Category Archives: Platforms

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Improvements for the next Call of Duty

Leave a comment

The Sunday Seven: Improvements for the next Call of Duty

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has been a fantastic return for the mega-selling first-person-shooter franchise. In my review I heaped praised upon both the campaign mode and the fun multiplayer options, mainly because of the excellent shift in style afforded by the exoskeleton. All in all, it’s the best Call of Duty game in years. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. There are still ways in which Call of Duty could blow away the competition and here are seven ways they could do it.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Improvements for the next Call of Duty →

First Person Shooters, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Review)

1 Comment

Call-of-Duty-Advanced-Warfare-PS4Before Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare landed on our doormats, this has been a year to remember for the first person shooter. The likes of Titanfall and Destiny have made vital efforts to push the envelope in terms of what we can expect from a shooter.

Titanfall has been a fun-packed title with awesome mechs, jetpack parkour and some decent DLC, despite server issues that made the early months a little rough. And Destiny, well the jury’s still out a little there as Bungie’s MMOFPS has been a little light on content for many gamers, but there’s a solid foundation. It’s been a year where developers have attempted to shake things up, and for that they should be applauded. And let’s face it, the sequels could be incredible if they take the feedback on board.

Continue reading Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Review) →

Action, Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, RPG

Freedom Wars (Review)

1 Comment

freedom-wars-reviewOh Monster Hunter, why hast thou betrayed us so? After starting life with PlayStation, Capcom’s hit series has gone on to become a huge seller exclusively on Nintendo platforms, particularly the handhelds, leaving Sony desperate to come up with a similar winning formula for the PS Vita.

Last year Soul, Sacrifice made a valiant effort and in many ways succeeded, although it was a little too niche for its own good. And boy was it all sorts of brown. So step forward Freedom Wars, a futuristic take on the genre that sees players trying to work off larger chunks of a 1 million year prison sentence by slaying monsters and harvesting resources for ‘the greater good’. The world is ravaged by war and hunger and broken up into separate cities or Panopticons, with any child born beyond the strict family quotas imprisoned to earn their way back into society via this obscenely long sentence.

Continue reading Freedom Wars (Review) →

Platforms, PS4, Racers, Reviews

DriveClub (Review)

1 Comment

driveclub-reviewDriveClub’s online issues have been well documented since release, and it was only fair that we held off publishing our review until Evolution had time to iron out the kinks and we could actually play it online. Two weeks since release and it’s ‘pencil’s down’ time.

First up, single-player. The campaign is a lengthy selection of events in which you earn fame points that in turn level you up, unlocking more events and faster vehicles. The events themselves have a heavy reliance on time trials over multi-vehicle racing, making it seem like a very lonely game at times. There are drift events too, but the less said about those the better. There are three star awards for each event based on criteria like finishing position, clean laps, lap times or beating racing line or drift challenges.

Continue reading DriveClub (Review) →

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Why Far Cry 4 is Set to Own 2014

Leave a comment

The Sunday Seven: Why Far Cry 4 is Set to Own 2014

With one short month to go before Far Cry 4 lands, we take a decisive look at all the available evidence, including our very own hands-on sessions, to make the case that we could be looking at a Game of the Year contender here. So dive into this week’s Sunday Seven: Why Far Cry 4 is Set to Own 2014.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Why Far Cry 4 is Set to Own 2014 →

Hands-on previews, Platforms, Previews, PS4, Video

Bloodborne (Hands-On Preview)

2 Comments

Chances are, you’re either a big fan of the Dark Souls series or you just can’t be doing with their brand of no-nonsense difficulty and downright unresponsive controls.

Me? I’m not a fan and haven’t been since I played the original Demon’s Souls. So why am I the one talking to you about Bloodborne, a game by the same devs and seen as a potential killer exclusive on the PS4 for fans of From Software’s series? Well, after trying out the recent Alpha, I’m thinking maybe Bloodborne will be worth a look after all and those of you that aren’t fans of the Souls games probably shouldn’t dismiss it so soon.

Continue reading Bloodborne (Hands-On Preview) →

Features, PS4

The Sunday Seven: DriveClub’s Ups and Downs

9 Comments

The racing game PS4 owners have been waiting for since launch is finally here and it’s facing a hell of a lot of pressure after a prolonged development that has seen some mixed messages emerge during the course. It’s not been the smoothest of launches either, with the online side of the game being blocked off to most gamers. So, let’s have a look at some of the highs and lows we’ve experienced in our first four days with the game.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: DriveClub’s Ups and Downs →

Action, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Review)

1 Comment

With the Hobbit movies proving to be one of the longest train wrecks in recent memory, it’s a relief to see developers looking elsewhere for inspiration of doing Tolkien’s world justice. So, to fill the gap between the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, we find ourselves deep in the heart of Mordor.

