Xbox 360 Game Reviews U-Z

The soccer game landscape is changing on the Xbox 360. Konami has gotten lazy with Winning Eleven/Pro Evo, and EA is finally ready to take advantage of it. UEFA Euro 2008 is, without question, the best soccer game on the Xbox 360 so far. It plays fantastically well and introduces some new features that really put it on top. The only downside is its narrow focus on the Euro 2008 tournament yet it still carries a full $50 price. It plays great, but the value isn’t quite there.

Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC in particular have exploded in popularity over the last four years ever since Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin beat the snot out of each other at the finale of the first season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Amazingly enough, instead of rushing a so-so videogame out to market ASAP (like pretty much every other hot license), the UFC and THQ have been very smart and patient and took their time to make the best game possible.

Last year's UFC Undisputed 2009 was a great first try on the sport for THQ and Yuke's. It nailed the gameplay and presentation, but was a little light in the features department. With UFC Undisputed 2010, not only has that little issue been fixed - there is tons of stuff to do this year - but everything else was improved right along with it. This is hands down the best MMA game yet. Find out …

2007’s Command and Conquer 3 proved that real-time-strategy games can work just fine on consoles if you follow a few rules. Keep the gameplay simple and focus on the combat. Don’t make us micromanage too much. Give us nice graphics and a solid framerate. And give us varied and interesting factions to choose from. It was with these things in mind that I approached SEGA’s Universe at War: Earth Assault. Find out if this game follows that formula for success right here in our full review.

Unreal Tournament III was a little late in arriving to the Xbox 360 party, but it sure does make a grand entrance. Packing more features and modes than its PS3 counterpart, it is hard to deny that the best console version of UT3 is on the Xbox 360. It is also the fastest moving and most user friendly FPS on the market and offers plenty of content to keep you busy for a long time to come. Find out all about Unreal Tournament III right here.

Vampire Rain is a stealth action game that attempts to mix the stealthy gameplay of Splinter Cell with the horror elements of titles such as Resident Evil. The idea certainly is interesting enough, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Bland presentation and some odd quirks in the game design will turn you off of the game almost immediately. And to top it off, all of this mediocrity will only cost you $60! Vampire Rain is a bad game that should be avoided.

Getting tired of shooters? Vanquish is here to wake you up. It might look like a third-person-shooter on the outside, but it is faster and plays better than any TPS to come along in a long time. Vanquish is fantastic. Find out all of the details here in our full review.

Velvet Assassin is a stealth game in the purest terms of the genre. This is an extremely slowly paced game where patience and careful planning is rewarded above all else. One problem, though, it isn’t a very good pure stealth game. Glitches and odd design decisions put up roadblock after roadblock to keep you from really having fun. The WWII setting and brutal reality of it all is definitely interesting, but it just isn’t worth putting up with the gameplay to see any of it.

Viking: Battle for Asgard is a game you’ll want to love. But it is one of those games that just won’t let you. It does have some great moments, such as when you rally your Viking soldiers and lead a huge battle to capture a city, but in between these great moments the game is just repetitive and shallow and boring. This is a game that had a ton of potential, but falls short mostly due to, as far as we can tell, a lack of ambition. Find out all of the details right here in our full review.

I almost feel bad about the PS3 version of Virtua Fighter 5. It seems like SEGA doomed it from the start by first announcing the Xbox 360 version before the PS3 version was even out, and then a few months later revealing that the 360 version would have online play and other enhancements. Whatever SEGA’s motives were regarding the two versions of VF5, the only important thing is that both games are great, but the Xbox 360 version is definitely the better of the two. Find out more right here.

Sega’s Virtua Tennis is back and it is better than ever on Xbox 360. Virtua Tennis 3 offers addictive and fun gameplay, tons of modes, and nice presentation that combine to make it not only the best tennis game, but one of the best sports games overall on the system. Virtua Tennis 3 is a flat-out fun game that is highly recommended.

Unlike the first Viva Pinata game, which looked like a kids game but leaned a little more towards adults with the gameplay, Viva Pinata Party Animals is a kids game through and through. This minigame collection slash racing game pairs the characters from the FOX Saturday morning TV show with some easy and pretty mindless gameplay that is sure to keep the kids entertained. Well, kids under 8 or so. Pre-teens and older will likely get bored with it pretty quickly. Find out more right here.

Back when I first saw the E3 2006 footage of Viva Piñata, I knew it was going to be a cult hit. There is something really intriguing about the Harvest Moon-meets-Animal Crossing-meets-Pokemon-meets-The Sims type of gameplay featured here. It looks amazing, is surprisingly deep, and is one of the most addictive games of the year. Don’t be fooled by the “kids game” look, Viva Piñata is a great game that is highly recommended for Xbox 360 gamers of any age.

Forget Gears of War 2. Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is the sequel that we’ve been looking forward to in ’08. Thankfully, the wait has been worth it. Trouble in Paradise walks the safe path of not fixing what wasn’t broken, so is looks and plays an awful lot like the original Viva Piñata, but that certainly isn’t a bad thing here. Find out what makes Trouble in Paradise bigger, badder, and more bada** (or, at least as big and bad as cute piñatas can get) right here in our full review.

