Review of Stick 'Em Up 2

Thepwnboss and I decided to team up in our epic play through of Stick 'Em Up 2: Paper Adventures. Along the way we encountered terrorists, pirates, ninjas, and a whole shower of falling stars. With our various weapons and vehicles we conquered everything that opposed us.

So what is Stick 'Em Up you may ask? Stick 'Em Up is a platform shooter where you play as stick figures. Now I have only played the trial of the first one so I don't have a full experience of the entire series. The second improves greatly from the graphics of the first (which really was just stick figures) and turns everything into a paper form. The game now looks beautiful. With multiple landscapes to fight through Stick 'Em Up stays fresh till the end. The game can be played through with up to four players locally (though it was just thepwnboss and me this time). It also features some sort of deathmatch mode for up to four players as well.

Again I will say Stick 'Em Up 2 looks amazing. It's a beautifully crafted world and a joy to play through. The soundtrack is well done and goes along with the atmosphere. The gameplay itself is solid and the controls work fine. Right trigger to shoot and left trigger to jump leaves you able to aim nice and efficiently. There is a nice diversity as well with all the areas and the unique weapons that are issued to you each level. Racing across the moon is something you don't do everyday, neither is battling pirates or throwing shurikens in feudal Japan. Not to mention you can do all this with three other people.

Unfortunately the game is short, very short. The game features six levels, all of which can be completed in about three minutes or less. In those six levels there is almost too much variety. The first level which is also the tutorial and trial level feature an assault rifle and rocket launcher. This is the only modern level in the game, afterwords you will never see your rifle again and the only time you will get another rocket launcher is to fire at  falling stars. Sure deflecting bullets with your sword is fun, but it's also fun to charge in with guns blazing. There are challenges to complete which may give a little more replay value along with a few difficulty modes. From my play through of the trial of the first game I saw there were bonus effects you could turn on after finding secrets. I have not found anything like that in the second one. The one vs one I had with thepwnboss wasn't anything special either, but it is there if your interested.

This game has just about enough quality and polish to be an Xbox Live arcade title. I just believe it is too short. The game sales for 240 microsoft points ($3). I think I did see something in the game that said they were going to add more content later this summer. It also said that the game may raise in price after. If I see this content update I may edit this review to give more information on the game.

Until then, Stick 'Em Up 2 gets a 3/4.

Review of Nuclear Wasteland 2030

Zombies and survival defense go hand and hand together. I mean, when there is a zombie apocalypse what else is there to do than run and hide? Well one brave man named Joseph Kelly decides enough is enough and goes straight into the heart of the problem. Armed with whatever gun he can get a hold of, Joseph goes out into the wasteland to clean up the mess of mutants that roam the countryside. But is one brave man enough to win the fight against the mutants?

Nuclear Wasteland is a wave-based survival first person shooter in which you continuously fight mutants. As far as I know there is no way to win; the goal is to try to last as long as possible. You start with a pistol with an unlimited amount of ammo. After you pass a few rounds different towers and bunkers will start opening. Inside these buildings are health, ammo, and extra weapons. Once you unlock more weapons, you are allowed to carry one main weapon and your original pistol. When the round is over all the bonuses reset giving you a chance to rearm with more ammo and health. As time goes on more and more mutants come out to stop the one man army.

I was impressed by how good this game looks for an XBLIG. Of course there is only one map and one enemy type, but even with a few stiff animations the game still looks good. The actual gameplay isn't bad either. If you enjoy Nazi Zombies or Killing Floor this may be a good choice. The aiming can be a little hard especially with the pistol since it's a semi-auto gun. Besides the actual aiming the gunplay feels good. Each new weapon feels stronger than the last.

