As trusting Vita owners, we’re really looking forward to Media Molecule’s Tearaway and it looks like the game is shaping up very nicely according to the latest video from Access PlayStation which takes a look around the developer’s office.
The unique platformer will use all of the PS Vita’s control methods to interact with the world. The rear pad can be used to poke your finger out of the ground, blow on the mic to make wind (stop laughing at the back), take pics with the camera and so on. We’re a bit worried that the game will be lost amongst all the big hitters though. It’s already in a niche category thanks to the papercraft-style visuals and its delay from October to late November puts it amongst COD, Battlefield and the next-gen consoles. Perhaps delaying it until early next year would have been better?
Continue reading Tearaway: Behind the Scenes Video →
This is one the first action beat em’ up titles we’ve seen on the PS Vita and from this hands-on demo it’s fair to say that it’s one of the most visually appealing Vita games yet. Despite the demo being in English, there’s not much we can gleam about the story. There’s a mystical cat in a quaint town square, then monsters attack.
The aesthetic style is a hybrid of comic-book visuals and anime cell-shading. Storyboards illustrate some plot elements and you can move the Vita around to peak around the frames, providing a rather pleasing semi-3D effect. The gameplay seems to have been influenced by a wide range of sources as gamers will be able to spot elements of Bayonetta in the combat and the Spider-Man games in the way you utilise walls as traversable surfaces.
Continue reading Gravity Rush (Vita Hands-On Preview) →
This was new a sample of some new multiplayer playgrounds, unfamiliar even to players of the recent beta, with some local matches over a LAN connection bringing Manchester PlayStation Access attendees together before encouraging them to pull each other off ledges.
Uncharted 2 surprised everyone by making a fine first effort with the multiplayer and U3 looks set to surpass it easily with its dosage of cinematic sequences and power plays where a team is given a temporary stat boost. Today we played around on a few maps new maps with team deathmatches being the game of choice. One map was set in a desert village, similar to that seen in the recent single-player footage. There were lots of close alleys with corners and walls to hide behind, making for a fast-paced match where itchy trigger fingers and sharp melee skills proved most lethal. The climbing was brilliant here too as it can be used to perform grab kills to pull opponents over a ledge. It’s uber-slick and will probably cost us many lives in the pursuit of enjoyment over a decent kill/death ratio, as it does leave you vulnerable to being swatting off the wall in a hail of gunfire.
Continue reading Uncharted 3: Multiplayer’s New Maps (Hands-on Preview) →
It would be a shame if this gets lost in the Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 storm, as it’s a hell of a lot of fun. It might just be the perfect tonic to military shooter fatigue.
The aiming still feels a little loose, as I noted with my Gamescom preview, but the game plays quite well forgoing iron-sight aiming and just blasting through. There is a large amount of auto-aim when you pull up your sights and watch as they pull across the screen to the nearest enemy. As with most titles though I’m sure you’ll be able to tone down the sensitivity and turn off any auto-aim functions so you can maintain control.
Continue reading Goldeneye: Reloaded (Latest Hands-on Preview) →
Starhawk’s single player game is something I’ve been waiting to get my hands on for a while now and I’m glad to say it was well worth the wait. This sci-fi third-person shooter is shaping up to be a lot of fun, especially given the original game’s lack of an offline side. But can it compete in a genre crowded with classics like Uncharted and Gears of War? Being able to instantly drop an arsenal of buildings, turret towers and vehicles from your own personal orbital carrier will certainly help its cause.
This early mission introduces the eagerly awaited building mechanics of the game. First though, it was time to clear the building site of a few aliens, who have a neon-Chimera feel to them. The standard assault rifle weapon was more than capable of taking them on, with no sign of any unwanted auto-aim to take away your fun. Red barrels and grenades provide huge explosions scattering bodies everywhere in glorious fashion. After playing through Brink, recently, it felt good to have grenades that erupted in fire again instead acting like a popped semi-deflated beach ball.
Continue reading Starhawk (Hands-On Preview) →
For years, the Ratchet & Clank series has been crying out for co-op and from what I’ve played so far, it was a great call for Insomniac Games to finally run with it before they put all their efforts into the multi-format Overstrike. After playing the beta recently, I was worried about a few bugs that required a game reset, but I’m happy to report they were nowhere to be seen with this latest build of the game that took place in the same levels.
Ignoring the usual heroes, Ratchet and Clank, we opted to play an offline two-player game as the showboating Captain Quark and the er nefarious Dr. Nefarious, the two characters that have provided some great laughs over the years. Players will find the action very similar to the older games with every character having shooting and melee skills, complete with their own version of Ratchet’s Comet Strike, where they throw their weapon, only to have it boomerang back to them, which is great for smaller enemies and crates.
Continue reading Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (Hands-On Preview) →
Live near Manchester? Want to play some awesome PS3 games before they hit the shops? Of course you do. So you’ll need to get down to the PlayStation Access event in Manchester this weekend.
I went along last night and enjoyed playing the likes of Uncharted 3, Goldeneye: Reloaded, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Starhawk, Tekken Hybrid and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. There are a few recent releases to try too, like Resistance 3, Dark Souls, Ico HD and FIFA 12. There’s a new 3D visor-headset to try out too along with a few games hooked up with a Move SharpShooter attachment.
Continue reading Play PS3 Hits Of Tomorrow In Manchester This Weekend →
Gaming reviews, previews and features by Brendan Griffiths
The No Sleep Gamer 