REVIEW: She Sees Red - Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis

I received a code for She Sees Red on Xbox One from Rhinotales

She Sees Red is an interactive thriller, or FMV (A full motion video, video game). Think of this as a movie that you control, as you watch you will come to a scene whereby two choices are given in a quick time event, so you are given a few seconds to decide how the film will continue.

In She Sees Red multiple people have been killed at a nightclub, a detective has been assigned the case and you watch as she follows the clues to find out the truth and hopefully solve the case.

There are 4 different endings in this, and 62 scenes to see if you want to see it all.

A play through will take roughly 40 minutes, once you have played through once you get the chance to do a second play through and make different choices, which in turn will give you different scenes to see and different endings. It might be worth making a note as you watch as to which choices you make, that way you can use subsequent play throughs to get to see all the scenes and all 4 endings.

Once you have played through the game twice you have the option to skip scenes you have already seen which allows you to speed everything up.

The Good

This has clearly been filmed in a professional way, with proper actors, editing, lighting the works, you really are watching a film whereby you make meaningful decisions in what happens.

The Bad

This is a Russian made FMV so the English dubbing suffers from the usual lip synching issues, but I watched in Russian with Subtitles so it didn't bother me.

I did enjoy watching/playing, but I wish there was more. I think you could probably watch all scenes and see all endings within a couple of hours and once you have done that you probably won't watch again.

Summary

FMV games have always struggled, and I remember watching them back in the days of the 3DO, this is one of the better ones I have seen, and if you think of this purely as an interactive movie then I see no reason why you wont enjoy it.

I score this 7/10

CrossKrush bringing road rage puzzles to consoles this fall.

Henry & Florence are a happily married couple, they enjoy music & have been dancing all their lives. But now, a noisy road has been built right in front of their home, and they can't even have a dance without traffic noises creeping through their most beloved songs. So, they decide to take matters on their own hands and set to clear the road forever!

No jewels or candy, but lots of cars to destroy! Defend your peaceful abode by blowing up as many cars in a row as possible (think Tetris), or whack and hack at them with your cane to finish them off.

Battle wave after wave of oncoming traffic as the challenge increases, and team up with a friend for additional mayhem.

Features:

Simple & intuitive controls

10 levels with 10 puzzles each, for a total of 100 challenges!

Local multiplayer action: play with a friend, or against a friend

2 different characters to choose from, with several customization options

Catchy jazz music

CrossKrush will be priced for 4.99$ / € for all platforms, and it will launch on:

PS4 America: October 20th

PS4 Europe: October 21st

Xbox One: October 21st

PS4 and Nintendo Switch (Japan): October 22nd

Nintendo Switch (NA & EU): October 23rd

Birthday Of Midnight - Launch Trailer

From the creators of Midnight, Midnight Deluxe, and 36 Fragments of Midnight comes another round of golf-like action fun!

Everyone’s favorite fairy is back and ready to be once again launched into the sky. But as always, treacherous obstacles like spikes, circular saws, and plenty of other dangerous hazards are par for the course. To earn a perfect score you must accurately complete each level in the minimum number of strokes, providing an additional layer of challenge.

Do you have the skill to swing for a hole in one?

Features:

70+ engaging levels that get progressively harder

New dangers to overcome

Piano soundtrack to complement gameplay

Birthday Of Midnight will be priced for 4.99$ / € for all platforms, and it will launch on:

PS4 America: September 29th

PS4 Europe: September 30th

Xbox One: September 30th

PS4 and Nintendo Switch (Japan): October 1st

Nintendo Switch (NA & EU): October 2nd

Mafia: Definitive Edition - Launch Trailer "When All is Not What it Seems"

Tommy's life as a humble cabbie is forever changed after a fateful run-in with the mob. Now he's doing jobs for Don Salieri and gaining respect from the Family, but all is not what it seems in the criminal underworld.

Buy on Xbox - https://amzn.to/3mTOZA7

KEY FEATURES:

Re-made from the ground up, rise through the ranks of the Mafia during the Prohibition era of organized crime. After a run-in with the mob, cab driver Tommy Angelo is thrust into a deadly underworld. Initially uneasy about falling in with the Salieri crime family, Tommy soon finds that the rewards are too big to ignore.

Buy on PS4 - https://amzn.to/3hZY6LL

Play a Mob Movie:

Live the life of a Prohibition-era gangster and rise through the ranks of the Mafia.

Lost Heaven, IL:

Recreated 1930's cityscape, filled with interwar architecture, cars and culture to see, hear and interact with.

Re-Made Classic:

Faithfully recreated, with expanded story, gameplay and original score. This is the Mafia you remembered and much more.

Buy on PC (Steam) - https://amzn.to/3kRAAm9

REVIEW: art of rally on PC

Review by Jon Donnis

I was sent a copy of "art of rally" by Future Friends Games.

"art of rally" is a rally game whereby you relive the golden years of rally using classic cars from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And the first thing you will notice are the graphics, they are incredible, totally different from other games in this genre, the second thing you will notice is the outstanding soundtrack, I found myself playing the free play mode just enjoying the music.

You play in a top down view of sorts, but there is quite a bit of change from being directly above your car to more of a behind angle. There are 60 rally stages from around the world, daily and weekly challenges to complete, a full career mode to enjoy, and over 50 iconic rally cars to choose from.

As I mentioned earlier I found myself enjoying the music on the freeplay mode, in this mode you have the full area to drive around as you please, but to keep you busy you also have things to collect, giant letters that spell out RALLY and cassette tapes, as well a "viewpoints" to stop and take in the view, and by collecting these things you unlock items in the main game.

I played a couple of the daily and weekly challenges, in general these consist of you racing a stage and competing on a leaderboard against people around the world.

There is enough in this game to keep you playing for a long time, and although at first controlling the car seems really hard, you soon get the hang of it and find yourself mastering the art of the rally car.

And don't forget the photo mode, so you can capture your best moments forever and share them with the world.

The Good

The graphics and soundtrack are outstanding, something quite different to your usual rally games.

The Bad

To get the most out of the graphics you will need a pretty decent PC with a Graphics Card to match, but you can adjust the settings for lower powered PCs.

Summary

I really enjoyed this game, and will keep playing it moving forward. 8/10

Out now on Steam, Epic and GOG

USD $24.99

EU €20.99

GBP £19.49

https://store.steampowered.com/app/550320/art_of_rally/