May 1, 2010
Expectations were low for this PSN shooter that’s old news for 360 and PC gamers. Oh look another space marine shooter on a distant planet. Wake up at the back though because Section 8 is actually pretty good.
The short single player campaign is pretty much an introduction to the controls and the game modes, which involve running to an enemy base, taking control of a module by pressing X, waiting around for a meter to fill then running off to another one, all while your AI teammates prance around doing sod all. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Brendan Griffiths
February 20, 2010
Bioshock multiplayer probably wasn’t too high up on the list of things we wanted to see included in Bioshock 2 given that it was everything apart from the guns that really made the game (and its sequel) really stand out. Turns out that maybe we should have wanted it all along as it’s turned out very well indeed.
If you’ve heard that the multiplayer takes place before the events of the first game, then you heard correct. However, don’t expect to gain any more particular insight into the fall of Rapture as all it really means is you’ll revisit some familiar locations that have less rubble and destruction than you’ve previously seen. This time though you’re one of the psychotic Splicers. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Game-Hub.co.uk, PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: 2K Marin, Big Daddy, Bioshock 2, Brendan Griffiths, Game-Hub.co.uk, Little Sisters, Plasmids, Rapture, Splicers | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
February 19, 2010
Cinema’s favourite monsters haven’t exactly flourished on consoles. The Alien franchise hasn’t had a good game since Alien Trilogy on the PS1 and Predator is still waiting. PC gamers have enjoyed the clash of these mighty beasts for many a year though, and finally, so can the rest of us.
The plot is pretty basic and shares a few small similarities to the first AVP movie; thankfully the awful Dawson’s Creek-esque sequel has largely been ignored. The Marine plot is filled in better if you pick up audio diaries, similar in nature to those in Bioshock. Just as all three stories begin to get interesting though, they finish, leaving you disappointed but tellingly, wanting more. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Dealspwn.com, PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Aliens Vs Predator, Brendan Griffiths, Colonial Marines, James Cameron, Plasma Caster, Pulse Rifle, Rebellion, Sega | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
February 19, 2010
First off all we’ll just say you can read this review without worrying about plot spoilers for this game and its predecessor because we’re not cruel / stupid and can’t encourage you enough to go and play through the first classic game to fully enjoy this one. So there’s no need to read with one eye open from behind the sofa.
All you really need to know is that in the first game the player found themselves at the hidden underwater city of Rapture after a plane crash. Unfortunately everything had gone completely mental as all the citizens had been busy messing around with Plasmids that altered them genetically, giving them superhuman abilities.
After taking it overboard, the Utopia fell before coming into fruition leaving its citizens wrecked of body and mind as they became known as the Splicers. Horrifically the city’s little girls, later dubbed the Little Sisters, were put into a trance and forced to collect Adam (Plasmid currency) from corpses. Players could choose to liberate them from this haunting nightmare or murder them to get extra Adam supplies. Well, after you disposed of their guardian first, the ominous Big Daddies. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Game-Hub.co.uk, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Bioshock 2, 2K Games, Little Sisters, Big Sisters, Big Daddy, Rapture | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
February 19, 2010
This is another retro-style 2D shooter for the PSN and probably the harshest one yet. Your space-ship handles similarly to games of yesteryear like Thrust and Gravitar. If this means nothing to you, it’s like a hockey puck slowly sliding across the ice, with little thrusts to control changes in direction. The game’s enjoyable to look at in a minimalist way, with its simple yet striking visualstyle of solid lines making up the maps and lighting them up with a neon glow. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Dealspwn.com, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, Retro, Reviews, Shooters / FPS | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Gravity Crash, Just Add Water, PSN, retro gaming, Sony | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
February 2, 2010
256 players online. What was the biggest before that? Resistance 2 with 60? That’s one hell of a step up. We’d have been impressed with a 100. It’s perhaps fitting then that MAG stands for Massive Action Game. So how does it measure up against the likes of Modern Warfare 2 and developer Zipper Interactive’s Socom games? You might want to upgrade your broadband for this one. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Game-Hub.co.uk, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS | Tagged: : MAG, Brendan Griffiths, Game-Hub.co.uk, Massive Action Game, Socom, Sony, Zipper Interactive | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
November 16, 2009
The game that has been looming over the Christmas release schedule is finally here, after most of the competition has fled for a release early next year, leaving you plenty of time to clean up online.
