glazball's game collection (6/24/25) [Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360]

Rating: R0

Date Added: Nov 1, 2024

Summary: Akai Katana is a top-down shooter with the Bullet Hell play style, meaning the ship has a specific area called the "hit box" that needs to be maneuvered through a maze of bullets and enemies. This shooter features six stages and three different play modes called Origin (original arcade mode), Slash and Climax. They each have different play styles and difficulties. In Origin and Climax the player can switch between a defence and an attack mode. In defence the ships moves faster, destroying enemy up close and collecting energy. In attack the ship moves slower but shots are more powerful. The collected energy then orbits the ship and grows when enemy bullets pass over it. Energy is collected when switching back to defence. Energy is used to activate the phantom mode for enhanced abilities. Slash mode has a different system where energy is replaced by steel orbs that can be turned into katanas.

Players control a rebellious pilot with an aircraft in the style of the World War II era and goes after his former masters. There are three different pilots available, each with their own craft and power. A pilot has three lives so not every bullet is lethal, and there are also three smart bombs that clear the entire screen. Players have access to a support character for additional damage, but its use is different based on the chosen play mode. The game features some tutorial videos in order to explain the scoring system and the overall concept behind "Bullet Hell" shooters.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: Blackwater is a first-person shooter where the player controls operatives Devin, Baird, Smash, and Eddie. The game takes place is in village in North Africa, and players are tasked with all kinds of different jobs modern day soldiers also face during wartime. This includes protecting aid workers and civilians.

The country is overrun by a warlord named General Limbano. He and his soldiers must not become the death of those civilians. This is the reason America has sent a team of operatives. Whilst controlling the main characters, players move along a set path, optionally using features of the Kinect peripheral to control the character and kill enemies. Targets must be highlighted by moving your hand above their heads and hovering over them for a few seconds to shoot. To take cover, players must duck and lean side-to-side.

Devin and Baird use assault rifles. As Smash, the player uses a shotgun and as Eddie, a sniper rifle. Throughout each stage in the game, there are moments where the player has to perform actions such as jumping across gaps or breaking down doors.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Nov 1, 2024

Summary: Gilverado is a curious mystical kingdom of magic, monsters, and lost souls. Recently, overwhelming numbers of demonic creatures have appeared within the kingdom. Four young girls, taken from the human realm years before and raised as witches with incredible powers, have taken it upon themselves to find the source and put a stop to it.

Deathsmiles is a scrolling "bullet hell"-style shooter with a gothic horror theme. Choosing from one of four lolita-style girls, the player must blast their way through seven-plus stages. Unlike many games of this type, enemies appear from all directions, and the player is able to fire to both the left and right. Each character also has a companion familiar who will assist with special attacks, and there are also magic spells that act as screen-clearing bombs. There are multiple paths through the game, multiple difficulty levels for each stage, and numerous optional areas and secret bosses to challenge.

There are several game modes included. Arcade mode is a direct port of the original arcade release. Ver 1.1 Arrange mode adds the ability to directly control the familiars, and rearranges the stages. Xbox 360 mode features updated graphics, but is otherwise identical to Arcade mode. Lastly, Mega Black Mode (included with English releases, available as DLC in Japanese releases) adds a fifth playable character, a new stage and boss, and an additional extreme difficulty level. All modes can be played two-player simultaneous, including co-op over Xbox Live.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: Fable III is the third title in the Fable series of action role-playing games. Once again, the title takes place in the fictional land of Albion and follows fifty years after the events of Fable II.

The Hero of the previous game is recognized as bringing a new era of peace and prosperity to the land after defeating Lucien. The Hero brought unity and strength to Albion, and built a kingdom where there was once disparate villages. That Hero had two children and the older child, named Logan, eventually rose to rule the kingdom as successor to the fabled Hero. While originally a benevolent ruler, his policies and military began to turn gradually more oppressive. Word across the land has begun to ring of revolution.

Unlike the largely medieval-style theme of the previous titles, the industrial age has come to Albion (presumably in the wake of rampant growth brought by the previous game's hero). As such, the style of Fable III resembles the United States and Great Britain during the 18th Century and the American Revolution.

Players take the role of Logan's brother, working to gradually increase his own strength and powers, and to eventually build an army to overthrow his brother and take over the reigns of Albion. The new Hero is accompanied by a faithful partner in the form of a dog. As before, the game features a focused main storyline broken up by generous numbers of quests, the ability to work jobs, own real-estate, and get married remains. Once again, the player may choose to be good or evil, and the player's decisions in the game reflect on changes in the game environment and on other characters. Weapons may also be changed according to how player's move through the adventure.

A new element, however, is that the player is tasked with building an army to overthrow his brother. In order to build the strength to overthrow Logan, the player must actually "play politics" with the citizens of Albion, which may involve making promises keeping them once the player has taken over the kingdom.

Fable III also contains an online and multiplayer mode, somewhat more fleshed out than in Fable II. Rather than simply being a sort of henchman for other players online, player's Hero characters can interact and quest with one another on a more equal status.

The Windows version of the game features an additional difficulty level called "Hardcore Mode".

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: Gears of War 3 takes place 18 months after the end of the second game, and picks up on the on-going story from the Gears of War books, the last one being Coalition's End.

