All posts by Brendan Griffiths

Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, RPG

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention (Review)

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After a strong launch line-up the Vita’s release schedule has been worryingly quiet. It has also been without anything resembling a decent RPG to really get our teeth into. Hopefully that’s all about to change as Disgaea 3 gets a re-release.

We’re not entirely sure why NIS didn’t release Disgaea 4 instead as it’s generally seen as the superior title. What you have here is a full priced game that has been out on the PS3 since 2008 and available for under a tenner today. On the plus side, Absence of Detention does come with all the separate DLC from the PS3 game, including an extra four chapters. Not that you’d miss it, this game is huge. You can level up to Lv. 9999 type of huge.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Yakuza: Dead Souls (Review)

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Shuffling up to the zombie party the day after the night before can hardly be called fashionably late, but here we finally are. The Yakuza series is renowned for its unique blend of beat em’ up RPG, so it was surprising and (whisper it), slightly disappointing to see them announce a gun-packed zombie game when all I really wanted was a new city to play in with Kiryu and the rest of the face-stomping gang.

Previously, the series only used firearms as brief power-ups before the game got back to doing what it did best: letting you swing street thugs by their ankles face-first into lamp posts. Sadly, there are no options to enjoy such violent delights here. A few melee weapons remain, but for the most part it’s all about the boomsticks.

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Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Sport, Xbox 360

Grand Slam Tennis 2 (Review)

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After a return to form for Sega’s Virtua Tennis 4, EA really have their work cut out for them if they want to take on the champ. In typical EA fashion, they’ve chucked a horde of player and tournament licenses and right analogue stick controls at the game in an attempt to dazzle us.

The first impression as I fired up the game was the usual disappointment with the menus that are the same clunky, basic ugly boxes we’ve seen FIFA drowning in for years. Yes, all the options you want are there, but why does every EA Sports game have to look the same?

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Horror, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Silent Hill HD Collection (Review)

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They always say you should never go back. And considering the gruesome nightmares of the body and mind that the Silent Hill tourist board have been selling for years, perhaps we should heed the old adage. Against our better judgment though, we’re going to go and poke its festering corpse with an HD stick.

There have been plenty of HD re-releases of late and the majority of them have been awesome.God of War, Metal Gear Solid and Sly Raccoon are still fantastic games to play. Silent Hill may prove to be a rotten horse flaying too far though.

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Books, Reviews

Bioshock Rapture (Book Review)

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Before the fall of gaming’s most beloved and feared underwater utopia, there was a story never told. This uncovered tale is a prequel to the first two Bioshock games and tells of the creation of the underwater city of Rapture. Beginning with the concept and construction, and ending close to the start of the first game.

The fragmented audio diaries picked up by the dedicated gamer left haunting gaps in the fall of Andrew Ryan’s idealistic city, but there was no denying the chilling sense of despair pulsing through a recent demise. Some of the recordings are integrated into this story, not as lazy filler material, more as important documentation of the progression of a citywide insanity.

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Horror, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Silent Hill: Downpour (Review)

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Survival Horror has been a festering corpse for a while now. Resident Evil and Dead Space have mutated in shooting games with limited ammo and we’re left with the Silent Hill series that’s been struggling since SH3. Nowadays we have Demon’s Souls (ish) and Amy, the later being my frontrunner for worst game of the year.

I’m all for giving Silent Hill: Downpour a shot as it has to be better than SH: Homecoming at least. And I’m glad to say it is. Thankfully, the new developers, Vatra have at least played Alan Wake, one of the rare gems the genre has produced in recent times. Hold it; I should probably put a hold on the semi-optimistic slant this review was heading. This game’s no Alan Wake beater, just so you know.

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Action, Platformer, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Jak & Daxter Trilogy (Review)

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The PS2 was spoilt for choice with platforming adventure titles, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper and of course Jak & Daxter. So an excuse to dive in again in shiny HD with widescreen support was a no-brainer.

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is admittedly one of my favourite games, but have I been remembering the game through rose-tinted glasses, was it really that good? Hell yes it was. Originally released in 2001, this was ridiculously impressive both technically and in terms of gameplay. All the levels are linked together, and you can run from one end of the game to the other without a single loading screen.

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Action, Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews

Unit 13 (Review)

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Third-person shooters were something to be avoided on the PSP, but thanks to the Vita’s second analogue stick we can now safely embrace the genre on a handheld device. Unit 13 comes from Zipper Interactive, the team behind the Socom games, most recently the impressive Socom: Special Forces, so there’s potential here.

