XBox 360 Reviews

Starting a trilogy is the fun part – and if this generation of console franchises have proved anything, completing it is the hardest. Over the past two years, we've seen series like Mass Effect and Gears of War struggle with storytelling in their third chapters. Mastering well-known techniques and designs is the easy part – completing an epic narrative in satisfying fashion has proven to be difficult: the bigger the success of the series, the more troublesome the conclusions have proven to be. Given this recent history, Crysis 3 faced an uphill battle from ...

Developer Epic Games takes badass gaming to a new level with an excellent conclusion to one of the Xbox 360 greatest trilogies. Gears of War 3, like its predecessors, is a cover based 3rd person shooter that delivers high paced action at every corner. The game play doesn’t change from the previous two games but that isn’t a bad thing and with the addition of some new toys and a new multiplayer mode Gears of War 3 will be played addictively for some time to come.

To say that Final Fantasy XIII was a huge success would be a pretty major understatement. For the first time, fans of the record breaking series were given something that offered everything a Final Fantasy game could give, with the added bonus of some stunning next-gen graphics and the all important movie-like cut scenes that turn this incredible instalment into more of a video game epic.

Family Guy is one of the top animations on TV and, whether you love it or hate it, continues to pull in massive numbers. It stands to reason that every so often they’ll push out a game. The first attempt at digitizing the most outspoken family on TV, the Family Guy Video Game! for Xbox, PSP and PS2, entertained fans of the show, but critics were far less forgiving. Early last year Activision announced Back to the Multiverse, an adventure in which Brian and Stewie must save their universe from the evil Bertrum. Is this another game destined for mediocrity?

The Hitman games were a master class in stealth and player choice when they were originally released. Agent 47 could find a thousand ways of eliminating any target and sneaking out without anybody being any the wiser, and playing again and again to improve your playthrough was a big part of the way the series worked. With Absolution, the latest in the franchise, now available in stores, this HD collection is a nice way of comparing how the series has evolved and, in a wider sense, how the gaming industry has changed since the turn of the millennium.

If you asked me 5 years ago to talk to you about EA sports’ new hockey game I would probably look at you funny and walk away. Hell if you asked EA sports 5 years ago to talk about their new hockey game they would say “Hockey game? No I’m pretty sure we just make Madden.” Times have changed and now the NHL game is wildly popular among sports fans and frat boys looking to pass the time between drinks. NHL 2013 is the newest installment and shows off better graphics and sounds, but except for some minor in game changes it still feels arcade like and not ...

Aliens: Colonial Marines has been in development for over half a decade. Despite the track record of developer Gearbox, and the popularity of the sci-fi franchise, the much anticipated game has been delayed more times than I can count. Considering that, it's something of a miracle that this game was released at all. Unfortunately, it's a little less of a miracle considering how surprisingly bad this game turned out to be.

There has been a distinct lack of business sims these past few years. While Theme Park and its ilk bring back happy memories for those old enough to remember them, something about the genre has led to it disappearing almost completely, and when it does show up it’s usually watered down on mobile devices. Arcadecraft hopes to change that by lettings fans control their very own arcade at the height of their popularity in the eighties. Pick which games you want to be available, how much to charge, how difficult they are and a whole host of other options, all ...

Five years ago, the virtual basketball landscape was a completely different place. EA and 2K were locked in a heated competition on both the pro and college levels, both studios known to pump out two quality basketball titles a year. Today, the only yearly basketball offering remaining is the NBA 2K series, the Live series failing for a third straight season to finish a retail product. Although this appears to be the trend in sports: exclusive licenses and lack of competition dominate virtual sports these days. However, unlike EA's many landmark sport ...

Despite a generally luke-warm reception from critics, 2010’s Medal of Honor reboot from developer Danger Close was not all bad. The title focused on the elite branch of the military known as Tier 1, of which there are a mere handful of operatives currently deployed. Granted, the missions were a little sloppy and the characters not very interesting, but at its core was a mostly decent modern warfare sim with some interesting ideas that just didn’t quite come to fruition.