Video: Bastion Unwrapped

For this week’s Game Canary Unwrapped, I take a look at Bastion, an Xbox Live Arcade action RPG from new developer Supergiant Games. It has a gorgeous art style, and gameplay that’s reminiscent of classic SNES action RPGs like The Secret of Mana. It’s unique feature, however, is the dynamic narrator that accompanies you on the journey.

So far, I’m enjoying the game, which happens to be the first Summer of Arcade title this year. I think I’m on pace to have the review up on time this Friday, so be sure to check back then. [...]

Video: Ms. Splosion Man Unwrapped

In this episode of Unwrapped, I look at the first 25 minutes of Ms. Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel’s platforming sequel to Splosion Man. Bear in mind that I haven’t played the original game, so it takes me a little while to figure out some basic things! The first few levels are fairly easy, but it very quickly gets challenging.

This video would have been up last night, but Youtube conspired against me and two failed uploads later, here it is. The review of Ms. Splosion Man should hopefully be up tomorrow. [...]

Video: Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon Unwrapped

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than by fighting for freedom and killing lots of insects? That’s what D3 Publisher thinks at least, with Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, the sequel to the 2007 cult budget title. It was supposed to come out on Tuesday, but some places are already selling it, so this video is a special holiday gift.

In this episode of Unwrapped, we take a nice and long thirty minute look at this Xbox 360/PS3 title. Hopefully, this video gives you something to do in between grilling those burgers. I only hope your city’s fireworks show wasn’t cancelled due to budgetary concerns. [...]

Video: Puzzle Agent 2 Unwrapped

In this episode of Game Canary Unwrapped, I take a look at Telltale Game’s Puzzle Agent 2, a puzzle/adventure game in the vein of Professor Layton. Puzzle Agent 2 was just released today on PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Keep an eye out for the full review of the game some time Friday, assuming I can finish the game in time. [...]

Video: Shadows of the Damned Unwrapped

Unwrapped is a Game Canary video series where I’ll take a look at the first 15-30 minutes of a game. The commentary is all recorded at the same time as my initial play of the game, so they are honest first impressions. Time permitting, there will be an episode of Unwrapped for most games I ultimately review on the site. There is no set day on when these videos will be up; I’ll try to post them as close to the release date as possible.

In the inaugural episode, I take a look at Shadows of the Damned from Grasshopper Manufacture.

Review: Trenched

When its Brutal Legend sequel was nixed, San Francisco developer Double Fine decided to split into four smaller teams, each tasked with a different title. The first two products of the experiment, Costume Quest and Stacking, were met with critical acclaim. With Trenched, they’ve struck gold a third time in a row. Trenched is a delightful gaming cocktail that’s three parts MechWarrior, two parts tower defense, and served with some good-old-fashioned loot whoring. Top it off with some signature quirky humor courtesy of Tim Schafer, and you have the can’t miss XBLA title of the summer. [...]