XBox Fan Force

I know there's still some people out there who are hesitant to check out Xbox Live's Indie Game line. For those people, I have but three words --  Veks and Silence. The innovative platformer, created by Australia's Edible Entertainment has pretty much everything you could look for in a game -- an incredible sense of style, responsive controls and zombies. Oh -- and did I mention that the game's main boss has tanks for feet and shoots motor vehicles at people? You might want to let that sink in for a while.

Set in a world in despair, Veks and Silence starts off with two of the world's largest companies merging and what happens -- a zombie outbreak. Former hero Silence is tasked with finding his missing partner and of course -- save humanity. What follows is an experience that is part platformer, part shooter -- and all frustratingly difficult indie gaming bliss.

We sat down with James Anderson, Edible Entertainment's lead designer to pick his brain on Veks,  game design and comics. 

Hit the jump for the full interview

It's a simple equation; zombies + anything = awesome. Case in point, I've never read Pride and Prejudice, but I picked up Pride, Prejudice and Zombies without hesitation.

Nihilistic's Zombie Apocalypse is the perfect example. The shooter, set to hit XBLA next month feels like a combination of Left 4 Dead meets Geometry Wars -- and let's be honest, who didn't think that title could use a healthy dose of the walking dead?

Xbox Fan Force rencently sat down with Mark Cooke, one of the game's lead programers to get the scoop on the title, the fine art of dismembermant via chainsaw and a bit of previoulsy unannounced information.

XBFF: Why should gamers choose Zombie Apocalypse over the multitude of zombie titles available? What do you have that they don’t?

MC: Zombie Apocalypse combines hectic four player cooperative action, offline or online, with a large variety of zombies and buckets of gore. Cutting zombies in half at the waist with your chainsaw and shooting them into a running jet engine to be shred into pieces are just two examples of some of the creative ways you can kill zombies. We also have seven total game modes including the challenging “blackout” mode where players have to battle the zombie hordes with only the light of a helicopter guiding them in otherwise total darkness. 

XBFF: What was the inspiration behind Zombie Apocalypse?

MC: The two biggest influences were campy zombie and horror movies of the late 70s and 80s as well as the old-school arcade game Robotron. Some of the films the design was inspired by include Zombi 2, Anthropophagus, Nightmare City, The Beyond, and Cannibal Ferox. Those films are pretty crazy, view at your own risk! 

XBFF: Everything I’ve read about Zombie Apocalypse makes the same comparison - -it’s Geometry Wars VS Left 4 Dead. Do you feel this accurately describes your game?

HIt the jump for this answer, along with the rest of the interview including an exlcusive reveal of two never before seen environmental kills!

Gears of War 3 is in production. You know it, I know it and weather they're ready to announce it or not -- Epic Games knows it. 

We've all seen the hints at what's coming -- female characters, Fenix family drama...but hit the jump to see what we want in the next Gears game including why Marcus Fenix should never ever wear women's clothing...

Most video games don't have to cost sixty dollars. 

Look at Light's End, a top-down NES throwback with a price tag an eighth of what most games run for.  Luckily, price doesn't equal quality.  X-box Fan Force sat down with Light's End creator Ryan Thorlakson to help shed some light (no pun intended) on one of X-box Live's Indie Games.

XBFF: What is your background in the video game industry?

RT: I'm Ryan Thorlakson, age 25, living in Kirkland, WA. I've played games as far back as I can remember, starting with the NES. I went to DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA. They are a tech school that focuses on game development. I got a 4 year bachelor's degree in a computer science equivalent. Then I worked at Snowblind Studios for two and a half years as a programmer working on Justice League Heroes and their upcoming project. I then took a break from employment to develop Light's End over 9 months. Now, I just got a new job working for Valve as a programmer.

XBFF: What made you choose game design?

RT: Really, I'm a programmer who loves designing games too. I've been designing games as far back as I can remember. I remember in first grade, when we were supposed to be keeping daily journals, I'd draw game levels instead. I love the thrill of crafting an experience for other people and the puzzle of accounting for all the possibilities.

Hit the jump for more

This week sort of feels like the calm before the storm, as next week Madden NFL 10 comes out and will proceed to sell a billion copies. Lives will be out on hold, girlfirends will cry, the sun will feel ignored. Yeah. It's a scientific fact. 

Anyways, hit the jump for this week's releases as well as our recommendations, including a set of awesome DLC, and the return of a set of 80s icons.

 It's that time again - - time to make your voice heard and tell us what you think was July's best Xbox game. Below you'll find our nominees and what we think about them. Think we're out of our mind and want to vote for something else? Pick another title -- but be sure to let us know in the comments section exactly what you're voting for -- and why. Happy voting!

 Nominee #1: Battlefield 1943

Roger writes: Battlefield 1943 is my nomination for July's Game of the Month. It's a downloadable game which gives it the edge over retail only games with its ease of access. It also dominates the wallet with its cheap price tag. At 1200 MS points, it's hard to resist clicking "confirm download."

