Review Tokyo Jungle Mobile (PlayStation Mobile)
Beast wars
You might be kidded into thinking that there'd be some modicum of peace on Earth if the human race, along with its wide range of squabbles and skirmishes, evaporated one day. The Tokyo Jungle series disagrees. After society collapses, humans go bye-bye and cities become overgrown concrete jungles, the conflicts of the animal kingdom rage...
Review Velocity Ultra (PlayStation Vita)
Starship super
One year ago, FuturLab's Velocity was released on the PlayStation Minis label and flew right into a meteor shower of praise. At a glance a vertical shoot 'em up, it excelled above this label, wonderfully welding smart puzzle elements to speedy, frantic laser-play. If you were foolish enough to ignore it when it was originally...
Review Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut (PlayStation 3)
Sinner's software
Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut feels like a relic of the PlayStation 2 era, as if it was long forgotten and recently recovered from an old box within a developer's dusty archives. It's decidedly lo-fi, with a framerate that frequently sputters for dear life, regular pop-in, droning, repetitive sound effects, enemies that...
Review Orgarhythm (PlayStation Vita)
Beat it
A little music can be a powerful thing. A blast of a favourite track can give us a burst of energy to complete a gruelling gym session; it can give us the strength needed to battle back against the monotony of another dreary work day. An impassioned chant, or the beat of a drum, can lend us the resolve to overcome a foe, whether it's on the...
Review Samurai Beatdown (PlayStation Mobile)
Sword dance
A samurai swiping down monsters in time to a beat – why, it sounds just like a mini-game in Nintendo's Rhythm Heaven series. Samurai Beatdown's endless runner-style approach differs, however, as your noble warrior dashes through brightly coloured, detailed environments that benefit immensely from the PlayStation Vita's screen. Both...
Review Super Crate Box (PlayStation Mobile)
In the box seat
Super Crate Box is a dangerous game. Previously released on Flash, iOS, and Steam, it's a twitch platformer-cum-shooter that preys on compulsion. If you dare to open the box on a lazy day, don't expect to close it again for an hour. And developer Vlambeer knows it. You run about a single screen level trying to grab as many crates as...
Review Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender (PlayStation Mobile)
Make mine milk
Well, our knowledge of the origins of milk has been put out to pasteurise. It turns out that it doesn't just come from mammals; it's also a resource that swirls around deep inside Earth, as precious as – but presumably twice as tasty as – oil. Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender has you descend deep below the sea to defend the brave...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (PlayStation 3)
Future warfare
Following the incredible performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops was always going to be a challenge. One of the most popular games in the series, it pulled the story to interesting new places and built upon the ever-great multiplayer; arguably, Treyarch out-did Infinity Ward at its own game. Direct sequel Call of Duty: Black Ops 2...
Review Assassin's Creed III (PlayStation 3)
Talkin' 'bout a Revolution
The Assassin's Creed franchise has taken us to a lot of places – Jerusalem, Istanbul and much of Italy for some — but it's only in the fifth mainline entry and PS Vita spin-off Assassin's Creed III: Liberation that Ubisoft has ventured to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and breached North American shores. Neatly...
Review FIFA 13 (PlayStation 3)
Champions League
Compared to reality, FIFA 13 is pure; an uncompromised look at all the thrills that football entails, wrapped in a stylish package that wouldn't look out of place on television. Mercifully it remains focused on the core of football, free of the scandal that so often overshadows the sport presently. There are no faked injuries or...
Review New Little King's Story (PlayStation Vita)
Watch the throne
Our little king is all grown up. After rising to power in Wii's Little King's Story, New Little King's Story sees King Corobo lose his kingdom during one heck of a party. After escaping with a small cadre of loyal subjects, Corobo must prove once more why he deserves to rule by rescuing lands and princesses alike from the clutches...
Review Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 3)
Worth a tilt
Zen Studios sure plays a mean pinball, from Nintendo DS' obscure Flipper Critters through to its Marvel-licenced efforts more recently. With the release of Zen Pinball 2, the developer hopes to unify its past work under one banner for the future. It's a term that's been flipped around a bit for a while, but Zen Pinball 2 is designed as...
