Latest Features
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 33
Quick and dirty
Gamescom 2014 is right around the corner, which means that the Push Square team is enjoying one last weekend of freedom before the madness begins. And what better way to unwind than with a spot of gaming respite? As is now tradition, we’ve rounded up a handful of staff writers in order to outline what’s going to be keeping us...
Feature 10 PS4, PS3, and Vita Reveals That We Reckon Will Happen at Gamescom 2014
Predictions for PlayStation's big press conference
Despite being the biggest gaming convention on the planet, Gamescom has always been treated as E3’s younger, less important sibling. Historically, the big announcements are reserved for Los Angeles, with the German show serving as a gaming aperitif of sorts, offering new trailers and information,...
Guide When Is Sony's Gamescom 2014 Press Conference?
Briefing you on the time of PlayStation's media briefing
Gamescom is a bit of a favourite here at Push Square Towers. The German convention may lack the exorbitant hype of E3, but it feels a little less corporate as a consequence. Part of that’s probably down to the fact that the general public is invited to attend the show, but even the press...
Game of the Month July 2014 - The Last of Us Remastered
Your record is broken
They may be the spores of yore, but it’s no surprise that The Last of Us Remastered has clouded our minds since its release last week. Technically an August launch in Europe, we figured that we’d classify it in this version of Game of the Month because, well, we don’t have any hard rules for this sort of thing and just...
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...
Out This Week Road Not Taken, The Swapper, Metrico
Clone wars
The best thing about this week’s roster of new PlayStation releases is that you’ll be playing a couple of them for free. Sony’s been especially good at marrying its Instant Game Collection updates to new arrivals of late, meaning that even if you hadn’t intended to follow the Road Not Taken or splash your cash on Metrico, you’ll...
Feature Why You Should Try The Last of Us Remastered's Multiplayer Mode on PS4
Endure and survive
Naughty Dog’s not half bad at multiplayer modes. When it was announced that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would be entering the competitive arena, there was outrage among fans of the original outing – after all, this was a series that prided itself on its plot rather than its gunplay. However, the title’s acrobatic action...
Push Rewind The Last of Us Remastered, PS Plus Freebies, and Destiny Concerns
Groove jet
Summer’s ordinarily slow in the gaming industry, but the pounding in this editor’s head suggests that another convention is lurking. We’re right about a week away from German show GamesCom, which means that everything’s kicking off in the PlayStation Nation right now. And that includes several high-profile releases, spanning The...
Feature Share Your Pictures of the Apocalypse from The Last of Us Remastered on PS4
Say cheese and die
It turns out that in-game photo modes really are the best thing since sliced bread. Back when inFAMOUS: Second Son added in a screenshot feature a few months back, we pondered whether more games should augment the addictive extra. Unsurprisingly, Naughty Dog has taken up the chall
Feature What Are August 2014's Free PlayStation Plus Games?
Instant additions to your backlog
Every month we get asked by slightly less informed gamers which free titles are coming to PlayStation Plus on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Vita, so we’ve decided to do something about it. From now on, you’ll find an editorial rundown of the latest Instant Game Collection giveaways posted in this format,...
Talking Point Would You Pay for an EA Access Subscription on PS4?
In the game
Whether you like it or not, gaming is gradually becoming much more service driven. The wheels have been in motion for a while, with Season Passes and long-tail downloadable content business models designed to keep you spending more on a single game for longer. However, the announcement of EA Access overnight – a PlayStation Plus-esque...
Out This Week The Last of Us Remastered, Rogue Legacy, Pure Pool
Back in business
After several seriously slow editions of ‘Out This Week’, the PlayStation Nation seems ready to shake away its summer malaise. Indeed, it’s going to be a surprisingly busy August for Sony’s suite of systems, with the platform holder eager to turn up the temperature before we even stumble out of July. The one game that’s...
Soapbox Why Destiny Still Has a Lot to Prove to Me
Sammy Barker takes Bungie's latest to task
I hate being the jaded gamer. Ever since Push Square’s inception, it’s always been my mandate to celebrate the industry from a perspective of positivity rather than cynicism. That negativity seeps into every facet of the medium these days; whether it's obsessing over resolutions and framerates or...
