Retro Reviews
Review SingStar: Motown (PlayStation 3)
SingStar: Motown is essentially a glorified track-pack
Still, the range of quality music, low price and typical SingStar options continue to make the franchise a success — if not a somewhat niche one these days. There's something wrong with you if you don't like Motown. A glory era in the age of pop, the Motown record label is synonymous for...
Review The Beatles: Rock Band (PlayStation 3)
The ever-popular rhythm action genre meets the most popular band of all time, The Beatles
The Beatles: Rock Band is a loving recreation of pivotal moments in the band's elusive history, covering the early days at Liverpool's famous Cavern Club right through to the Abbey Road studio sessions that saw the birth of some of The Beatles' most creative...
Taking clear inspiration from the works of Tarantino, WET is a heavily grindhouse themed arcade shooter that follows the exploits of a sassy female protagonist named Rubi
Caught up in the convoluted plot of blatant twists and wooden acting, WET treads the thin-line of having a plot so obviously bad, it's actually comical. Armed with the fire-power...
Review SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny (PlayStation Portable)
Well, it's Soul Calibur on the PSP
Based on many of the mechanics from the SoulCalibur IV engine, Broken Destiny is a weapons-based fighting game featuring a host of familiar and equally ridiculous characters. The Star Wars characters from the Playstation 3 version of the game have been replaced with the much better suited Kratos and the deeply...
Review Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable)
In a less than compelling plot that will no doubt delight Final Fantasy aficionados and baffle the rest of us, the God of discord, Chaos, and the God of Harmony, Cosmos, have engaged in an eternal long tussle within the Final Fantasy universe
The outset is Chaos importing a dream team of Final Fantasy antagonists to put the cap in Cosmos' reign...
Review Smash Cars (PlayStation 3)
Smash Cars is Creat Studio's latest PSN exclusive
The game is a sequel to a cult PS2 title of the same name. In this release the developers have kept pretty much everything that made the original game fun in tact, allowing you to race RC cars across an interesting island setting. Much like Nintendo's Wii Sports Resort, the island your racing across...
Review Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (PlayStation 3)
Starting out with just a messy RV and a name to make, DiRT 2 puts you behind the wheel of the late Colin McRae's famous rally car and sets you out on a racing tour of the world
Operating from the back of your RV you'll embark on some of the world's most famous rally courses alongside some of the scenes biggest names including Ken Block and Dave...
Review Wolfenstein (PlayStation 3)
It's kind of ironic that Wolfenstein should fall victim to an overcrowded genre that it created
You step into the shoes of BJ Blazkowicz, a chirpy super-American with the chiseled looks of an overweight Nathan Drake. Once again the Nazis are being general douchebags, digging up some bonkers historical element known as Black Sun Energy. For time...
Review Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes (PlayStation 3)
Marvel Vs
Capcom 2, the 3-on-3 fighting game that demands silly money on eBay, just got that much more accessible via the wonders of the Playstation Network. The game is heralded as the very pinnacle of the 2D beat 'em up by the elite, largely thanks to its impressive roster and flat-out bonkers gameplay. We don't recommend this to those with...
Review G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (PlayStation 3)
Based upon the recent movie, G
I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra pits you amidst Cobra's deadliest plot yet, putting you in the shoes of the Joes in a co-op arcade shooting environment. Taking its concept from classic run-and-gun shooters like Contra, The Rise Of Cobra is an isometric co-op shooting experience that can be played locally. There are a range...
Review Alone In The Dark: Inferno (PlayStation 3)
Sometimes games come along that truly innovate but for some reason collapse under the weight of their originality
Alone In The Dark: Inferno is one such example of brilliant ideas being released before fully developed. Alone In The Dark: Inferno is a vastly improved version of the XBOX 360 game. Improved camera and control make Inferno the...
Review Archer Maclean's Mercury (PlayStation Portable)
Archer Maclean's Mercury is a very clever puzzle game that is well worth the price of entry
It's a game you'll certainly want downloaded onto your PSP's memory stick for a drab 20 minute journey. Building on the classic Marble Madness, Mercury is a game involving blobs of, well, mercury, and the guiding of them through increasingly difficult mazes...
Review Sonic Unleashed (PlayStation 3)
The most horrendous thing about Sonic Unleashed is that it shows signs of being absolutely, totally, awesome
It's just a shame about the rest of the game. Mandatory medal-hunts. Awful God Of War-ripped sub-gameplay. Terrible voice acting. Drawn-out level design. Just a few of the reasons that Sonic Unleashed is not quite the game you'd expect it to...
Review Fat Princess (PlayStation 3)
Fat Princess is a co-operative multiplayer game comparable with few other titles
The objective of the game's main multiplayer type is to rescue your captured princess. The twist is that the princess cannot be swooped up like a heroine from movies of old; she'll have been force-fed ungodly amounts of cake by the opposing team, making her as heavy as...
