Retro Reviews
Review XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PlayStation 3)
Martian orders
Sgt Brown, purposefully named after a personal friend and modelled to appear in much the same way, was a competent, proficient warrior out on the battlefield. In the face of unimaginable terror, combating his own nerves on an alien-infested Earth, without question, his fortitude and intensity remained true. Yet, it was his lack of...
Review Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition (PlayStation 3)
Nice chopper
Famous for being one of the SEGA Dreamcast’s final releases, Under Defeat is a vertically-scrolling shooter which wears its old-school credentials as proudly as possible. Updated with high-definition visuals and boasting deluxe features to entice on-the-fence buyers into making a purchase, Under Defeat HD is a fantastic way to...
Review Wonderbook: Book of Spells (PlayStation 3)
Muggle magic
In a generation where Sony’s casual content has aimlessly followed the lead, Wonderbook serves as a stark reminder of the platform holder’s chops when it comes to capturing the attention of the mainstream market. Advancing the company’s ongoing obsession with augmented reality, the exciting educational endeavour is an original...
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 BreakQuest: Extra Evolution (PlayStation Minis)
Block bashing brilliance
Sprinkling innovation on top of what is ostensibly an Arkanoid clone is a tricky task, but developer Beatshapers has achieved it marvellously with the brilliant BreakQuest: Extra Evolution. Building on the original title from 2004, this PlayStation Mini lives up to its namesake by completely overhauling the block bashing...
Review Okami HD (PlayStation 3)
A game nearly fit for the Gods
In a time when sequels, prequels and HD remakes make up the majority of video game releases, we should start to ask ourselves: what really warrants a makeover? Okami is no stranger to the porting process, having been originally released for the PS2 in 2007, and then ported to the Wii in 2008 without even a major...
Review When Vikings Attack (PlayStation 3)
Rise against the tyranny of the Vikings
There's a pitfall to the design goal of simplicity: repetition. Many accessible titles tend to eschew this obstacle through minimalistic charm and a compelling set of mechanics. But while When Vikings Attack certainly boasts these values, and makes good use of them, its incessant repetition fails to abate...
Review Sports Champions 2 (PlayStation 3)
Smashing
The original Sports Champions may have been conceived as a direct response to the Wii Sports phenomenon, but beyond its surface accessibility it offered a subtlety that went missing on players looking for little more than a party game. Obfuscated by its shoddy art style and limited multiplayer options, the PlayStation Move launch title’s...
Review Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PlayStation Portable)
A fang-tastic introduction to Castlevania's finest instalments
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is one of those packages that sits awkwardly on the fence between remake and compilation. While the main attraction is the fully-fledged modern day remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood there are other prizes on offer which may take a player’s...
Review Killzone HD (PlayStation 3)
Helghastly
Killzone HD almost never happened. Franchise creator Guerrilla Games had to search long and hard for the PlayStation 2 title’s original assets – eventually discovering them in a shoebox beneath the house of an IT technician. Even with the appropriate materials located, it spent many hours sorting through outdated source code and...
Review Dead or Alive 5 (PlayStation 3)
Looks can be deceiving
Dead or Alive 5 is nothing if not utter nonsense. Tecmo Koei has had seven years to stuff its flashy fighting series full of gibberish, and it’s delivered. Unfortunately, it’s forgotten to fully advance the combat systems at the heart of the experience along the way – and the sequel feels like a half-step as a result...
Review WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship (PlayStation 3)
Third time lucky?
WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship is certainly an improvement over last year's title. The presentation has been greatly enhanced, with the menus and audio more reminiscent of its contemporaries. Meanwhile, the in-game visuals show far more fidelity with improved detail and lighting. However, there're still some glaring issues...
Review 007 Legends (PlayStation 3)
The Spy Who Bored Me
With the new James Bond film Skyfall out next month, you might expect this year's 007 game to be all about the present — instead, Eurocom digs into the franchise's rich legacy, updating some of Bond's more memorable moments for the modern era. With the successful reimagining of GoldenEye, Eurocom proved that they know their...
Review Resident Evil 6 (PlayStation 3)
Go West
Most people would agree that Resident Evil: Code Veronica was the last truly scary title in Capcom’s survival-horror series. Ever since the closing credits rolled on that Dreamcast classic way back in 2000, the popular view is that the franchise has been gradually getting more Westernised, and slowly shedding the foundations of the genre...
Review Derrick the Deathfin (PlayStation 3)
Not-so-great white
It’s always unfortunate when a game shows a massive amount of promise and ultimately falls short, but in the case of Derrick the Deathfin it’s almost criminal. The game is stunningly beautiful and the amount of care that Different Tuna’s invested into development is evident from the start, but unfortunately the rest of the...
