Tower 57 is 11 Bit Studios and Pixwerk’s upcoming offering to the twin-stick shooter genre, and it did more than bring the goods when we tried it at PAX South.
Dead Rising 4 sees the franchise's original hero forced back into action in a sequel that's bigger than any entry in the series before, yet feels more empty and bereft of excitement than its predecessors.
The Xbox lover on your list will likely be looking for what we have listed here, so check out our ten must-have items from the Microsoft wing of video gaming, and look for more holiday lists as the festive days get closer.
There are lots of games with heart and excitement, but Titanfall 2 manages to combine almost everything that was a strength for the first entry and build on it with loads more personality.
Once they exhausted World War II as a setting, most military shooters were content to look to the modern era, or even the future, as venues for players to explore warfare. Where it worked for some developers, the Battlefield series just seemed off in this updated age. Both Battlefield 3 and 4 were adequate, but they lacked the punch of earlier entries, and Battlefield Hardline was such a drastic departure from the norm, it became the ultimate outlier in the franchise.
After attempts at finding a place in the current climate, DICE has decided instead of forecasting potential futures that looking back at how we got here could be just as exciting. With Battlefield 1, DICE has reinvigorated the franchise with a smart campaign, and invested more into the consistently solid multiplayer with new options that strengthen an already impressive foundation.
With a big cast of characters, colorful scenery, fairly clever joke writing, and pick-up and play gameplay, Skylanders: Imaginators feels like a playable Saturday morning cartoon where you can insert your own hero into the fray.
Rock Band 4 never stopped being fun even if you've been away from the game for a short time, but Rivals is a great reason to return to your rock roots.
Gears of War 4 is a worthwhile successor that brings back all of the brutal combat, addictive multiplayer and waist-high walls you remember in a terrific return to form.