The biggest problem of the game that I see is how easy it is. Once you learn how to kite all the zombies and to quickly move around the map the game becomes way too simple. A minimap helps you see exactly where all the zombies are in the surrounding area. You get a load of health to keep you alive, and if that wasn't enough you have three lives that will restart the wave in case the mutants do manage to take you out. After all the weapons get unlocked there really isn't much to do besides fight wave after wave of mutants. I let myself die around round 25 after playing for almost an hour. Another strange thing about the game is the enemy spawns. After a while there will be more zombies in a round than can be in the level at once. After you kill off those zombies, the new zombies will instantly spawn at the same location all together, usually right behind you. Though this does make the game slightly tougher it just feels odd and I think it would be better if the zombies spawned randomly after death. Not necessarily a negative but I was also able to accidentally break out of the map. There's some room to explore, and it didn't really break the game like I thought it might.

Despite not being too difficult Nuclear Wasteland is still a fun experience. There is no co-op or online play which could have been a welcome feature. But a decent FPS game for 80 microsoft points is not a bad deal at all.

I give Nuclear Wasteland 2030 a 3/4.

Review of Minions!

Being on the battlefield can be hard work. With bullets flying everywhere, tanks demolishing the area, and crazy people with swords charging into the heat of the frontlines, it can be one hectic place to be. Luckily you're not alone. You have a whole army of minions right beside you. Though they may not be the smartest allies you've ever seen in battle, they are some of the most loyal.

Minions! puts you in the boots of a hero. Your job is to defeat the enemy. To assist you are minions who wield a variety of weapons to push the frontlines forward. There are two main types of minions, the first which consistently spawn from your base and continue to push the enemy back to their base. Though they are free they are relatively weak and can't do much without any help. The second type of minion you can hire are special minions. These you can customize their appearance and weapon selection. They can either be told to help the other minions advance the line or told to follow you around the battlefield. While your minions are fighting you are trying to find weapons and reinforcements to aid you in completing the mission. The missions vary from tug of war style scenarios to stopping tanks from reaching your base. The game can be played as a twin-stick shooter from a top-down perspective or as a third person shooter.

Minions! has a great retro feel to it. The game reminds me of Army Men: Sarge's Heroes for the N64. The graphics may look rather simple, but I think they go well with the style of the game. The soundtrack also adds to the game, and I was actually quite impressed. The game features six levels. Although that may not seem like very many levels they are varied and long enough to not be an issue. Along the way you will also level up enabling you to upgrade basic attributes like health, speed, and damage. The actual gameplay works well too. I found it easier to be in third-person mode rather than top-down because of the more accurate aiming. Even with all the action going on around you I found the game to continue running smooth.

There are a few issues with the game though. A few of the menu/create options seem clumsy at times. For example, to change any of your previous minions weapons you must recreate all the minions. There was also a weird difficulty curve. The first three levels aren't much of a problem at all; the next three, however, are much more challenging. Each one takes longer than the previous one and if you fail you have to start the whole level again. This can be annoying when you are only a couple of seconds away from winning and then all of a sudden a tank gets past or the last small group of enemy minions manages to penetrate your base only for you having to do it all again for another five to ten minutes. Finally, when I was at the very end of the game I was just about finished with the level when all of a sudden the game crashed. I don't know if that was just a rare mishap, but it was enough to make me want to stop playing.

Minions! was a rather enjoyable game. It took me about an hour and a half to make it to the end (right before it crashed.) If you are looking for some sort of shooter this could be a good choice. It only cost 80 microsoft points. I would recommend trying the trial to see if you would like it.

I give Minions! a 3/4.

Review of Bird Assassin

Ever wanted to assassinate birds? Well here's your chance. Bird Assassin give you the chance to slaughter thousands of birds on your quest to avenge your father. However, you won't be going at it all stealth like as Ezio would. Instead you will be like a redneck Mario blasting away birds with your rifle or shotgun. Either way many birds are going to be dead by the end of the game.