Review Joe Danger 2: The Movie (PlayStation 3)
Movie magic
Joe Danger is back, performing more death defying stunts with style and panache. This time, however, Joe has hit the big-time and has become a Hollywood stuntman. And with his new job comes new responsibilities; he's not just driving quad bikes and motorcycles anymore, instead he must master mine carts, snowmobiles, skis and even jet...
Review Retro City Rampage (PlayStation 3)
Copy right
In a generation where just about every game has some kind of serious story with complex characters, Retro City Rampage does a complete 180 and focuses on plain and simple goofy fun. The 8-bit styled game resembles the original Grand Theft Auto at first, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll also find it pays homage to a handful of...
Review Sonic Adventure 2 (PlayStation 3)
Shadow runner
Ever since the release of Crazy Taxi on the PlayStation Network, people have been asking SEGA to port the extremely popular Sonic Adventure 2 to PS3. Originally released in 2001, the game was not only one of the showcase titles for the Dreamcast hardware, but also an extremely innovative experience. Later the title would be ported to...
Review The Unfinished Swan (PlayStation 3)
Paint by slumber
The Unfinished Swan starts with a blank canvas and a single stirring idea. Blinded by grief following the untimely passing of his mother, protagonist Monroe finds himself locked in a fantasy world littered with problems that mirror his own. Feeling purposeless without the guidance of his guardian, the orphan is forced to deduce his...
Review Dishonored (PlayStation 3)
Rat race
Dishonored doesn’t have much time for modern video game conventions. Arkane Studios’ delectable steam-punk romp does away with unnecessary multiplayer components, multi-million dollar set-pieces and tutorial missions that last almost as long as the campaign itself. At times, its complete disregard for expected standards can be to its...
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 NiGHTS into Dreams (PlayStation 3)
Love the NiGHT life
While SEGA’s offerings in recent years have been a varied assortment of peaks and valleys, there was a time when there was no disputing their quality. During the Saturn era Sonic Team put out several innovative games that defied genre conventions and immediately captured the hearts of the SEGA faithful. NiGHTS into Dreams has...
Review F1 2012 (PlayStation 3)
Go, go, go!
In the high-speed world of Formula One, the slightest error can be the difference – quite literally – between life and death. Push the pedal to the metal for a tenth of a second too long and your race weekend could be over, as you end up hurtling off the track and – if you’re lucky – into a wall of tyres. This is why it’s of...
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...
Review Borderlands 2 (PlayStation 3)
Pandora's box
Borderlands 2 should ship with a health warning crudely emblazoned on its cover: “Warning, may cause the onset of severe obsessive compulsive disorder.” We’ve never been the most laidback individuals, but Gearbox’s latest Diablo-meets-Doom first-person shooter unearths the very worst in our compulsive natures. Only yesterday we...
Review Double Dragon: Neon (PlayStation 3)
Hurry Up, Broseph!
It isn’t often that you get to use the words “franchise”, “80s”, and “reboot” in the same sentence these days, without feeling a little bit like you’re constructing a joke and that the developer of the title in question is going to provide the punchline. In an era where popstars are turning up on Blu-ray and DVD in...
Review Jet Set Radio (PlayStation 3)
Get your skates on
It’s genuinely hard to believe that Jet Set Radio is 12 years old. To look at the game now, you’d swear blind it was a modern release; the gloriously inventive cel-shaded visuals (well, they were innovative back in 2000, anyway) still possesses an alluring quality, and the quirky soundtrack is virtually assured to get the toes...
Review Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PlayStation 3)
Got the touch?
When it was first announced, 2010’s Transformers: War for Cybertron seemed about as appealing as a collision with a planet eating asteroid named Unicron. The High Moon Studios developed third-person shooter was revealed right around the cusp of Bayformers fever, and despite the Soundwave-esque sincerity of the developer’s...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (PlayStation 3)
Drop-in, bail on it, or does Tony Hawk slam?
When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first landed on PlayStation in 1999 it was welcomed with open arms and scabby knees by skateboarders, as the first video game to capture what it felt like to skate. Neversoft embraced skate culture so vehemently that a number of their team became skilled at riding a real...
Review JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. (PlayStation 3)
Stands, but doesn't deliver
“Bizarre” is definitely an accurate descriptor of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. Not only does it encapsulate the themes and design of the 2D fighter’s source material, it also sums up the decisions that went into the rerelease of the 1999 Dreamcast title. It’s a mixed bag with an eyebrow-raising price point...