Enter Talion, a ranger working on the Black Gate who, along with his family, is killed almost immediately by invading Uruks. Luckily (sort of) for him, an Elven Wraith spirit invades his body just before death. Meaning that a short while later he is resurrected and will continue to do so each time he is killed.

Continue reading Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Review) →

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Shadow of Mordor Tips

Leave a comment

We’ve been playing a lot of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor here at tower Dealspwn and have frankly been loving it. As keen Tolkien geeks, the Mordor setting provides an intriguing look at an area of Middle Earth for so long trapped behind those daunting Black Gates. Taking place between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is a great idea and rich with potential. Monolith tells how the one ring was forged and how a solitary ranger can play an important part when paired with an elven wraith. I’ve put together a few tips to get you started. As ever readers, be sure to share any you might have too.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Shadow of Mordor Tips →

Hands-on previews, PC, PlayStation 3, Previews, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Evil Within (Hands-on Preview)

1 Comment

 

Remember: Burn After Bleeding

Today’s session sees our detective leading man making his way through a sinister mansion full of strange noises, tortured sobbing, wet ripping sounds and a host of nasties sporting dead-eyed barbwire couture. Forget any concerns about the ‘haunted mansion’ cliché, this is the sort of nasty setting we’ve missed in recent years. And don’t forget, this is just one stage of Shinji Mikami’s blood-soaked love letter to the genre he helped to define.

It’s also the first decent taste of horror on new-gen hardware and it suitably impresses on the graphical front from the start. It’s the shadows that really put you on edge though. Be it the flickering shards emitted by your gas lamp as you edge down a dim corridor, the light behind a sheet betraying the twitching silhouette or the gradual pouring of light into a dark room as you slowly creak open a door into the unknown.

Continue reading The Evil Within (Hands-on Preview) →

Hands-on previews, PC, Platforms, Previews, PS4, Xbox One

Project Cars (Hands-On Preview)

Leave a comment

“Try to catch that car in front or just bring it back in one piece.” These are the deflating words of my pit manager when skidding around in last place on the final lap in Project Cars.

Project Cars is tough. With no driving aids turned on for my first play session with the new racing IP, I can’t help but feel the pressure mount as every time I look up in the Bandai Namco offices, I see a Dark Souls II poster – judging, mocking and not helping my blood temperature one bit.

Things improve though and despite the harsh challenge, which comes mainly from the handling rather than the AI (but more on those guys later), I found myself keen to iron out my racing sim wrinkles and lose those pesky kart racer habits. To be fair, it’s not like PS4 is exactly packed with skill-honing racing sims right now.

Continue reading Project Cars (Hands-On Preview) →

Features, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Destiny Strike Tips

Leave a comment

I’ve had Destiny for a week now (thanks to Royal Mail’s usual shoddy service) and have been hitting the modes pretty hard to level up my gear enough to take on the upcoming Raids that are only open to level 26 and up. So, we imagine that you too are going to be putting a lot of time into Strike missions to get in some essential practice for Destiny’s tougher journeys. Well Guardian, you’re not going to last two minutes in the Raids if you don’t take these tactics into your Strike missions.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Destiny Strike Tips →

Action, PC, Platforms, PS4, Reviews, RPG, Xbox One

DIABLO III: ULTIMATE EVIL EDITION (REVIEW)

Leave a comment

Console-based action RPG fans are generally an underserved bunch, so when Diablo III was announced for the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, those of us with an unquenchable thirst for loot were certainly excited.

But then Blizzard had to go and announce that in addition to the PS3 and 360 versions, the game would eventually make its way to the next generation on PS4 and Xbox One. Then began the waiting game, in which I would have had plenty of time to pick up the PS3 version of the game to whet my appetite. But no, it’s shiny or nothing.

Continue reading DIABLO III: ULTIMATE EVIL EDITION (REVIEW) →

Platformer, Platforms, PS Vita, Puzzle, Reviews

Murasaki Baby (Review)

2 Comments

The Colourful Heart of Darkness

Sony has repositioned the Vita as a champion of indie titles and Murasaki Baby has been on our radar for what seems like forever. The wait is over though and we finally get our hands on one of the most visually-striking games to land on the handheld in ages.

The aim of this 2D puzzle platformer is to help this incredibly creepy, yet somehow adorable, little girl find her ‘mummy’ as we guide her through the nightmare-like environments via a multitude of touchscreen and rear touchpad controls. Early Vita adopters may hear a few distant alarm bells ringing if they remember the infuriatingly clunky launch title Escape Plan. Thankfully, the controls in Murasaki Baby are much better. Mostly.