Round Up The Last of Us Remastered PS4 Reviews Standing on Sturdy Ice
Wasn't for nothing
The Last of Us was comfortably the best game of 2013 – and arguably the entire PlayStation 3 generation. Naughty Dog’s next-gen re-release, The Last of Us Remastered, was never going to have too much trouble scooping up a brand new round of perfect scores, then – but there have been
Push Rewind PS4 Leaks, Tales from Old Russia, and Oddworld
Something left to give
We’ve been really busy exploring new worlds this week. In addition to our daily Destiny diaries, we also penned reviews for Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, Another World, and mysterious puzzle platformer The Swapper. We also took you on a ten day tour of the PlayStation Nation
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Seven: One Last Beta Adventure on the Moon
We'll meet again
What a wild ride the Destiny beta has been. For a long time, Bungie's latest was the 'next big thing' that we knew next to nothing about; a couple of E3 appearances, some concept art here and there, and a single slice of gameplay footage to gawk at – it was only these things that gave us the slightest hint of what the game...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 32
Sticks and stones
Introducing bi-weekly editions of ‘What Are You Playing This Weekend’ is a bit like doing daily chores: no matter how hard you try to shake it up, there’s only one effective way of getting the job done. So, as usual, this unnecessary pre-amble is here to inform you that, yes, we’ve once again collated as many Push Square...
Feature Until Dawn's PS4 Re-Reveal Looms, Here's Everything We Know
Player beware
As a member of the microscopic group that earnestly enjoyed their time with the ill-fated PlayStation Move peripheral, this editor was extremely excited for Until Dawn when it was announced at GamesCom 2012 a couple of years ago. Previous titles like Sports Champions and Tumble had proven that Sony’s motion controller was at its best...
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Six: Tackling the Strike's Co-Op Difficulty Spike
Got your back
All the way back in the hazy days of the Destiny alpha, complaints about the download's co-op based Strike mission were rife. Many argued that it was too hard compared to the other co-op activities, while others simply put forward the opinion that the big boss enemies of this hectic challenge were far too beefy, and that their total...
Feature We're All Going on a Sony Summer Holiday
Fun in the sun
Cancel your cheeky week in Barbados or Benidorm, because Push Square Sabbaticals are taking you on an all-inclusive tour of the sunniest resorts in Sony land. During your ten day stay on Planet PlayStation, you’ll visit the most tantalising tourist spots that gaming has to offer, each lovingly laying out idyllic views, entertaining...
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Five: Wasting Inordinate Amounts of Time at the Tower
The good life
When you really stop and think about it, Destiny's hub location dubbed the Tower is a beautiful thing. In a game where essentially all you do is shoot things in the head, the Tower provides a resting place where you can enjoy some downtime between stints of slaughter. You can introduce yourself to other players, buy new equipment, read...
Who Would Win Wednesdays Destiny Special
Overpowered, nerf
If you haven't already noticed, Push Square has been going Destiny mad over the past week or so. We've been keeping a diary for each day of our exploits in the beta, but we thought that we'd try something a little different with today's traditional Who Would Win Wednesdays. A feature that's usually reserved for
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Four: Loot, Glorious Loot
Max the satisfaction
If you've been playing the Destiny beta non-stop for the past four days, then you probably won't know what to do with yourself now that it's taking a two day break for maintenance purposes. It's a good thing, then, that I'm writing these diaries the day after events have taken place, which hopefully means that those withdrawal...
Out This Week Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, Ratchet & Clank, The Walking Dead
An odd world
After the non-existent offering of last week, Planet PlayStation is practically bulging with high-quality content this time around. Alright, there still aren’t enough new releases to turn your boxer shorts inside out, but the likes of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty and the Ratchet & Clank Collection – which is finally due out in...
Push Rewind Destiny's PS4 Beta, The Last of Us Remastered Details, and More
Change the record
With very little happening in the world of video games, you could be forgiven for labelling this week a little one note – but hey, we can only report on the things that are going on right now. And those things revolve around two titles: Destiny and The Last of Us Remastered. Yes, you’re sick of reading about them and we’re...
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Three: The Crucible Presents Push Square vs. The World
We honestly weren't that bad
If there's anything that a modern game needs, it's a competitive multiplayer mode that's usually shoehorned into a single player title and treated like a second class component. Fortunately, Bungie is somewhat adept at crafting a solid online shooter, and it's clear that the studio's experience bleeds into Destiny's...
Feature What Does Your Guardian Look Like in PS4's Destiny Beta?
