Retro News

December2014

  • Review Digimon All-Star Rumble (PlayStation 3)

    Digivolve into average

    Back in the 90s when Pokémon and Digimon fought for the money of the young, the digital creatures managed to win over many would-be monster trainers thanks to a decent television series, but flash forward two decades, and Digimon has long since past its prime, while Nintendo's catch-'em-up continues to dominate the handheld...

  • Feature The Third Place - A Brief History of PlayStation Hardware Marketing

    Live in your world, play in ours

    Republished on Tuesday, 2nd December 2014: We're bringing this article back from the archives to celebrate the PSone's big 20th Anniversary this week. The original feature follows. Originally published on Saturday, 26th October 2013: With the PlayStation 4 now mere weeks away from release, Sony is starting to oil...

  • Review Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd (PlayStation 3)

    Dancing queen

    The musical maven of the digital world returns with the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd – the second coming of the leading lady and her motley crew in SEGA’s fast-paced, rhythm series. Featuring even more music created through the character’s very own virtual vocals suite, does this sequel hit a high – or a bum...

  • Review Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (PlayStation 3)

    Sora sensational

    Square Enix may not know how to do release dates, press conferences, or reasonable haircuts, but it's an expert at HD Collections. The firm's Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster was at least half a masterpiece, and the original Kingdom Hearts collection has become the only proper way to start the franchise. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX...

November2014

  • Review Blood of the Werewolf (PlayStation 3)

    The wolf among us

    Some people just don’t have any luck. As though transforming into a hairy, blood-thirsty bipedal wolf every month isn’t a tad inconvenient, then someone has to come and murder your husband, burn down your gothic home, and take your son. Thankfully, the only thing between you and him is a series of impractically designed...

  • Review Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops (PlayStation 3)

    Military mishap

    Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops combines the best features and missions from its mobile counterparts, packaging the popular smartphone series’ first two titles together for PlayStation platforms. Does this port march onto Sony’s systems with success, though – or is it an overpriced clone doing the console rounds? The game definitely...

  • Review Assassin's Creed Rogue (PlayStation 3)

    A touch of frost

    You’d be forgiven for branding Assassin’s Creed Rogue an afterthought, as its next-gen brother, Assassin’s Creed Unity, overshadowed its release. Although appearing as a cash-in for those still waiting to upgrade their PlayStation 3s, though, this is actually a solid instalment in Ubisoft’s historical franchise, bringing...

  • 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 Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (PlayStation 3)

    Pill popper

    Pac-Man is a classic video game character, recognised alongside other greats such as Mario, Sonic, and Donkey Kong. The origins of these heroes have all helped to shape the gaming world as we know it today – but how is Bandai Namco’s famous bubble biter remaining relevant in this day and age? Well, after sprouting arms and legs, the...

  • Review WWE 2K15 (PlayStation 3)

    Low blow

    If you’re a wrestling fan, it’s been hard to ignore 2K Sports’ constant bragging about just how revolutionary WWE 2K15 is going to be. However, while this certainly looks to be true with the PlayStation 4 version, the recycled gameplay and samey ideas present in the last-gen effort leave a lot to be desired. When booting up the game...

  • Review Deadfall Adventures: Heart of Atlantis (PlayStation 3)

    Heart breaker

    This writer’s reputation for revelling in mediocre games is well regarded around the Push Square office, and Deadfall Adventures: Heart of Atlantis is another one of those middling titles that’s ingratiated itself to this strange scribe. An updated version of last year’s Xbox 360 and PC release, this Indiana Jones-inspired romp...

  • 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,...

October2014

  • Review Jet Car Stunts (PlayStation 3)

    Trials and error

    Jet Car Stunts’ arrival on the PlayStation 3 and Vita marks the popular mobile game’s first foray onto consoles. Historically, adapted smartphone titles end up feeling a little, well, off when they’re converted to consoles – but there are exceptions. The big question, then, is whether Grip Games has managed to make True...

  • Review F1 2014 (PlayStation 3)

    Stuck in the past

    One of the hardest things to achieve in a yearly franchise is a hook to keep people coming back. It’s true of not only sports games, but the sports themselves – after all, no one wants to invest time into something that stays the same every year. For Formula 1, the answer has been the biggest shake-up in a generation, with new...

  • Review Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star (PlayStation 3)

    Lost in Space

    In a world where songs can kill and chatting with semi-naked girls in bathtubs is part of a sacred ceremony, a religious war has split two factions in half. Propaganda and aggression have kept these two groups separate for long enough that neither realises one simple truth: that there are real people on both sides. Ar Nosurge: Ode to...

  • Review Slender: The Arrival (PlayStation 3)

    A walk in the woods

    The mythos of Slenderman shouldn’t be much of a mystery anymore. The abnormally tall creature with no discernible facial features and a rockin’ tuxedo has blown up in popularity these past couple of years. This is mostly due to popular web series Marble Hornets, but another thing that added to the creepy character’s...

