XBox 360 | The Newb Review

11Mar/105

Amazon store bargains!

If you were not aware, we have a little Amazon store here at Newbreview.com (link at the top of the page) which we use to try and raise a little cash that we can put toward prize giveaways and so on. Good old Mightyles has been scouring the store to find some real bargains that you might be interested in. Check out these prices and if you want to help support the site, click the links below and spend a few quid in the store.

User Rating

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

8Mar/101

DLC Review: Assassin’s Creed 2 – The Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities

Game: Assassin's Creed 2: The Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations
Format: 360, PS3
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft

The Newb Review has something of a love/hate relationship with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. We weren't the only ones who, to put it quite mildly, didn't like the first instalment (for the full review click here) as despite huge sales, every games critic under the sun gave it the good, hard bashing it rightfully deserved.

It was to our surprise then that last year Assassin's Creed 2 released and not only did it garner huge sales, but this time it was good. Very, VERY good in fact, a gargantuan improvement on its predecessor and subsequently it ended up being Crofterz personal vote for game of the year (although he was outvoted for The Newb Review Game of The Year Award, by about a quadrillion to one).

User Rating

Rating: 4.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Tagged as: Assassin's Creed 2, Assassins, Battle of Forli, Bonfire of the Vanities, Creed, crofterz, DLC, Ezio, Florence, Italy, Leonardo Davinci, Montreal, Playstation 3, Pope, PS3, renaissance, Review, Rome, Ubisoft, Venice, XBox 360 Continue reading

5Mar/100

DLC Review: Borderlands: The Secret Armory Of General Knoxx

Game: Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Format: Xbox 360
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games

The Newb Review Game of the Year nominee Borderlands received it's third piece of downloadable content last week, and to cut to the chase, it is brilliant. After the shambolic mess that is Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot which cut out all of the fun aspects of Borderlands: exploration of vibrant open areas, looting, and levelling up, we are treated to a lengthy new campaign, complete with expansive environments, new enemies, new weapons, and a further 11 experience levels to unlock.

Taking place directly after the events of the main game story, your character is contacted by Athena, an assassin who has recently quit working for the Crimson Lance and asks for your help bringing them down. Summoning you to T-Bone Junction, an entirely new town that you can access from any fast travel station, you are tasked with destroying the last stronghold of the Crimson Lance, in particular the titular Armory of General Knoxx.

User Rating

Rating: 4.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Tagged as: 2k games, Add, Armory, Borderlands, content, DLC, Downloadable, FPS, gearbox, General, Knoxx, Mad Moxxi, Mightyles, n00b, Newb, Noob, on, Pandora, PC, PS3, Review, Riot, Role Playing Game, RPG, Secret, shooter, Underdome, XBox 360 Continue reading

3Mar/103

Review: Aliens Versus Predator

Game: Aliens Versus Predator
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Sega

UK based developer Rebellion are no strangers to the Aliens Versus Predator (AVP) franchise. One of their first games was AVP for the Atari Jaguar, which is widely considered to be one of the console's finest games. They returned to the franchise in 1999 to release Aliens Vs. Predator on the PC, another critically lauded title. Yet in 2007 they released Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem for the PSP, which was generally panned by reviewers. However, no-one can argue that they don't know the source material.

Rebellion's latest offering to the AVP franchise is something of an uneven experience. With a fairly short single player campaign that is broken up into three modes, the Marine game, the Alien game, and the Predator game. The Marine sections are little more than a painfully generic shooter, while the Alien and Predator sections blend melee combat, stealth, and platforming to create a (mostly) interesting game, even if it is a little short.

User Rating

Rating: 2.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Tagged as: Alien, aliens, AVP, First Person Shooter, FPS, Lance Henricksen, Mightyles, PC, Playstation 3, Predator, Rebellion, Review, sega, UK, versus, Weyland-Utani, XBox 360 Continue reading

26Feb/108

Review: Darksiders

Game: Darksiders
Format: XBox 360
Developer: Vigil Games
Publisher: THQ

As an avid comic book reader, the name Joe Madureira (or Joe Mad as he likes to be called) is a familiar one. Rising to prominence in the mid 1990s as the artist on Uncanny X-Men, Joe Mad built up enough of a following to branch off on his own and create his own book called Battle Chasers.

