For the few of you who have not tried Fez yet on Xbox Live Arcade you really should. It is one of the most interesting puzzle platformers I have ever played.  I have a full review up on XBLAratings.com here, but I almost think it is better to go into it not knowing about the game.  If you cannot handle that the trailer here will give you an idea of what it is like.

http://youtube.com/#/watch?v=–gpfYwo5a4

I played through the XBLA release of Deep Black Ep 1this last week.  While the game has issues I still had fun with it overall.  My full review is up on XBLAratings.com here.  Anyone else try it, or at least the demo? Just curious what everyone else thought.  Must folks I think are still on Trials Evolution and have not tried it.

Anomaly Warzone Earth is pretty fun and I prefer it on Xbox Live Arcade over the other platforms I’ve tried it on.  My full review is here.

The Splatters I’m having a blast with.  It gets tough later on but is still really well done. My full review is here.

Defense Grid: You Monster DLC Review (XBLA) – Great tower defense game now with GLaDOS?  Yes please.I don’t care if the game is a couple years old.  Please keep releasing more DLC for it.

Slydris Review (PC – 9.2/10) – One of the most addictive games I’ve played in a long time. With modes that range from relaxing to challenging it has something for everyone.

SoulCalibur V Review (Xbox 360 – 8.2/10) – A lot of fun playing against friends.  Controls came back quickly even though I was really rusty.

Iron Brigade: Rise of the Martian Bear DLC Review (XBLA) – Challenging but a lot of fun.  Nice to see the added Survival mode even if it took a while for the DLC to release.

Puddle Review (XBLA – 7/10) – Why is this now on Android/iOS instead?

Orcs Must Die! Review (XBLA – 10/10) – So addicting. Gets brutally hard on Nightmare difficulty but feels so good when you win.

Dungeon Defenders Review (XBLA – 10/10) and the first DLC pack Dungeon Defenders Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards: Part 1 Review. I’m looking forward to the next 3 packs coming out and leveling up my Squire even more.

Xbox Live Indie Games Reviews

Hypership Still Out of Control  (9/10)

Escape Goat (9/10)

All Your Creeps (8/10)

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.