September2014

August2014

  • Review The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 5 - No Going Back (PlayStation 3)

    The long and winding road

    Back in July, when Telltale’s critically acclaimed The Wolf Among Us wrapped up its first season, The Walking Dead was only at its halfway point – but the developer has raced to Season Two’s finale since then. As those of you that are familiar with the series will already know, this second set of episodes puts you...

  • Review Tales of Xillia 2 (PlayStation 3)

    Cat scratch Ludger

    Tales of Xillia 2 is the sequel to last year's successful Tales of Xillia on the PlayStation 3. Much like the previous game, it’s charming, wonderful, and rewarding all at the same time. The worlds of Rieze Maxia and Elympios return as well as most of the gameplay from the original, and being the 14th title in the Tales series,...

  • 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 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 El Chavo Kart (PlayStation 3)

    Chilli con carnage

    Many game developers have tried to enter the kart racing genre, but all with the exception of Crash Bandicoot have failed to score a podium place next to Super Mario. Efecto Studios is the latest outfit to have a pop with El Chavo Kart – a title based upon the apparently popular Mexican cartoon, El Chavo: The Animated Series. As...

July2014

  • Review Might & Magic: Duel of Champions - Forgotten Wars (PlayStation 3)

    Pay £7.99 for tagline

    You’d be forgiven for thinking that Might & Magic: Duel of Champions - Forgotten Wars is some kind of trading card video game, but that’s short-sighted. No, it’s an investment opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to hand out huge amounts of money in return for digital versions of cards that your other half probably...

  • Review The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 4 - Amid the Ruins (PlayStation 3)

    The penultimate peril

    The next to last episode of the second season of Telltale Games’ episodic The Walking Dead adaptation is an unsurprisingly gripping experience. Following in the footsteps of arguably the best instalment that Telltale Games has released to date, the fourth entry, Amid the Ruins, has an awful lot to live up to. And live up to...

  • 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 Constant C (PlayStation 3)

    Inconsistent C

    Constant C is a new puzzle platformer from International Games System. In it, you control a robot that awakes from a slumber of sorts on a space station where time has seemingly stopped. What’s the cause of this? How do you fix it? Through the course of the game, you acquire abilities that allow you to manipulate gravity in order to...

  • Review The Wolf Among Us: Episode 5 - Cry Wolf (PlayStation 3)

    Every dog has its day

    So, this is it. We’ve finally made it to the end of protagonist Bigby Wolf’s investigation into the murder of a Fabletown resident that began some eight months ago. It’s been one hell of a journey, with plot twists, surprising levels of violence, and acts so unspeakable that Walt Disney would turn in his grave if he knew...

  • Review One Piece: Unlimited World Red (PlayStation 3)

    Bits and pieces

    As legions of fans will tell you, it's not hard to become captivated with One Piece, one of Japan's most popular manga creations, and its latest video game venture, One Piece: Unlimited World Red, is a good example of how easily this colourful world can ensnare anyone with an eye for crazy pirate adventures. The title itself is a...

  • Review GRID Autosport (PlayStation 3)

    Three-point turn

    GRID 2 was largely seen as a disappointment by many of the series’ fans – a step in the wrong direction, lacking the focus and discipline that made the original release such a compelling outing for racing enthusiasts. GRID Autosport, the latest offering from British firm Codemasters, aims to redeem the series – and bar a few...

  • 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...

June2014

May2014

April2014

March2014

  • Review MXGP: The Official Motocross Game (PlayStation 3)

    Rev bull

    There’s something strangely appealing about the way in which Italian outfit Milestone constructs a single player campaign. The developer’s previous forays into the World Rally Championship and Moto GP have all lacked polish, but have had a certain je ne sais quoi in spite of their presentational shortcomings. MXGP: The Official...

  • Review Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (PlayStation 3)

    Dead and Alive

    Ryu Hayabusa – gaming icon and goody two-shoes – is a little bit too awesome, don’t you think? He’s worked his way through some of the hardest games on the market, hardly breaking a sweat. He’s faced all sorts of fiendish enemies and has come through mostly unscathed. But not anymore – Yaiba Kamikaze, a psychopath ninja,...

  • Review Luftrausers (PlayStation 3)

    Don't mention the war

    Dutch developer Vlambeer is known for creating deceptively simple arcade titles that have a worrying tendency to burrow deep under your skin and take hold of your every waking thought. Its latest venture, Luftrausers, sees you seated in the cockpit of a World War II fighter plane, attempting to take out a boundless barrage of...

  • Review Vessel (PlayStation 3)

    Go with the flow

    Think about your favourite video games. Have you ever wondered why they’re your favourites? We’re sure that you can think of a sea of reasons, but we’d like to point out one that likely applies to each title on your mind: flow. The greatest adventures are typically the ones with brilliant ideas in every area wrapped in an...

