How annoying are flies? The dumb bastards come in from outside and spend the rest of your hangover bouncing off the window despite you closing the curtain and opening a window. Well next time you roll up a magazine, just beware, he might know Fly Fu.
This is a simple side-scrolling beat ‘em up. How simple? Well, all the backgrounds are basic grey pencil drawings on white paper and the cutscenes are basically doodles. But this only helps add to the game’s charm. The game has no pretensions as instead of saying ‘loading’ it will say ‘doodling.’ Continue reading Fly Fu (PSP Minis Review)→
More Poundsaver Turok than Monster Hunter for this PSP Minis title. You roam across several islands hunting dinosaurs with modern weaponry. There’s no plot, just here’s a gun, kill as much as you can, then return to base. Rinse and repeat.
The landscapes are just so deserted. Without the radar you’re only going to come across small dinosaurs that aren’t on your specified hunting list. It’s like going to a safari park that’s mainly populated with the dino equivalents of dogs and squirrels. Continue reading Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter (PSP Minis Review)→
Sony hasn’t given us any real indication that a second PSP is on the way anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean the net hasn’t stopped trying to unearth any details via rumours, scrupulous checking of tech trademark registrations or the CVs of every tech developer on LinkedIn every two minutes. But what would we actually want from a PSP2? Here’s a list compiled from my own thoughts and general grumbles from fellow gamers. Continue reading PSP2: Most Wanted Features→
Take away the frustration of planning your journey on Google Maps with this neat game. Because everything’s better with a dash of zombies right? Ok so it might be a little distracting to plan journeys with but it is cool how Google Maps is used in this zombie shooter.
Simply enter your postcode or anywhere else in the UK that has had a street view added to the Google Maps servers and you’re away. The game chooses a random nearby destination for you to aim for by clicking forwards on the street-view picture to zoom forwards bit by bit and change direction with the navigation controls in the corner. Every now and then you will be attacked by some hand-drawn styled zombies that must be shot to progress. Continue reading Don’t Go Zombie (Flash Review)→
This was hands-down the game of the show at the PlayStation Beta Rooms showcase held in Birmingham. There were various different level chunks available to play and I found myself constantly coming back to replay each of them.
The first section is that from the E3 stage demo (colour me excited). I seem to be in the open-air cargo hold of an ship and have just been attacked by Helghast jump-pack troops. If you’ve seen them in action, you’ll know they can be tricky to take down. Continue reading Killzone 3 (Hands-on Preview)→
Here’s our first coverage from Gamescom, Germany. We’re kicking off proceedings with a look at the announcements from EA’s press conference.
PS3 owners have the best news of the lot from EA at this year’s Gamecom event as Mass Effect 2 is coming to PS3 in January 2011. It will be packed with a few extra hours’ worth of gameplay nibbles as well. No mention of the first Mass Effect coming over too, but that’s what YouTube’s for right? Continue reading Gamescom 2010: EA News Round-up→
Young Thor is a traditional side-scrolling platformer / beat ‘em up title. It follows the journey of Thor on his way to rescue four maidens from Hel, ruler of the Norse Underworld.
Combat is pleasingly simple and the lack of depth is hidden by the way you can attack enemies in different body parts for better effects. Numbers fly off enemies to indicate the damage done and when these numbers turn yellow, you know you’ve just discovered a weak spot. For example, the best way to deal with the tall trolls is to jump over them, turn around in mid-air and give them a crack to the back of the head. Continue reading Young Thor (PSP Minis Review)→
While EA LA are handling the single player game, Battlefield veterans DICE are in-charge of multiplayer. After the success of the BF series, we’d say it’s in good hands.
The matches in the beta have up to twelve players on each side with the maps being just the right size for the numbers meaning you never go too long without snapping up your gun sights. Continue reading Medal of Honor Multiplayer Beta Impressions→
I was fortunate enough to get invited to the awesome-packed PlayStation Beta Rooms event for the press preview in Birmingham last night. It wasn’t a hard decision making the hundred mile plus journey down south considering I’d be getting my hands on the likes of Sony’s new motion controller, Move and a slew of upcoming titles such as Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse. This is part one of my coverage of the event that begins with the PlayStation Move. Continue reading PlayStation Move Hands-On Preview – Part One→
An asteroid has beat humankind to nuking itself back to the stone age, but the results are pretty much the same. Most people are dead, mainly violent assholes survived, mutants are every- where and the world has become a desert.