Show your space face
The sun is shining, the weather is good – and we’ve certainly spent the past few days moving our dancing feet. Of course, we haven’t been out jamming the night away in some real world club; instead, we’ve been pulling shapes in Destiny’s social hub the Tower. Alright, maybe that’s not what our friends had in mind...
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day Two: The Exploration of Old Russia
And not a stereotype in sight
For many, Destiny's biggest draw is its promise that you can explore huge, open areas with your buddies – or even complete strangers – as you scavenge the land for some lovely new loot. And I must admit, this is also the much hyped shooter's key component for me, as well. While I'm fairly confident that the story...
Feature The PS4 Destiny Diaries - Day One: Why Wouldn't You Want to Be a Robot?
Harder, better, faster, stronger
In the back of our minds, we all knew that it would happen. It always does. Once again, we felt the PlayStation Network creak under the weight of thousands of users trying to access the digital store and download the Destiny Beta at roughly the same time. Even Bungie's website felt the crushing demand of eager gamers...
Feature Three Reasons Why PS4's Ratchet & Clank Remake Could Be Rad
Up your arsenal
Since the series’ inception in 2002, veteran developer Insomniac Games has milked Ratchet & Clank harder than a particularly productive Friesian. The good old dependable duo have starred in no less than 12 titles over the past 12 years – and that’s excluding mobile phone spin-offs, compilations, and cameos in titles such as...
Talking Point Why PS4's Christmas Offering Is Much Cleverer Than You Think
An excellent excuse
We’ve written so much about the PlayStation 4’s holiday lineup that we’re beginning to sound a little bit like a Skrillex record that has bass drops so heavy that the needle gets caught in its cavernous grooves. Much like the PlayStation 3 before it, there’s a narrative developing that Sony’s next-gen super machine is...
Who Would Win Wednesdays Teddie vs. Kuma
Round 21
Ah, good old Who Would Win Wednesdays – a feature where we pit two PlayStation personalities against each other and ask you how you think that the battle would unfold. Last time around, we had our first ever group match between the Payday Gang and the GTA V Gang. Perhaps surprisingly, it turned out to be an incredibly close contest, but...
Out This Week Crimsonland, Abyss Odyssey, and Tumbleweeds
The difficult edition
When we decided that we were going to post regular ‘Out This Week’ articles on Push Square, we knew that we were going to come unstuck eventually – and it’s finally happened. Outside of any last minute announcements, there are just three new titles currently confirmed for the three PlayStation platforms this time,...
Push Rewind Destiny Beta Details, The Wolf Among Us, and Develop 2014
Some killer, some filler
We’re not going to lie to you: it’s not been a banner week on Planet PlayStation. With much of the industry pre-occupied by either the summer weather or the World Cup, we’ve packed this edition of Push Rewind with more filler than a Pukka Pie. Still, as anyone that’s scoffed on one of the famous chip shop delicacies...
Video Will David Hayter Star in PS4's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain After All?
Solid theory
Metal Gear Solid overlord Hideo Kojima loves a good ruse – and we reckon that he’s up to his old tricks again. David Hayter, otherwise known as the voice of Solid Snake and Big Boss, may have been rather publicly ‘replaced’ by 24 star Kiefer Sutherland in his familiar role, but is this just another Phantom Pain-esque troll from...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 31
Fruit cocktail
This particular editor may have been lost at sea and unable to steer the ‘What Are You Playing This Weekend’ ship last time around, but dry land is once again beneath your humble host’s feet, and so normal service has resumed. Not that replacement Robert Ramsey did a bad job – he actually remembered to contact the rest of the...
Talking Point Are Publishers Taking Pre-Order Bonuses Too Far?
Spoilt for choice
Pre-order bonuses used to be exactly that: pre-order bonuses. Retailers would compete over little knick-knacks such as t-shirts, keyrings, and action figures in order to secure your business, and you’d shop at the store that was giving away the specific goodie that you wanted. It was a largely harmless practice, with the...
Video Watch As We Recap June's Best PlayStation Games
Valiant effort
Ding dong, E3 is dead – and that means that order has been restored here at Push Square Towers. That’s right, as opposed to sitting staring intently at computer screens, we’re now all bickering over whether the Dynasty Warriors franchise is actually any good. It’s not, but it still bloomin’ made its way into our June Game of...