  • Review Magus (PlayStation 3)

    For God's sake

    A downloadable and retail title for the PlayStation 3 that’s currently only available in North America, Magus is a premium priced role-playing game that sees you step into the shoes of the aforementioned titular hero in his quest to become an all-powerful God. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. The release adopts a rather...

  • Review Dark Souls II (PlayStation 3)

    Death imminent

    As a cursed individual banished to Drangleic, it’s your goal to collect the requisite souls required to prevent yourself from becoming a hollow while learning about the mysteries that surround you. This may be a sequel to Dark Souls, but it exists very much in a realm of its own, and doesn’t rely too heavily on the series’...

  • Review The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 2 - A House Divided (PlayStation 3)

    Next time on The Walking Dead

    After a three month break designed to let our minds digest the events of the first episode of Telltale’s second season of The Walking Dead, it’s time to step into the small shoes of Clementine once again. As is customary for the series, we last left the pint-sized heroine after making a difficult decision between...

  • Review Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)

    Three's a charm

    Taking place 500 years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2, the latest instalment in Square Enix’s mega franchise begins with pink-haired protagonist Lightning being shaken from her crystal slumber by God Bhunivelze. The heroine’s task? To save humanity from an imbalance between life and chaos which has prevented people from...

  • Review Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (PlayStation 3)

    Philosopher's groan

    Once again focusing on the practice of alchemy and the need to complete countless jobs for the populace, Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is the latest entry in developer Gust's long running series. It's full of the kind of mechanics, tropes, and characters that fans have come to expect – but does the tried...

  • Review Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (PlayStation 3)

    Co-lette things lie

    Tales of Symphonia is a classic JRPG from the GameCube era with a wide following, multiple (mostly Japanese) spin-offs, and now a well-deserved HD remaster. In addition to the underrated and underplayed gem, this new collection also contains the second game in the series, Dawn of the New World – although the primary reason for...

  • Review South Park: The Stick of Truth (PlayStation 3)

    The Elder Trolls

    Licensed video game adaptations are rarely the stuff of legend. Films are easily the worst offenders, as you could probably list the number of decent attempts on one hand – although television properties have played host to a selection of stinkers as well. As such, we were cautious when we first caught wind [Not that kind – Ed]...

February2014

  • Review Pac-Man Museum (PlayStation 3)

    Pac's the way I like it

    Whether you're a ghost-munching veteran or a total newcomer, there's no better way to experience the multiple old-school adventures of Bandai Namco's infamous yellow orb than Pac-Man Museum. Bringing together nine titles that span three different genres, it's difficult not to feel that you're getting plenty of nostalgic...

  • Review Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (PlayStation 3)

    Bloody hell

    With the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series, developer MercurySteam successfully rebooted Konami’s much loved series. Now, with the arrival of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on the PlayStation 3, the Spanish studio’s aiming to bring the series to a close, while at the same time attempting to fully deliver on the promise shown by the...

  • Review Rambo: The Video Game (PlayStation 3)

    It's over, Johnny

    In an industry where fantastic, marketable games are cancelled all too often and publishers are desperate to make up for years of inflation, the most impressive thing about Rambo: The Video Game is that it exists at all. However, that probably has something to do with the fact that it cost about £30 to make. It’s not all bad...

  • Review Earth Defense Force 2025 (PlayStation 3)

    Alien ant harm

    The biggest bugs in Earth Defense Force 2025 are not the iconic silver-backed ants that grace its outrageously ostentatious box art. The latest entry in Sandlot’s cult co-operative shooter series is a technical disaster, running a gamut of performance blunders larger than its colossal robotic adversaries. However, franchise fans...

  • Review Master Reboot (PlayStation 3)

    On and off

    An intriguing narrative and a clever setting can go a long way in a sci-fi adventure game, but it’s a difficult thing to pull off. As such, Master Reboot – a Myst-esque excursion by BAFTA Cymru award winning developer Wales Interactive – struggles to combine its great ideas into a compelling whole. The title comes close at times,...

  • Review The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 - Smoke And Mirrors (PlayStation 3)

    Bite me

    When the first episode of Telltale Games’ fairytale-infused noire-esque thriller The Wolf Among Us first latched its jaws onto the PlayStation 3 last October, we were completely blown away by how well its comic book source material translated. Thankfully, the agonising four month wait for the story to continue has now concluded – but has...

  • Review The Last of Us: Left Behind (PlayStation 3)

    Girls just want to have fun

    There was a lot to like about The Last of Us’ core campaign. Naughty Dog’s survival horror opus was not only successful in pushing the limits of the ageing PlayStation 3 from a pure hardware perspective, but it also exceeded expectations from a narrative stance, too. Where other developers stumble, the Californian...