Xbox One Game Reviews
Scratching the glitch
When it was confirmed a while ago that the sequel to 2012's Wii U exclusive ZombiU had been canned, most thought that the series was a goner. That would be a shame, given that the survival-horror title brought with it more innovation than people give it credit for. It wasn't just a straight-up gorefest that required you to scan...
Review Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians (Xbox One)
Get down
In a period of time where pretty much any relatively average indie game ports are practically falling from the skies and on into the Xbox Store, it's nice to see that some of the more ingenious titles of the last few years haven't been neglected. Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians is very much one of those ingenious romps, blending puzzles...
Review Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut (Xbox One)
Much more than your average puzzler
On the surface, Q.U.B.E - or Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion, if you want to get technical - is a physics-based 3D puzzler. The player, with the aid of a rather nifty pair of high-tech gloves, manipulates a variety of coloured blocks in order to solve puzzles and escape from the mysterious, sterile white...
From Rare with love
To celebrate its 30th year as a developer, Rare has crammed 30 of its games into a single package for just $30. Not only does that make for a brilliantly-coordinated promotion, it also makes for a value almost unheard of for a new release. Instead of breaking down each individual game in this collection, which would push us well...
A case of perspective
Here at Pure Xbox we pretty much always write articles from the third person perspective. It allows us to present a more professional tone, we feel. From time to time, the Editor (hey there!) will pen an Editor's Opinion piece from his own point of view but other than that, the third person perspective is the order of the day...
Review Squid Hero for Kinect (Xbox One)
Less than ink-redible
While developers seem to be moving ever farther away from Kinect in general, one developer seems to be most definitely leaning toward it, creating Kinect-specific digital experiences to keep fans of the device amused. That developer is Virtual Air Guitar Company - the team behind Boom Ball for Kinect – and they're back again...
Review Tachyon Project (Xbox One)
Quickfire
Another month, another neon-infused twin-stick shooter for Xbox One. It can get tiresome with the same old gameplay being trotted out time and again with just a minor twist here or there to differentiate the current title from the others, but to write Tachyon Project off due to the sins of the games that have come before it would be wrong...
Review Tembo the Badass Elephant (Xbox One)
Here comes the boom
Tembo the Badass Elephant is a 2.5D side-scrolling action game with a hand-drawn comic book art style that somewhat resembles Regular Show and other Cartoon Network cartoons. When the evil Phantom Commander and his loyal army take over Shell City, the military calls on the aid of Tembo the elephant, drawing him out of retirement...
Rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat.
When it comes to retro racers on Xbox One, there's something of a shortage. Sure, there are a few arcade racers kicking about, but nothing that could really be described as harking back to days of old. Spectra: 8-bit Racing promised to fill that gap, providing a chiptune-powered and neon-cloaked experience...
Burnt out
Finally, it's time for a little Formula One action in the current generation. If you put aside the cameo appearances of F1-style cars in other titles, we've yet to get our F1 fix on Xbox One. That was due to Codemasters deciding that they were going to release F1 2014 for last-gen machines back in September, whilst creating a "new...
Review Sparkle Unleashed (Xbox One)
The sincerest form of flattery
Back in the very early days of the Xbox 360, one of the first titles to help shape the idea of what Microsoft's then-innovative Xbox Live Arcade service could be was PopCap's Zuma. The game was a rightfully popular puzzler which tasked players with firing coloured marbles into a rapidly-advancing line of similar...
Review Payday 2: Crimewave Edition (Xbox One)
A Complete Bust
Last year, several notable releases found themselves under scrutiny for releasing in a broken state. Sadly, this trend has continued into 2015 as yet another broken game is available for purchase. This time around it is publisher 505 Games who have put a horrendous version of Overkill Software's popular cooperative shooter Payday 2...
Review Quantum Rush: Champions (Xbox One)
A bit too rushed
There are a lot of people out there clamouring for F-Zero and Wipeout to make a proper return on current hardware. Unfortunately, neither of these classic series have plans to stage a comeback any time soon (not that we know of, at least). It's not all bad news, though, because games like FAST Racing NEO and Quantum Rush Champions...
Review Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox One)
Tanks for the memories
When it was announced that the Batmobile would be making its début in Arkham Knight, there was much skepticism amongst fans of the Arkham series. While the promise of commanding such a capable vehicle and battling an army of tanks sounded like a blast on its own, the concern resided with how this method of transportation...
Review Le Tour De France 2015 (Xbox One)
Pedal pusher
As a rule, the phrase "fans of the series/sport/show will love it" is one that reviewers should try to avoid. The reason is simply because the statement is pretty much redundant. If you're a fan of watching paint dry, then you'll probably be far more forgiving about the shortcomings of Paint Drying Simulator 2015 than you would be about...
