Retro Reviews
Review Arkedo Series - 001 JUMP! (PlayStation 3)
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best
The Arkedo Series — originally developed for Microsoft's Indie Games channel by Arkedo Games, and ported to the PS3 by Sanuk Games — epitomises that straight-forward premise. The first in a series of back-to-basics gameplay ideas, Jump is an old-school puzzle platformer with a pleasingly retro visual...
Review Revoltin' Youth (PlayStation Minis)
Open Emotion may have shed its trademark hand-painted visuals for Revoltin' Youth, but the developer has still managed to concoct a refreshing style that's complimented by some great audio work and solid level design
The game can feel tedious in places, but its still another solid entry in the Irish studio's growing catalogue of quality PlayStation...
Review Crazy Machines Elements (PlayStation 3)
Isn't it nice when things just work? It's a slogan that will live with a generation, as Honda took inspiration from Rube Goldberg for one of the most fascinating marketing campaigns of all time
Crazy Machines Elements may as well have been named The Honda Commercial: The Game, but we doubt developer Fakt Software could get the license. Citing the...
Review Ducati Challenge (PlayStation Minis)
Ducati Challenge is easily the best racing game available for the PlayStation Minis platform
The game's impressive visual presentation is complimented by its accessible handling model and rich variety of content. The PlayStation Minis platform has played host to some fantastic two-dimensional games, but it's been less successful with more ambitious...
Review Fighting Fantasy: Talisman Of Death (PlayStation Minis)
Fans of the fiction will lap up Fighting Fantasy: Talisman Of Death, but though finely executed, it's also a niche proposition
In an era when video games such as The Elder Scrolls seemed as mythical as their subject matter, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's series of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks took geek culture by storm. Promising worlds filled...
Review Cubixx HD (PlayStation 3)
A competent upgrade of an already stellar PlayStation Mini, Cubixx HD might be rooted in the same core principles as its predecessor but it is still essential for fans of intense, action-heavy puzzle titles
In the hazy days of 2010, we described Laughing Jackal's debut PlayStation Mini, Cubixx, as a "surprisingly brilliant reworking of 80's...
Review Galaga Legions DX (PlayStation 3)
Galaga Legions DX struggles to emerge from the shadows of its spiritual predecessor Pac-Man Championship Edition DX but it is still a similarly eye-watering re-imagining of an old arcade favourite
Its hard not to be excited about the successor to Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. Namco Bandais futuristic rethink of the classic pill-popping...
Review Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension (PlayStation 3)
Summer lackluster
Many licensed video games that release in the summer are based on big budget blockbusters complete with over-the-top action sequences, fully voiced dialogue and epic set pieces that strive to blur the line between movie and game. Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is not such a game. Based on a made-for-TV Disney movie of...
Review Monochrome Racing (PlayStation Minis)
Despite having an interesting visual style and some neat ideas, poor execution leaves Monochrome Racing feeling completely unrefined
The games careless upgrade system and abhorrent AI leads to a flat, unsatisfying experience thats not even worth the budget asking price. Monochrome Racing is built around a delightful concept. The idea of four...
Review UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System (PlayStation 3)
Strapping
The PlayStation Move fitness game race got off to a slow start with just one title in the first six months, but it's just received its most high-profile title yet in the form of UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System from THQ. Is this muscular title enough to steal the crown from budget alternative My Fitness Coach: Club?...
Review OMG-Z (PlayStation Minis)
Great pacing and a satisfying hook make OMG-Z difficult to put down
Some games are more fun when the odds are stacked heavily in your favour. Initial impressions will dupe you into thinking Laughing Jackal's latest PlayStation Mini is a puzzle game, but once you start to earn money and upgrade your equipment it becomes a much more chaotic...
Review Section 8: Prejudice (PlayStation 3)
Section 8: Prejudice is potentially one of the most dense multiplayer experiences available on the PlayStation 3, which is staggering considering its budget price-point
If you're able to ignore the bland art direction and cliche sci-fi setting, there's a lot to get out of this downloadable first-person shooter. Over the past three-or-four years...
Review National Geographic Challenge! (PlayStation 3)
Around the world and back again
Imagine the possibilities of combining PlayStation Move and National Geographic magazine, exploring the rich expanses of the world with the super-accurate motion controller in your hand and so much more. The potential seems limitless, doesn't it? What a shame, then, that National Geographic Challenge! is a quiz game...
Review Fast Draw Showdown (PlayStation 3)
Shooting blanks
Ported from the 1994 light gun arcade machine, Fast Draw Showdown makes its debut on the PSN. The setting takes place in the old Western times when arguments often started with booze and ended with lead, and all you need to do is draw your gun from its holster faster than your opponent. Using often corny and scripted video clips...
Review Call of Juarez: The Cartel (PlayStation 3)
There are some great ideas in Call Of Juarez: The Cartel, but misdirection and sloppy execution let the package down
While the game's emphasis on mindless action can be thrilling at times, a slew of technical mishaps lessen the appeal of the title's more bombastic moments. Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood was one of our favourite games of 2009...
