Defense Grid: The Awakening Review for the Xbox 360

Defense Grid: The Awakening

One Solid Tower Defense

Defense Grid: The Awakening is the newest title in Microsoft's "Games with Gold" program in which they are giving away games every month to members of their Xbox LIVE service. Defense Grid: The Awakening is their newest release in the set of games. Defense Grid is a Tower-Defense game, in which you try to stop aliens from getting to the "Core", in which they pick up these little purple spheres and have to bring them back to their base. But, it's pretty impossible for them to get away with your spheres if you know just how to place your arsenal of weapons at hand, such as Turrets, Lasers, Meteors, and much more.

The game is easy to pick up and play, and is well worth it's 800 Microsoft Points price tag if you are not an Xbox LIVE Gold member. The game has great graphics that were way better than what I was expecting, and the gameplay is fun, fast-paced, and an all-around great time when you really get into it. Between Fable III and this, "Games With Gold" is off to an amazing start!

The NERDict:

+ Addictive Gameplay

+ Rich Environments

+ Great Tower Defense Mechanics

- Slight Framerate Issues

Rating: 9

*FINISHED* GIVEAWAY: Win One of 7 Need for Speed and $5.00 Origin Codes!!

THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

GIVEAWAY:

 Win One of 7 Need for Speed and $5.00 Origin Codes!

Do you want one of the seven available EA codes up for grabs on TheGamerTeen? For a chance to win, follow @TheGamerTeen on Twitter. For additional entries, retweet any of my Tweets. This contest will start at 6:00 PM est on April 15, 2013. The contest will end at 6:00 PM est on April 20, 2013. Winners will be contacted through private message on Twitter and will have 24 hours to claim their prize before a replacement winner is chosen.

Prizes Up for Grabs:

$5.00 Discount Code for your Order at Origin

$5.00 Discount Code for your Order at Origin

$5.00 Discount Code for your Order at Origin

$5.00 Discount Code for your Order at Origin

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Dodge Car for the PlayStation 3

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Dodge Car for the PlayStation 3

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Dodge Car for the Xbox 360

Codes expire on 8/31/13

THE CODES ARE GIVEN ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS BY CONTACT BACK ORDER. IF THE PRIZE DESIRED HAS ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN, I WILL SEND YOU AN EXCLUSIVE NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED WALLPAPER.

Battleblock Theater Review for the Xbox 360

BattleBlock Theater
A Madman's Platformer

If you haven't already seen it all over the Xbox 360 Home, BattleBlock Theater by The Behemoth has hit the Xbox Live Arcade! The game features levels on levels of platforming action for you to enjoy whether it may be by yourself or with a friend either online or on your couch! No matter how you play it, BattleBlock Theater is an amazing game with challenging levels, fun co-op, and some pretty cool multiplayer modes.

BattleBlock Theater starts off with you and your friend, Hatty Hattington aboard the SS Friend Ship when you are shipwrecked on a mysterious island, inhabited by an advanced species of cats. Then, the cats take you and make you act in deadly theater performances, while they put what seems to be a possessed hat on Hatty. From that point on, Hatty begins to work against you. (or you and your friend if playing in Co-Op mode)

In BattleBlock Theater, most of the game consists of basic platforming mechanics as you go through the many deadly levels created by Hatty Hattington. The levels are quite simple at the beginning, but as the game progresses, you require more skill and knowledge to beat the levels, such as how to collect the hairball without dying or how to get the last green crystal in the level. Overall, the gameplay works just fine and is an enjoyable experience.

The sound design for BattleBlock Theater is also fantastic. The music is energetic and always upbeat, which adds an eeriness to the game, since while this happy music is playing, the player is jumping over spikes or running across exploding blocks. The voice acting is also fantastic, and the narrator is very funny. From the opening cutscene, you know right away that you are in for a hilarious, strange, but interesting adventure.

