A gamer since the 80s, Alex longs for a return to consoles with wood panels and games with manuals the size of phone books. When not working on his time machine he spends his time playing games like any normal person — with the controls inverted.
Review Far Cry 4 (PlayStation 4)
Take a walk on the wild side
Far Cry 3 managed to blend a near perfect mix of open world and first-person shooter, taking players to the darker side of a Pacific paradise, where many of the inhabitants were the definition of insane. For its sequel, there’s a definite feeling that Ubisoft took the view 'if it’s not broken, don’t fix it', so Far...
Review Snark Busters: High Society (PlayStation 3)
Who you gonna call?
A game sporting a name like Snark Busters: High Society should be enough to perk the interest of pretty much anyone – you can’t help but let it spark question after question in your mind. What the hell’s a Snark, why does it need busting, and most importantly, will there be top hats? Should all of these questions push your...
Review Escape Goat 2 (PlayStation 4)
Just kidding around
The puzzle platform game has become a staple of console indies over the last generation. You can’t swing a cat without hitting plenty of examples, all looking to test your brain to the limit with fiendish puzzles, that’ll have you spending more time scratching your head than jumping around. With the arrival of Escape Goat 2...
Review Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (PlayStation 3)
You don’t know Jack
The first two Borderlands games brought loot to first person shooters in a huge way, and in the process, proved to be massive hits with gamers. Now, with the arrival of Borderlands: The Pre Sequel, original developer Gearbox Software have taken a backseat, allowing 2K Australia to fire up the gun generator for another outing,...
Review Frozen Synapse Prime (PlayStation Vita)
Fail to plan, plan to fail
Never has the phrase ‘No plan survives contact with the enemy’ been truer than when playing Frozen Synapse Prime on the PlayStation Vita. This turn-based tactics game has a real talent for throwing a spanner in the works, forcing you to hastily change your combat plans. Taking on the role of a tactician, you’ll...
Review Flockers (PlayStation 4)
Sheep thrills
In the nineties, Lemmings was so popular with gamers that it appeared on a mind boggling number of platforms, as millions tried – with varying degrees of success – to guide the careless rodents to safety. Since those heady days, you don’t see many titles that follow the Lemmings formula, but with the release of Flockers on the...
Review Risen 3: Titan Lords (PlayStation 3)
Roll with it
For any series to make it to a third entry is quite an achievement, especially when it’s a perennial underachiever like the Risen games. After leaning heavily into the more piratical aspects for its first sequel, developer Piranha Bytes has doubled down on this approach for Risen 3: Titan Lords, letting you once again sail the high...
Review Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds (PlayStation Vita)
Deal breaker
Originally released last year for the Xbox 360, Phantom Breaker was a fighting game that, while never seeing a Western release, generated a decent following in Japan. Having spawned an arcade and a PlayStation 3 port, it also served as the inspiration for a 2D brawler named Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, which, after appearing on the...
Furniture Review Sitting Comfortably on a Sumo Gamer Bean Bag
Full of beans
Sumo Lounge – purveyors of some extremely large bean bags – has a product specifically geared towards gamers. The imaginatively titled Sumo Gamer promises to provide a seriously comfortable place to rest your posterior while playing your favourite video games, and we’ve recently been given the opportunity to see if it makes good...
Review Sacred 3 (PlayStation 3)
Nothing is sacred
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, while not what you’d call a big success, still managed to garner quite a following among a certain set of gamers, even in spite of a few rough edges. Those that did end up sinking hour after hour into the action role playing game really appreciated its massive open world, extensive loot system, and huge...
Review DayD Tower Rush (PlayStation Vita)
Dino-bore
You can’t swing a cat these days without hitting several tower defence games, and as a result it’s become increasingly difficult for new arrivals in the genre to stand out from the crowd. DayD Tower Rush is one such title, which, after trying its luck on iOS last year, has decided to peddle its mix of dinosaurs, time travel, and...
Review Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death (PlayStation 3)
Love island
What’s a girl to do? Her man’s taking his sweet time proposing to her, and she’s getting bored of waiting for him. You could probably think of any number of sensible courses of action in this situation, none of which involve picking up a book on witchcraft so that you can perform a love spell. Still, in PlayStation 3 puzzler Sacra...
