Retro Reviews
Review Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PlayStation 3)
It's Mario Kart with Sonic
Really. Developed by Outrun's Sumo Digital, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is a marriage of all things SEGA in the guise of a really simple racing game. There's drifting, power-ups and tons of SEGA heritage in a neat little package of nostalgia. What's great about Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is that it'll appeal...
Review SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 (PlayStation Portable)
If you're looking for a multiplayer shooter on your Playstation Portable, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 is probably the best you're going to get
It's a pretty staggering technical achievement, providing all the staples you'd expect from a standard console multiplayer shooter, on a system that fits inside your pocket. The campaign is fine, but it's the...
Review Half-Minute Hero (PlayStation Portable)
Half-Minute Hero is an innovative, self-referential, comic gem, that just so happens to double as one of the best Playstation Portable titles of all time
Yes, it really is that good. If we were to review Half-Minute Hero in one word, we'd probably write something like: buy. And really, that's all you need to say about Opus' latest PSP gem. It's a...
Review Aliens vs Predator (PlayStation 3)
Aliens vs Predator is an exciting prospect
It sees original UK-based developers Rebellion return to the franchise that made them known in the first-place. Aliens vs Predator was a massive hit when it launched on the Atari Jaguar - and later the PC - in the mid-late 1990's. With three completely separate single-player campaigns, Aliens vs Predator...
Review BioShock 2 (PlayStation 3)
Set some ten years after the original Bioshock, Rapture is now being led by the menacing Sofia Lamb
Assuming the position of Subject Delta, you awaken in the search for your bonded Little Sister, Eleanor Lamb, who curiously ends up being the biological daughter of Bioshock 2's tyrant. The game is set-out in pretty much the same way as the original...
Review Dante's Inferno (PlayStation 3)
Loosely based on the medieval poet, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy provides the basis for Visceral's latest release
Essentially lifting the structure popularised by the God Of War franchise, Dante's Inferno combines elements of hack-and-slash, puzzle and platforming gameplay from a fixed camera perspective. The game - adapted from the original poem...
Review Dracula: Undead Awakening (PlayStation Minis)
Dracula: Undead Awakening is a respectable nod towards classics like SmashTV, but the awkward controls cause some issues in this Minis release
With plenty of progression options, some fantastic graphics and a host of modes, you'd be forgiven for thinking Dracula: Undead Awakening was an essential Minis release. As it happens it comes agonisingly...
Review Dark Void (PlayStation 3)
Nathan Drake wannabe Will is a pilot, flying to somewhere or other with British cutie Ava
Just as you're getting a sense of history between the pairing, the couple are sucked into the Bermuda triangle, where Dark Void's goofy, yet endearing sci-fi plot begins to take hold. Playing as Will, Dark Void is structured into three main gameplay elements;...
Review Army Of Two: The 40th Day (PlayStation 3)
The loud-mouthed American frat-boys Rios and Salem are back, this time in Shanghai
Army Of Two: The 40th Day plots the events of the bustling US-marines over a few short days, as the world around them comes crashing down. There's an almost Cloverfield-like approach to the pacing in The 40th Day; you're never quite sure what's going on, but you know...
Review Cubixx (PlayStation Minis)
Cubixx is a surprisingly brilliant reworking of the 80's classic Qix
The presentation and soundtrack make for an intense, futuristic experience that can be enjoyed in short, sporadic bursts. As the name hints, Cubixx's twist on the classic Qix formula, is to have you cutting out the surface of pulsating polygonal cube. The cube pounds with the beat...
Review Vancouver 2010 (PlayStation 3)
Very much what it says on the tin, Vancouver 2010 is the sports-game tie-in to the upcoming Winter Olympics
Featuring a range of snow-based sporting activities, Vancouver 2010 is a simplistically presented package with a rather sparse feel. There's no career mode here, Vancouver 2010 is all about pushing for perfection against an ever-improving...
Review Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond (PlayStation 3)
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond is self-aware enough to be comical, and its gameplay is superior to its balding protagonist's last romp; but you can't help but feel the whole experience needed one more sheen of polish to reach its full potential
Taking the sarcastic video game satire fiction from the first Matt Hazard title, Eat Lead, Matt...
Review Bayonetta (PlayStation 3)
Wicked witch of the "wha?"
Bayonetta's an extremely self-indulgent tale about nothing in particular. The constant waffling from the game's mish-mash of characters is wholly Japanese, but filled with subtle nods at both Western and Eastern popular culture that almost serves as a Michael Bay constructed satire rather than a video game plot. Abundant...
Review LEGO Rock Band (PlayStation 3)
LEGO Rock Band sounded ridiculous when it was announced, and playing the game has failed to convince us it's anything otherwise
But at the same time: it's absolutely not terrible. The song listing's fine, the LEGO angle injects humour, and the Rock Band gameplay is still as stellar - if not quite as original - as ever. LEGO Rock Band is exactly what...
Review Borderlands (PlayStation 3)
Good question, yo
What is Borderlands all about? Something to do with a Vault and bi-century openings and keys and Skags. Yes, lots of Skags. Look, Borderlands is a co-operative "RPS" (that's Role Playing Shooter if you've been following trends), in which you control one of four character types in a heavily stylised world. Choosing between...
