see the state of me, I'm in a State of Decay - which is actually better than all of the schmall schtuff heading to One (regardless of what that evil moderating bastard Buff says).

I'd advise everyone to buy Marvel Lego on One, same happy fun times you're expecting from this lot but it delivers charm in spades.

Simply amazing.

[Monkey Man]

Powerstar Golf Gamespot demo:-



Zoo Tycoon Gamespot demo:-



LocoCycle Gamespot demo:-

[Monkey Man]

Press Play, the Danish studio behind Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, has announced its new game: Xbox 360 and Xbox One platformer Project Totem.

Project Totem, due out this autumn, is described as a "precise platforming game". In it, players control two totem pole pieces with one controller. Expect 60fps 1080p visuals with controls that are "tighter than tight". Like fellow Xbox One and Xbox 360 platformer, Project Totem was built using the Unity game engine.

The game began life as a side project by brothers Asger Strandby and Bo Strandby. It features a single-player campaign as well as local couch co-op inspired by the brothers' childhood spent playing games.

Press Play studio director Rune Dittmer said: "It is one of those games where the basic premise is hard to describe, but once you have the controller in your hand, it is so obviously fun that you immediately get it.

"So when Asger and Bo showed us the prototype at a party, it was a no-brainer to give them some time to elaborate on the core concept. And now a year later we are proud to announce Press Play's second game for Xbox One."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... ject-totem

"Brotherly love abounds in Press Play's puzzle-platformer"

•Two playable protagonists
•Toyed with the idea when putting finishing touches to Max: TCOB
•Prototyped by two brothers and worked its way to the directors of the studio who liked it
•Side scrolling colourful single player or co-op game - I like the art style
"Set on a Tropical island your goal is to cover pieces of a Totem pole that one stood in your village, shattered by a Dark Shaman who killed the monument's White Shaman guardian in the process, the pieces are now shattered"
•Retrieve the pieces by negotiating obstacle courses that make up the levels ensuring you both survive
•Two paths - one for each character, early on its a split (one at the top one at the bottom) but they mix that up later in the game
•Make use of the environment to work your way through puzzles that can affect the player on the other screen (e.g. blocking ones path so the other can get past)
•When on the same plane you can stand on each others shoulders allowing you to double jump etc
•The colour of the zones form the backdrop to the puzzle (purple and green single player or red and blue in co-op) and only the character matching the colour of the backdrop can pass through them
•Swap the characters position with a button press

"The game delights in setting up patterns and then second-guessing your instinct, resulting in a death that will initially have you casting for someone to blame before concluding that its your fault - think of Limbo pressure plate operated crushers"

•A couple of falling sequences require extremely quick thinking as we plummet through alternating patterns
•Tests your reactions
•Achieves a pleasing balance between puzzle solving and switch platforming
•Campaign split into three worlds each with its own special power
•Only one revealed: Gravity - combines the basic swapping mechanic with inverted forces of attraction. Use to switch surfaces and it gets more difficult as time goes on requiring more precise button presses to to stay in the air and float through sections safely
•Pickups help decide your final score and how many you collect will help decide what Totem piece you get (e.g. uninspiring piece of wood or colourful face sporting accoutrements such as sunglasses or a pipe)

"Still in the early stages but the well weighted platforming feels satisfying and substantial"

Co-op details "Twotem" (says local co-op no mention of online specifically)

•Provides two characters for each player
•One has two blue villagers the other two red
•Can be stacked in any order
•Single player combined quadruple jump becomes an octuple manoeuvre
•Requires communication and each hurdle feels like a massive achievement but things can quickly disintegrate into disarray

[Monkey Man]

You'll see a glimpse of the cut scene animation (which uses in game art only), the storyline and most importantly, the gameplay here too!

Everything has been illustrated, animated and built in rich 1080p.

Wulverblade is coming to XBOX One this winter, so expect to see more of the art, animation and gameplay as the months draw on.

Make sure you watch it right to the end too...there's something special at the end!

I've sunk every last drop of my soul into Wulverblade and its shaping up to be everything I'd ever dreamt and more!

Follow the project updates here: wulverblade.com

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Magic 2015 - Duels of the Planeswalkers will be out this summer on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, iPad, Android, and Kindle - http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/04/10/m ... 2c6f000017

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There Came an Echo Trailer for Xbox One (& PC/PS4):-



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Powerstar Golf at PAX East Unveiling a New Course!

We’ll keep this quick, we promise. We’re unveiling a brand new course for Powerstar Golf at PAX East, Coyote Canyon, and showing off a few of its holes with The Next Level starting tomorrow.

Attending PAX? Swing by The Next Level booth and catch us while we’re streaming gameplay from the new course.

http://playxbla.com/powerstar-golf-at-p ... ew-course/

The course will be free.
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Shining Empire began as the spiritual successor to the Shining Force series (after Sega gave the axe to Shining Force Online last December 24th), but now it's turned into a massive 1,000 hour plus RPG which steps way beyond the boundaries that Shining Force set. Now, Arcade County is ready to announce Xbox versions (360 and one) to accompany the original PC/Mac title.

http://worthplaying.com/article/2014/4/ ... um=twitter

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Old news from last month but the 25 games from the first step of the ID@Xbox self-publishing program:-

◾1001 Spikes by Nicalis
◾Calibre 10 Racing Series by Bongfish GmbH
◾CastleStorm by Zen Studios
◾Chariot by Frima
◾Chuck's Challenge 3D by Niffler
◾Contrast by Compulsion Games
◾Divekick Addition Edition + by Iron Galaxy Studios
◾Forced by BetaDwarf ApS
◾FRU by Through Games
◾Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition by DrinkBox Studios
◾Gunscape by Blowfish Studios
◾Habitat by 4gency
◾Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine
◾It Draws a Red Box by Other Ocean
◾Nutjitsu by NinjaBee
◾Pinball Arcade by FarSight Studios
◾Q.U.B.E. Director's Cut by Toxic Games
◾Riptide GP2 by Vector Unit
◾Roundabout by No Goblin
◾Sixty Second Shooter Prime by Happion Laboratories
◾Spectra: 8bit Racing by Gateway Interactive
◾Strike Suit Zero by Born Ready Games
◾Super Time Force by Capybara
◾The Last Tinker by Mimimi Productions
◾Wulverblade by Darkwind Media

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... o-xbox-one