TheParanoidGamer writes: "Overall I feel that 5th Cell has brought some of their innovation to what is, for the most part, a genre that is overwhelmed with generic gameplay. A persistent conflict with individual factions, season skirmishes with rewards, strategic and engaging firefights and customizable play styles through abilities and specializations leads to what is a clear winner. Graphics are serviceable and overall very clean and bright and sound is above average with just your occasional tinny firing sound. Honestly this XBLA title feels like it could have been a full-fledged retail release and still had been worth the money. Even with the missteps of micro transactions, a back story that I wish was more fleshed out rather than almost nonexistent, and occasional slowdown; Hybrid is still one of the better multiplayer experiences on the console if for no other reason than it does something different than most shooters on the market."
Each and every month, various games and DLC are permanently discounted on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
- AT
This year was a year dominated by the rise of the Arcade. Half of the games in my top 10 were 15 dollars or less and that’s a huge testament to how big the Xbox Live Arcade has gotten in the past year. Apart from the ones on my list, other games like Fez, Journey (PS3 download but you get the message), and Trials Evolution are getting major consideration for awards on multiple other websites. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a fair share of retail releases that impressed on multiple levels. Tell that to Sleeping Dogs, Mass Effect 3, Far Cry 3, Assassins Creed 3, and Dishonored and they will prove you wrong. It wasn’t the best year, that’s for sure, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t impress in many ways.
Ben Rowland wrote: Hybrid’s lineage is perhaps one of its most interesting aspects. This unlikely project has 5th Cell, the developer of Nintendo DS-exclusive games such as Scribblenauts and Drawn to Life, making the leap into the realm of online shooters. Hybrid is a third person multiplayer-focused shooter that attempts to bring some new ideas to a genre that’s well beyond the point of saturation. While Hybrid makes a valiant attempt and succeeds in a few areas, it unfortunately isn’t the genre-bender that we had hoped for.