Latest Reviews
Review Crimsonland (PlayStation 4)
Don't fear the reaper
Twin-stick shooters are like Hollywood action films. They’re violent, bold, and, while there’s plenty going around, very few are actually any good. Crimsonland is the latest entry in the once popular genre, and does very little to differentiate itself from the competition. But does this adherence to tried and tested tropes...
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 Killzone: Shadow Fall - Intercept (PlayStation 4)
In the zone
A dedicated co-op component has long been missing in action over the course of the Killzone series' multiple instalments. If you've ever wanted to blow up Helghast with a buddy outside of the franchise's sometimes disappointing campaigns, then you've always had little choice but to team up together for some competitive play – but now,...
Review Farming Simulator 14 (PlayStation Vita)
Old MacDonald had a more exciting farm
Ever since the days of Rollercoaster Tycoon and Sim City, we’ve seen an abundance of simulator-style games. Some of these have been decent, while others have been downright baffling – Street Cleaning Simulator, anyone? However, in spite of their quality, these types of games have had more of a home on the...
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 MouseCraft (PlayStation 4)
Feta than you might think
Taking two loved classics and splicing them together is no mean feat, but the cheese obsessed minds at Crunching Koalas have done just that with their debut title MouseCraft. Taking strong whiffs from both Tetris and Lemmings, this title certainly has a solid premise – but does it do enough to differentiate itself from...
Review EA Sports UFC (PlayStation 4)
Figurative knock out
From its inception in the early 90s to calls for a ban on what Senator John McCain called ‘human cockfighting’, Ultimate Fighting Championship exploded in popularity in the mid-2000s, and its following shows no signs of diminishing. As such, there have been a number of video game tie-ins over the years, but it is with the...
Review Tour de France 2014 (PlayStation 4)
Tour de Pants
It is Tour de France time, and that means crowds of talented bikers defeating our evil physics overlords and riding through one another across the beautiful French countryside and chunks of England. No? That must just be one of the fantastic new features in Tour de France 2014, a game which also serves up blind robot crowds and a host...
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 Air Conflicts: Vietnam Ultimate Edition (PlayStation 4)
You sunk my battleship
Wars have broken out over lesser atrocities than Air Conflicts: Vietnam Ultimate Edition. This PlayStation 4 exclusive re-release of last year’s PlayStation 3 flight simulation is a smouldering wreck of a piece of software, serving up an abhorrent experience only marginally more entertaining than a real-life plane crash...
Review Resogun: Heroes (PlayStation 4)
Holding out for a hero
It’s a statement that’s rapidly approaching cliché territory, but Housemarque’s cylindrical shooter Resogun is still the PlayStation 4’s best game. That’s not a slight against the software library that Sony’s next-gen system has amassed over the past six months or so – although we’re sure that many would like...
Review Blue Estate (PlayStation 4)
Off the rails
The rail shooter has been a staple of arcades for decades, giving gamers the chance to wield plastic firearms to gun down wave after wave of enemies. Their popularity made it natural that they’d make the jump into the home, and while there have been a few successes on consoles, most gamers came to the conclusion a while ago that this...
Review Child of Light (PlayStation Vita)
Summer child
It took longer and was more brutal than a rap battle between J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin, but Child of Light has finally made it to the PlayStation Vita. Those of you who have been desperately waiting to see what all the fuss was about can, after almost three months, join Aurora on her rather poetic quest to save the world...
Review That Trivia Game (PlayStation 4)
Pointless
There have been copious trivia games released over the years, with Relentless Software’s surprisingly good Buzz! series perhaps being the most popular among PlayStation fans. The latest title to tackle the quiz genre, That Trivia Game, is exclusive to the PlayStation 4 – and certainly deserves top marks for its highly original name...
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...
Review MotoGP 14 (PlayStation 4)
Top Márquez
Our infallible scientific studies suggest that many MotoGP stars endured multiple bumps on their bonces from a very early age. Asphalt icons such as Valentino Rossi and reigning champion Marc Márquez make average adrenaline junkies look like cucumber sandwich scranning stick-in-the-muds – and that’s before they even climb onto...
Review Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (PlayStation 4)
Less than meets the eye
Even the emotionless Galvatron would be saddened to see a generation of teenagers brought up on Michael Bay’s visually offensive and canon destroying Transformers flicks. Fortunately for veterans, there’s been a shining light among the countless explosions and Megan Fox pouting that has sought to preserve the authenticity...
