XB360 -ARCADE

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Among the throngs of NES games many of us cut our teeth on in the late ’80s, there was a clear dichotomy between the top-tier games and everything else. Games such as Blaster Master, Battletoads, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man 2, Castlevania III, Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy, Contra, Gradius, Faxanadu, Metal Gear, and, of course, Bionic Commando ruled the day. Bionic Commando existed within a microcosm of games built on a single hook, on which nearly the entire game relied. In a time before physics, swinging around on a grappling arm was about as good as it got, and Nathan “Radd” Spencer was just too cool with his bright green suit, orange hair, and black shades. Yet of all the Capcom brands that laid their foundations pre-3-D, Bionic Commando remained the sole odd man out, until now. Twenty years later—Jesus, I’m still in front of the TV playing videogames—the day has finally arrived: 2-D Bionic Commando is back.

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XB360 - SRPG

Spectral Force 3

The Strategy RPG has emerged as the shovelware genre of choice in Japan, thanks largely to the prolific output of the ironically named “Idea Factory” development studio. Like most of Idea Factory’s games, Spectral Force 3 is a turn-based strategy RPG with generic fantasy characters, utilitarian graphics, and a few unique touches—in this case, examples include an action bar that allows you to take up to 7 actions per character per turn, and the ability to tag team foes with allied characters. Spectral Force could be considered their flagship series (this is something like the seventh installment), but this is the first to be released in the states.
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PS3 - Action

Monster Madness: Grave Danger

So I ask you: Do you like to shoot gremlins, harpies, imps, witches, succubi, martians, banshees, bigfoots, vampires, werewolves, legless clown torsos that paddle around in wagons, gym teachers that sprout giant spider legs, evil robots, evil clowns, evil grannies, explosive zombies, dragon zombies, fat zombies and dog zombies? You can even take a crack at Bob Zombie! And those are but a sampling of the infestation. How about piloting a swan boat, dune buggy, UFO, quad, tank or a mech fabricated out of an old VW bug?

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