The Heavens open and darkness falls
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.
Continue reading Rain (Review) →
Sanuk Games recently got in touch to let us know about a new patch for Voodoo Chronicles: The First Sign which has eliminated all known bugs. I came across some of these in my review, including items not appearing until after clicking them and a few crashes during a couple of the puzzles. To be fair though, I still managed to enjoy my time with the game. Continue reading Bugs Fixed by Patch for Voodoo Chronicles: The First Sign →
Remember those bits in Demon’s Souls when you finally overcame a tough stage or defeated a boss that had been smashing your broken body into the ground every time you scrambled through hell on earth just to get to him? Felt good, yes? Well, it’s a good thing you probably still have plenty to do in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, because despite Strength of the Sword 3 proudly wearing its tough difficulty badge with honour, it’s amateur hour when it steps into the arena with its rivals.
I like to think I have a fairly sound knowledge of games released in the last ten years, so it was with a mild sense of shame I accepted the task of reviewing part three of a series I’d never heard of. After my first hour with the game though, I was convinced something was amiss. How the hell had this monster managed to escape from a dev kit beforehand? Had it always been like this?
Continue reading Strength of the Sword 3 (Review) →
With only Hustle Kings to really compete with, Pool Nation enters the digital pool hall looking to wipe the floor with the posers. No cutscenes, no irritating voice-overs, just pool. We like it already.
You can dive straight into the lengthy tournament campaigns without bothering with the tutorials if you just want to get stuck in. Basic shots are a breeze. Some very handy aiming lines are turned on by default showing the path of the white ball and a separate path for the ball you’ll hit, making even the sharpest angled shots effortlessly simple.
Continue reading Pool Nation (Review) →
Milestone’s upcoming racer is ditching the traditional rallying for multiplayer shenanigans on PSN and XBLA. Simultaneous multiplayer and even powerups are making their way to the series for the first time. The latest gameplay trailer shows a single race with hailstorms, nitros and shields all playing their part. The regular WRC games have been solid performers over the years for Milestone, but this more fun approach looks to be in a similar vein of games like the surprisingly fun, Dirt: Showdown.
WRC: Powerslide will be released on XBLA March 8th and PSN March 13th. Continue reading WRC: Powerslide Gets New Trailer and Release Date →
Milestone are taking a break from traditional rallying with their next game, WRC: Powerslide. This new trailer shows off the game’s multiplayer where we can see cars jostling for position with physical simultaneous racing instead of the usual ghost cars that the last three WRC games used.
This isn’t the first racing series to ditch its sim-like roots. Against the odds, Dirt: Showdown proved to be a lot of fun, but Codemasters then slipped up with F1 Race Stars. As long as Milestone or Codemasters get back to making a proper rallying game next, I think this one could turn out to be a lot of fun.
Powerups will help you succeed, such as a shield that spins out your rivals or a sudden personalised hailstorm that grinds them to a halt – which already looks like Powerslide’s Blue Shell. Some of the tracks look familiar, especially that vicious ninety degree right turn past the buildings, but hopefully the roads will be widened a little to avoid flipping over a cliff or nailing a tree teeth-first. Continue reading WRC: Powerslide Trailer Shows Off Multiplayer →
Gaming reviews, previews and features by Brendan Griffiths
The No Sleep Gamer 