Review Fritz Chess (PlayStation 3)
It's chess
Well in actual fact it's more than that. It's Fritz Chess, which means the game is powered by the best chess AI program currently available. There's a loose adventure mode taking you through a series of medieval "castle" opponents, but you won't be playing for the story; Fritz is all about the super challenging AI. Fritz Chess...
Review Shatter (PlayStation 3)
Simple in concept but deep in reality, Shatter takes the simple gameplay mechanics of Arkanoid and rebuilds them for the "New Arcade" generation
With a heavy focus on electronic music, score building and non-stop gameplay, Shatter may represent old-school classics at its core, but plays unlike anything. It's a classic example of the perfect...
Review Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PlayStation Portable)
The Monster Hunter franchise has been a cultural phenomenon in Japan
It still stands as one of the main reasons for the PSP's success in the region - regularly outselling the Wii and occasionally overtaking the DS. There have been Western Monster Hunter releases in the past but rarely have they come close to even matching 10% of the franchise's...
Review Guitar Hero: Smash Hits (PlayStation 3)
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits is a worthy package depending on your music tastes and your desire to play those tracks as part of a full band experience
If for any reason you're not interested in the tracks available, then being forced to buy this game as full package is probably not recommended. Providing classic hits from the Guitar Hero franchise's...
Review Rock Band Unplugged (PlayStation Portable)
Those of you around in the early days of the Playstation 2 may remember a classic that went by the name Amplitude
Rock Band Unplugged is that same game without the electronica. Running with the Rock Band franchise, Rock Band Unplugged provides a range of "hits" from the likes of Weezer, Lit, Bon Jovi and many other rock veterans. The game...
Review God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (PlayStation Portable)
Kratos's PSP début is angry as ever
The game is set as a prequel to the Playstation 2's first God Of War title, where Kratos has been saved by Ares and is working out a seemingly never-ending chain of payback to the Gods of Olympus. The tale develops much further later on in the game and gives Kratos a much deeper sense of character, but we don't...
Review topatoi: The Great Tree Story (PlayStation 3)
Putting you in the thimble spinning wheel like vehicle known as GEMMA, you play as Raph, the subject of a crash landing and the knight in shining armour who will save his girlfriend from kidnap
There's a story mode and additional platforming challenges available, with leaderboards and collectables providing further challenge. Despite being a...
Review Battlefield 1943 (PlayStation 3)
A Playstation Store download, Battlefield 1943 is a complete competitive multiplayer first-person shooter experience based on the Battlefield franchise
The game provides two factions (Japan vs. USA) and three maps set in the pacific. A fourth map will be unlocked when Playstation 3 owners garner 43 million kills co-operatively, a neat little...
Review Overlord II (PlayStation 3)
Overlord II is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Overlord
The game picks up a short while after the last - where the previous Overlord - putting you in the shoes of a brand new antagonist. Controlling the Overlord essentially relies on issuing commands to your legion of Minions of whom will do your evil bidding whenever you should require it...
Review The Punisher: No Mercy (PlayStation 3)
Set in the gritty universe of The Punisher, No Mercy is an arena based shooter built with the Unreal Engine
The game is a multiplayer focused release, providing a single player story and co-op mode tied together with some comic-book style plot where the crux gameplay is still based around arena shoot-outs. There are a range of characters from The...
Review Fahrenheit (PlayStation 2)
Hot stuff
Fahrenheit is a compellingly quirky Playstation 2 affair that we can guarantee plays nothing like any other game you've played. It's original, it's cinematic and while the plot takes a turn for the worse later on, remains refreshing right the way through. Playing through the tutorial to Fahrenheit gives you the instant sense that...
Review Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (PlayStation 3)
Based on the film of the book of the same name, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is the penultimate Harry Potter story which builds into the crux of Harry's story
The plot essentially culminates in the search for Voldemort's soul via Horcruxes. If you're unfamiliar with the book's plot then you're going to find The Half-Blood Prince pretty...
Review Numblast (PlayStation 3)
Despite being a puzzle title inherently involved with numbers, it's with pleasure for us to inform you that Numblast has absolutely nothing to with maths
You rotate quadrants of four numbers aiming to create 4x4 squares of the same number. Doing so will increase the number tally, making it possible to score outrageous combos by placing higher...
Zuma is a simple puzzle game from PopCap games
A string of marbles move along a winding path towards a skull waiting to eat the string. Alas, you play as a marble shooting frog, able to match up coloured marbles and clear them away before the skull eats them up. Chains are possible via the magnetic properties of similarly coloured marbles, making...
Review Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood (PlayStation 3)
Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood is the prequel to the similarly titled XBOX 360 release
It follows the early lives of brothers Ray and Thomas McCall, soldiers for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. The tale of the McCall's is told via Tarantino style time-leaps, an inviting technique which leaves the plot open to a lot of twists along the...
Review Fight Night Round 4 (PlayStation 3)
Building on the early success of Fight Night Round 3, the latest iteration of EA's boxing franchise builds on the realistic feel and excellent graphics of its predecessor
The game includes a main campaign entitled the Legacy Mode, which allows you to choose a character and see build them through the ranks. Your ultimate goal is to retire at the...
