Video Game Reviews

Fans of epic adventure games like Skyrim owe a debt to Peter Molyneux and Lionhead Studios for creating the Fable series. Though revisiting Fable evokes a comparison more akin to Legend of Zelda, it’s important to remember that the game broke new ground in the open world/fantasy genre. I can’t remember a game before Fable that allowed the player to slaughter a whole town if it suited their fancy, but there were a lot of them after the game was released. In Fable Anniversary, the game’s already beautiful graphics have been given the HD treatment, accentuating the unique artistic style that remains one of Fable’s strongest features. The anniversary edition also includes The Lost Chapters, an expansion that offers players new quests and weapons. Though the graphics and Danny Elfman’s cinematic score have been beautifully remastered, the gameplay is still trapped in 2004. Juggling melée, ranged and magical combat with a clunky blocking and targeting system is quite the ordeal. Boss battles quickly become tedious as you whittle down hit points with the same combination of attacks. In the end, however, the stellar graphics and nostalgic fantasy environment make Fable Anniversary a worthy trip down memory lane. –Alex Springer

This game is just plain stupid. The makers of Splosion Man and Gunstringer have never been know to make the most serious of titles, but good Lord, LocoCycle is ridiculous even by their standards. You play as “I.R.I.S.”, a runaway sentient motorcycle who is dragging a Nicaraguan mechanic named Pablo (voiced by Planet Terror’s Freddy Rodriguez) along on her journey to Indiana to take part…you know what? The story obviously doesn’t matter. What matters is that the game is charming during its cut scenes (which amount to something of a sort of enjoyable B movie), but it’s boring during gameplay. Mindlessly shooting at black cars and fighting flying robots while driving in and out of traffic should be fun, but it just isn’t here. The most damning thing about LocoCycle, however, is the way it looks. Honestly, it wouldn’t even be considered an average-looking game on the Xbox 360. Overall, this title was a disappointment for me from a studio that I am generally a big fan of. One that, even at its $10 price tag, I wouldn’t suggest buying unless you have completely run out of things to play on your X1.  —Blake Leszczynski

Azran Legacy is also Professor Layton’s legacy—and he leaves the gaming world on a high note. You join the professor and his brainy companions in a trip around the world looking for powerful artifacts. You’re plagued by Targent (your enemies) throughout your expedition. The puzzles and riddles will give your mind a work out, and the game isn’t bad to look at either. All of the cut scenes are done in a great anime style, and each part of the towns you explore are incredibly detailed. You can explore every inch of the screen, and it rewards you with hint coins and extra puzzles for you to solve. There are a few new mini-games in your trunk—one of which involves an adorable little squirrel with puzzles that will break your brain. The only bad thing about this game is they don’t do much with the 3D aspect even though there are many puzzles and things they could have done with depth. There’s not a whole lot of new mechanics to the core game structure, but they’re still done well. Overall, it’s just another Professor Layton game, and honestly, the Professor deserved a bigger send off. —Ashley Lippert