There are 8 different multiplayer modes in the game:

• Soul - Steal the enemy's soul and run away
• Muckle - Easily the most fun multiplayer mode, where either you or you and a teammate will fight against two other players, beating each other up for points
• Challenge - Score the best time on the level given to you
• Grab the Gold - Grab more gold from the golden whale than the other team and put it in the floating safe
• Ball Game - A game mode where you simply throw a ball in a basket
• Horse - Horse is a game mode where the objective is to ride the enemy team's horse to your team's stables to gain points and win the round

Screenshot from BattleBlock Theater's Co-Op Mode
(Split-Screen or Online Multiplayer)

The ability to create levels in the game is very fun, and it adds a whole new way to play the game. You can build levels where you either have to solve puzzles and collect crystals, or you can build levels in which people will battle in. The possibilities are really endless in the level creator, and personally I cannot wait to see some of the crazy things that people will come up with!

BattleBlock Theater in my opinion is one of the must-have downloadable titles of 2013. From it's quirky humor to its addictive gameplay and innovative level design, BattleBlock Theater is well worth its $15 price tag!

The NERDict:

+ Great Sense of Humor

+ Innovative Level Design

+ Spectacular Co-Op Gameplay

+ Fun and Addictive Competitive Multiplayer

Rating: 9.5

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Review for the Xbox 360

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

The Best Tranformers Game Ever?

The most critically acclaimed Transformers video game series is back and better than ever with stunning graphics and amazing third person shooter action! In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, you play as a variety of different Autobots and Decepticons throughout the campaign. Throughout the missions, you will play as different characters that go along with that part of the story, from Megatron to Optimus Prime to Grimlock (pictured below)

Grimlock breathing fire onto a group of Decepticons

Fall of Cybertron is a blast. From the second you start the game until the credits roll, there is not a second of downtime. The voice acting is terrific and the sound design is great. When is swung my giant metal sword and smashed an enemy, the metal crunching sounds were amazing! Every weapon in the game also sounds fantastic, and each one differs in some way, whether it is the size, shape, recoil, or damage.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron had a lot to live up to, since the first game was so great, but Fall of Cybertron did much more than living up to the hype. It surpassed the original game. The graphics are so much better, which I didn't think was possible since the first game also looked fantastic. All of the weapons in the game can be upgraded, whether it would be for improved firing rate or if it would be for something like more ammo per clip. Fall of Cybertron is a major step forward for High Moon Studio's already very successful franchise.

When you finish the main campaign of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, you still have much to do in the game. There are many different multiplayer modes that are all very addictive and fun to play. The modes are Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Headhunter, Conquest, and my personal favorite, which is Escalation mode. In Escalation mode, you and four other players will fight off increasingly difficult waves of enemies. You have to buy weapons and health with the money you earn from the previous round. Escalation is the most challenging mode, but the most fun.

The NERDict:

+ Amazing Voice Acting

+ Great Sound Design

+ Fun Multiplayer Modes

+ Outstanding Graphics

Rating: 10

Terraria Review for the Xbox 360

Terraria

One Crazy 2D Journey

Part 1 of 2: Discovering Terraria

I first discovered Terraria the day after Easter this year. All of my cards had been opened and I had some money to play around with, so I went onto my Xbox 360 to look around the Marketplace. Then, I got an invite to a friend's Xbox Live party. We talked about Easter and I told him how I got Need for Speed: Most Wanted. He told me what he got, and then he asked me if I had heard of Terraria. I hadn't, but then I went and looked it up in the Xbox Live Marketplace, and I found possibly the best Xbox Live Arcade game out there.

After it downloaded, I was invited to my friend's game. He taught me the basics and gave me some weapons and equipment to start off with. I got the hang of things pretty quickly. Then, I started to explore the open world. I started building houses and getting NPCs (Non-Player Characters) to move into them. I had a blast playing the game. My friend and I played through several days and nights in the game, recruiting more NPCs, getting more hearts, more manna, and more abilities. Then, a couple of my other friends joined our party, discovered Terraria, and later joined our game after doing a couple things in their own worlds.

Part 2 of 2: The Review

Terraria is a game you could get lost in for hours. It is amazing, but time consuming. It took me a couple tries to get my world started and get a house built before night crept upon me and the creatures of it killed me. After I had an established house and a table and chair with some torches, my first NPC moved in with me. Then, after fighting some enemies and getting coins, the shopkeeper moved in with me, making it easier to buy things like boomerangs or ammo for if you are fortunate enough to have a musket like I am.

In Terraria, you can have many things from grappling hooks to laser guns. The possibilities are truly endless. I had a great time playing the game with my friends, and single player is also a blast. It is like a 2d version of Minecraft, but with boss fights and more equipment. (and also NPCs) Overall, Terraria is a great experience and definitely something an Xbox 360 gamer should check out if they have $15 to their name.

