About

There are well over 1500 Xbox Indie Games, with dozens upon dozens released every month, but hardly anyone reviewing the vast majority them. Therefore, instead of complaining about it, I decided to review them myself. This originally started as an feature on my personal blog, now it has its own space.  The blog will generally be updated with one or twice a week for now(wallet issues) unless I got a download code, then there will be more. .

How I pick games

Download code games generally go before bought games and I’ll review the vast majority of them.Note that Multiplayer – only games stand 0 chance of getting reviewed. They must have a single player component.

Now, most of the games I buy to review are generally Marketplace rated between 2 and 4 stars, with focus paid to games at 3 stars. The reason for this is because there are quite a number of games that are at three stars but are far better than they appear. A prime example is Partyboat, a retail quality simulation rated three stars because the trial wasn’t that great.

Score

I don’t give a numerical or alphabetical scores. However, all games reviewed get categorized either as “Recommended” “Up to You” or “Garbage”

Recommended- I recommended people play this game because it’s a good game. The top games I review are added to my Must Play List.

Up to You-  Games that have significant merit but for various reasons have issues that prevent a full recommendation.  Still, may be worth purchasing for select individuals. A game may also get this designation if I know there are plenty of people who will enjoy the game but I personally dislike it enough to not recommend it.

Garbage- Not recommended because you’re wasting your money if you purchase it. A game can get this designation from anything from being crap(most of the time) to being over-priced.

Review Philosophy

First, I look at the game’s quality. Since Xbox Indies are all about budget games, I’m not looking for award winning 3D graphics, professional voice acting and 40+ hour epics, but those qualities help immensely. What I do look for can best be summarized as “Does the game achieve what it sets out to do as well as possible?” That means is it fun to play if it is a game, or an interesting/useful program if it isn’t? Is the game well crafted with a good menu system and lots of options.  Is it bug free and all features work correctly? If the graphics and sound are simple, do they not detract from the experience?

Therefore, it doesn’t matter if your game features primitive graphics and beeps and boops as long as the game play itself holds up. This also means I’m not automatically harsh to releases that aren’t games, as long as they are interesting and useful.

Second, I look at how the game stacks up against its cohorts, both on the service and not. Does it bring anything new or unique? Does the game stand out among similar XNA titles? Does the game give XBLA and full retail titles a run for their money? It is a bargain/over priced?  If the game rips off a classic game, how well do they rip it off?

This means I’ll be harder on games in crowded arenas like zombie games, avatar games, twin stick shooters than games for which there are few  similar XNA titles. While I’m not expecting originality from most, I do expect developers to put their own spins on tried and true genres and do it well. This is why I don’t salivate over I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1.

Comment Policy

You can disagree with me. However, flaming is not tolerated and you decide to do so, nobody will ever read it. However, if you disagree with me and write an explanation that’s reasonable, people will be able to read it.

In order to cut down on spam comments, which are extremely annoying to go delete, only registered WordPress members can post.

Developers:

If you send me a code and  I think your game is trash, that’s exactly the label it’s getting. However, I’ve enjoyed some pretty bad games, so you’ll never known unless you try.

Contact Email:

Xnareview at mail dot com

Disclaimer

All opinions are mine and mine alone.

I pay for all  games out of my own pocket, unless I state I got the trial or got a free download code.

I  have no relationship to the developers of any games I review.