Besides its accessibility, Battlefield 1943 successfully transplants the PC version smoothly on to the Xbox with memorable maps like Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal where planes and planning demonstrate the scope of the Battlefield franchise. To top off the whole deal, Coral Sea, the games fourth map was unlocked after X-box Live players scored five million kills after its release. A trend I hope EA continues.

  Nominee # 2: Splosion Man 

Joe writes: If I were ever to make a checklist for what it takes to make a game fun, being able to work would be right on that list. Sure, Battlefield works great now -- but its connection problems became the bane of many Xbox gamers existance upon its release. Game of the Month? Hardly.

That honor should go to Twisted Pixel's 'Splosion Man. Not only did it work, but it's damn fun at the same time. I had a blast trying to figure out the game's challenging puzzle and platform elements. And yes -- I admit that I wore the skirt a few times after taking the "cowards way out" but can't something be said for a game that makes even failing funny?

Nominee # 3: NCAA Football 2010

Call this one more of a wild card pick.

The football action in NCAA Football 2010 was solid, it featured innovative modes and the Team Builder could revolutionize the way we look at sports games. NCAA Football 2010 is a superb college football title -- but does it deserve your GoTM nod? 

 Gears of War fans may not know Karen Traviss by name -- but they do know her work. Her novel, Gears of War: Aspho Fields explored the franchise's deep back story and showed us what happened after the events of the original Gears.

This Tuesday (7/28), Traviss' second Gears of War novel "Jacinto's Remnant" hits store shelves. We sat down with the author and talked about her book, working with Epic, and just where the Gears universe is headed.

XBFF: Were you a fan of the Gears of War series before you wrote "Aspho Fields?"

KT: No, I knew nothing about it, and if I'd been an existing fan or even familiar with it, then I could never have touched the books. I was approached to write it, I asked Jerry and Mike at Penny Arcade what they thought of the game (they're friends, so I can do that without explaining why I want to know...) and then, when I finally found clips of the cinematics online, I remembered the Mad World promo and how much impact it had on me. I didn't even realise that was Gears at the time. But from that cold start, I knew it was a class act and that I could really work with that property. I agreed to do it, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

Hit the jump for more

Here's a selection of the week's best emails and tweets we've received! 

The Waiting Game

Q: With all these major titles being announced for the Xbox 360, what game are you guys most looking forward to in the next year?

A: While I can't speak for everyone else, I'm drooling over Mass Effect 2 at the moment. I consider the first one one of my all time favorites and everything I read about it just makes the wait seem longer. Have you checked out the developer diary we posted a few days ago? I watched it about six times -- straight. Everything seems so much more theatrical, and I'm really digging the new exploration system as well as the interrupt feature; it just seems to make the gameplay so much more dramatic and intense. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Halo and Modern Warfare (am I allowed to say Call of Duty anymore?), but as a fan of the old school Buck Rodgers type Sci-Fi, I can't wait for Mass Effect 2.

From the "Yes, someone really asked us this" file

Q: The other night I stayed up until 3 AM playing Halo 3 and I noticed something -- my controller tastes an awful lot like marshmallows. Please help.

A:  Shying away from the basic question of why you're tasting your controller -- we ask why you wouldn't want it to taste like marshmallows....wow, we just blew your mind didn't we? Plus, we found you this picture of a marshmallow like Xbox 360 cake -- you're welcome.

 To Natal or to not Natal

 Q: I'm really psyched for Project Natal, every demo I see of it and everything I read makes me think this is a good thing even more, then I read that Natal will work for every game? Games like Burnout seem like they would be a good fit, but every game? What are your thoughts on this? Is this a good idea?

A: Funny you should ask this -- we're currently working on a feature that talks about what games we're excited to play on Natal, and some that we may pass on, but for now we're in the same boat. A few games like Burnout, Fight Night and maybe even Rock Band would be made beater using Natal but we're not convinced it's a right fit for every title either. How would a game like Gears of War work? What about Grand theft Auto? Overall, we just don't want to see designers being forced to change their games for the benefit of the technology.

 Got something you want to say to us? Add us on Twitter or Facebook using the links to the right or just send us an e-mail at Xboxfanforce@gmail.com

Ah... democracy.

After a frantic vote -- we're ready to declare a winner. Red Faction: Guerilla narrowly  by squeaked by Ghostbusters to claim June's Xbox Fan Force Game of the Month Honors. Just how close was the vote? Red Faction narrowly beat out Ghostbuster by just two votes. Two votes!

That better not be whining I hear, I kept the voting open for an extra day just because it was so close.

It's not like Red Faction didn't deserve the honor. It's a complete blast to play -- and one hell of a developing achievement. Blending the best elements of war, destruction and exploration with novel gameplay mechanics and incredible production values  -- Red Faction: Guerilla is one of the year's best games so far.

Don't like the results? Be sure to make your voice heard when voting opens for July's Game of the Month!