Review Captain America: Super Soldier (PlayStation 3)
Captain America: Super Soldier might not bring many new ideas to the table, but it is an enjoyable third-person action game with an enjoyable emphasis exploration and satisfying combat
SEGA's clearly spent a lot of time playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Given the quality of SEGA's most recent Marvel movie...
Review Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (PlayStation 3)
Could it be magic?
Last year EA made the horrendous mistake of bringing Kinect support to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, ignoring PlayStation Move entirely. The result was a predictably sloppy affair – but with the sequel's Move support, surely there's still chance of redemption. Well, no, there isn't. Purge any thoughts of...
Review Cars 2: The Video Game (PlayStation 3)
Cars 2: The Video Game is not the most ambitious of releases, but it achieves much of what it sets out to do
The game's kart-racing fundamentals are fluid and enjoyable, especially when experienced in multiplayer. With an expansive and likable roster of characters, Cars 2: The Video Game is a decent alternative to Mario Kart, though the game's...
Review One Epic Game (PlayStation Minis)
One Epic Game is a well presented, addictive autorunner that manages to present a surprisingly humorous slant on the current state of the video game industry
Autorunners are all the rage. Popularised by the iOS, the genre can be best identified by having a protagonist that runs from left-to-right at a perpetually increasing speed. In order to...
Review Let's Dance with Mel B (PlayStation 3)
Stop right now, thank you very much
While Dance Central on Kinect nailed the dance genre with its first step, many developers are still struggling to turn PlayStation Move into a fruitful dancing experience. Konami's venerable DanceDanceRevolution series had a first go, and Sony's own SingStar Dance had some things going for it, but there's still...
Review Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar (PlayStation Minis)
Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar can be a bit too dense for its own good, but its unique premise and lavish visual style make up for any initial gameplay complications
The premise of Cohort Studios' Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar is not too dissimilar to Pac-Man. In this arcade score-driven PlayStation Mini, your primary goal is to advance your character through...
Review Alien Zombie Mega Death (PlayStation 3)
A simple but addictive arcade shooter, Alien Zombie Megadeath is the perfect antidote to what's medically referred to as "lazy weekend syndrome"
Alien Zombie Megadeath is the latest in a growing list of popular PlayStation Minis to get a full high-definition upgrade. Pom-Pom's obnoxiously titled two-dimensional arcade shooter released last year as...
Review Heracles: Chariot Racing (PlayStation Minis)
Who doesn't enjoy a good kart racing game? As we browsed through the PlayStation Store's roster of PlayStation Minis looking for something to occupy us during the summer drought, Heracles: Chariot Racing stuck out like glowing beacon of brilliance
"A Mario Kart clone featuring characters and stages from Greek mythology?" we exclaimed...
Review Puzzle Dimension (PlayStation 3)
Puzzle Dimension is a devilishly moreish brain-bender with a fantastic sense of style
Puzzle games and balls go together like pineapple and cheese. There's something immensely satisfying about rolling spherical objects through non-descript floating environments. That premise is at the heart of Puzzle Dimension — a bare-bones brain-melting puzzler...
Review Air Conflicts: Secret Wars (PlayStation 3)
Fly by night
Move has helped gamers conquer the wastelands of Helghan, don the famous green jacket and even solve a murder or two, but it's about to achieve its biggest accolade yet: you can now use it to win World War II. Air Conflicts: Secret Wars puts you behind the controls of 16 planes from the first and second World War, with optional...
Review Shadows Of The Damned (PlayStation 3)
The initial announcement of Shadows Of The Damned left us disappointed
When we originally heard that some of Japan's most revered names — No More Heroes' Suda51, Resident Evil's Shinji Mikami, and Silent Hill's Akira Yamaoka — were collaborating on a brand new horror IP, our mind started to get ahead of itself with all the psychological horror...
Review White Knight Chronicles: Origins (PlayStation Portable)
White Knight Chronicles: Origins eschews the complexities of the RPG genre, crafting a straight-forward co-operative experience that's well suited to the pick-up-and-play nature of Sony's portable platform
Despite taking a critical beating worldwide, White Knight Chronicles has been a successful endeavour for Sony in Japan. With two iterations...
Review Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (PlayStation 3)
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is a surprisingly solid movie tie-in
The gameplay is knowingly straight-forward, but an abundance of decent set-piece encounters and a robust online multiplayer component make this spin-off an enjoyable, if entirely mindless affair. High Moon was onto something when it released War For Cybertron on PlayStation 3. The...
Review Ape Escape (PlayStation 3)
Gorilla warfare
Sony's Ape Escape series has been a PlayStation staple since 1999, when it wowed the world with its dual-analogue control scheme. Now over a decade later it's trying another control scheme in Ape Escape, (known as PlayStation Move Ape Escape in North America) but is it an evolutionary step or a knuckle-dragging disaster? The original...
Review Learning with the PooYoos: Episode I (PlayStation 3)
Who said gaming was just for big kids?
Children’s games and PlayStation 3 is a coupling that hasn’t really been explored. Well, that was the case until Lexis Numérique released Learning With the PooYoos: Episode 1 on PSN service. Designed for children between the ages of 3-6, this game sets out to captivate the minds of the youngest gamers, but...
