First Person Shooters, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews, XBLA, Xbox 360

Blacklight: Tango Down (Review)

1 Comment

A brave mission indeed releasing this PSN first-person-shooter less than a week before Call of Duty: Black Ops. It would have fared much better on PSN a few months back, when it was originally released on XBLA. So does Blacklight have the game to back up this ballsy approach? Well…

The main focus of the game are the online matches. There are a few single player levels but the one-life approach means you’ll only bother until you have a grasp of the controls. You can play them co-operatively but the only way I got this to happen was when trying to get into a deathmatch, it seemed to default to it when there were only two of us in the match lobby. Continue reading Blacklight: Tango Down (Review) →

PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Retro, Reviews

Soldner-X 2: The Final Prototype – The Last Chapter (DLC Review)

Leave a comment

The Last Chapter is the expansion pack to Soldner-X 2: The Final Prototype which I found to be an enjoyable, if over-priced blast. It packs in three new levels, 11 Trophies and 13 new Challenges. The challenges though, in true Soldner-style,require you to actually earn the right to play them. There’s even a new difficulty mode, Massive Attack, to unlock. When you get around to unlocking Extra Hard that is.

The extra levels can be played through straight away, you don’t have to replay anything for hours on end in a similar way to the way levels were unlocked in the main game. The levels themselves are excellent to play and outpace the original game’s content immediately. Enemy numbers and their attacking fire patterns are perfectly balanced between manic and fair. Continue reading Soldner-X 2: The Final Prototype – The Last Chapter (DLC Review) →

Party, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Reviews

TV Superstars (Review)

Leave a comment

Enter your bid to become the next TV Superstar by making your way from a Z list nobody to the ultimate star. Hard work? Graft? Autobiographies? Sleeping with Katie Price? Pfft, just wave your arms around in time to the lines like a mirror-licking basement obsessive.

Mini-games are how you’re going to attain stardom via a variety of TV channels and commercials. You start by creating your character by getting the PS Eye to take a few mugshots of yourself before gasping in horror at the sex offender it seems to have replaced your face with. Got a full beard? It’s only going to pick up the moustache, not a great look. Continue reading TV Superstars (Review) →

Action, PSP, Reviews

God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Review)

4 Comments

Looks like Ready at Dawn Studios have done it again. They’ve only gone and made the best action title on the PSP, again. God of War: Chains of Olympus provided a PSP prequel to the original PS2 game and now Ghost of Sparta looks to fill the gap between God of War 1 and 2.

The story follows Kratos as he searches for his younger brother, Deimos, who was taken from him when they were both young Spartan children. We finally get some answers about Kratos’ facial scar and his red tattoo. We also get to find out what really happened to the legendary city of Atlantis.

Continue reading God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Review) →

Action, Platforms, PSP, Reviews

God of War: Chains of Olympus (Review)

8 Comments

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a real slap in the face to other developers trying to wrangle a half-decent looking game out of the PSP. One look at these screens is enough to show that Ready at Dawn have an understanding of the PSP that nobody else is even close to obtaining. On top of that they’ve kept the God of War brand in great condition while Sony Santa Monica press on with God of War III.

This game is a prequel to the original PS2 title where Kratos is still on the Olympian’s payroll. The tale begins with Kratos taking on an invading Persian army before the true enemy, Morpheus is revealed. The gods believe Morpheus to be behind the recent disappearance of Helios, the Sun god. If Morpheus is not defeated soon, it may be the end of the gods.

Continue reading God of War: Chains of Olympus (Review) →

PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Puzzle, Reviews

Buzz: The Ultimate Music Quiz (Review)

Leave a comment

This music-based quiz title covers a wide range of music, ranging from the 60s (and earlier for a few) up to modern day tunes. The questions throughout the rounds try and reflect this wide range, aiming directly for family play with a wide range of ages accommodated for.

Buzz can accommodate the usual 1-4 players or even stretch to 5-8 if you have an extra set of Buzzers. New to Buzz? Well you need to get a set of buzzers which each have a large red button for the menus and four coloured buttons to choose answers from each multiple choice question. It’s instantly accessible for anyone. Continue reading Buzz: The Ultimate Music Quiz (Review) →

PlayStation 3, PSP, Retro, Reviews

Apache Overkill (PSP Minis Review)

Leave a comment

To all PSP Minis developers: more simple games like this please. At £1.99 this is ideal for a quick blast. This shoot ‘em up title has you controlling an Apache helicopter for 99 levels of traditional side-scrolling shooting. It’s simple, fun, and it shares a similar art style to the Metal Slug games. What more could you ask for at £1.99?