The story goes something like this. Birds kill your dad. He then comes back as a ghost and tells you to avenge his death by going after the birds. You take your dad's trusty rifle and get to work. That's pretty much it as far as story goes but at least it gives you a decent reason to go and destroy every fowl that comes across your path. The game plays as a platform shooter. You start on the left side and then shoot your way back to your truck. Along the way these very angry birds try to stop you by whatever means possible, whether that means dropping bombs on your head or trying to run over you in your own truck. A single bird on its own isn't much of a challenge, but these birds usually travel in flocks. Luckily for every bird killed some money is given to you for the shop. The shop contains more guns and upgrades to help you along the way.

The game is fun and simple. It won't require much thought as you mindlessly mow down birds with every weapon you have. It's actually quite amusing to see hundreds of birds falling to the ground in a bloody massacre. Graphics in this game are nice and crisp and go well with the theme of the game. The game is also a good length with my second play through being about 50 minutes.

Bird Assassin does have a few problems though. The first and probably my biggest complaint is that the game starts to get repetitive. After slaying a few thousand birds it begins to feel the same. There are a few bonus mini-game type things you will find through out the game like shooting all the cans off a tree and collect as many coins as you can in a certain amount of time. But the repetitive feeling doesn't go away when you see that all three bosses are the exact same in every way. Although the shop is nice all the weapons you buy are either a faster shooting rifle or a shotgun with a larger spread which dents much of the weapon diversity. The graphics are good but some of the animation could use a little more work. Also the Map Select screen can be hard to move around.

Overall Bird Assassin is a game worth checking out. It's perfect when you just want some mindless fun. I'd recommend trying the trial if it sounds interesting to you. The game is available for 80 microsoft points and should provide enough entertainment for an hour or so.

I give Bird Assassin a 3/4.

Review of I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1

This game has a special place in my heart. It was the first game I ever played and bought as an Xbox Live Indie Game. In fact, I don't think I had even heard of Xbox Live Indie Games before this came out. So I thought I might as well do the first review on the first game I played.

Now don't worry, I didn't spell the name wrong. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 (or we could just call it Zombie for short) is a dual stick shooter meaning that with one stick you control the movement and with the other one you control the shooting. Other twin stick shooters include Geometry Wars and the Dead Ops Arcade in Black Ops. The game revolves around you running around the area trying your best to survive against thousands of zombies. Zombies aren't the only things after you though. You also have to deal with green slimes, fat zombies, space amoebas, centipede like creatures, geometric shapes, exploding zombies, and very angry demon boxes. Luckily you get a variety of weapons to fight the zombies like shotguns, machine guns, flamethrowers, lasers, and some sort of green shuriken thing along with some power-ups. The point of the game is to survive until the end of the game (or just to survive as long as possible!) It also includes local co-op for up to four players.

This game is amazing. At first you might suspect the game may not be what you are expecting. The menu is plain with no sound or music, and you still see the same "spelling errors" that plagued the title of the game. However, once you start Zombie up you will see how great the game is. The graphics are very well done and seem good enough to be put up on an XBLA title. They range from well drawn zombies to retro looking boxes. The background also changes as the game goes on giving a different feel of scenery. (One warning though: if you suffer from seizures you may want to stay away from the game, at several points the backgrounds and enemies all flash in different bright colors which may not be very good for you!) One of the best parts of Zombie though are the songs. Throughout the game you can hear the developer singing about fighting zombies and buying the game. I think the music is good enough to buy the game just for that. If you survive the whole thing it will take about 12 minutes from start to finish. Not the longest game ever but you most likely won't make it through your first few times. Also it's fun enough that you'll come back to play it again. It has local high-scoring as well if you are into that. Zombie is so great the only minor complaint I have is that I can't tell how many lives I have because my gamertag is too large. Everything else I think is just right for the game.

Zombie sells for the very large amount of 80 microsoft points ($1). There is really nothing bad I can say about this game. Everything works well and runs smoothly. Honestly I don't see a reason why someone wouldn't buy it. I highly recommend I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 to everyone!

I give it a 4/4!