DLC Review Is Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn's £24.99 Complete Bundle DLC Worth the Cost?
Heavy metal
Let's start with the obvious: when you've just coughed up around £30 for a game only to find that there's a £24.99 DLC bundle ready and waiting on the PlayStation Store from day one, it's hard not to feel a little robbed. Sure, it's stuff that adds to the core game, but you probably haven't even had the chance to shoot down your first...
Talking Point Should More Games Try to Teach Us Something?
Swat the swots
Edutainment is a dirty word. We typically associate the embarrassing portmanteau with low budget trash such as Mario Teaches Typing and Donkey Kong Jr. Math – or worse still, the borderline archaic Flash and Shockwave minigames that litter government websites. However, are we letting bad examples impede the true potential of...
Feature The Strange and Sometimes Sordid World of PS4's Playroom
How Sony’s toy box became a streaming success
The Playroom wasn’t made for you. Fresh from the relative success of EyePet, ex-London Studio suit Nicholas Douchet was head hunted by Sony’s top dogs in Tokyo in order to extract the potential of its fledgling PlayStation 4 format and the DualShock 4. The augmented reality obsessed executive...
Out This Week PS4 Puzzler MouseCraft, The Wolf Among Us Finale, and More
Curds of prey
If time flies when you’re having fun, then you may be in for a slightly longer week this time around. While there are a few new releases worthy of your attention over the coming days, we’re very much amid the slow summer months now. That means that you’re going to need to fill your time with digital downloads rather than big...
Game of the Month June 2014 - Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Wartime winner
We're now deep into the summer months, and 2014's hottest season has thankfully provided some sizzling titles so far. Last month's selection may have been lacking in blockbusters, but we ended up giving out a slew of high scores to a bunch of vastly different games. Alas, as you've probably already guessed, Ubisoft's picturesque...
Push Rewind Transformers, Dynasty Warriors, and PS4 Tidbits
All you wanted
We’d love to give this recap a bit of oomph by informing you that it’s been an incredibly eventful week in the PlayStation Nation, but we reckon that the gaming industry’s gone on strike while the World Cup and Wimbledon edge closer to their conclusion. Still, that’s fine by us, as we’ve spent the past seven days huddled...
Book Review A Composer's Guide to Game Music - Winifred Phillips
Calm and composed
Winifred Phillips is one of the best regarded composers in video games today, having contributed to an eclectic roster of titles, including PlayStation favourites such as Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, God of War, and the LittleBigPlanet series. With such vast experience in the medium, the musician has put together a book...
Feature What the Heck Is a PocketStation?
Lifting the lid on Japan's best PlayStation accessory
Back in the mists of time, when Tamagotchi was still a thing and we were all wondering if SEGA’s Dreamcast was really going to turn things around for the ailing hardware company, Sony took the Sonic the Hedgehog maker's new Visual Memory Unit concept – a portable memory card with a built-in...
Who Would Win Wednesdays The GTA V Gang vs. The Payday Gang
Round 20
Who Would Win Wednesdays has reached its 20th round, meaning that it's now possible to look all the way back to the very first instalment of this weekly feature and think to yourself, "I was there when it all began." Something to tell the kids about, eh? In any case, our last fight between the Patapon Army and the Third Colossus
Talking Point Should More Games Emulate PS4 Exclusive inFAMOUS: Second Son's Photo Mode?
Say cheese
You could never accuse Seattle-based first-party studio Sucker Punch of not listening to its fans. Many berated the first entry in its superhero series inFAMOUS for the obnoxious personality of supporting star Zeke, and so it spent the entirety of the PlayStation 3 title’s sequel trying to redeem the character – a measure which...
Interview Conducting a Symphony with Video Game Composer Winifred Phillips
Sounding off
Sometimes great opportunities just fall into your lap, and that’s exactly what happened to us on this occasion. We recently had the chance to chat to game composer and author Winifred Phillips – whose notable works include Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, God of War, and the LittleBigPlanet series – about her new book, A...
Feature Seven Dormant Sports Series That Should Come Out of Retirement on PS4
Let's get sweaty
With both the World Cup and Wimbledon in full swing, conversation here at Push Square Towers has focused on old sporting favourites for a few days now. We’re not referring to veterans such as Pele and Martina Navratilova, of course, but classic video game franchises that have prompted more than a few shiny brows over the years –...