Continue reading Murasaki Baby (Review) →

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Previews, PS4, Regular previews, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Under the Radar Releases This Xmas

Leave a comment

The Christmas release line-up has a long tradition of being ridiculously packed every year. After one of the driest gaming summers in recent memory, this is all the more frustrating. The big publishers will often drown out the marketing efforts of any releases that aren’t Call of Duty, FIFA, Halo or other major console branded spots, so this list is for seven games that deserve a little boost and ones we hope won’t get brushed aside in favour of the usual suspects. Keep your browser aimed at Dealspwn as we’ll be aiming to review the lot of them.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Under the Radar Releases This Xmas →

Arcade Shooter, Platformer, Platforms, PS Vita, PS4, Reviews

Velocity 2X (Review)

Leave a comment

Futurlab may have just gone and made one of the best games of the year. And for anyone on PS+, you can download it for free now on PS4 and Vita.

The original Velocity title on the Vita was a cool retro shoot ‘em up that had you teleporting through barriers to reach other parts of a scrolling stage. We would have been happy enough with more of the same, but Futurlab really went the extra mile by adding in on-foot 2D platforming sections when you leave the ship. The game effortlessly shifts between the two modes with no loading screens to complete one of the slickest experiences we’ve seen on PS4.

Continue reading Velocity 2X (Review) →

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The Sunday Seven: Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition Adventure Mode Starter Tips

Leave a comment

If you patiently waited all that time for the new-gen version of Diablo III you may be wondering what all the fuss is about Adventure Mode. Well, after you finish the campaign mode, you’ll be wanting to bag some serious XP and loot to keep the game feeling fresh and getting to Level 70 so you can explore the Paragon system and maybe start on a few new characters to share the additional benefits of your first demon slaying hero. So why not take a look at this week’s Sunday Seven which has a few starter tips to get you going on the next part of your quest for epic loot in Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition. Naturally, we’d love to hear any hints you’d like to share too.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition Adventure Mode Starter Tips →

Features, Hands-on previews, Platforms, Previews, PS Vita, PS4, Video

Opening Scenes: Velocity 2X – 27 Mins of Gameplay

Leave a comment
Opening Scenes: Velocity 2X - 27 Mins of Gameplay

The PS4 offerings for PS+ have been a bit too niche for their own good in recent months, but Velocity 2X is a stone cold classic. This newly released title is available for free to anyone on Sony’s subscription service and is out now on both PS4 and Vita.

Today we have 27 minutes of gameplay footage for you, captured from the PS4 version as I play the game for the first time. Velocity 2X is a hybrid of retro shooter and 2D platformer and works best when played at full tilt. The video shows off how effortlessly the game switches between the two genres to become one of the best releases of the year so far. We’ll have a review for you soon, but for now check out what you’re missing, then go and download it. Continue reading Opening Scenes: Velocity 2X – 27 Mins of Gameplay →

Features, Platforms, PS4, Xbox One

The Grass Is Always Greener… I have a PS4, so why do I really want an Xbox One?

1 Comment

The grass is always greener on the other side. Early on in a new generation of consoles, you usually have to pick between two big rivals. It’s been like that throughout all of my formative gaming years. Sega vs. Nintendo. Nintendo Vs Sony. Sony Vs Microsoft. Whatever side you choose though, chances are your console is going to have a slow start during the first 18 months, especially with development time of the big Triple A titles getting longer and longer.

As a PS4 gamer I’ve had plenty of games to enjoy since launch from exclusives like Infamous and Killzone to the compelling third-party efforts like Assassin’s Creed IV, Wolfenstein the Lego games and more recently Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition. After E3 and Gamescom though, I have to admit I’ve been getting itchy feet and the feeling that I’m missing out by not having an Xbox One, like I said, the grass is always greener and all that.

Continue reading The Grass Is Always Greener… I have a PS4, so why do I really want an Xbox One? →

Features, Hands-on previews, PC, Platforms, Previews, PS4, Video, Xbox One

Let’s Play… Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition – Adventure Mode

Leave a comment

Let's Play... Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition - Adventure ModeThe new Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition has been devouring our time lately. After getting back from my hols I’ve finally been able to finish the campaign mode which, as players of the original version will know, has meant the Adventure mode has finally unlocked.

This part of Diablo III’s end-game sees you tasked with bounties or killcount targets to bring in some seriously fat XP and gold rewards, not to mention all sorts of shiny loot. Blood Shards are rare rewards too and also a new currency that allows you to gamble for some exceptionally rare items. Continue reading Let’s Play… Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition – Adventure Mode →