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is a game built around a couple of interesting gameplay mechanics, but outside of those things it is pretty darn mediocre. It is slick and flashy just like the movie, and curving bullets is just about the coolest thing ever, but the graphics are inconsistent, the core gameplay is old hat by the third level, and sniper and turret sequences intended to offer some variety are just plain bad. Find out all of the details here in our full Wanted: Weapons of Fate review.

WarTech: Senko no Ronde is a port of a Japanese arcade game simply known as Senko no Ronde. It combines elements of fighting games as well as shoot-em-ups to form a genre all of its own. Senko no Ronde is a rather niche game, though, that fragments its potential audience into such a tiny group that you have to wonder how the game will sell at all. It is a good, fun game if you are of the right mindset going in, but it certainly isn’t going to appeal to the mass market.

After the first level or so, it is pretty much impossible not to come to the conclusion that Wet is basically “Kill Bill” the videogame. It is a stylish, grindhouse influenced, revenge tale that mimics the cinematography, music, and feel of Tarantino’s amazing movies surprisingly closely. Honestly, it is hard not to fall madly in love with it. That is, at least, until you dig a little into the gameplay and find it isn’t nearly as interesting as the presentation going on around it.

Wheelman takes the open world crime simulator genre and puts a twist on it by having you focus on driving while other characters do most of the dirty work. It is a refreshing change to the typical GTA clone formula that brings back fond memories of the first Driver game on PSX. It hits some snags here and there, mostly in some ill-advised on-foot sections, but overall Wheelman is a pretty enjoyable game. Find out all of the details in our full review.

Konami’s great Winning Eleven series finally makes it’s next-gen debut, and now everything is right with the world of soccer on Xbox 360. It isn’t a perfect game, not by any means, but it is certainly better than EA’s efforts so far. Winning Eleven 2007 doesn’t look quite as nice, or pack all of the official licenses of the FIFA games, but it plays a lot better when you are out on the field, and that is what really counts.

B.J. Blaskowicz is back to take on the Nazis and their twisted experiments in Wolfenstein. As the follow-up to 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein, the new Wolfenstein offers arguably the best single-player the series has ever seen but also the poorest multiplayer we’ve seen in any game in a while. Just proves once again that taking one step forward and two steps backward makes it pretty tough to get anywhere. Find out all of the details right here in our full review.

Poker videogames in the past have suffered from a couple of specific issues that made them less than exciting for anyone but the most die-hard poker fan. These problems were pacing, and the lack of a real feeling of risk/reward. World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions does a fairly good job of addressing these problems and also adds extra features to make it a pretty solid title all around.

THQ’s latest WWE wrestling game takes a look back at classic wrestling and at the granddaddy of them all, the showcase of the immortals, the grandest stage of them all - WrestleMania. Legends of WrestleMania isn’t just SmackDown 09 with a bunch of old guys in it, no sir, it is a completely different game that focuses on the rather different style of wrestling in the late 80’s and early 90’s compared to today. How does this roster of legends and more methodical style hold up today?

It has been a long time in coming, but a decent wrestling game has finally landed on an Xbox system. The SmackDown series has been the best wrestling game for the last 4-5 years, and the 2007 edition is every bit as good as the previous entries in the series. Great gameplay, tons of customization options, and decent graphics all make WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 a very solid grappler.

Easily the most wanted feature for any Xbox 360 wrestling game is being able to use your own music for wrestler entrances. Even if there are flaws elsewhere in the game, being able to bring your custom character out to any music you please is a selling point all by itself. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 satisfies both of those conditions. It is flawed and the series overall is in desperate need of an update, but custom soundtracks make it worth a look anyway. Find out more right here.

After SD vs. Raw 08 was pounded by reviewers, developer Yukes took those criticisms to heart and tried to remedy as many of them as possible for this year’s release. For the most part, they were successful and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is a much better game overall than the first two Xbox 360 WWE titles. There are a couple of hiccups, but wrestling fans will find a lot to like here. Find out all of the details right here in our full review.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 isn't as big of a step forward as last year's game was, but is still pretty great thanks to new physics and a persistent career mode called WWE Universe. Find out all of the details here in our full review.

For a few years there it seemed like the SmackDown series was getting stagnant and not really moving forward. That definitely isn’t the case with WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2010. There are improvements and additions all over the place, from being able to create your own story to sharing custom characters online to an overall improved gameplay feel, SvR2010 is a big jump from 09. This is, without a doubt, the best wrestling game on the Xbox 360.

You probably know X-Blades better as “that game with the half naked chick on the cover” than as a surprisingly good hack and slash button masher, so allow me to introduce you. X-Blades features really nice graphics along with fun and deep combat that draws you in just as well as any other hack and slash game on the Xbox 360. And, yeah, the super cute heroine certainly doesn’t hurt. Find out all of the details right here in our full X-Blades review.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a brutal, gory, blood soaked brawler that finally takes the “family friendly” filter off of everyone’s favorite mutant and showcases just what adamantium claws can really do. The game is fast paced and satisfying and fun and delivers in just about every way Wolverine fans could want. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the better movie tie-in games we have had in a long time, and is worth checking out.

The curse of the bad movie tie-in games is in full effect with X-Men: The Official Game. It is your standard third-person beat-em-up where you could plug in pretty much any characters and the experience would be the same. It feels rushed and the graphics are far from the best the Xbox 360, or Xbox for that matter, have to offer. I know your desperate need for all things X-Men has reached a fever pitch thanks to the new movie, but do yourself a favor and play X-Men Legends II instead.