Who among us dared to imagine that after playing the miserable corridor that was the first Final Fantasy XIII, we’d be lining up for a third game in the series a few years later. The sequel,XIII-2, eased up on the linearity, but was still a mess on the battlefield. It’s baffling to think that of all the great Final Fantasy games in years gone by, the almost universally slated XIII series is now a trilogy.
But throughout my time spent playing the previous two games, there remained a streak of perseverance. The ongoing story of sacrifice, family and loss always deserved a better game to be a part of. The cast have always been one of my favourites in a JRPG too, despite being a bit on the broody side a times.
This generation of consoles hasn’t had the best run for licensed tie-ins or traditional RPG experiences. And now, as it winds to a close, the two genres get one last chance in an odd-sounding hybrid. A South Park RPG.
How do you fit South Park into an RPG experience? Simple, just have the kids pretending to be on an epic adventure with elves, mages, wizards and warriors. Adults may know it as LARPing (Live Action Role Playing (like in the movie Role Models), but to the kids of South Park, they’re simply playing outside.
After being utterly smitten with the next-gen re-release of Tomb Raider last month, I was keen to see how last year’s rather tasty Rayman Legends fared on the next-gen machines too. Well, there’s good news and bad news.
There’s a strong argument that that Rayman Legends looks exactly the same on the new consoles as it does on the older ones and there’s no truly relevant new material. But on the other hand, shop around and you can currently buy it for only £7 more than the last-gen version, meaning you don’t have to spend much to finally play a decent platformer on your PS4 or Xbox One.
Hundreds of years after Gabriel Belmont’s journey began; we’re here to witness the grand finale as we see him return as Dracula, to take on Satan and his acolytes one last time in the hope of finally finding peace and an escape from his immortal torment.
If the events of the original Lords of Shadow, the expansion DLC andMirror of Fateare a little faded in your memory, there’s a summative cutscene early on to bring you back up to speed. Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart reprise their roles from the first game, attempting to add as much brooding and grandiosity respectively as possible. And lots of hammy dialogue so cringe worthy, it’ll give you a sore neck.
Looking at gaming’s release schedule, you may notice one genre in particular doesn’t seem to have anything on the horizon – the action platformer. Has the flop of Knack on the PS4 put developers off making new ones? Until someone says otherwise, it would seem that the best way to get our fix is to look backwards.
Fortunately, I’ve been saved a visit to my local preowned store and plugging my PS2 into a modern TV (scart lead consoles on HD TV’s look horrendous) thanks to PS2 title, Legend of Kay being released in digital form on PS3. This isn’t an HD remake, but to be honest, time has been kind to the game and it still looks good today. Widescreen and 60Hz support helps too. Continue reading Legend of Kay Review – This kitty has claws→
With the Christmas release schedule being so packed, some games slips through the cracks. But here at Dealspwn it’s never too late to give you a verdict on a game. After all, in these modern times developers are able to add patches to their games to fix issues that may have been around at launch. The next-gen launch versions of Battlefield 4 on PS4 and Xbox One had a few teething issues, so maybe time (and a few patches) have proved to be a great healer. I’m about to find out as I dive into Battlefield 4 on the PS4.
Let’s get straight to it. Battlefield 4’s single player campaign is better than Battlefield 3’s, but still way behind the Bad Company games. For those of you kind enough not to have scrolled down to the multiplayer part of the review already, I’ll tell you why.
Sometimes you need to take a break from all the cover shooters, the chequered flag chasing and alien blasting to exercise the old grey matter with some puzzles for a change. PSN has been a bit bare of late for head-scratching titles, which is why we’re so keen to give Adam’s Venture Chronicles a go.
The name may sound familiar to PC gamers as the game was originally released in episodic chunks in 2009 through 2012. So, while not exactly fresh, it’s nice to see the game eventually reach another platform. Continue reading Adam’s Venture Chronicles Review→
With the PS3/360 generation of gaming pumping out some excellent games right up to the release of the new generation of gaming consoles, there was always going to be the question of whether some of these games should have waited for the new hardware.
