No new retail games hit the Xbox consoles last week, although Defense Technica and Dustforce did quietly slip onto XBLA. But this week we have a major retail release and a highly-anticipated downloadable title, each hitting both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One simultaneously!
The big disc game is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from Activision. Well, you can buy it on disc for 360. The Xbox One version is download-only because the retail release hit a last-minute delay. And on the purely downloadable front, Ubisoft has just published a beautiful platformer-RPG known as Child of Light. Read on for more details and our exclusive Amazing Spider-man 2 gameplay video!
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Not to be confused with Gameloft’s upcoming adaptation of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this is a completely separate game from Beenox and Activision. Both games share broadly similar gameplay, though.
If you played the previous Amazing Spider-Man game based on the movie of the same name, you have a good idea of what to expect from the sequel. The console game develops a unique story in which Peter Parker continues to search for his uncle Ben’s killer. His trail will lead to multiple classic villains including the Kingpin of crime, a character not seen in the films.
Amazing Spider-Man 2 is an open-world game. Spidey can swing all over the city, just like the first Windows Phone game. But now players have control of each arm during web swinging, providing a lot of control over Spidey’s movements and momentum.
The combat is fast and intuitive. You can punch and dodge or mix things up by shooting web balls, zipping towards the enemy, or pulling the bad guy towards you. Impressive combos pop out with ease. Beating bad guys earns experience for the various suits Spidey can wear, providing a fun sense of progression and customization.
The Xbox One version is a relatively small download of 10 GBs. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t look all that much better than the 360 game. But Spidey himself has a very detailed character model, at least. If you’re rocking an Xbox One and don’t mind the plain-ish graphics and lengthy load times, you’ll probably have a good time. Stay tuned for our full review!
- Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Xbox One – 9.9 GB – $59.99 – Amazon Preorder Link– Xbox.com Store Link (US account required)
- Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Xbox 360 – 6.5 GB – $49.99 – Amazon Link– Xbox.com Store Link
Child of Light
This unique role-playing game from the creators of Far Cry 3 tells the story of a princess named Aurora who falls asleep one night and awakens in the mystical land of Lemuria. Child of Light’s fairy tale-inspired story comes to life via beautiful illustrations and poetic rhyming dialogue. Word on the street is the actual narrative is uninspired, but at least the developers put a lot of effort into its presentation.
Child of Light’s gameplay takes place entirely in jaw-droppingly gorgeous 2D, much like the recent Rayman games. Aurora will explore a vast world filled with distinct regions. The cool part of the exploration is that the heroine can fly around at will.
Whenever Aurora and her NPC partners encounter enemies, JRPG-style battles commence. Heroes and enemies take turns dealing physical damage or performing magical attacks, not unlike the Final Fantasy games. A timing meter at the bottom helps keep track of everyone’s turns, and you can even stun enemies to set them back on the meter. The combat is actually super deep and has received widespread praise from critics so far.
The Xbox One is quickly building an impressive library of downloadable games like Child of Light. And fortunately for previous gen gamers, this one made it to the Xbox 360 too.
- Child of Light – Xbox One – 2.3 GB – $14.99 – Xbox.com Store Link
- Child of Light – Xbox 360 – 1.5 GB – $14.99 – Xbox.com Store Link