Xbox 360 Reviews

Onechanbara is one of those bizarre, yet wildly popular franchises that makes absolutely zero sense without the disclaimer "Japanese fan favorite." The series is so popular that not only has it spawned games on the PS2 and Wii, but also an admittedly awful feature film of the same name. Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad, however, is the first installment to make the leap to HD on the Xbox 360.

Operation Darkness is a strategy/fantasy JRPG set in World War II. It’s also the ugliest game we have ever seen on Xbox 360. We salute developer Atlus for trying something different by marrying a strategy JRPG to the World War II setting, but if they’re not going to make a game visually worthy of a next-gen system, why should we get excited about the gameplay? The hodgepodge of different gaming elements thrown into Operation

There’s nothing wrong with an M16 having almost infinite ammo and range. The same goes for paintball-style close-quarters combat and recharging health.

But that’s not the Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising way. Get a bit too enthusiastic suppressing an ambush early on and it won’t be long before you hear the horrifying click of your empty chamber.

It’s always weird to see a “hardcore” PC series get transmogrified into a console-friendly title, and always a little bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s great to see new moneymaking opportunities for a quality series that deserves some revenue, but on the other, it sucks to see that same series effectively dumbed down to make it easier (or even possible) to play with a controller...

There are enough borrowed core mechanics from other popular games found woven all throughout the fabric of Outland that you could make a drinking game out of calling them out. Developer Housemarque did its due diligence in strip-mining classics like Super Metroid, Ikaruga, and Prince of Persia - to name just a few - for ideas to inject into Outland. This 2D action platformer may be a pastiche of well-worn ideas found in games that came long before it, yet its many disparate elements blend together to create an experience that still manages to feel fresh and original...

It’s really very simple. You drive fast; it looks pretty; a lovely blonde urges you on. Yep, Outrun is really very, very simple. Outrun was born in a time when games were dumb as hell. It was a good time rammed with simple thrills and instantly accessible excitement. In the 80s nobody was especially concerned with physics, simulated car handling, real-world tracks, or halfway-decent clothing.