You were one of the lucky few who were put into a pod underground to be protected from the blast. Once the dust and fallout settles and everything looks ok, your pod releases you. Ok, so everything’s not exactly great, but as good as it was going to get in the pod’s mind-set anyway. Continue reading Rage (Preview)→
£2.49 and 191 levels. BAM! That’s what we call a good deal! This is a 2D puzzle/platforming game that starts off with easy puzzles before soon leaving you scratching your head wondering what the hell to do next.
You control Archibald on his skateboard trying to find his way out of Professor Klumpfus’ creepy mansion/laboratory by hopping across gaps, avoiding mutants, flicking switches, moving boxes and teleporting, with the aim of reaching the exit door for each of the levels. Continue reading Archibald’s Adventures (PSP Minis Review)→
It’s been a while since I’ve dusted of my old PS1 GTA games, so will this be a nostalgic experience or a grim reminder of why some titles are best left in the past?
Hidden object games are a nice match for the PSP Minis range, with their relaxed nature passing the time on a commute or ad break with ease. Route 66 scored well with a 7 a few months ago, so let’s see what G5 Entertainment can come up with.
There’s an actual story here, as a young archaeologist (that absolutely does not look like Lara Croft) is searching for her father who went missing while searching for the Crystal Portal. It’s not exactly Fallout 3, but the effort is appreciated. Continue reading The Mystery of the Crystal Portal (PSP Minis Review)→
If Demon’s Souls was like getting your head kicked in and asking for more, Joe Danger is like waking up in hospital the day after with Katy Perry sat by your side telling you she’s murdered Russell Brand and everything’s going to be just fine.
360 owners have been enjoying Trials HD, but Joe Danger has leapt over the competition – and a few school buses and shark tanks for good measure to top the podium. Boost, jump and trick your way to the finish line racking up gloriously brave combo multipliers on the way. The game works on multiple 2D planes like Little Big Planet, but with set points for ‘changing lanes’. Continue reading Joe Danger (Review)→
The launch of Minis on the PSP has been the best thing to happen on the underused console for years. Even the cack games only set you back a few quid. Mahjongg Artifacts (their spelling) doesn’t have to worry about such things and is well worth the £3.99 asking price.
We get the feeling this version of the ancient game is a bit simpler than the original, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be hooked within minutes. All you have to do is match up pairs of identical blocks, that have pictures on them. Some fall into groups like Roman numerals, Egyptian eyes and so on. Some blocks from the same group can be paired despite being different, such as flowers, weather icons or theatre masks. Special glowing blocks can be paired with any of its kind or suit. Continue reading Mahjongg Artifacts (PSP Minis Review)→
Ah minigolf games and Demon’s Souls in the same weekend. Will my pads survive? Will my sanity hold? Probably not.
£6.29 gets you an impressive amount of crazy golf shenanigans with 144 holes, 6-player local or online multiplayer and a course editor to create your own knuckle mawing middle finger salutes to reason. Continue reading Planet Minigolf (Review)→
For many, Demon’s Souls will be like Marmite, with its love it or hate it appeal. That’d be fine except many gamers will be struggling to get the lid of the damn thing. This RPG game’s tutorial gives you a few weak enemies while going over the controls and just as you start to think ‘this isn’t so bad,’ a boss appears and kills you in one hit. Welcome to Demon’s Souls, meatbag.
In this dead Soul form, your health is greatly reduced and you’ll have to defeat a boss to get your body back. To avoid going insane, it’s best not to think of yourself as ‘dead’ in the traditional sense. You’ll be spending most of the game in this state, so just get on with it. Continue reading Demon’s Souls (Review)→
With over 800 games on show at E3 2010, some were always going to fall between the cracks of coverage as we all clamoured over the like of Gears 3, Killzone 3, Halo, Need for Speed, Call of Duty, Zelda, Kinect and Move. We’ve covered our picks of the big games, so let’s have a look at some other titles that we feel deserve a little push too. Continue reading E3 2010’s Hidden Gems→
Gaming reviews, previews and features by Brendan Griffiths
How annoying are flies? The dumb bastards come in from outside and spend the rest of your hangover bouncing off the window despite you closing the curtain and opening a window. Well next time you roll up a magazine, just beware, he might know Fly Fu.
The No Sleep Gamer 