The controls are responsive and the helicopter feels nippy but weighty as it tilts forwards and backwards with momentum allowing you to fire upwards or downwards sometimes without having to move up and down yourself, handy for staying in one piece under a torrent of missile fire. Enemies go down very easily and you can take quite a lot of damage as you have a health bar rather than having to cower under a one-hit-kill policy. It’s a balance we can all enjoy. Continue reading Apache Overkill (PSP Minis Review) →

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

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Review)

1 Comment

You’ll be glad to hear Sonic 4 features no story, no talking, no towns, no RPG elements and most definitely no Werehogs. This is very much traditional 2D Sonic from the glory days of the Mega-Drive that saw the best titles for Sega’s blue spiky mascot in Sonic 1-3 and Sonic & Knuckles.

There are four main stages with four acts each, the seven special stages and then the final boss. You can access the four main stages and first three acts in any order. All the stages are basically remixes of old ones with the main differences being HD shine, some new textures and the layout being put through the randomizer. Episode 1 features, a Green Hill Zone-style outdoor location to begin with followed by a labyrinth with underwater sections, a night-time casino and an industrial factory. They look nice, but there’s no avoiding the disappointment of getting nothing genuinely new. Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Review) →

Action, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Vanquish (Review)

2 Comments

Vanquish is the latest effort from Platinum Games, the minds behind Bayonetta. This time they’re looking to put a boot up the backside of the third-person cover-shooter genre. How? By combining rocket boosting, bullet-time and cover-shootouts that’s how.

The story is nothing more than a vague excuse for the fantastic setting on an orbital colony built on a looping surface with lots of bots and giant mechs to blast apart. It’s the future and a Russian rebel group are trying to take over the world (but in space). Just go with it. Continue reading Vanquish (Review) →

PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Sport

John Daly’s ProStroke Golf Review (PlayStation Move)

Leave a comment

PlayStation Move and golf games. Surely a good match, yes? Well, keep saving up for those real golf clubs because we’re not quite there yet. This may be the best golf game that uses the Move, but that’s only because the competition is the half-assed implementations of existing titles like Tiger Woods and Planet Minigolf. This is very much a case of being the best of a bad bunch.

The first-person view of the ball during the swinging of the golf club is meant to be innovative, but apart from seeing the ball as you hit it, it’s a hindrance because you can’t see where it’s actually going to go without pressing various camera buttons and then aiming by holding the trigger as the aim marker goes nuts. It’s a clunky set-up that never quite gels. Why there’s no option to use the standard third-person viewpoint for aiming and throughout the swinging motion is just baffling. Continue reading John Daly’s ProStroke Golf Review (PlayStation Move) →

News, PSN (PlayStation Store), Video, Xbox 360

Microbot (Trailer)

Leave a comment

EA have announced a new retro-style shooter for PSN and XBLA. You’ll be controlling a tiny ship about the size of a blood cell, inside the human body. The MicroBot’s purpose is to eradicate diseases at a cellular level by shooting the hell out of them. Drop in/drop out co-op will also be included. We’re even more excited because it reminds us of one of our favourite 80s movies, Inner Space, which in turn went on to inspire episodes of Family Guy and Futurama.  You’ll have to wait until winter 2011 to get your hands on it, but check out the latter part of this trailer to catch a glimpse of the gameplay and strangely calming graphics. Continue reading Microbot (Trailer) →

News

Trailer: Microbot First Look

Leave a comment

EA have announced a new retro-style shooter for PSN and XBLA. You’ll be controlling a tiny ship about the size of a blood cell, inside the human body. The MicroBot’s purpose is to eradicate diseases at a cellular level by shooting the hell out of them. Drop in/drop out co-op will also be included. We’re even more excited because it reminds us of one of our favourite 80s movies, Inner Space, which in turn went on to inspire episodes of Family Guy and Futurama.  You’ll have to wait until winter 2011 to get your hands on it, but check out the latter part of this trailer to catch a glimpse of the gameplay and strangely calming graphics.

News, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store)

PSN Roundup – October 13th 2010

Leave a comment

This is it folks, Sonic 4 is finally here and in glorious 2D, surely this is gonna be awesome? We’ll have a review for you soon. There’s more too: Dead Space Ignition is a mini-game/comic hybrid to help build up some momentum before Dead Space 2, the new demo forThe Force Unleashed II should be thundering down your broadband pipe soon enough andWRC fans can now buy the deadly Group B cars too, those trees won’t know what hit ‘em. Continue reading PSN Roundup – October 13th 2010 →

PlayStation 3, Racers, Reviews, Xbox 360

WRC: World Rally Championship (Review)

2 Comments

It’s been almost five years since we last saw an official WRC game. The name is now in the hands of Milestone, the team behind the SBK motorbike games. Turns out they’ve been dying to get on four wheels all-along.

The full list of official WRC Rallies have been included. Sweden, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey, New Zealand, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Japan, France, Spain and GB all make the cut supplying 78 tracks between them. For those of you that don’t follow the WRC, the tracks are for single cars only, with everyone getting one shot to get the best time over a series of stages. The road surfaces change between tarmac, dirt, gravel, mud and snow; with the car handling changing for each. Some tracks are backwards versions and many of them often share some sections too, so the 78 number can sometimes feel a bit padded.

Continue reading WRC: World Rally Championship (Review) →

Games deals, News

PSN Roundup: Store Update 13th October 2010 – The return of 2D Sonic, messing with The Force and reduced murder!

Leave a comment

This is it folks, Sonic 4 is finally here and in glorious 2D, surely this is gonna be awesome? We’ll have a review for you soon. There’s more too: Dead Space Ignition is a mini-game/comic hybrid to help build up some momentum before Dead Space 2, the new demo for The Force Unleashed II should be thundering down your broadband pipe soon enough and WRC fans can now buy the deadly Group B cars too, those trees won’t know what hit ‘em.

Special Offers

Blue Toad Murder Files 4-6 has a much more respectable price now at £4.79 as does Section 8 at £9.99. Metal Gear Solid -Portable Ops might well be worth a cheeky punt at just over a fiver too. We’re not entirely surprised to see Blade Kitten get reduced so soon because, well, it’s a bit crap. Download the demo and see for yourself.

(Prices available until the 27th of October)

  • Topatoi: The Great Tree Story (was £4.79, now £2.39)
  • Topatoi Bundle (Contains full game, Pillar of Skies and Arcade Style Packs) (£7.99, now £4.79)
  • Blue Toad Murder Files – Episodes 4-6 (was £9.99, now £4.99)
  • Smash Cars – Virus Run (was £2.39, now £0.79)
  • Hyperballoid – Original World Pack (was £1.59, now £1.25)
  • Metal Gear Solid – Portable Ops (PSP) (was £8.79, now £5.19)
  • Disney’s Tarzan (PSone) (was £3.99, now £3.19)

Permanent Price Reductions

PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, PSN (PlayStation Store), Puzzle, Reviews

Flight Control HD (Review)

Leave a comment

If you fancy a simple game that you can just sit there for hours with, then look no further. That’s right; this is a PlayStation Move game that you can play sitting down. Finally!

The aim of this point and click-style game is to safely land as many planes and helicopters as possible. You select an aircraft and draw a line for it to follow to the runway or helipad that matches its colour. The Move controller could do this sort of thing in its sleep as it proves easy to learn and will cause an immediate addiction to anyone you pass it to. Continue reading Flight Control HD (Review) →

Action, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3 Review)

2 Comments

This adaptation of an old Chinese novel has been written by Alex ’28 Days Later’ Garland and Tameen Antoniades. Set 150 years into the future, many wars have taken place and the human race is almost nothing than a memory to the wastelands. People are outnumbered by the mechs; leftover robots from a forgotten war, still running the same programmes of kill anyone that they come across.

You play as the brutish Monkey who is forced to escort the slender young woman Trip back to her home after they escape from a slaver ship.  He’s forced because she slipped a slave headband on him that forces him to obey her and comes with the other downside of killing him if her heart stops beating. Continue reading Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3 Review) →

Hands-on previews, PlayStation 3, Previews, Xbox 360

Homefront Multiplayer (Hands-on Preview)

1 Comment

When I was invited to an exclusive press event to play Homefront I was excited. Even though it was only for the multiplayer I realised that maybe THQ and Kaos Studios thought they had something special on their hands that they’d previously kept under wraps. Turns out they have.

The single-player game takes place after a future invasion by North Korea in 2027 and is all about guerrilla warfare. The multiplayer side of the game focuses on the bigger battles that precede the main story mode. So you will be playing as what’s left of the US Military or the KPA (Korean People’s Army) during the 2025-2027 invasions. Continue reading Homefront Multiplayer (Hands-on Preview) →

Gaming reviews, previews and features by Brendan Griffiths