The first Modern Warfare wowed shooter fans with its gripping story scenes and peerless multiplayer, and you should prepare to feel the love again. There are a few flaws in the single player game but they’ll fade into memory soon enough as the multiplayer experience dominates Modern Warfare 2. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Activision, Brendan Griffiths, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward, Killstreak, Special Ops | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
November 1, 2009
After over 120 hours of play, this is the end of Fallout 3. The vault dweller isn’t rummaging around post-nuclear war America anymore though. Or post-nuclear war earth for that matter.
After being foolish enough to investigate yet another troubling radio signal he’s beamed up to an alien spaceship poised above the planet. He wakes up on a table surrounded by little green men with imminent laser probes getting too close to comfort. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PC, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, RPG, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, Fallout 3, Game of the Year, Mothership Zeta | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 20, 2009
It’s about time you got to go on holiday in Fallout 3 after all you’ve been through. The new setting of Point Lookout feels like a lost Silent Hill waterside boardwalk, complete with deserted buildings and an eerie fog smothering everything. Sure, it’s no Hawaii, but choice is quite limited in a post-apocalyptic world.
The majority of this substantial map is made up of swamps populated with rednecks, mirelurks, tribesmen, ghouls, toxic bogs and enough radiated water to wade through to guarantee the vault dweller will never have (normal) children. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PC, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, RPG, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, Fallout 3, Point Lookout, The Pitt | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 18, 2009
The team at Naughty Dog and Nathan Drake may just have saved the day for the PS3. The console has had plenty of great games, but many doubters still thought it was missing its ‘killer app’, a true system seller. No longer.
No other game tries so hard to entertain and excite you. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a constant barrage of ‘Wow!’ moments, one after another, just wiping out previous favourites with each spectacle. In just under ten hours the likes of Uncharted 1, Gears of War, Tomb Raider, Arkham Asylum, and God of War become just a footnote in gaming’s distant past. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Action / Third Person, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Cintamani stone, Nathan Drake, Naughty Dog, Nolan North, Shambhala, Sony, Uncharted 2 Among Thieves | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 16, 2009
Many PC gamers swear by (and most definitely at) the Operation Flashpoint name. This harsh, tactical first-person-shooter is also making a full appearance on consoles too for a change. It’s comparable in nature with the excellent Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, but based in the very near future.
Dragon Rising is a much fiercer beast than BIA though with its claws severely dug into the realism side of things. So that means one shot could be it for you and you won’t even know what direction it came from. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Codemasters, Dragon Rising, Operation Flashpoint, Skira | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 14, 2009
This is more like it. The first of the Fallout 3 expansion packs that feels truly worthy of the Fallout name. The Vault Dweller is off to Pittsburgh, or what’s left of it. Now aptly renamed as The Pitt, slavers have taken over the city and its still working steel foundry.
You have answered the call for help from one of the escaped slaves who wants to start a rebellion against their masters. As if the misery of working in the Pitt isn’t bad enough, they face the prospect of becoming a Trog, the equivalent of the Capitol Wastelands ghouls, due to a radiation related disease. There’s a cure for this condition but their masters aren’t exactly sharing. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PC, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, RPG, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Auto-axe, Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, DLC, Fallout 3, Steel ingots, The Pitt, Trogs, Vault Dweller | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 9, 2009
After Broken Steel raised level caps to 30, PS3 players are totally ready to get their teeth stuck into some more missions. This time you’ll get to interact with a bit of Fallout history that you may be familiar with from scraps of info picked up along your travels.
Using a virtual reality pod you can get involved with the famous battle at Anchorage, Alaska where the US forces had to repel the Chinese invaders. It’s not just a game though. Some members of the Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts need you to beat it so they can gain access to a sealed vault in a bunker, promising you a share of the spoils. Free stuff? Plug me in kiddo. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PC, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, RPG, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, Capital Wastelands, DLC, Fallout 3, Operation Anchorage | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
October 1, 2009
It’s been a long wait, made all the worse by 360 gamers having these DLC downloads months before the PS3, but the expansion packages for Fallout 3 have finally started to arrive.
The first of which is Broken Steel. It’s more of a taster and a foundation for the new adventures of Fallout’s post-apocalyptic hell (that we love so much). The new chapter starts two weeks after the final events of the original game. No spoilers here for those of you who aren’t there yet, but you WILL have to finish the main game before the extra missions and plot are made available to you. So I hope you’ve kept a save near the end of the game. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PC, PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, RPG, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, Broken Steel, Capital Wastelands, DLC, Enclave, Fallout 3 | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
September 22, 2009
Rubi: a hired gun, thief, errant son deliverer, car roof surfer, the works, with no questions asked. Along as said ‘Wet work’ involves shooting in slow-motion, wall-running, diving, sliding around on her knees (stop it) and stabbing things a lot. Gameplay wise it’s PS2-era Prince of Persia meets Stranglehold.