That said we were blown away by what our old machines were capable of with the likes of Beyond: Two Souls (visually at least), Bioshock infinite, The Last of Us, and of course Tomb Raider. So how much do we really need a re-release of a game that’s not even a year old? I admit I was sceptical, but as a fan of the game and a visuals enthusiast (my new name for ‘graphics whore’), there was no denying I’d struggle to pretend a PS4 version wasn’t of interest.
Releasing at the busiest time of year, Liberation went largely unnoticed when it released towards the back end of 2012 on the PS Vita. So when Ubisoft announced they would be polishing it up for a downloadable release on PSN and XBLA it was collective high fives all-round. Sorry Vita, but the big TV wins again.
So often, I cringe when I see the prices of digital games or HD remakes, but Liberation’s £15.99 asking price is very reasonable. Mainly because the original Vita version costs more and the visual upgrade is huge. Some of you may be disappointed to hear that the multiplayer options have been ditched, but this makes sense really. Why would Ubisoft want to dedicate resources to keeping more servers alive when they know most fans will be enjoying the superior multiplayer offerings of Assassin’s Creed IV?
If you’re a late comer to the Assassin’s Creed series, or your interest for it has waned in recent years, this is the game for you. It’s also an essential purchase for any graphics-devouring next-gen console owners out there, as it’s a visual powerhouse from start to finish.
The story sees you essentially playing a game, within a game. You’re some sort of beta tester at Abstergo Entertainment, using the DNA-memory technology seen in the series beforehand to relive the memories of a famous line of Assassin’s. Rather than trying to save the world from Templars as Desmond Miles, this time you’re running through the life events of one Caribbean-based, Welsh pirate, Edward Kenway, to create a video game. It’s very Meta and inside knowledge of past events is handy for the little snippets of information you may find, but newcomers shouldn’t feel left out. There’s always a quick glance at Wikipedia if you need to catch up on the finale of the previous game(s).
Like any good zombie attack, you never see it coming and How to Survive will sink its teeth into your nights if you let your guard down while patiently awaiting the arrival of your shiny next-gen console.
EKO Software’s game is a top-down action-RPG that can be loosely compared with the likes of Diablo III or Dead Nation. After crash landing on a zombie-infested tropical island, you’ll need to scavenge for salvage and build weapons and armour to hold off the infected masses. The overall aim is to make a series of vehicle repairs via completing fetch quests. Ok, so not exactly a revolution of new ideas, but once How to Survive gets going, it’s hard to put down.
Contrast has been thrust into the limelight of the PS4’s launch thanks to its inclusion as a free game for all PS+ subscribers. And given that said subscription is required to play the PS4 online, it may be getting a bigger audience than it expected on opening night. No pressure then.
The game’s setup is an unusual one from the start as you control the odd pairing of Didi -the young girl- and Dawn, a female stage performer. More unusually, the other characters in the game don’t seem to see Dawn, and they only appear as shadows. This is the norm though as we see Didi talk with her parents in their shadow form throughout.
Bioshock Infinite’s first DLC surprised many of us when Irrational announced it would take place in the original game’s underwater city of Rapture and not in the floating city of Columbia. Surprised? Yes. Disappointed? Not one bit.
With Bioshock Infinite indicating the many possibilities of alternate universes, the concept of taking (a version of) Booker and Elizabeth to one of the most inspired locations in gaming history is one that pulls you in from the start, more so after teasing us with the idea in Infinite.
Sony’s long serving pair are back for another dose of platforming and mad scientist-style firearms. Let’s get straight to what you want to hear, yes, Ratchet & Clank: Nexus is a return to form after the misguided effort that was Q-Force. So, with no threats of ridiculous tower defence to worry about we’re free to enjoy the series as it was always meant to be.
That said, I’ve been surprised to see Insomniac continue to work on the series since they started working on non-Sony titles, but I supposed something has to pay the bills between Fuse and Sunset Overdrive (an upcoming Xbox One exclusive). This could explain why we’re getting a shorter Ratchet adventure than usual, but in fairness, it’s only £20.