Review Blue Estate (PlayStation 4)
Off the rails
The rail shooter has been a staple of arcades for decades, giving gamers the chance to wield plastic firearms to gun down wave after wave of enemies. Their popularity made it natural that they’d make the jump into the home, and while there have been a few successes on consoles, most gamers came to the conclusion a while ago that this...
Review Sniper Elite III (PlayStation 4)
Boom headshot
It’s ironic that so soon after the release of Valiant Hearts: The Great War, another title with a very different outlook on war has stealthily marched onto the PlayStation 4. In Sniper Elite III, rather than making you think about the needless loss of life, this latest instalment in the distance shooter series asks that you revel in...
Review Murdered: Soul Suspect (PlayStation 4)
Dead to rights
Not many games actively attempt to avoid putting you in danger, but Murdered: Soul Suspect on the PlayStation 4 attempts to walk this less travelled road by having very little combat and putting you in the shoes of a ghost. This unique perspective means that you have limited influence on the physical world around you, making you feel...
Review Ace Combat: Infinity (PlayStation 3)
Free-to-plane
Fans of Ace Combat are always hungry for new releases, with the last major instalment Ace Combat: Assault Horizon performing its first barrel roll over three years ago. It was no surprise, then, that when Ace Combat: Infinity was announced, there was much rejoicing – well, until everyone realised that the latest entry in this beloved...
Review Wolfenstein: The New Order (PlayStation 4)
Back to the Führer
"Shooting, stabbing, strangling Nazis," is the response that long time Wolfenstein protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz gives when asked what he's been up to recently. Starting all the way back in the early nineties with Wolfenstein 3D, he’s definitely shown an enthusiasm for his craft, making it seem more of a pastime than a career. In...
Review The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (PlayStation 4)
Spider-meh
The Batman: Arkham series of games have a lot to answer for. On the one hand, they showed how to make a truly great superhero tie-in, while on the other, they’ve inspired what feels like an endless procession of imitators that borrow heavily from its formula but fail to deliver experiences of a similar quality. Swinging onto the...
Review Titan Attacks (PlayStation 4)
Attack on Titan
When it hit arcades, Space Invaders revolutionised video games, making what was viewed by many as a novelty into a global industry. At that same time, it also provided inspiration for a legion of today’s game developers, and this influence is abundantly clear in Titan Attacks from British developer Puppygames. Coming to the...
Review Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within (PlayStation 4)
Sith grade
When Zen Studios started churning out Star Wars pinball tables a couple of years ago, it promised a total of ten would be available by the time that it had finished. So, with the release of its latest quartet of machines – titled Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within – it’s added the remaining four needed to complete the full set, and...
Review LEGO The Hobbit (PlayStation 4)
There and brick again
Veteran developer Traveller’s Tales has been making LEGO games for nearly a decade, giving the brick treatment to a wide variety of movie and comic book brands, including Lord of the Rings. Therefore, it’s not a huge surprise to see the studio tackle The Hobbit. The big question, though, is whether this latest addition to...
First Impressions Taking a Toll Free Tour of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number on PS4
So wrong but so right
Did you like hurting other people? If so, then you were no doubt very happy when a new Hotline Miami game was revealed to be in the works. The critical and commercial success of the original made the sequel a virtual certainty, and with Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number due for release later this year, we got the chance to take the...
Review Invizimals: The Alliance (PlayStation Vita)
Invizimal touch
Invizimals: The Alliance is the latest entry in the augmented reality game series from Spanish developer Novarama. Having made a name for itself on the PlayStation Portable, it’s apt that this new instalment’s made the jump onto the newest Sony handheld, giving kids of all ages the chance to hunt down more of those troublesome...
First Impressions Murdered: Soul Suspect Makes a Compelling Case on PS4
Ghost crimebuster
A plunge from a fourth floor window to the street below isn’t quite enough to kill hard as nails detective Ronan O’Connor. The seven bullets that follow are. The introduction to our hands-on with the PlayStation 4 version of Murdered: Soul Suspect was certainly arresting, and made us eager to find out more about this upcoming...
