Tag: Retro
News Xbox Is Going All Retro With Multiple '90s-Based Releases This Week
Including a port of this 1997 FPS
Fan of '90s games? Well, Xbox has got a few interesting new releases in the lineup this week, including a port of a 1997 FPS, a sequel to a management game from the early '90s, and a couple of modern titles with '90s inspirations. The first of those is Chasm: The Rift, which was released a year after the original...
News Time Extension Has Arrived! The Newest Member Of Our Network
Perfect for fans of classic gaming
If you're a keen reader of Pure Xbox, you may also be aware that Nintendo Life and Push Square operate under the same Hookshot Media banner. Well, we've now got a fourth outlet to add to that list in the form of Time Extension! The goal behind Time Extension is to focus on all things retro — here's how editor...
Random 20 Years Ago, This Xbox Ad Was Banned From British Television
"When you're new, you have to be clear about what you stand for as a brand"
Xbox turns 20 today, and while we're remembering some of the most amazing Xbox-related games and events of the past two decades, it's perhaps worth mentioning the amazing British TV commercial for the console's launch which was banned following a handful of complaints...
Review Shooting Love 200X (Xbox 360)
Bad romance
It isn't every day that a Japanese-made title is released worldwide for either of the currently-available Xbox platforms. Shooting Love 200X came out of absolutely nowhere when it was released back in April for Xbox 360 and was very much a surprise release, especially when you consider that it was first published in Japan back in...
Pure Retro Did You Know That James Bond 007: Nightfire Had a Thrilling Multiplayer Mode?
License to Kill
When the Xbox 360 was the latest and greatest console on the market, that meant the original Xbox was only last-gen, which didn’t make it all that old. But now that the Xbox One has ushered in a new generation, it finally makes sense to slap the retro label on those classic Xbox games. That’s where Pure Retro comes in. From here...
Partners in cute
Juju is a total surprise. When a platformer such as this comes out of nowhere with little to no promotion behind it, it’s tough not to expect that it will be another dud that deserves to disappear into the darkest corner of the Xbox Live Marketplace. But then we got our hands on it, and within minutes it was apparent that this is...
Review Assassin's Creed Rogue (Xbox 360)
A cold, hard, cash grab?
Given most of Ubisoft's marketing budget went on Assassin's Creed Unity this year, you'd be forgiven if you thought Assassin's Creed Rogue was a cash grab or an afterthought when it was announced in early August. Though the latter may feel slightly true given some of the games presentation decisions, Rogue is able to bring a...
Review Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom (Xbox 360)
Totes alright... but not quite mathematical
To be blunt, last year’s Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW (hence forth referred to as ETDBIDK) was a poor game. With bland and repetitive dungeon crawling that desperately needed another dose of Adventure Time’s wacky flavor, as well as more overall purpose, it was a game that...
Review Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Xbox 360)
The P-1 Grand Prix is back and better than ever
Few fan bases are more passionate about what they care about than Persona fans. So when acclaimed fighting game developer Arc System Works was tasked with creating a fighting game based on Atlus' beloved RPG series, many were skeptical on how it would be able to translate the turn-based gameplay into a...
Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze (Xbox 360)
Another turtle-tastrophe
We apologize in advance for doing this, but click here and here. Last year saw the release of two video games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license, and you should know that we found both of them to be pretty terrible. But despite these Galapagos tortoise-sized cowabummers, when TMNT: Danger of the Ooze was...
In for repairs
“Welcome to Brazil, where the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos is currently being hammered by torrential rain. The track is absolutely soaked and there was talk of calling the race off, but we’re here and ready to go. The cars are on the grid, facing down 71 laps of the circuit, with Lewis Hamilton in the Pure...
Review Slender: The Arrival (Xbox 360)
Oh, the Slender Man... the Slender Man can.
Back in 2012, a two-man development team at Parsec Productions created a PC game called Slender: The Eight Pages as an experiment. The Eight Pages was based on the tale of The Slender Man, a tall and faceless paranormal figure who would stalk, traumatize, and abduct anyone who may come across him,...