Review Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (Xbox One)
From Nero to hero!
If anyone has spent time browsing comment sections on news articles or internet forum threads, they have surely noticed that people like to complain about remakes and remasters – specifically Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games that were already in high definition. But this backlash hasn't stopped Capcom from remastering both...
Review SteamWorld Dig (Xbox One)
Dig and You Might Strike Oil
Swedish developer Image & Form has been bringing SteamWorld Dig to every available system. This means that one system is going to receive the game last and in this case it's Microsoft's home console. If you're counting, the Xbox One version of SteamWorld Dig is the sixth time players have had a chance to purchase...
Review Beach Buggy Racing (Xbox One)
Lacking engine-uity
Ever since the legendary Super Mario Kart made its first appearance on the SNES back in 1992, it really does feel as if every publisher has tried to emulate its success. Shrek, Looney Tunes, Sonic, Bomberman, Digimon, LittleBigPlanet, Crazy Frog, Crash Bandicoot, Madagascar, The Muppets, South Park and more have been cynically...
Review BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition (Xbox One)
Flight of the clones
It feels wrong to mention Flappy Bird and BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition in the same sentence, but there's no way around it: BADLAND plays a lot like Flappy Bird. Pressing the A-button to ascend, and simply releasing to let gravity do its job, this physics-based sidescroller is all about avoiding a gamut of hazards and...
Review Spy Chameleon (Xbox One)
Changing Colour
Stealth has been a long-standing staple in video games since the early '80s, when games like Castle Wolfenstein popularized the genre. Since then, stealth games have evolved into very complicated, system-heavy genre in their current form. It can be quite daunting for new players to jump in, which is why Unfinished Pixel's Spy...
Review The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Xbox One)
Absolutely magical
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an intimidating game. It's one of the largest open world games we've ever played, with a plethora of endless side content and explorative tasks. It can often feel very overwhelming, and for those of you that like to clear every icon on your map, well, you're going to have your work cut out for you. The...
Who Knows?
In 1885, German biologist Hans Driesch demonstrated that you could produce two sea urchins from a single embryo cell. Ever since then, society has been intrigued by cloning and the controversial practice has continued to this day. It's a tricky subject to discuss due to the many moral issues surrounding cloning. Should man play God? How...
Review Schrödinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark (Xbox One)
Dead and Alive
Even for the most open-minded gamers, it is easy to roll your eyes at the thought of playing through yet another puzzle-platform game. It seems like a new one releases every week that promises a unique hook that will turn the genre on its head. This is rarely the case though, as not every game can be as brilliant as Braid or Fez. The...
Review Farming Simulator 15 (Xbox One)
The amber waves of groan
It almost goes without saying that Farming Simulator 15 will be a divisive game. On a platform filled to the brim with shooters, racers and sports simulations, the simple fact is that a very large portion of the market will just simply not understand the attraction of planting crops and harvesting them for money. On the...
Review Mega Coin Squad (Xbox One)
Money.
Couch-based multiplayer has been falling away in recent years but, with the rise of indie developers who are keen to see it make a comeback, more and more titles seem to be remembering that pretty much every console ever made supports more than one controller being in use at a time. This resurgence is most definitely occurring on the Xbox One...
Review Rogue Legacy (Xbox One)
All in the family
Procedural generation is a term that is being thrown around quite often lately, and it's one that has a decent amount of stigma going against it. When environmental characteristics and enemy arrangements are decided by an algorithm or line of code, changing the surroundings with every replay, it can make a game feel cheap, and the...
Review Slice Zombies for Kinect (Xbox One)
Quick chop
From Slice Zombies for Kinect's very title, you can pretty much predict what it's going to consist of. If you guessed "Fruit Ninja Kinect with zombies instead of fruit" then you're pretty much on the money. That isn't to belittle developer MADE's work though, rather it's the easiest way to inform readers of what the game is all about...
So NERO, so far(o)
When NERO first made its appearance back at E3 2014, pretty much everybody with eyes on the screen was intrigued. Beautiful settings, a fantastic soundtrack, and stacks of luminescence were the order of the day. That first trailer didn't particularly shed any light on the gameplay though. As it turns out, Storm in a Teacup's...
Review Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition (Xbox One)
What is life?
As gaming continues to evolve, more and more games are becoming a melting pot of genres. In fact, it is rare to see a game that strictly falls into a single genre anymore. When pulled off correctly, this makes for a great game that is unique and manages to find the strengths of several genres and forego their inherent weaknesses. When...
And not a light cycle in sight...
When it comes to twin-stick shooters, the Xbox One now has a fair few titles from which to choose. The excellent Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is at the top of the pile, whilst less high-profile releases such as We Are Doomed and Sixty Second Shooter Prime bring up the rear. Puppy Games' Ultratron – the follow up...