The NERDict:

+ NPCs

+ Boss Fights

+ Exploration and Creation is Key

- Rough Beginning

Rating: 9

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition Review for the Xbox 360

Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Open World Racing Has Never Felt So Good

For Easter this year, I was happy to find a copy of Need for Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition in my basket. After getting home from Church, I fired up my Xbox 360, opened my tray, and started up possibly one of the best games I have played in a long time.

When the opening cutscene began, I was completely blown away by the stunning graphics. And then when the cutscene ended, it threw me behind the wheel of a white Porsche Aston Martin. As I was cruising through the streets of Fairhaven, I noticed all the life and depth of the city itself. The city has a variety of cars driving around the vast open world. I had never seen so much depth in a free-roam racing game in my life!

I had a blast just exploring the map itself. From the city to the towering mountains to the scenic overlooks and bridges, this game looks all-around amazing. The lighting effects look beautiful, and the game looks its best when the sun is setting and you are speeding across one of the bridges in the huge world. The lighting looks perfect on the bridge, and the car's shadow is also spectacular.

Now, I'm going to talk about gameplay. At first, the cars feel a little hard to handle. But, after a good 5 minutes, you really get the hang of things. In terms of racing, this is the best that the Need for Speed franchise has ever been. Every race feels fun and very smooth, but now and then after a big crash, I would experience framerate issues. Now, that didn't happen too much, so it is nothing to worry about.

Overall, I would say that this a very high quality game that you could definitely sink a good deal of time into. And nothing is more rewarding than beating the most wanted cars, wrecking them, and getting a nice new ride after such a challenging race. Need for Speed: Most Wanted sets a whole new standard for driving games, or just open world games in general.

The NERDict:

+ Stunning Visuals

+ Smooth Gameplay

+ Gripping Police Chases

- Sensitive Driving Controls

Rating: 9.5

Batman Arkham City: Game of the Year Edition Review for the Xbox 360

Batman: Arkham City:

The Bat is Back and Better than Ever

After being a longtime Batman fan and a huge fan of Batman: Arkham City, I was very excited to see what Rocksteady's next project, Arkham City, would be like. I read all of the rave reviews for the game, and figured that I would hold out for the Game of the Year Edition of the title. So after waiting for it's release, I went to the local GameStop and got the game for about $30. And after ripping it open in the car, within a few seconds I realized that it was well worth the money.

Batman Arkham City: Game of the Year Edition contains a load of extra content. The game comes with two discs, one being the core game, and the other one made up of all downloadable content. Here is exactly what the Game of the Year Edition contains:

• Harley Quinn's Revenge: After the death of her beloved Joker, Harley Quinn takes over for him. She goes crazier than she even was before and is seeking vengeance against the Caped Crusader

• Catwoman Pack: Adding to the story of the core game, follow Catwoman as she roams around the city on the prowl for her loot that was stolen from her by Two-Face's gang. Fight your way through 4 different missions as you see what Catwoman was doing throughout all of Arkham City.

• Robin Bundle Pack: Play through all of the Challenge Maps in the game as Robin, along with two new challenge maps - Black Mask and Freight Train

• Nightwing Bundle Pack: Play through all of the Challenge Maps in the game as Nightwing, along with two new challenge maps - Wayne Manor and Main Hall

• Arkham City Skins Pack: Play as Batman, Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing in all new costumes from Batman: Long Halloween, Batman: The Animated Series, and many more.

• Challenge Map Pack: Play through three new Challenge Maps - The Joker's Carnival, The Iceberg Lounge, and the Batcave.

Batman: Arkham City is probably the best superhero game ever made. From the character animations to the gritty lighting effects and terrific voice acting, Batman: Arkham City is the must have game for any superhero fan or just all-out nerd in general. The characters are believable and Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are back to reprise their roles as Batman and his arch-nemesis, the Joker. Batman Arkham City: Game of the Year Edition is definitely worth the $30, because that pretty much just covered the downloadable content if you bought the original on release day.

The NERDict:

+ Great Voice Acting

+ Spectacular Combat

+ Gritty Environments

+ Extremely Cheap

Rating: 10