Ruining the gauntlet.
When a game series throws out fistfuls of features that were part of the very reason that fans of the series became fans of the series, people aren’t usually all that happy about it. There’s a desire for improvement and growth of course, but there’s also that desire for more of the same. Fans of the first two Sacred...
Review Abyss Odyssey (Xbox 360)
A rogue-like by any other name...
The term "rogue-like" has undoubtedly been slow to grow in popularity, but in recent years it seems that it's finally starting to catch on. It's a phrase that comes from a sub-genre of RPGs that abide by a set of game design choices, including procedurally-generated worlds and permanent death — which titles like...
Review GRID Autosport (Xbox 360)
Crossing the line?
When Codemasters announced that they’d be reviving the Race Driver series with GRID 2 last year, many people were suitably excited. The original Race Driver GRID was a fantastic game which pitched itself somewhere between arcade racing and simulation, and that provided big, beefy cars battling it out over several disciplines...
Review Blood of The Werewolf (Xbox 360)
Murder, she wrote
Blood of the Werewolf is a tough-as-nails action platformer that marries core genre conventions with modern mechanics and ideas. If you took the "try, die, repeat" appeal of Super Meat Boy, the gothic themes of Castlevania, and combat elements similar to those in Final Exam, you’d have a reasonable idea of what to expect here...
Review 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (Xbox 360)
Back of the pocket.
When EA announced that they wouldn’t be releasing their quadrennial World Cup version of their FIFA series as DLC – which is something they trialled with the Euro 2012 add-on for FIFA 12 – the gaming world sighed. It was an indication that we were going back to the bad old days of paying out the full retail price for the...
Review Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (Xbox 360)
Stabs itself in the foot.
The modern-day Ninja Gaiden as a franchise has always been known for it's challenge, but it was always fair. It would throw obstacles at you that could be overcome through thought and tactical awareness. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z however ignores this, going for more aggressive and less balanced approach. You play as Yaiba, a...
Review MXGP: The Official Motocross Game (Xbox 360)
Muddy.
When it comes to messing about on motorbikes in the mud, gamers used to have a fair few options to choose from. Acclaim, THQ, EA, Microsoft and others were involved in publishing games that varied from average to outstanding, but that all fell away as gamers grew bored of annual releases that lacked passion. Now, the landscape is less...
Review Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Xbox 360)
Is this a Dragon Ball Zzzzzz?
Dragon Ball Z has always been known for it's spectacle of over the top fun, characters, design and action. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z is no exception in this highly stylized spectacle fighter, which is easy to play, enjoyable to watch, but which can become repetitive before it gets fun. There isn't really any story to...
Review Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360)
Strike three. And you're out!
Final Fantasy XIII had a pretty convoluted plot, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 didn’t help clarify it much. Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns adds even more confusion to the narrative, so much so that it’s very difficult to enjoy the tale it’s trying to weave. However, if you can look past the ridiculous, and...
Review Earth Defense Force 2025 (Xbox 360)
Buggin' Out
Earth Defense Force 2025 takes itself about as seriously a SyFy original film would. Tonally, it’s a little bit Starship Troopers and part Godzilla, offering up non-stop, mindless bug-killing action. Missions aren’t very complex; hundreds of giant enemies are about to drop into the environment…kill them all. And that’s about the...
Can it steal the gold?
Since the release of Thief: The Dark Project in 1998, the Thief franchise has been known as the grandfather of the stealth genre. It's mastery of simple, yet elegant stealth mechanics, sound design and environments have been a benchmark ever since. Now Eidos Montreal have taken the development reins for the fourth installment...
Review Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Xbox 360)
Second time round.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 isn't going to grab your attention as firmly as its predecessor did. The narrative fumbles along and the structure flutters between confusing and tedious. Indeed this denouement to MercurySteam’s take on this cherished franchise doesn't live up to their first foray. However, creative boss...
Review PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures (Xbox 360)
Pac isn't back.