The 3DS was always going to struggle with the ambitious graphics in Mirror of Fate, but we no longer have to fend off its ugly with a crucifix, because Konami have unleashed a HD makeover on the PS3 and Xbox 360 digital stores and at a bargain price of £9.99.
For those of you who missed the 3DS version, the game ditches the 3D action feel of Lords of Shadow for something more in line with the classic 2D Castlevania games. So expect lots of platforming, exploration and fending off opponents from both sides.
It’s always exciting when games pop through the letterbox, but a few years ago, I was sent Sony’s DanceStar Party for the PS Move. I was dreading it, but ended enjoying it a lot more than I expected. So, when Just Dance 2014 turned up one bleary-eyed afternoon with its neon-nightmare box art, I knew it was that time again. Time to close the curtains. To apologise to the cat in advance. Time to move the sofa too close to the door. Time to stretch. Time to have a beer. Oh, and time to borrow a Kinect.
This is the fifth full game in the series, which has become frequent enough to ditch the numbered sequels and stick a year on the box. You’d be forgiven for thinking not much has changed; the art style is largely the same with real-life dancers on-screen painted in thick bright colours. Steady improvements have been made to the game itself though. Admittedly, the series started on the Wii with a motion controller that wasn’t up to anything more complex than bowling.
Following Heavy Rain must have been a daunting task. The interactive drama wasn’t to everyone’s tastes thanks to the quick time event heavy gameplay. But there’s no denying it was a unique game that told a story in a way a film would never be able to.
So here we are with Beyond: Two Souls, another game written and directed by David Cage and developed by the highly respected Quantic Dream. Beyond, enters new territory though, dropping the crime genre for a tale with a sci-fi edge that’s keen to cut into the concept of death and what awaits us on the other side. It has an episodic feel, making it more comparable to a TV series than a film. I mean, how many 12 hour films have you seen recently?
We’ve come to expect actors’ performances to play a key role in Quantic Dream titles, with some excellent work from the cast of Heavy Rain and the excellent facial motion-capture that lifted the game high above the competition. So it makes sense that this time they would reach out to Hollywood and bag some big-name talent.
Dragon’s Crown is a fond throwback to classic side-scrolling beat ‘em ups like Streets of Rage, or more specifically, Golden Axe (you can totally ride dragons!). Stages involve going from left to right with a four-strong group consisting of knights, amazons, dwarves, elves, wizards or sorceresses. There’s a boss with a health bar as wide as your TV at the end of each one too, with one of them being a clever nod to a certain Monty Python film. Sold yet?
You’re spoilt for choice, with six different character types to choose from. They’re ranked from beginner to expert, but to be honest you’ll be fine going with whichever takes your fancy from the start and you’re allowed to have a few on the go at once.
Sony have a strong history in recent years of nurturing development talent eager to try something a little offbeat, risky or arty. We’ve had Journey and The Unfinished Swan and we’re bound to see more of their kind on the PS4, but before we take that leap onto next-gen in November, we have a title many of us have been looking forward to since its initial reveal back at Gamescom 2012.
Rain takes place during one evening in the rainy streets of Paris. Hearing a noise outside, a boy looks out his window to see a ghostly silhouette of a little girl run past. He climbs outside to investigate only to discover that he himself has turned into a similar ethereal figure. There isn’t much time to dawdle though as there are sinister creatures on the prowl too, so you must guide him through the streets to help him find the girl and make his way back home.
Square Enix aren’t the fastest of movers when it comes to giving us what we really want. That Final Fantasy VII remake doesn’t appear to be on its way soon and Kingdom Hearts III has only just been announced.
In the meantime though, we’re more than happy to revisit the past in their latest HD collection, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix. Rather than just give us HD versions of the main canon PS2 games, Square are making the effort to bring players up to date with the Nintendo-only spin-offs and region-specific releases. Naturally, this leaves room for another HD collection before KHIII.
“The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows”
The No Sleep Gamer 