Verdict: Rich!

In a Nutshell: This is an update to the classic platform puzzler of racing to collect all the gold before the baddies catch you.

(from the game’s XBLA page)

“It’s an all-new Lode Runner gold mine — 3-D graphics, frenzied 2-D action, lodes of modes, 220 levels, multiplayer options, puzzles, a level editor and more! Run, climb, blast blocks, outsmart enemies and grab the gold on your own or with a partner. It’s classic action with “lodes” of new twists.”

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Verdict: not bad

In a Nutshell: This plays like a puzzling variation on pinball but with a rag doll and was one of the 2009 PAX 10.

(from the game’s website)

“CarneyVale: Showtime is a vertical ragdoll platform game for Xbox LIVE Community Games. In the game, you play as Slinky, a circus acrobat trying to rise up the ranks by performing acrobatic tricks and death-defying stunts through increasingly complex arenas.”

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Verdict: Sorta Fun

In a Nutshell: A swinging remake of an old action platformer.

(from the game’s website)

“Bionic Commando is back, now on the Xbox 360 [PS3 and PC], 20 years after the NES classic was initially released. And returning with it is the swinging bionic arm game mechanic that made it so popular and critically acclaimed. Bionic Commando makes the move to 3D, and gamers will be able to grapple, swing, and scale a giant environment filled with buildings, canyons, and more.”

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Verdict: spooky

In a Nutshell: I can’t describe it any better than the website can.  The still-being-developed, second installment of Closure was one of the 2009 PAX 10.

(from the game’s website)

“A creepy puzzle about darkness and the unknown.”

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