News New Resident Evil 6 Demo Shuffling Out 18th September
Itchy taster
Not seen enough of Resident Evil 6 before release yet? Then you'll be pleased to hear that there's a brand new demo coming to the PlayStation Store on 18th September. The trial will give you a little taste of each of the game's three main campaigns, and each level can be played in either single player or online co-op. You'll be able to...
News NiGHTS and Sonic Adventure 2 Go HD in October
Sweet dreams
SEGA classics NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2 are escaping the confines of standard definition and jumping onto PlayStation Network in fabulous HD next month. Under the SEGA Heritage label, the duo will be revitalised alongside Jet Set Radio, which is skating its way onto the PlayStation Store in September. We don't hav
News Don't Mix Up Project Ogre and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
Two different beasts
Project Ogre and the recently revealed Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes are two entirely different projects — and don't let Hideo Kojima hear you say otherwise. Metal Gear's main man huffed on Twitter that he was "sick and tired" of people asking if the games are one and the same during PAX Prime. We gues
News Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 Regroups as a New IP
Change of command
We hope you've not been anticipating the next Brothers in Arms game too much — the title once known as Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 will now be released as a new IP separate to the series. At PAX Prime, Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford told attendees of his Inside Gearbox Software panel that the game, originally...
Review Papo & Yo (PlayStation 3)
Waking the monster
On its face Papo & Yo is a tale of boy and monster, of frogs and fruits, but beneath its fantastical scenario lurks a subtle maturity that goes beyond the reach of many games. It's a story devised to mirror designer Vander Caballero's own struggles in a family that bore the burden of addiction, under an alcoholic patriarch,...
Review Darksiders II (PlayStation 3)
Dawn of the Death
If your brother was imprisoned, accused of a crime that you're certain he didn't commit, you'd probably do everything within your power to clear his name and support his plight. Except most peoples' crimes don't involve invoking the apocalypse and extinguishing mankind from existence. And most people don't have the Grim Reaper for...
Review Sound Shapes (PlayStation Vita)
Don't stop the beat
Ever since we first played Sound Shapes last year, we've not been able to shake off the feeling that something special was inbound. And here it is. Sound Shapes is inventive, imaginative and creative. It melds music, visuals, simplistic gameplay and robust creation tools into a package that's exactly the sort of game that Vita...
News Wonderbook is Sony's Big Christmas Focus
Spellbinding
Sony are hoping that its exclusive Harry Potter spin-off Wonderbook: Book of Spells will cast some serious magic over the holiday season — so much so that it's been pegged internally as PlayStation 3's big Christmas seller. In an interview with MCV, Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Fergal Gara held Wonderbook up as one of the most...
News Easy Mode Swoops into Dragon's Dogma
Dragon tamer
Been having a bit of trouble with Dragon's Dogma? Are those direwolves proving a little too vicious? If so, don't worry — Capcom is releasing a patch that adds in an easier difficulty setting. On 6th August — in Japan at least — a title update will drop an easy mode into the options menu. It'll be accessible at any time, so don't...
The light fantastic
Imagine riding a high speed rollercoaster through a music visualiser. The colours zoom all around you, blending together until you can't tell what's going on or where you are. Everything swirls together in a rainbow mish-mash that makes little sense. It's confusing. It's mesmerising. It makes you dizzy. But it's extremely pretty,...
News Mystery Dungeon Shiren 4 Wanders onto PSP
What a rogue
Chunsoft's roguelike dungeon RPG Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 4 is making the trip over to PSP in Japan this October. The game originally came out on Nintendo DS a couple of years ago, but now it's coming over to Sony's handheld as Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 4+. That all-important extra symbol is for the three new...
News Awesomenauts Patch Touches Down
Naut holding back
The promised patch for Awesomenauts has landed on PlayStation Network, bringing gameplay tweaks and new characters along with it. The update is intended to adjust the balance of the game, bumping up the abilities of some characters while pulling others down a peg or two. Connection and leaderboard issues have also been addressed...