Style points earned from racking up combos of kills in slow-motion or with the sword can be used to upgrade Rubi and her weapons with extra health and moves or for extra damage, ammo and faster rates of fire. If you played the demo and felt a bit under whelmed it’s a pleasure to say that the full game does feel a lot better once you’ve got some upgrades under your belt. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Action / Third Person, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Artificial Mind & Movement, Bethesda, Brendan Griffiths, Eliza Dushku, Malcolm McDowell, Stranglehold | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
August 3, 2009
This is the third map pack released for Killzone 2. It features two new multiplayer maps and two new weapons. All of which you should be familiar with to some extent as they appear in the single player campaign.
The first map is Suljeva Cliffside, which is from one of K2’s dustier browner levels. This is from a very brief section of the single player game that you will have passed though in a matter of minutes.
It is a fairly straight map with a couple of underground tunnels with sentry guns guarding the passages. Outside there are twisted remains of metal huts which make for handy hiding spaces. The level itself is on a hill with one team at the top and the other at the bottom, it’s almost like a valley with a high verge on one side and buildings on the other meaning you’ll be wide open in this gauntlet like section. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS | Tagged: Arctower Landing, Brendan Griffiths, DLC, Guerrilla, Killzone 2, Napalm and Cordite map pack, PSN, Sony, Suljeva Cliffside, Trophies | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
July 30, 2009
The Western genre in recent years has been criminally underused both in the cinemas and gaming. The only games that spring to mind in the last five years are Red Dead Revolver, Gun, the vampire flavoured Darkwatch and the first Call of Juarez title (PC and 360 only).
Hopefully we’ll start to see a few more, as Bound in Blood marks a series and genre really starting to demand (and be worthy of) attention as an alternative first person shooter contender to the sci-fi of Halo and Killzone or the near-future of games like COD: Modern Warfare and the Tom Clancy titles.
Like any decent shooter this game knows it’s all about the weapons and atmosphere. As such it borrows from a wide range of western cinema including classic John Wayne style to Clint Eastwood cool. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Video | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Call of Juarez 2, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Techland, Ubisoft, Western, wild west | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
July 13, 2009
If you missed our launch party article for the game here’s a quick reminder. Downloadable only, team-based World War II first person shooter based on three (soon to be four) beautifully designed Pacific island maps. It’s like Bad Company has gone on a sunny holiday. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PSN (PlayStation Store), PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Bad Company 2, Battlefield, Battlefield 1943, Brendan Griffiths, Coral Island, Iwo Jima | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
June 18, 2009
After countless WWII games this squad-based shooter this is the best representation of the constant harrowing fear and panic of the battlefield. Relying on a slower, more thought out tactical approach than Medal of Honor et al, the gameplay is infinitely more rewarding with some missions taking over an hour.
The story of the game follows on from the last PS2 game but don’t worry about it too much if you missed it as it’s easy to pick up (you may be tempted to raid the dusty PS2 shelves after this though). The scale and ambition is on a par with Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers with spectacular action and real emotion between the soldiers. You’re in the middle of the infamously botched Operation Market-Garden where instead of the war being over by Christmas, the allies received a major ass-kicking. Most missions involve taking out the giant 88 guns, liberating Eindhoven or simply staying alive against seemingly impossible odds. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: Brendan Griffiths, Brothers in Arms, Gearbox, Hells Highway, Operation Market Garden, Ubisoft, WW2 | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
June 8, 2009
Compared to Casino Royale, the Quantum of Solace film was a big let down, so there’s not much hope for the game of the film right? Movie tie-ins are usually average at best.
So it’s a big surprise to find out that the game is actually rather good. Actually it’s very good. The missions take scenes from the last two bond films, not just Quantum. But not in order, as the game plays through Quantum to after the desert sinkhole shootout, then through Casino Royale, then finishing with the remainder of the second film. Yep me neither. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | PlayStation 3, Reviews, Shooters / FPS, Xbox 360 | Tagged: 007, Brendan Griffiths, Brothers in Arms, Call of Duty 4, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig, James Bond, Killzone 2, PS3, Quantum of Solace, Treyarch, Xbox 360 | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Griffiths
Expectations were low for this PSN shooter that’s old news for 360 and PC gamers. Oh look another space marine shooter on a distant planet. Wake up at the back though because Section 8 is actually pretty good.