After sinking Jacinto in order to flood the Locust Hordes' subterranean homeland, the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) was forced to relocate their entire population to their former island stronghold and navy base on Vectes via Port Farrell. The growing threat from the emerging Lambent, however, has now forced the COG to abandon Vectes Island as well. As a result, the COG has been disbanded, and its population split up into smaller communities to avoid drawing attention from the Lambent. The player will once again assume the role of Sergeant Marcus Fenix, leader of Delta Squad, currently aboard the flotilla of ships housing the survivors as they deal with the relocation and fight off the lambent threat.

Gears 3 retains the shooter gameplay used in previous games, using over-the-shoulder third person system, as well as a cover system that allows players to move from cover point to cover point, roll and blind fire weapons/lob grenades. Players are now able to knock down opponents as a result of vaulting over short cover points. Players can also do a 'roadie run', which is essentially a sprint, except in a crouched stance to reduce profile. Also making a reappearance is the active reload, which speeds up reloading if the player hits reload again quickly enough, or a damage boost and a quick reload if the player times it to perfection.

New to the Gears series is the ability to play with four other player's over Xbox Live, with the three other players taking on the role of Delta Squad. Gears of War 2's five player co-op Horde Mode also gets a revamp to Horde Mode 2.0. Also included is the new Beast Mode, the opposite of Horde, in which players fill the shoes of a member of the Locust Horde attempting to survive wave after wave of COG soldiers. In addition to these, all previous multiplayer game modes return.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: Kameo: Elements of Power was one of the Xbox 360 launch games and puts you in the role of the young fairy-like elf Kameo. In the introduction, she storms a castle to rescue her family members, but fails, and loses all her powers. Your task is to collect ten elemental spirits and defeat Thorn, the king of the trolls, along with your evil sister Kalus.

The game mixes action with exploring and basic puzzle-solving tasks. There are four themed areas, with friendly zones where you can shop and talk to the inhabitants. Next to the distinct zones, there are also Badlands to cross, where there is an ongoing battle between elves and trolls. The Enchanted Kingdom is your base, a hub from which you can access the different areas.

By collecting elemental spirits, Kameo can transform into ten different forms, each with their own abilities. Those are acquired by solving quests or defeating boss characters. As you progress in the game, you will need to make use of them to overcome obstacles. Some forms allow you to perform special attacks, link combos, or grant abilities such as swimming (Deep Blue), breathing fire (Ash), shooting torpedoes or use rock-like body parts to engage enemies (Rubble). Each form can be enhanced with different upgrades by collecting hidden pieces of fruit.

During gameplay, you can access a hint book where Ortho offers hints. There is a cooperative mode for two players, both offline and online, and the music was done by an 80 piece orchestra.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, set years before the original game. Joanna Dark is not yet the perfect agent, so it's up to the player to get her there. Like the original, "Zero" is also a first person shooter with plenty of sci-fi gadgets and weaponry - some familiar, some new.

Working as a bounty hunter, she and her father Jack accidentally step on toes of shadowy corporations and reveal a global conspiracy. Changing their destinies forever, Joanna and Jack find themselves fighting for the future of the entire planet.

You can carry up to four different weapons, but bigger guns take more inventory space, meaning you can pack several pistols but only one machine gun at a time. Carrying bigger weapons also affect your running speed. There is no jump button, but the game features smart tactical options depending the scene; from a touch of a button you can take cover behind obstacles, perform athletic rolls, ... You can even disarm your opponents by grabbing their guns out of their hands.

In addition to espionage thriller single player game, there are also many multiplayer options, including four-player split-screen and cooperative play. Xbox Live adds few new ideas and twists to familiar game modes, like fully scalable environments. There is also built-in ranking system via Live.

Rating: R0

Date Added: Oct 28, 2024

Summary: After 5.000 years magic, that was believed to be dead, is rediscovered and the RNA Global wants to take it for themselves just to have the power. A group called Lineage decides not to let that happen. They want to preserve the magic for everyone on the planet. A war ensues.

Shadowrun is a first-person shooter set in the cyberpunk-urban fantasy cross-genre based on the license of the same name, but not set in the same universe. Instead, the developer created an alternate continuity. The game takes place in Brazil in 2031, before the events that of the actual Shadowrun universe.

After the six chapters of the tutorial the player can either choose to fight against bots or go online and play against up to 15 other players in the three different game modes: Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Artefacthunt. Each team can choose between the four races: Human, Elf, Troll or Dwarf. Depending on which race you choose, the character has access to different kinds of talents. The Trolls for example have more health than any of the other races and can in addition increase their armor for a short period of time.

For every enemy killed or flag/artifact retrieved, money is awarded to invest into weapons and spells at the beginning of the round. Only up to three weapons can be used in one round. Grenades also eat up an entire slot. Next to weapons, players can also purchase magic or tech. This includes invulnerability, teleportation, attacks spells, a radiating healing tree and resurrection for magic, and the ability to see through walls, gliders, enhanced physical attributes, increased accuracy, anti-magic generators for tech.

Shadowrun is the first game to feature cross-platform gaming between Windows and the Xbox 360 through the Live service both platforms. If you own a Gold membership for Windows Live (a free month is included in the box) you can play with or against owners of the Xbox360 version and vice versa. To even the odds, the Windows' players aiming reticule is distorted during quick turns and extra stability is given. To counter the pixel-accuracy of Windows players, the Xbox 360 owners are given aim assistance.