Review Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn (PlayStation 3)
"Amuro, I'm doing something extremely wicked"
With the indie gaming boom and so many big publishers trying their hands at projects that are somewhat different from the norm, it can be surprisingly refreshing to play something as single-minded as Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn. There are no immediate details to ponder – you just climb into a...
Review Enemy Front (PlayStation 3)
War crime
Set during the turbulent times of World War II, Enemy Front is the latest in a long line of first-person shooters to depict the horrors of one of history’s most fierce conflicts. Depicting the tale of a journalist named Robert Hawkins, you’ll team up with the American resistance as part of an effort to put an end to the Nazis once and...
Review Sniper Elite III (PlayStation 4)
Boom headshot
It’s ironic that so soon after the release of Valiant Hearts: The Great War, another title with a very different outlook on war has stealthily marched onto the PlayStation 4. In Sniper Elite III, rather than making you think about the needless loss of life, this latest instalment in the distance shooter series asks that you revel in...
Review Ultra Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3)
Shoryuken handle it?
Street Fighter has long been one of the most popular fighting games in the genre, with title releases on just about every platform since 1987. The most recent Street Fighter IV demonstrates Capcom’s commitment to keeping the series alive, with a staggering five iterations on the original build making Ultra Street Fighter IV...
Review Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland (PlayStation Vita)
Mix it up
Shop keepers are an important part of almost every RPG, but they very rarely get the attention that they deserve. They focus a bunch of effort into putting together a nice collection of weapons and potions, and do they even get a spot in the final cutscene? Were they even asked? In Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland, you’re...
Review Monster Monpiece (PlayStation Vita)
Cover-up girl
It’s fair to say that Western support for the PlayStation Vita has dwindled in the past year or so, setting the stage for several Japanese ports to step up and plug the hole. None, however, are more questionably sexualised than Monster Monpiece; a card game where leveling up monster girls by rubbing the handheld’s touchscreen in a...
Review Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PlayStation 4)
Dog day afternoon
There are hundreds upon hundreds of games about war. Yet despite the subject matter’s ubiquity, there is a distinct lack of variety in the way it’s handled: you shoot people, you sneak behind people so you can stab them in the back, or you slaughter countless people with the press of a single button. These gleeful and...
Review Battle Princess of Arcadias (PlayStation 3)
Such a peach
Being a princess is overrated. You’ll soon wear out your waving hand, you have to speak to poor people (which even poor people hate doing), and the occasional gifted helicopter from the in-laws does little to take the edge off. Being a battle princess, alternatively, is a completely different affair. It means you get to go out and hit...
Review Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse - Episode 2 (PlayStation Vita)
Be kind, rewind
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse has been made possible due to the generosity of franchise fans courtesy of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The only catch with this funding drive was that the game would be split into two episodes, with the intention to get the package into the hands of backers as quickly as possible. This...
Review Mind Zero (PlayStation Vita)
Never mind this one
Without a doubt, Mind Zero appears to be a genuinely high quality JRPG. It has an enticingly sleek art direction, an atypical twist on its familiar gameplay, a diverse cast of characters, and a promising story premise, so we were naturally impressed by the brainpower that must have gone into the game. But as we delved a little...
Review Murdered: Soul Suspect (PlayStation 4)
Dead to rights
Not many games actively attempt to avoid putting you in danger, but Murdered: Soul Suspect on the PlayStation 4 attempts to walk this less travelled road by having very little combat and putting you in the shoes of a ghost. This unique perspective means that you have limited influence on the physical world around you, making you feel...
Review NASCAR '14 (PlayStation 3)
Go daddy
NASCAR ’14 sets out its stock racing stall right from the starting line. Rather than bombard you with heavily edited footage of a Go Daddy branded bar of soap on wheels, it instead tempts you in with a Buzz-esque quiz on Jeff Gordon’s past performances in the Sprint Cup series. It’s these nuggets of trivia that link the racer’s...
Review ZRun (PlayStation Vita)
The running dead
The endless runner and the zombie are seemingly at opposite ends of the video game spectrum. The former is reserved almost exclusively for smartphone-fuelled exercises in mediocrity, while the latter is usually deployed only in the hardest of hardcore horror games. With ZRun, Beatshapers has attempted to reconcile these two warring...
