PixlBit

Time to trade in my beard for a tiara, let’s do this!

This review is part of the 2014 Sh*tty Game Review Fest - read about the event here.

Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure is a tough nut to crack. On one hand, I can see where the developers were going with this and aiming it for children. On the other hand however, they made this game incredibly difficult to talk about considering the fact that I’m a grown man reviewing a game meant to be played by adolescent children. While Disney Princess comes through as a boring and extremely monotonous for my mediocrely functioning adult brain, it could still conceivably be a solid title for kids everywhere, probably.

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Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout history…

This review is part of the 2014 Sh*tty Game Review Fest - read about the event here.

When the directors of PixlBit approached the staff with Operation: S----ty Game Review, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve been off the writing horse for a bit, and there’s something a bit refreshing about getting a chance to eviscerate critique a game that you know isn’t very good. If anything, it helps put things in perspective. So, when we got our games and did our unboxing videos, the general consensus amongst the PixlBit readers and staff was that I got off easy with HISTORY ™: Great Empires: Rome. Well, as someone who has absolutely no love for classic PC-style games (no, seriously), an old-school, turn-based strategy title ala Civilization is about as appealing as playing Barbie’s First Free Clinic Visit.

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Thunder rumbles on the Genesis.

If there was one thing that Techno Soft did very well in the 16-bit days, it was shoot ‘em ups.  It all started when they created Thunder Force in 1984. It was released on the NEC PC-8801 and several other Japanese home computers at the time, but never saw the light of day in the US.  The game featured an overhead free-roaming viewpoint and the goal was to destroy the enemy’s shield generators, using your main shot for air targets and the bomb shot for ground targets in each stage. While it’s tough to gauge the game’s popularity from back then, it apparently did well enough to warrant a sequel. Thunder Force II was released four years later for the Sega Genesis in 1989, making it the very first shoot ‘em up on the system.

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In space, no one can hear you flicker.

When R-Type showed up on the arcade scene in 1987, it was a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to its razor-sharp graphics and techno-organic alien atmosphere, the game quickly became considered to be one of the best shoot 'em ups (SHMUPs) of its time, rivaling the popularity of the Gradius series. With this arcade gem's success, it was only logical that it should be ported to every major home console, right? In theory, yes, but in reality, it saw a release on only two video game systems compared to being ported to at least eight personal computer systems at the time. Of the scarce home console releases, the Sega Master System saw a port of R-Type in 1988. Although faithful to the arcade version in terms of content, the game takes a nosedive when the action gets heavy.

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The space action adventure you couldn't pronounce -- until now!

Now and then, game developers like to mix it up a little and create a game that pitches together several genres into one. Xexyz (pronounced “zeks-zees”) on the NES is one such game. It's a rare attempt to blend elements from the platformer and shoot 'em up genres, with just a pinch of RPG thrown in there for extra measure.  Released by Hudson Soft in 1990, Xexyz proved that fusing three genres can work quite well. 

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