Despite Zipper’s last game having a decent plot, this game is very much business only and broken up into individual missions with no story at all. Essentially, you pick one specialist from the unit and get dropped into a level to kill terrorists, kill leaders, kill intel, I mean pick up intel and diffuse bombs. Standard 9-5 counter-terrorism.

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Party, Platforms, PS Vita, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews, Sport

Hustle Kings (Vita Review)

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A cheap price and pool on the go are certainly good ingredients for the Vita’s take on our favourite pub game. No arguments over whose 50p is on the table at 3am either, which is always a good thing.

A very long tutorial begins well enough by telling you how to use the three different cue shot methods and spin shots. But the help and controls for jump shots and straight backspin are terrible and anyone who can do these shots in real life will no doubt be shouting “Bullshit!” many times over.

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Beat 'em up, Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews

Reality Fighters (Review)

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Until Street Fighter X Tekken arrives on the Vita the fighting market is pretty open. Sure you could go for BlazBlue, but some may prefer something a little different and a new IP to go with their new handheld. Reality Fighters comes loaded with gimmicks, but does it pack enough punch to warrant a place in your collection?

This arcade fighter’s hook is letting you put your own face onto the fighters. A further use of reality takes advantage of the Vita’s rear camera to fight against a real-world background, in real-time or from pictures you snapped earlier or from a few glossy pre-loaded ones.

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Platformer, Platforms, PS Vita, PSN (PlayStation Store), Puzzle, Reviews

Escape Plan (Review)

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Within the first few months of the Vita’s release I expect we’ll be seeing this sort of thing a lot. What, artsy black and white puzzle games? No, that would be fine; I mean games with overly-reliant touchscreen and touchpad inputs hampering a potentially enjoyable experience. These aren’t the only flaws behind Escape Plan, but they certainly tip the scales towards indifference.

The premise is simple; controlling two characters you must escape a long series of 2D challenge rooms. A sideways screen swipe makes them walk and a tap stops them. Interacting with the environment on their behalf is the key to their freedom.  Drawer-like platforms can be pushed out from behind for a limited time, so timing your walks (they can’t be called runs) across them is of vital importance. Not being able to use the X button to start/stop walking is a miserly and foolish omission as the touches don’t always register first or second time.

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Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, Sport

Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition (Review)

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Sport games are off to a good start on the Vita and the trend continues with Sega’s Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition. This game is almost identical to the PS3 version, which is certainly no bad thing. In fact, I’d go as far as to recommend this version over the PS3 one as the gameplay is better suited to the stop/start nature of handhelds, not that you can’t lose yourself for hours as well.

Graphically the game is on a par with the big consoles and has even inherited the dodgy likenesses. Take Djokovic, they’ve nailed the geeky haircut, but there’s something unsettling about his face. Oh and talking of unsettling, wait until I tell you about putting your own face into the game later on. It’s a bit Silence of the Lambs.

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Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, Sport

Everybody’s Golf (Vita Review)

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In many ways, Everybody’s Golf is a perfect fit for the PS Vita handheld. It’s a fast-loader, gameplay is quick and it can be played for hours or just a few holes at a time before slipping the game into sleep mode when the ad break finishes. One negative that it does find though is being on your new, shiny and expensive console that probably has no desire to be thrown at a wall, punched, bitten or burned, which are all possibilities when the game f**ks you over again then runs off giggling with its stupidly happy cast of freaks. So, um, yes, I really like Everybody’s Golf on the Vita, but I want to kill it.

I suppose I should talk about the rest of the game before the red mist takes over again. If you’ve played the PS3 or PSP versions, then you’ll know what to expect. The game provides a generous six 18-hole courses (plus the mirror versions) for you to play and I’m pleased to report that they’re new and not just ports of the PS3 ones.

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Party, Platforms, PS Vita, Puzzle, Reviews

Little Deviants (Review)

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This collection of thirty minigames is aiming to tempt gamers as a launch purchase as it utilises all of the Vita’s functions. Except the analogue sticks. And the face buttons. So yes! Smear, tickle, rub, wobble and even sing your way through the world of Little Deviants!

The visual style is clearly aiming for a younger market, but nothing’s so garish as to make it unplayable for adults too. So you won’t feel like a berk playing it, unless people are watching you. You play as a race of aliens trying to rebuild their ship so they can return home. This will involve not attacking humans and defending their planet from zombies and robots. As you do.

