I know Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes has been out for a while but I finally was able to put some quality time into playing (like 20+ hours of time). The loads times can get a bit annoying but the game play is so fun that I can ignore the long load times.  Clash of Heroes is a strategy + RPG hybrid and I really like how the two pieces get put together. Sort of like how Puzzle Quest has merged two game styles, but Clash of Heroes has a completely new battle mechanic that I like much better than Puzzle Quest because it requires more strategy.  My full review is up here.

I never did buy Splosion Man. I never finished the demo because I suck at platformers.  So, no, I do not know why I thought I’d be good at Ms Splosion Man.  However, I am able to complete levels in Ms Splosion Man. Not anywhere near the par times but still at least they are getting completed without using the skip to checkpoint option. I can only play for a few levels before getting frustrated and quitting but that has more to do with my sucking than anything else.  My fill review is up here.

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team is a lot of fun, but I really don’t know what is up with THQ recently.  The have a co-op game here with no support for playing over Xbox Live.  Solo the game is fun but co-op would make this great.  Too bad I’ll never get to experience that.  I’m not going to even get into how stupid they are to can the Red Faction series or the crap that is Homefront.  I’m hoping that Space Marine is as goods the trailers look because it has a lot of potential.  Anyway, back to Kill Team… lots of mindless Orc killing.  The game is only about 4 hours long but there is some replay value with multiple character classes and a survival mode. My fill review is up here.

Boulder Dash-XL caught me by surprise.  I knew it was coming out but I was not expecting very much.  Instead for $10 there are over 150 levels, 4 game modes, plus the original Boulder Dash is included.  I’m not a fan of some of the graphics but the gameplay is great fun for me and my kid. The difficulty level ramps up slowly while keeping things challenging.  I played tons of the original as a kid and this re-make is a great way to enjoy the game without digging out an emulator.   Full review is up here.

So I got the change over the last few days to play this week’s Xbox Live Arcade title, Bastion, early to review it for XBLA Ratings.  I’m going to keep you guessing as to my opinion until you read the review. So, I’ll quit dragging this on.  Here is the link for the review.

I’ve been having a lot of fun playing Trenched co-op with the folks from AGErocks.com (like I ever play with anyone else). I have a quick review up, here, on XBLARatings.com.  It is a fun shooter that adds a little strategy along the way.  I’m not going to rehash what little I did post in that review, but someone please tell me they are making some DLC for Trenched already.  I need more.

I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragon Daggerdale for the last week co-op with some guys from AGErocks.com and while it has glitches it is still a lot of fun.  I’m not going to rehash my whole review so you can check it out here.  If you have some friends you like co-op hack-n-slash games be sure to check it out.

I’ve been playing Full House Poker for almost two weeks now and I’m thoroughly hooked. I was able to get a review copy for XBLA Ratings (full review here) and I was not really expecting much from a poker game. I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun the Texas Heat game show portion is.  It plays really quick since it only lasts 30 minutes, but since playing well gets you better rewards people actually play mostly like it was for real money.  The leveling mechanic is pretty nicely done too since you get XP for playing you can tell how much a person plays more than how good they are based off their level. I do have some tips for leveling up quicker for those wanting to get ranked up higher. I’m looking forward to playing a lot more with my friends and taking all their chips.

I picked up Stacking when it release last week and have been having a good time with the mix of adventure and puzzle genres. The actual story can be finished in about 5 hours without too much trouble, but going back and finding every solution for each challenge is taking much longer.  So far no cheating and using a guide though. I’m hoping to get 100% of everything complete without any help. We’ll see if that happens. I’ve got a full review on XBLA Ratings but really you should just check out the demo for yourself.  I know a lot of folks are waiting to get it on sale sometime, and I can’t really blame anyone since $15 is a bit steep for a game you can complete so quickly.   I think I like Double Fine’s Costume Quest a little more that Stacking, but both are great and have me looking forward to whatever they do next.

It is not very often that I play four different demos in the same day, but that is how Tuesday panned out.  On the PC, Magicka released and I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while now. I promised myself after all the holiday Steam sales I would not by any new games until I finished at least a few of those so I just played the demo for now.  So, if you don’t see on Xbox Live check Steam as I’m probably trying to finish stuff up there so I can get to Magicka.

A demo single player demo for Bulletstorm released today.  It struck me as odd that a game that they keep talking about co-op for does not have any co-op in the demo. Then I started playing the demo. It has a very Gears of War feel to me.  Not that feeling like Gears is bad thing but since the rest of the game was just not that fun I don’t see a reason to get it. I’m not a fan of playing the same levels over and over so I just can’s see enjoying it for any length of time.

