Category Archives: Reviews

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

Saints Row: The Third (Review)

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GTAV will have to wait its turn. We’ve been looking forward to Saints Row: The Third for a while now and after the dirty delights of SR2, we can’t wait to get stuck in again with the current console generation’s most enjoyable open world crime series.

After pissing off The Syndicate, the Saints are forced out of Stillwater despite being the world’s most famous street gang. Instead, they’re dumped into Steelport and have to start from square one again. Their rise to power pits them against The Syndicate and the gangs of Morning Star, The Deckers and The Luchadores, the latter of whom are led by Killbane, voiced by Hulk Hogan. With this fresh start, the series is welcoming to old and new players.

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Platforms, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Puzzle, Reviews

Move Mind Benders (Review)

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Top marks for whoever named this collection, still makes me laugh. Anyway, this disc of PSN PlayStation Move titles includes some lesser-known titles that may have passed you by originally, including Lemmings, Echochrome ii and Tumble.

Lemmings
The premise is familiar, and thankfully 2D, rescue the lemmings from their ledge-hopping doom with a variety of applicable abilities in some tasty new levels.

On paper, Lemmings controlled with the Move sounds like a good idea. In practice, it’s not great. When the lemmings are close together, the sensitive crosshairs are too awkward and struggle to pick out individuals. In addition, the buttons seemed not to work half the time. Thankfully, the game is playable with a regular controller and the analogue sticks perform admirably in the absence of a mouse.

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Platforms, PSP, Racers, Reviews

Cars 2 (PSP Review)

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Late movie tie-ins are bound to raise suspicion from any gamer, especially from a film that’s clearly one of Pixar’s poorer efforts. Unless the UMD fires out of the PSP and blinds me, this should be a better experience than the film. Maybe. The retail version isn’t yet available in the shops (next year apparently) but the PSN version is available now, albeit at an optimistic price.

After expecting a few standard races around the film’s locations, I was surprised to see that they’ve changed the racing format a little. Instead of having full steering control from a rear camera angle, you’re locked into lanes. You swap between them by flicking the analogue stick left and right. The camera sweeps around throughout the race, attempting to provide the best cinematic angles.

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PC, Platformer, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Sonic Generations (Review)

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Aiming to please fans of both traditional and modern Sonic titles, Sega have included both styles in one game. Surprisingly this hasn’t resulted in the partial disaster I expected. But is Sonic still capable of a decent result in a genre that has unfortunately all but faded?

We find ourselves taking turns to play as the 2D side-scrolling scamp of old and the free-moving chatty rail-grinder. Time travel is the logic behind this merging of styles, as modern-day Sonic joins forces with his younger 1990s self. Together they must defeat Dr. Robotnik and Dr. Eggman, essentially two versions of the same villain. In addition to the fat moustachioed one(s), there’s a sinister creature that caused the time rift in the first place.

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PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Puzzle, Reviews, XBLA, Xbox 360

Mercury Hg Heavy Elements DLC (Review)

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At the end of my 8/10 review of Mercury Hg last month, I thought I’d be very happy to have some more of the same when the DLC came along. Wish granted! The £1.99 Heavy Elements DLC provides 30 challenging extra levels for this great PSN game.

For extensive details on gameplay, I’d recommend clicking the above link for my review of the main game. Essentially, you tilt obstacle course worlds to roll a blob of Mercury to the exit. Prize atoms are rewarded for finishing, maintaining 100% health, collecting all the items and for par times.

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PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Racers, Reviews, Xbox 360

WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship 2011 (Review)

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After hearing Dirt 3 would be making a return to proper rallying, I couldn’t help but feel let down by the final product. So much of the game was left to the demented machinations of Ken Block; I was relieved they’d taken McRae’s name off the box. A rally car is not a BMX or a skateboard as the clumsy gymkhana sections proved.

WRC 2 lives and breathes for proper rallying though. Traditional A-B stages dominate, with a few Super Special Stage duels thrown in for good measure. All the big names like Loeb, Solberg and Hirvonen are here along with their official WRC rides. The lower rally leagues and the infamous Group B cars are also present. You can race individual rallies with the stars straight away, or get started on the lengthy career mode, The Road to the WRC.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Review)

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Nathan Drake returns for another top-rate adventure. After hearing his very distant relative, Francis Drake, must have taken a detour on the way back from one of his famous voyages we’re off to search for clues to see if he discovered the lost Arabian city of Ubar.