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Platforms, PS Vita, Racers, Reviews

ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Review)

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Gaming’s best kart track editor on a portable device? Damn straight we’ll have some of that. The PS3 game suffered from long load times and some miserably tight (and cheaty) AI, but here’s a chance to really push the game into a contender position.

Diving straight into the now cutscene-bare (yay!) Career mode, I was pleased to see new tracks galore. With the series having such a large focus on its impressive track editor, it would have been a shock if they had just reissued the PS3 ones.

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Action, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Reviews

Medieval Moves (Review)

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It’s been too long since we had a great PlayStation Move game. Sports Champions and Killzone 3 are still the champs standing tall above the minigames collections and hasty last-minute ‘me too’ efforts like Virtua Tennis 4. So it’s with some confidence and hope that I approached Medieval Moves.

Had I not previously played a few unfinished versions of the game I would have been let down by the opening moments that show some terrible illustrated cutscenes. I know we’re in a recession and this game came out at half the price of regular games, but… ew.

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Platforms, PS Vita, Racers, Reviews

WipEout 2048 (Review)

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As the next generation of portable gaming steps forward, the WipEout series returns to its roots. 2048 is the first official season of WipEout’s familiar antigravity racing league, with a compelling intro video showing the Feisar team’s growth from traditional racing in the 1960s and through the generations and more advanced vehicles all the way up to the vicious arrowhead-shaped beasts we know and love.

Just because the game predates the others in the timeline doesn’t mean it’s particularly different. A few tracks start at street level, complete with road markings and tarmac, but it isn’t long before you’re racing up the sides of skyscrapers. The developers have featured wider sections of track in some areas to encourage combat, but in reality most of the tracks are still tight, especially when you’re coming into a corner at top speed amongst a pack of rivals. There’s a larger emphasis on skillcuts, difficult shortcuts that will give you an advantage as long as you don’t bounce wall to wall all the way through them. All the AI opponents seems to know about them and don’t blunder their way through like you will for you first dozen attempts. With no difficulty sliders available, there’s no getting around that this is one of the tougher WipEout games.

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Action, Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Review)

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It’s strange how the one thing many of us gamers clamour to first for a new console is something familiar. It’s a brand new machine, but let’s not go nuts. With most only buying one or two games at best for launch, you’ll want something reliable, familiar and with just enough ‘new’ about it to make that transition to a new machine that little bit smoother. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the perfect purchase for that purpose.

This is a great entry point to the series for non-PS3 owners as the game is a prequel, with a story that never relies on past knowledge of the series, not that there aren’t a few familiar characterisation elements for fans to enjoy. This time Drake is in the jungles and ruins of Central America. Initially hired as a sort of archaeological plundering partner in crime with new-guy Dante, Drake stumbles upon a mad army General intent on a typical power-mad scheme. With Elena not yet on the scene we’re introduced to new girl, Marisa Chase. Sharing -and perhaps really kick-starting- Drake’s passion for all things ancient, it’s not long before a new friendship is born. This relationship is well written with plenty of Uncharted’s trademark humour despite Naughty Dog not being at the helm. The writing and the flow of the story is pretty dam excellent throughout to be honest. A few hours in and you realise that we have another development team that can do the series justice.

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Hardware, Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews

PS Vita (Hardware Review)

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Portable handhelds, as we know them, are under threat. As smartphones become more powerful, tablets become more prevalent, and the wealth of functions offered by Android and iOS surpass in breadth and depth those of the old crop of pocket-sized games consoles, traditional models are in jeopardy. So there’s no better time, one would think, to pull out the stops. Sony’s (rather large) new handheld strives for exactly that – with more gadgets, features, bells and whistles than you could possibly imagine, including, crucially, two analogue thumbsticks. But is it worth the £230+ price tag? Can the Vita really offer an experience that surpasses those offered by the likes of Apple, Google and Nintendo? We look for answers in our MASSIVE Playstation Vita hardware review below…

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Books, Reviews

Uncharted: Drake’s Journal by Nolan North (Book Review)

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Any chance to take a look behind the scenes of the Uncharted series is always going to be eagerly snapped up, even more so when Nolan North, the man behind Nathan Drake is the guide.

Gaming’s most respected voice actor has written this book to share his experiences on the set of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Unlike many games, the Uncharted series’ creators Naughty Dog, have their voice actors physically act out their roles together over months of work. Compared to the industry standard of sitting in a recording booth for a few days and then picking up a pay check, Uncharted is a huge gig and warrants a deeper look.

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