A Fading Melody is, at it’s core, a basic 2D platformer, but what makes it special is the presentation. You play as Melody, a young woman in a coma trapped inside her own mind. The screen gradually fades to black, and you have to destroy the monstersplaguing Melody’s subconscious mind in order to prevent the darkness from engulfing everything. With simple, but enjoyable art, an interesting story, and solid gameplay, A Fading Melody is an artfully done platformer worth checking out.

Recently I criticized Microsoft for implementing polices that don’t give gay gamers a lot of faith that anyone at Microsoft has their best interests in mind. Microsoft has taken the firm stance that any Xbox Live member who states their…

Hexothermic is an easy to learn, but hard to master puzzle game. The concept is simple:, you have to clear all the atoms on the screen, and earn as many points along the way as possible. To clear an atom, you have to make it explode by firing electrons into it. Red atoms will explode with just one electron, yellow atoms take two, green take three, blue take four, and purple take five. When an atom explodes, it shoots electrons off into six different directions, dictated by the lines connecting that atom to those around it.

If you’re a fan of the Super Smash Bros series, or even if you just liked Small Arms, ZP2K9 is for you. With four game types, 13 awesome weapons, and a wide assortment of maps, this game has a lot to offer…. and all of those offerings can be enjoyed online. That’s right, you’re not just stuck playing against your friends and family, you can take the fight online over Xbox Live. There are only a handful of community games that offer that ability, and most of them don’t have a lot of players online at any given time. ZP2K9 seems to have a fairly large group of online players, and as such, I never had trouble hopping into a match.

In case you don’t know the story, Microsoft suspended Teresa, an Xbox Live user for identifying herself as a lesbian in her profile. She was harassed by other users who claimed that her profile was offensive, and her account was later suspended. Microsoft’s policy has always been to ban any expression of sexual orientation in a gamertag or profile. Even still, Teresa, feels as though Microsoft sided with the very same users harassing her. Microsoft isn’t really addressing the issue head on and their stance on this policy is that it’s fair because it extends to anyone of any orientation. They also claim that their censorship policies are intended to protect users from derogatory uses of words like “gay”.

“So you can’t say that you’re straight either, that’s fair right?”

The problem with Microsoft’s policy is that it alienates gay users. Claiming that the policy is fair because it restricts any user from stating their sexual orientation “be that hetero or other” still singles out anyone who falls into “other.”

Two little ghost lovers have lost each other on their way to heaven, and it’s your job to reunite them! Alright, the concept is a little hokey, but the gameplay is pretty awesome. You control two ghosts, one pink, and one blue. The left analog stick controls the pink one, and the right analog stick controls the blue one. The object of the game is to get them both to meet at the exit for each level, collecting as many hearts as you can along the way. It sounds a lot easier than it is. Forcing your brain to properly steer two ghosts at the same time, while avoiding the various obstacles, such as skulls of doom and the grim reaper, can be extremely challenging. I often found myself trying the same level multiple times before getting it right, but once I did, I felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

PercussONE takes the match-three-circles-by-moving-one gameplay of games like Puzzle Quest, injects it with some psychotropic drugs (and maybe some speed for good measure), and slaps in some competitive and cooperative multiplayer elements to form a top notch, fast paced puzzle game. The object of the game is to match three or more pieces of the same color to form a “riff”. This gets more challenging (and fun) when you add in additional players. Up to four people can work together or against one another to form riffs.

I enjoy playing the occasional game of poker, but truth be told, I’m not very good at it. I am, however, quite good at puzzle games. Poker Stacker allows me to scratch the poker itch in the form of a puzzle game. The object of the game is to make the best winning hand you can in each row. Losing hands will get grayed out, but remain on the screen, and winning hands will be cleared from the screen. If you get a three of a kind or better, you will clear the winning row, and (depending on the hand) one or more additional rows below it. The rules seem pretty simple, but it’s actually surprisingly difficult to build up a series of good hands. I very seldom got a full house or a flush. More often than not, the best hand I was able to get in a row was two pairs.

Have you ever thought to yourself “Dig Dug sure would have been a blast if there weren’t any monsters!” then Miner Dig Deep is the game for you. Alright, I know that doesn’t sound like a glowing endorsement, but hear me out on this one. The object of the game is to mine minerals and precious gems from deep within the earth, and sell them to the local shop. As you make money, you can buy better mining equipment, and dig deeper into the earth to find better minerals and gems. Various obstructions such as a sheet of frozen earth will block your path, and you will have to get special items, such as a new pick, or a drill, in order to deal with them.

Duotrix, like it’s predecessor Duotris, is a puzzle game that requires you to play not one, but two puzzles at the same time. Blocks fall from the top and bottom of the screen, and the object is to match three blocks of the same color in order to clear them. If you let blocks pile up to the top (or bottom) of the screen, the game ends.