The story takes time to delve into Nate’s past, allowing us to explore how he met Sully, who now plays a larger role than the previous games. It never feels like padding and fans will enjoy the insight into the friendship. Don’t worry, Elena and Chloe are still around too.

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Action, Platformer, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (Review)

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Co-op multiplayer Ratchet & Clank. The series has been consistently fantastic without it, but we’re always keen to watch a great game grow. But with co-op, we knew there would be concessions to the game we know and love. Would this sour the overall experience though? In short: no, this is still a great Ratchet game, even as a single-player experience.

If you’d prefer to play through the game alone (also the best way to build up your arsenal), just choose a character and get going. With Ratchet, Clank, Captain Quark and Dr. Nefarious all working together against a common enemy, you can choose to play as any of the four. An AI partner follows you around to help in gunfights and co-op tasks if you’re flying solo. Co-op partners, either local or online can drop in or drop out at any time, which allows you to progress through the game as you choose.

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

Batman: Arkham City (Review)

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After the chaotic events of Arkham Asylum, only the corrupt world of Gotham City would let the madhouse’s warden become mayor and allow him to hire Dr. Strange to cordon off a whole section of the city for a new asylum/prison. Dr. Strange being the head-case he is, it isn’t long before innocent civilians find themselves locked up without warning or trial. Soon enough, we’re walking Batman himself through the prison gates too, albeit as Bruce Wayne.

It’s going to be another long night for the Batman. Arkham City takes on an open-world approach with various missions available around the city map. It’s clear that films like Escape from New York have heavily influenced the landscape. Electricity is limited and streets are littered with trash, barricades, burnt out cars and mobs of angry thugs. Famous in-mates like Two-Face, Penguin and Joker all have their own areas and gang members. Despite the place being a shit-hole, they’re still all having a massive turf war.

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Arcade Shooter, Platformer, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken Review

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Why did the chicken cross the road? To take on an army of totalitarian penguins in a cool action puzzle platformer. Browser game fans may recognise the game, as it’s an extended version of Rocketbirds: Revolution.

The cartoony character art style set against the wartime background of the sinister penguin forces oozes style. Cutscenes play out a straightforward story of redemption and revenge with some surprisingly dark moments amongst the genuinely funny parts that themselves will raise plenty of wry smirks. Psychedelic rock band, New World Revolution, provide the soundtrack to the cutscenes, and while you won’t be rushing off to buy their album, their sombre tones suite the game well.

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Platforms, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Puzzle, Reviews, XBLA, Xbox 360

Mercury Hg (Review)

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Early PSP adopters may remember Mercury, but for everyone else, it’s time to play the definitive version, Mercury Hg. Put your red pens down the Hg is the Periodic Table of Elements name for Mercury. But yes, it’s essentially Mercury HD.

The game involves tilting the platform worlds around to roll a ball of liquid mercury around until you get it to the exit. If you get too close to the edge you’ll start to drip over the sides, depleting your life bar and size. An audio cue will let you know that you’ve been sloppy, so you don’t need to let your eyes wonder to the health metre when navigating a tricky part. Pushing Select will give you an instant restart if you’re on a mission for perfection.

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Action, Platformer, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection (Review)

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This collection was one of the first of the HD re-releases to be announced and since then we’ve had many more come and go. With the long development time, you’d expect perfect conversions, with little need for rose-tinted glasses to help you get through it. So let’s take a look.

For many gamers, this will be their first taste of these games, and after going back to check the PS2 versions you can see there are clear improvements thanks to the high-definition remodelling. There are also a few downsides, but more on those later.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

God of War Collection Volume II (Review)

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If you thought the PSP wasn’t capable of hosting spectacular action games then you’d be very wrong, as Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta are a fine pair of beasts. But let’s face it, Kratos was always way too angry to settle being stuck in your pocket.

While the first God of War collection and the Sly or Prince of Persia HD trilogies were upgrades of already good-looking PS2 games, this has taken more of an effort coming from the PSP. Sporting the best visuals the handheld ever saw, these games are now re-born with their potential fully realised in HD.