Braid is special from start-to-finish
Wonderful visuals, stunning audio design, and some clever mechanics make it a must-play. Lovely. It's the word that probably best describes Braid, an arthouse platformer that depicts the tale of protagonist Tim's retrieval mission. At its surface, Braid is about love. As Tim haplessly seeks out the Princess he's...
Review Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PlayStation Portable)
Set in Cyprus shortly after the events of the first Assassin's Creed, Bloodlines attempts to bridge the gap between the first and second game, progressing anti-hero Altair's pursuit of the Templars, and tracking his relationship with kidnapped love-interest Maria
It's a decent tale that fans of the franchise will love, but some poor voice-acting can...
Review Circles, Circles, Circles (PlayStation Minis)
Circles is a brain-bending little puzzle-title that requires the application of simple mathematics to provide a deviously challenging experience
Fans of Sudoku are likely to fall in love with Circles pretty quickly. Like the popular commuter's past-time, Circles is very much inherent with the basic principles of maths. By rotating wheels of four...
Review D-Cube Planet (PlayStation Minis)
Despite some attractive presentation, D-Cube Planet is about as simple and old-school as gaming gets
Archaic puzzling aside though, there's certainly fun to be had here. D-Cube Planet is a neat little polygonal-puzzler that has you shuffling the placement of bricks around a maze, so that a hapless alien (we'll call him "Jeremy") can...
Review Avatar: The Game (PlayStation 3)
Even if you've lived under a rock for the past 12 months, you should at least have the slightest awareness of James Cameron's latest movie, Avatar
Billed as a visual showpiece, Avatar's cost an extortionate amount of money to make. Naturally, with every movie blockbuster cometh the video game; something that James Cameron was keen to talk (and talk)...
Review PixelJunk Shooter (PlayStation 3)
On the surface, PixelJunk Shooter looks like "just-another" dual-stick shooter
But, like the other games in the franchise, Shooter has a twist. In fact while initial impressions may lead you to believe you're going to get a dual-stick shooter, Q-Games' latest has more in common with adventure and puzzle-solving. Shooter is all about physics. And not...
Review Planet 51: The Game (PlayStation 3)
The problem with Planet 51: The Game is that, although it's not bad, it's just straight-up boring
Licensed game reviews usually start with the word "terrible." But Planet 51: The Game is not offensive enough to warrant the word "terrible." In fact, for what it does, it fares adequately. The problem is, when an entire game is as...
Review The Saboteur (PlayStation 3)
Despite being set during the second World War, The Saboteur is not a war game of the traditional sense
The World War II setting is merely window-dressing for the revenge story of Sean Devlin, a bitter Irish mechanic who has watched his friends fall in front of him. Sean Devlin is a potty-mouthed, chain smoking, bad-ass, who is able to carry The...
Review Echoes (PlayStation Minis)
Echoes is a deceptively simple, yet deviously difficult release, that will have you hooked for a few hours before you exhaust its lot
We really like Echoes. It's such a simple concept, that's been beautifully realised by developers Halfbrick. In essence, you control a hat and collect jewels. Well, that's what the perspective would have you believe...
Review Pinball Dreams (PlayStation Minis)
Pinball Dreams is exactly 3
2674% more awesome than the already excellent Pinball Fantasies. If you're already done fantasising over pinball, then perhaps it's time you started dreaming about it. This follow-up port of the classic Amiga pinball title, Pinball Dreams, is every inch as awesome as the 4/4 scoring Pinball Fantasies. In fact, we think...
Review Critter Crunch (PlayStation 3)
With bearded fluff-balls, rainbow-tinged vomit, and a parachuting professor; it's hard not to recommend Critter Crunch
Before we even jump into the gameplay, let us say right out of the gate that Critter Crunch is probably one of the most beautiful games on the Playstation Network. The hand-drawn sprites provide a wonderful cartoon aesthetic that...
The beauty of SAW is just how closely it sticks to the source material
Playing as Detective David Tapp, you're thrown into series anti-hero Jigsaw's "game" with little to no understanding of the events leading up to your capture. The game does an excellent job drip-feeding you information, as you navigate Jigsaw's warped world, escaping...
Review Gravity Crash (PlayStation 3)
Just Add Water's Gravity Crash is a retro-inspired dual-joystick shooter with a tinge of Sony's "Play Create Share" genre thrown in
The shooter includes a complete level editor, allowing you to create entire levels and share them online with other players. Gravity Crash takes a futuristic, neon spin on the retro-space shooters of old, setting you...
Review Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PlayStation Portable)
Jaked Up
After a short hiatus, the double-jumping Playstation powerhouses known as Jak & Daxter are back in full force with their eco-sage hottie friend Keira along for the journey. The world is low on eco, and is tearing itself apart as a result. Of course, as the platforming duo you'll have to double jump your way through the game's...
Review Assassin's Creed II (PlayStation 3)
It's quickly apparent playing Assassin's Creed II just how close the first game was to being exceptional
The core gameplay remains unchanged in ACII - you're still a parkour free-runner navigating an historical environment, assassinating historical figures that get in your way. That's the franchise's formula, and that's what was best about the first...