I got a chance over the last week to demo Breach for XBLA Ratings.  You can see my full review on the site (here), but I will say that the more I play it the more I’m enjoying it.  It started a little slow and I almost wrote it off but I’m glad I did not because it has really grown on me. The Convoy game mode is really fun and the destructible environments never get old.

The final demo for the day was Crysis 2.  I played a couple matches on my lunch break and it was pretty decent.  Then, in the evening we got a full team of guys from AGErocks.com playing and it was a blast.  It is fast paced but not so fast it is all twitchy. The matchmaking did a nice job of getting our squad on the same team when we joined a match already in process when the next round started and it lest you customize your loadouts while it searches for a match.  These little touches are really nice and allow for more time playing and less time in the menus. There are quite a few customization options and upgrades for the weapons and armor abilities. It was nice that they start unlocking pretty quickly. Plus, as you use an ability it unlocks a stronger version of it.  Like getting 25 air stops unlocks the advanced air stomp.  It would be nice if there was a tutorial explaining all the armor abilities but after playing with them for a while they start to make sense.  All of the armor abilities are tied to your energy bar so you can use them all at once but only for a short time. Or, use one at a time for much longer.  I was not planning on picking up Crysis 2, but if there is a solid group of AGErs getting it I may as well because the demo is a lot of fun.

For the last three weeks Microsoft has been running their “Games for the Holidays” on Xbox Live Arcade. The three games they released during this time were A World of Keflings, Raskulls and ilomilo. I really enjoyed all three and have reviews up for them on XBLA Ratings.  Just hit the links if you are interested. The thing that I really enjoyed is how they tied all three games together even though they are all from different developers.  In Keflings you can build a house for ilo and milo as well one for the Raskulls.  Once you build it they come and live in your Kefling’s world.  You can kick them around like and of the other Keflings. Then, in Raskulls you get Doug the Kefling and ilo as playable characters for multiplayer.  Finally in ilomilo you get Kefling and Raskulls costumes to wear.  None of these play a huge role in the games but it is really cool how they tie in together. Sure games in the past have costumes or characters you can unlock that are from other games, but this is the first one I know of that actually checks to see if you have achievements in it first.  Hopefully more developers can start doing little stuff like this.

After playing through the Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign this week and being really disappointed I moved on to playing a bunch of downloadable titles. I’m glad I just rented COD:BLOPS because I’m not really into the multiplayer style and the campaign was not great.  The actual story was pretty interesting this time around but the game play was really annoying.  Too many times I would shoot enemies only to have nothing happen.  Plus,all of the enemies seemed to be able to kill me with just one or two bullets.  Shouldn’t I be able to do the same to them?

Fortunately, X-Men Arcade released on Xbox Live Arcade this week to distract me.  I’ve got a quick review of it up here, but basically it is as fun as I remember. The 6 player co-op over Xbox Live is great when it is not lagging or kicking people out of the room. Still, overall if you enjoyed the arcade game I think this version is worth getting to play with some friends.

Radiangames Crossfire 2 is quickly becoming one of my favorite Xbox Live Indie Games. Radiangames has not made a title I’ve not enjoyed yet, but Crossfire 2 night be their best one.  It takes a Space Invaders fixed cabinet view and adds a full upgrade system.  Plus there is a score based mode with online leaderboards for when the campaign has been completed.  I’ve got a full review on XBLA & XBLIG Ratings here.

I’ve also started Soulcaster II. The way it mixes tower defense and action RPG is really nicely done. The first game was great and the sequel only improves on it. I’ll be getting a review together later this week over here.

I’ve been playing a lot of downloadable titles this week with a mix of Rock Band 3. I’m working on getting better playing keyboard, but that gets mixed in with my normal gaming most of the time anyway.  This week has been heavy on Xbox Live Arcade and Indie Game titles.  Harms Way release on Xbox Live Arcade for free this week so I checked it out a little.  I played some of the single player mode and I’d like to try the multiplayer but every time I try it tells me there are no rooms available.  I tried hosting my own room but after 15 minutes no one had joined and I gave up.  I’ll try it again over the weekend and hopefully can find some people to play with because it seems like it would be fun against actual people.

Costume Quest for a DLC pack titles Grubbings on Ice. It release Wednesday for $5 and I finished that night.  It was only about 3 hours but I had a lot of fun playing it.  The new costumes were fun and the story was a nice addition.  I really hope they release more DLC like this for it. I’ve got a review on XBLA Ratings: here.

I also have been playing Commander – World 1, Epic Dungeon, Decimation X3 and Score Rush on Xbox Live Indie Games.  All are $1 each and well worth checking out.  Hit any of the links for my review of the game on XBLIG Ratings. The Xbox Live Indie Game devs have been really stepping it up with great $1 games recently and I’m taking full advantage.