For this first time since the last time, everyone’s favourite spherical pill-muncher is back, apparently. Only this time he has an American “surfer dude” voice. But that isn’t the only change, oh no. He’s friends with some of the ghosts that he was looking to gobble up in the iconic original title for starters and on top of...
Review South Park: The Stick of Truth (Xbox 360)
Great or just m'kay?
Reviewing South Park: The Stick of Truth on a family-friendly site was always going to be a tough proposition. We may have to break a long-standing site rule or two here in order to describe the content and get our point across. After all, it doesn’t matter how much of an accomplished wordsmith you are, you can’t describe...
Review Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360)
Children of the Levolution™
It's always somewhat difficult deciding on how to review such heavily multiplayer-centric games. There's no shortage of single-player affairs on the market that feature a tacked-on multiplayer component, seemingly put together at the final hour in order to tick one of the many boxes that developers - or rather,...
A point of view.
When it comes to ticking all the indie boxes, someone at intriguingly named developer Quantum Astrophysicists Guild seems to have had a long old list to run through when it comes to The Bridge. From furnishing the game with a black and white pencil sketch art style, via allowing you to fast-rewind time with a simple button press,...
Review Call of Duty: Ghosts (Xbox 360)
Do you know what time it is?!
With the "It's Call of Duty time" tagline that's plastered across advertisements far and wide, comes expectations; the expectation that we know what to expect. If you’re one of the people who think they know what kind of experience is to be found in Infinity Ward’s latest military shooter, chances are you’re...
Review Deadfall Adventures (Xbox 360)
Buried alive.
When we previewed Deadfall Adventures a couple of months ago, we were promised by the publisher that there was a lot of work to be done. Some graphical elements would be cleaned up, the gunplay would be tweaked, and framerate fixes would be put in place. In short, the normal last-minute polish and clean-up work would be done in order...
Knocked out.
When THQ went pop and Take 2 picked up the rights for the valuable WWE franchise, we envisioned that WWE 2k14 would be something of a transitional title. From the outset, it’s clear to see that the usual yearly changes have been made. A few new fighters are in place, and old ones have updated movesets, attire, entrance videos, and...
No flunking here
Before playing Final Exam, we’d heard it be described as a sidescrolling Left 4 Dead, and, in all honesty, that’s a fairly apt comparison; it’s a 4-player zombie slayer with online co-op, a level set in a subway, and a massive, hulking enemy called a Tank. Superficial, skin-deep comparisons aside, Mighty Rocket Studio’s...
Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Xbox 360)
Turtle-y dire.
Being fans of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, we were looking forward to this year. A slick-looking reboot of the show was already in full swing, and Activision had not one, but TWO new games due to hit the Xbox 360 to celebrate. We already know what a massive let-down the digital title – Teenage Mutant...
Review Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360)
This Batman may be less refined, but he still packs a solid punch.
For a man who successfully fights crime by being one with the shadows, we have a feeling not even Batman himself would be comfortable living in the looming overcast of the masterful Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Those are not only two of the greatest superhero games in existence,...
Review Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360)
Sing hearty!
To say that there’s a world of difference between Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and the original game in the series, would be the understatement of the year. We only raise the point in fact, as there seems to be a somewhat vocal group of folks who have decided that the series hasn’t progressed at all. It still features that...
Another lap.
In the history of Formula One racing, there have been only four Grands Prix that have ended with as many runners as have started. The 1961 Dutch GP, the 2005 Italian GP, the controversial 2005 US GP (which only had six starters) and the 2011 European GP. We were close this year, with only one failing to finish in the Belgian GP, but all...
Review Hot Wheels: World's Best Driver (Xbox 360)
Can't handle it
The Hot Wheels brand has been around for over 40 years now, and feels as synonymous with American culture as hot dogs, apple pie, and baseball. In fact, we’d be surprised to learn of any boy that didn’t have at least one of these classic die-cast cars in their toy-box at some point in their young life. To this day we harbor...
Psi-what?
