There’s a bonus Xbox 360 game this month to help gamers get into the holiday spirit. Unfortunately Microsoft look to have taken the holiday already as the lineup is a bit poor but Sony are nailing it. Let’s break it down:
Xbox One
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (Dec 1st – 31st) – a Diablo-esque story about the legendary hunter. Actually, this doesn’t look too terrible and seems to be in receipt of middling to favourable reviews.
Thief (Dec 16th – Jan 15th) – almost universally panned, the sequel to classic stealth franchise. Poor map design and story seem to be the chief complaints on this return of Thief.
Xbox 360
Castlestorm (Dec 1st – Dec 15th) – again… I think it’s been free on every franchise now so you will likely already have it. It’s 2D tower defence, it’s not bad either.
Sacred 3 (Dec 16th – Dec 31st) – similar to Gauntlet and Van Helsing it’s another game of similar ilk, but with frantic button mashing at the heart of it.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Dec 16th – Dec 31st) – long a staple of ultra realistic military FPS action, Dragon Rising features the USA battling China over the ownership of Kiska.
PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – how do I even describe this? Take Far Cry 3 (which was great). Dip it in neon, 80s VHS style visions of 2007, add lasers, cyber dragons, arm mounted guns and lots and lots of explosives, and 80s style one-liners. That’s Blood Dragon, and we have a review here. It’s great.
SSX – the reboot of classic snowboarding franchise SSX was good, although missed a few of the best parts which helped define the series as it evolved. The Deadly Descent aspect of this title has players racing avalanches, low oxygen, freezing areas and darkness which add a nice and tense twist. I’m quite looking forward to playing this again – head to our review for more.
PS Vita
Freedom Wars – a Japanese third person battle action game, with lots of role playing elements and significant depth. Have nearly bought this a few times so I’m glad it’s now available to all. Expect a very large game here.
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken – a weirdly titled cinematic adventure game. It looks a bit like Shank in terms of gameplay and style, only the characters are badass chickens – it also has one of the best soundtracks in modern gaming. Our full review is here.
PS4
Gauntlet: Slayer Edition – well it’s Gauntlet. Everyone’s heard of Gauntlet, it’s the classic progressive multiplayer hack and slasher. In case you haven’t heard of it, we reviewed it for you a while back.
King’s Quest — Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember – I reviewed this fairly recently and found it a good, fun adventure puzzle game. I also found it particularly funny, a lot of my friends hadn’t heard of it so I’m glad that folks can try this out for free now and experience the young King’s quest to become a Knight.
Leave a Reply