With a clear influence from Japanese artists, and a fondness for hulking bodies with improbably large swords, Battle Chasers was a top selling book until Joe Mad decided to quit comics and work on another great love of his life, video games. After a number of false starts, Joe Mad's first game as creative director, Darksiders, has arrived. But is it any good? Read on to find out...

User Rating

Rating: 4.0/5 (3 votes cast)

Tagged as: action, Battlechasers, Darksiders, game, Joe, Joe Mad, Joefeesh, Maduriera, Mark Hamill, Marvel Comics, Mightyles, PS3, Review, The Watcher, Uncanny, X-men, XBox 360 Continue reading

23Feb/101

DLC Review: Resident Evil 5: Lost In Nightmares

Game: Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares
Format: Xbox 360
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

With the arrival of this generation of consoles and the advent of paid for downloadable content, the life span of your average game has increased dramatically. While most games receive their additional content within a few months of release, Resident Evil 5 owners have been given a new piece of downloadable content nearly a year after the game's original release.

While Resident Evil 5 had its detractors, I personally enjoyed sharing the intense experience the game had to offer with my friends via the cooperative campaign mode. As a long time fan of the Resident Evil series I was pleased to be playing as Chris Redfield, hero of the original Resident Evil, and found new character Sheva Alomar to be a well rounded addition to the Resident Evil series.

User Rating

Rating: 4.0/5 (3 votes cast)

22Feb/1010

Review: Final Fantasy XIII (Japanese Import)

This week The Newb Review presents to you, our beloved readers, a rare treat. Special guest writer Elliot Mears gives us the low down on one of the years most eagerly anticipated titles imported directly from Japan. Read on to find out what you can expect when this hot title finally reaches British shores.

Game: Final Fantasy XIII
Format: Playstation 3
Developer: Square Enix PDD1
Publisher: Square Enix

The 13th game in Square-Enix's long-running franchise arrives amid a heap of fanfare and hype and mixed reviews. So, is it any good? A qualified yes. Final Fantasy XIII is a measured, open and accessible slice of supremely professional JRPG blockbuster storytelling... For the most part. The main problem comes in navigating the faltering first few hours of the game, which are extremely linear and restrictive. This seems to have seen off a substantial number of players who lack the fortitude to struggle through.

User Rating

Rating: 4.0/5 (2 votes cast)

Tagged as: 13, Elliot Mears, Fantasy, Final, game, guest article, Import, Japanese, JRPG, Playing, Playstation 3, Role, RPG, Square Enix, XBox 360, XIII Continue reading

18Feb/105

Review: Dante’s Inferno

Game: Dante's Inferno
Format: 360, PS3
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts

God of War, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden... the action based hack-n'-slash genre is rarely associated with original or innovative gameplay and whilst Dante's Inferno cetainly doesn't break this trend, EA's latest offering still manages to deliver a unique and enjoyable experience.

Any readers or listeners of The Newb Review will know that ever since it was announced, Dante's Inferno has been the game I was most looking forward to. It has fended off stiff competition from the delightfully brilliant Mass Effect 2 and upcoming PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain. However, often when you're incredibly excited for an upcoming game, expectations are so high that when the final product turns out to be a bit of a disappointment. So with that in mind, how well does Dante's Inferno meet up to expectations?

User Rating

Rating: 4.3/5 (4 votes cast)

Tagged as: crofterz, Dante's Inferno, ea, Electronic Arts, Hell, Visceral Games, XBox 360, xbox live Continue reading

16Feb/100

Hardware Review: Rock Band Portable Drum Kit

What do you do when you have an itch that only a rhythm game can scratch? Other than apply a topical cream or a suppository, you would have to pay EA or Harmonix around £100 to get some instruments to help you rock out, right? This was a problem with which I was recently faced thanks to the overwhelming urge to play some Rock Band. With very little money on hand, a quick look online found me a third party portable drum controller designed specifically for Rock Band for around £10. A few days later a small package arrived containing my Madcatz Drum Controller.