You can safely bet from the cover art and screenshots to Girl Fight what sort of game you're getting yourself in to. Kung Fu Factory shows no shame in taking what gamers secretly wanted in Dead or Alive all along: remove all of the male fighters and put a strong emphasis on beautiful, digital vixens with odd fashion senses and a refusal to...
Top corner.
The football season is in full swing, and with the EA and Microsoft cosying up over the FIFA series this year, it looks like it’ll eventually be a big 2013 for the franchise on Xbox platforms. Sales aren’t what they were last year in the early going, but with the Xbox One version of FIFA 14 being bundled with preorders, some players...
Ice and simple.
The puck has dropped on the new NHL season and as sure as day follows night, that means that EA have been at work on their yearly update to the NHL game franchise. This year, the build-up to the game’s release seemed to focus more on who was going to be the athlete on the cover (it ended up being the Devils goalie Martin Brodeur)...
Review Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360)
It's the little things
It’s no easy feat to live up to expectations when everyone in the world of gaming is anticipating nothing short of perfection from your next game, before even catching a glimpse of it in action. These lofty expectations are surely attributed to Rockstar’s ability to continually redefine the open-world genre, release after...
Yellow card
With Xbox Live Arcade going through one of its quality spikes of late, it seems that every week, there’s another big-name title just waiting to separate you from your cash. In the past month or so, we’ve seen Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Charlie Murder, Disney Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, DuckTales Remastered
Review World Series of Poker: Full House Pro (Xbox 360)
Fold 'em.
When Full House Poker hit Xbox Live Arcade back in 2011, it had one thing that other play-money poker games did not – Texas Heat. For those who never played it, Texas Heat was a gameshow-style poker tournament, presented on a schedule. Each half-hour “show” consisted of three levels of play, with better (or luckier) players being...
Review Disney Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Xbox 360)
Mostly Magical
Castle of Illusion isn’t the straight remake of the 1990 Sega Genesis original that you may have expected it to be. While some levels are largely the same, others are completely retooled, with new illusions and tricks around every turn. But worry not, retro purists, the same wondrous environments and engulfing atmospheres remain...
Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of The Shadows (Xbox 360)
It's not a party, dude.
When Out of the Shadows was unveiled back in March of this year, fans were in an uproar about the new look of their beloved Turtles. Instead of going the cartoony route of the current TMNT series on Nickelodeon, developer Red Fly Studios was presenting something a bit more mature, with the Turtles faces actually resembling...
Review Saints Row IV (Xbox 360)
The Saints go marching in.
Saints Row IV is insanity itself. There's no other way of really opening proceedings, other than to say that. From the various “homages" to great video games that have passed before, to the off-the-wall comedy and the racier portions of the game, the whole thing feels like it's assaulting your brain from start to...
Review Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Xbox 360)
Brotherly Love
The very definition of a “video game” has changed in recent years – evolved even – from the uprise and mass acceptance of indie development. We're seeing developers use video games as a new medium to tell evocative and intelligent narratives without normal, traditional gaming conventions. That exact sentiment can easily be...
Review Cloudberry Kingdom (Xbox 360)
Painfully Pleasing
Cloudberry Kingdom is platforming insanity, and it fully exposes itself for what it is before even allowing you to reach the main menu. Upon booting the game you’re welcomed to a video that shows the main character, Bob, traversing the most densely packed environments you’ll likely ever see in a side-scrolling platformer...
Review Rayman Legends (Xbox 360)
Not just a Teensie bit brilliant.
The story of Rayman Legends is a well-known one. Originally slated to be a Wii U exclusive, Ubisoft reviewed the sales figures for another one of their Wii U-only titles – ZombiiU – and decided to delay the game and make it multiplatform. Thank heavens that they did. You see, Rayman Legends is something of a...
Review Charlie Murder (Xbox 360)
Hybrid Moments
Charlie Murder is unabashedly punk rock; it is what it wants to be, and doesn't care if you like it. That’s something we can commend, even if it doesn't always work out for the best. Charlie and his band of misfits are on a mission to stop a rival metal band, Gore Quaffer - and their army of minions - from being the most rockin'...
