Akroview

So in part one I touched upon the more hyped up games that will be appearing on the new Xbox One, but there was a lot more on show. The four that were reviewed in the first part were ones that I was eager to get my hands on and did so with an already one sided opinion on what these games would be like, but there was a whole lot of other games that I was new to and was first introduced to at the event. I was quite surprised at the quality and gameplay of these games and it only further reinforced the notion of me purchasing an Xbox One in the near future. So lets get cracking into some of the lesser hyped games appearing on the Xbox One.

Below you will see the games that actually are able to push to the top of the fun list when it comes to next gen consoles, leaving graphics behind and focusing more on the players experience whilst playing to provide a very enjoyable experience.

Peggle 2

Sitting next to Forza 5 and Battlefield 4 Peggle seemed way out of place, the two behemoths of the graphics industry set beside one of the most basic looking games of the next gen systems, and guess what, I enjoyed it the most out of the 3! While it did seem out of place it did one thing that Battlefield 4 and Forza 5 didn’t make me do, it made me smile and laugh, not just because I evaded that enemies bullets, or i finally made that turn perfectly, it was because I genuinely had fun whilst playing, and that goes to show that graphics don’t actually make a better game.

Although the same basic mechanics are still in play the lush colours of Peggle are really the new stand out feature of the sequel, every pixel is just jam packed with uber bright luscious colours that would really make any owner of a HDTV to stand back and go “Wow! This looks pretty damn awesome!”. But Peggle didn’t stop there, I was only looking at the screen, then I put on the headset and BOOM, my ears were hit by a wave of aural pleasure as the games soundtrack graced my eardrums! Everything about this game just reeks of fun and relaxation, not to mention the ending of each level when “Ode to Joy” booms through your speakers in a blast of victory!

Now that last paragraph may seem a little over the top, but it’s the only way I can truly describe Peggle 2, it’s just amazing, and I only got to play the two levels that were shown on the event, I’m sure there will be a whole host of other levels for the player to bounce their balls off, but that will have to wait until the launch of One, and this game will definitely be on the top of my “To Buy” list!

LocoCycle

When I first saw LocoCycle on display at the Xbox One event I thought to myself, this is awfully strange! I mean think of the storyline here, a cybernetic motorcycle, powered by a form of Siri, wielding the power of melee and firearms combat fighting secret agents on a packed highway! Oh and also dragging around the poor mechanic that was trying to fix the bike in the first place. Crazy right?! Well, not so much, all it took was a look at the name of the developer to find out that this is actually a run of the mill thing for the people at Twisted Pixel. Twisted Pixel for those who don’t know are the people behind the insanely wacky and addicting puzzle platformer Splosion Man! But how does LocoCycle compare to Splosion….it doesn’t. In a way its actually better.

One other way i could describe LocoCycle is a cross between TRON and the retro game Spy Hunter, provided that the driver of the car in SH used an iPhone with Siri. the game itself though is immensely fun and  after seeing people’s reactions whilst playing it I did come to the conclusion that it was an amazingly fun game. When i took control of the Lococycle I was a little taken back at the controls, every slight nudge of the joystick seemed to veer the bike into a wall and trying to use the machine guns was a little difficult at first but after a while I managed to take control of the crazy contraption.

LocoCycle to me brings some of the best voice acting and scripts to the next gen so far, and I’m not counting games like Battlefield and Call of Duty in this because these are games that are meant to be taken seriously, for a crazy and wacky kids game this does, in my humble opinion, feature some of the best voice acting and scripting so far. the back and fort between Cycle and Pablo is hilarious and really did put a smile on my face and quite oa few of the other players if I remember correctly. May not be high on my list of “To Buy” for the Xbox One but it is definitely the top in the “Most Zaniest Concept” list!

Crimson Dragon

Once again this was a stand out title for me mainly because it doesn’t really blend it with the other types of games that were on display and honestly I like that, its good that the Xbox One is showing a lot of variation in it’s games. Crimson Dragon is a blend between REZ from the PS2 and anything to do with dragons, if i were to pick one in particular I’m sure I’d receive messages saying that I chose a terrible dragon film or game! So for now I’m just gonna say REZ and dragons.

The gameplay is simple and fluid and it looks amazing, the only thing I kept saying to both myself and the staff of the event was, why isn’t this in 3D. If you got a chance to play this game please let me know if you felt the same way. Out of all the games that were showcased at the event I think this is the only game, well maybe perhaps Forza 5 could be included, that desperately needed to be played in 3D.

If I had to choose between this and REZ i would probably have to choose REZ, Crimson Dragon looks pretty and has a nice flow to it but there are a lot of weak points that I picked up upon, for example,I was cringing listening to the voice acting, compared to LocoCycle above this voice acting could be the worst I’ve seen so far! I never got any satisfaction out of killing the flying pests, in REZ your kills would sync with the music and create this amazing psychedelic atmosphere, in Crimson Dragon there is no satisfaction at all.

There is potential for this game to be good at release, I’m sure the Kinect will feature heavily in it’s future reviews and if the addition of 3D is implemented in the final build then there is a chance that this could be one of the flagship Kinect titles, sadly this wasn’t showcased at the event so I cant give my opinion on it just yet!

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood

Lastly in this part of my Xbox One Hands On Review we get to have a look at Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. Now I have a brother myself and by no means have I ever wanted to banish him into another dimension, I swear Andy if your reading this! But sadly the same cant be said for Max, after growing tired of his little brothers pesky actions he decides to head to the internet and finds a rhyme that can banish him to another world and be rid of him for good. so out of sheer curiosity he recites this rhyme, expecting nothing to happen of course, since when is anything on the internet true! But alas, the rhyme really does work and Max’s brother is whisked off into another dimension, hurriedly Max jumps through the vortex and into the same out-world on a quest to rescue his brother form the horrors that lay beneath!

Now there is still the question on whether or not this will be an Arcade title or a full release but either way this game is just all out fun and filled with puzzles to make your head spin. Myself and the guys from Lowfat Gaming had a chance to assist Max in his perilous attempt to rescue his brother, the end result being that we lost, tragically. The puzzles in this game are very well done and really do require some level of cunning and wit to think through, all this is done with the aid of your trusty magic marker, I don’t mean that in just a brand name I literally mean MAGIC marker. You use Max’s marker to manipulate the play area and discover new ways around, over and through some obstacles.

Overall a very pleasant game with cute graphics and a puzzle style that really did leave us thinking for quite some time. There are obstacles and ravines that need to be carefully threaded across, with the help of that Magic marker of course! Although this is meant to be a kids game the ravines in the demo were kind of terrifying in a way, vines and roots pulling Max into the ground while the screen goes red and his screams fade into silence! But other than that the game is harmless and was an absolute pleasure to play, perfect for the little nippers to play while you have a cup of tea and play Candy Crush Saga!

Adam.