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

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Review)

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The Games Workshop space faring Warhammer 40k universe has been begging for a proper action game for years. Having provided so much inspiration for video games it’s about time it had one.

Relic Entertainment have served 40k well already with their Dawn of War strategy games on the PC, but now they face a different challenge with an assault on the crowded action shooter genre. This is no Gears of War clone though; you’re playing as a Space Marine, the toughest soldiers out there. These seven-foot tall genetically engineered killing machines don’t need a cover-system; they’re all about fighting through the pain.

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First Person Shooters, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Resistance 3 (Review)

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With Insomniac Games moving onto a multi-format future with Overstrike, this could well be the final Resistance title on the PS3. It was PS3 gamer’s first FPS love, but since then it has always been overshadowed by the technical powerhouse of Killzone. So how will the series bow out?

You now play as Joe Capelli, (R2 SPOILER!) the man forced to kill Nathan Hale as the Chimera virus finally overcame the former hero. Despite Capelli’s hand being forced, he was given a dishonourable discharge from the army. Four years later, the Chimera are still slowly strangling the remains of the human race from the earth and we find Capelli living with a small group of survivors and his wife and child.

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Hardware, Mobile, Reviews

Xperia Play (Hardware Review)

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After years of asking, we finally have our PlayStation phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The Xperia Play comes with a 16GB memory card, which we soon populated with a few games for a quick review and a look at a few of the phone’s features.

With an aim to improve sales, the price of the device has recently been slashed by almost a half to around £299 for those wishing to purchase the handset on its own. So let’s take a look from a gamer’s perspective at how the device holds up.

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

Brink (Review)

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Hopes were high for Brink. Cool character design, mixed with Mirror’s Edge FPS platforming and served as an objective-based shooter that could instantly take the fight online, replacing bots for real people. With all these elements and a name that implies it’s already on the edge, it’s a tough task on the hands of developers Splash Damage.

Brink features two campaigns based in the Arc, a futuristic city built for mankind’s rich survivors after the melting of the polar ice caps drowned the world. One story has you playing as the Arc’s security forces, the other shows the same events from the rebels (the former builders of the Arc) perspective, who are trying to escape or destroy the Arc. Yes, someone has been playing Bioshock. Both sides are shown as the potential good guys, but the story is merely filler between matches.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon (Review)

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The EDF (no relation to Red Faction’s EDF) games have been something of a cult hit on the 360 for a while now and the series has finally made its way to the PS3 too. New recruits listen up; your mission in this arcade third-person shooter is to defend the planet from an invasion of giant bugs. Ants, spiders and wasps have all been super-sized to form an alien army of nature’s bastards. Over-turned cups and rolled up newspapers aren’t going to cut it anymore.

The carnage over the game’s fifteen levels is simple enough to grasp: kill everything in sight and occasionally plant a demolition charge. The single-player campaign missions match those used for multiplayer, so levelling up is consistent across the board. Playing offline is clearly not the way the game was intended to be played, as your AI team-mates struggle to focus on taking down bosses, although they are impressively reliable for reviving you, which is more than can be said for some players online.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Captain America: Super Soldier (Review)

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After the recent relentless slew of comic book movie tie-ins ranging from hideously deformed horrors to the dizzy heights of ‘not awful’, it’s a great relief to be able to report we have a game we can call ‘good’.

Captain America: Super Soldier borrows from all the right places, namely Arkham Asylum, and stuffs its world with hidden objects to find to appeal to the gamer’s hunger to collect everything possible.

The game seems to run alongside the film rather than portray the same events. But you’ll hear Chris Evens as Cap and see enemy soldiers resembling the movie ones. The story is simple fodder, Cap must clear the way in a Bavarian fortress for the good guys against the Hydra army. The setting is WWII, which provides plenty of faux-German accents. They’re terrible and the dialogue is laughable but it all adds to the game’s charm and will raise a wry smirk and even a laugh or two.

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Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PSP, Puzzle, Reviews

PSP Minis Roundup: A spinning octopus, block dropping and a Ninjamurai?

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It’s been a while since we’ve had a look at some of the PSP’s Minis, mainly because of the PSN crisis and recently a lot of them looked like complete pump. There hasn’t exactly been a deluge of titles since PSN resumed normal service either. Two of the three games we’re looking at today come free with PlayStation Plus, which some gamers might still have as a part of their Welcome Back package.

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