12/31/2022 0 Comments Ship simulator extremes rough seasWe're going back to the OG Xbox era again now, and this classic BioWare RPG set in a galaxy far, far away was one of those games that really made those without an Xbox green with envy. Just as Journey had such an impact on PlayStation players, Ori and the Blind Forest manages to wordlessly communicate something magical that stays with you long after you finish the game. Ori manages to get so much across without the need for dialogue, and the swelling music is a big part of that easily complementing the game’s emotional themes, the music is almost its own character, and the havoc Ori and the Blind Forest wreaks on your emotions wouldn’t be nearly as drastic without it. Ori and the Blind Forest is a wonder to look at, too, and you’ll most likely find yourself stopping in each new area just to take in the kaleidoscope of colours and the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack - and let’s talk about that soundtrack for a minute, because it is exceptional. That’s not to say it doesn’t come with its challenges - the escape sections in particular are ridiculously hectic - but, like with Celeste, the brief loading times between each inevitable death helps hold back any extra frustration. Music, gameplay, visuals everything combines wonderfully in Ori to create an excellent platformer with a surprisingly weighty emotional gut punch. Ori and the Blind Forest is a classic in the full sense of the word. This simple arcade shooter is borderline perfect, so little wonder the series hasn't managed to hit such a lofty high since, with new developer Lucid Games falling a little short of the mark with 2014's Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions. The classic mode returned as Evolved (now with even more enemy types), joined by ingenious additions such as Pacifism - a callback to the achievement of the same name in the original, with a flood of enemies that can only be destroyed by passing through exploding gates - and Deadline, with that short three-minute time limit making this the perfect mode for a quick score attack fix. Since others were clearly struggling to top Geometry Wars, Bizarre Creations just went ahead and one-upped itself, dropping this sequel in 2008 that added a ton of longevity by introducing six unique game modes, each with its own highly competitive leaderboards. Having evolved from a simple mini-game hidden in the garage of Bizarre Creations' superb Project Gotham Racing 2 to a fully-fledged release, this simple shooter offered countless hours of score-chasing fun, and proved a difficult benchmark for other XBLA titles to reach both in terms of quality and popularity. Despite the better visuals and extra content in Sigma, it wasn't without its issues (and even removed and altered some elements) so most purists will tell you that Ninja Gaiden Black remains the best way to enjoy the original game in the revived series.įor a few years, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved would be held as the gold standard against which all other Xbox Live Arcade games would be judged. Both Ninja Gaiden and Black launched as Xbox exclusives, although a revised version of the game subtitled Sigma made it onto PS3 a few years later, and other systems more recently. It still looks and runs great for a game that's over 15 years old, too, especially since it's one of the many games that benefits from Xbox One X enhancements when played via backwards compatibility, so it actually looks better than ever today. Black is the definitive version of Team Ninja's already-incredible Ninja Gaiden reboot, and introduces, among a bunch of other things, two much-requested features - an easier difficulty mode called Ninja Dog to help less skilled players beat what is famously a damn tough game, and an even harder one in Master Ninja to give experts a true challenge. Ninja Gaiden Black is comfortably in the genre's top flight, and it's kinda wild that 2005 gave us two of the very best in this and Devil May Cry 3. Character action games are so reliant on tight controls and satisfying combat that they're notoriously hard to get right, but oh-so-rewarding when done well.
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