Platform: PS3

Zen Pinball 2: Aliens Pack

I’ve mentioned it a number of times now, but for those that haven’t been paying attention – I’ve fallen in love with Zen Pinball 2. I know, I sit here with technology capable of amazing things, able to transport me to amazing new worlds and whatnot, but what do I do? I emulate an old-fashioned arcade staple which is now practically extinct.

In my defence, Zen Pinball 2 does things that no real-life pinball table could do. Most tables contain all sorts of outrageous animatronics and ramp formations that just couldn’t or wouldn’t get made. So, not only does Zen Pinball 2 create amazing tables, as the title of this post suggests, they pick up some amazing licenses too. It’s fair to say that even if I wasn’t a massive fan of ‘Aliens’, I’d still have glowing things to say about these tables.

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Arslan: The Warriors of Legend

Arslan: The Warriors of Legend, is both something of a mouthful, and also the latest non-Dynasty Warriors Musou title to be released by Omega Force and Tecmo Koei. Based on the first season of a new anime series, itself based on a manga, which is based on a long running Japanese book series, which is based on a tale from Persia (thanks Wikipedia!), given it is a Musou game, there’s likely to be little in the way of surprises.

Is it worth a go anyway?

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Mad Catz Fightpad Pro

Despite first discovering fighting games in the arcades during my youth, I’ve actually spent most of my life playing them with gamepads rather than arcade sticks, mainly because the SNES controller was a great fit for Street Fighter II thanks to its perfect D-pad, and most of Sony’s pads seemed tailor-made for Namco’s Tekken.

In fact, despite switching back to sticks in recent years (triggered mainly because of a thoughtful Christmas gift from my wife a few years back), my most successful period with Street Fighter IV happened when I was hammering combos on a standard Xbox 360 controller. With that, it’s natural that I still like to dabble with gamepads from time to time, and I spent considerable time with both Mad Catz’s phat and smaller offerings last-gen, always curious to see if, given my background, they could improve my form. The results were spotty.

Nonetheless, with Street Fighter now on a new generation and a fresh wave of controllers with it, including Mad Catz’s brand new Fightpad Pro, it’d be rude not to give gamepads another go, right?

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Teslagrad

If you’re wondering why a Teslagrad review now, it’s semi-recently come to the PS Vita, so I’ve had the pleasure to take a look at it on the handheld. Having read reviews from when it had released on Wii U, I was quite looking forward to giving it a try, and in the main, am glad I did, with some minor reservations.

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BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend

BlazBlue is one of those fighting game series that I really admire, but have never been able to truly master. The last time I delved into the series was for review, in fact, back when BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend launched alongside Vita. Though I declared it one of the finest fighting games ever made, due to its complexity I’ve still yet to hit the same rhythm that I’ve always found so natural with the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and, after many attempts, Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

With their latest entry, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend, it seems that Arc Systems Works have taken great strides to ensure that this BlazBlue not only flows a lot more naturally, but is a lot more welcoming to all…

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Transformers: Devastation

“A cursory evaluation of Decepticon capabilities indicates a distinct tactical deficiency.”

Perceptor calls that out to Ultra Magnus during the attack on Autobot City in the 1986 classic Transformers: The Movie, and it pretty much sums up the war between them.

Optimus Prime and company took on a superior force, one that has no regard for sentient life, and won every time. Yes, it became predictable, but Transformers hasn’t become a classic franchise for nothing. The brand may have been diluted with the recent Michael Bay movies, but Platinum Games have just released Transformers: Devastation; a G1 inspired game that ticks all the right notes for fans of the bearer of the Matrix, but it might leave more casual fans, especially younger ones that only know the live action movies, a little cold.

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Destiny: The Taken King

In the infinite vastness of the universe, a year is but a moment. A fleeting period that adds little to the ever expanding void, but to sentient beings can seem like forever, where even a fraction of it can change their lives forever.

In gaming terms, a hell of a lot can change in just one year. The Taken King is Destiny’s newest expansion, bringing with it a raft of changes and an update to the version number: This is Destiny 2.0 and the game is all the better for it, feeling like this is the game Bungie wanted to put out in the first place.

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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

After confirming the identity and location of an injured prisoner from a Soviet Compound in Afghanistan, I could make my escape. The prisoner in question is an expert in biomechanics and extracting him to my offshore military base would allow me to develop the technology to increase the durability and power of my prosthetic arm, making enemy close-quarter takedowns more time efficient. Unfortunately, his injuries won’t allow him to sustain the shock impact of a Fulton extraction, so he would have to be carried out of the base to a safe distance where the support helicopter could land without sustaining heavy damage and pick us both up.

The sun was rising and without the cover of nightfall, I was at risk of being spotted by one of the guards in the tower. With little time, I opted to ‘go loud’ to ensure the quickest optimal route. By taking out the base’s air communications satellite with a C4 charge, my support would be able to land close to my current location and evacuate quickly before the Soviets could effectively respond. It was a risky move. The helicopter sustained heavy fire but I was able to lay down suppressing fire with the chopper’s Gatling gun for just long enough to exit the hot zone. The mission was completed but I had lost points for raising an alarm and killing the guards as the chopper ascended to ‘Flight of the Valkyries’ blaring out of the speakers. Had I equipped myself with the appropriate camouflage for the rocky terrain or invested in a more durable suppressor for my tranquilizer gun before attempting to rescue the POW, I could have netted myself those extra points and a better mission rank.

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Rugby World Cup 2015

When I think about it, sporting World Cups are pretty amazing things unto themselves. Millions of fans, usually from all corners of the globe, converging to the one place to celebrate the sport they adore and to watch the best players in the world battle it out on the field. The planning and dedication it takes from everyone involved in pulling these tournaments off is quite staggering, but it’s all done for the good of the game.

From the opening kick-off, it becomes flagrantly apparent that Rugby World Cup 2015 does not care for the ‘good of the game’. Not only is it poorly presented, with its bland menus and outdated looks, but it’s essentially a re-skinned version of the previously released Rugby 15. That, in itself, raises a whole bunch of issues in my book, but I won’t touch on them here. All you need to know is that Rugby World Cup 2015 is objectively, a bad game.

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MotoGP 15

Motorcycle racing, even just motorbikes in general, are pretty difficult to translate into a fun video game. Compared to cars, bikes are unresponsive and difficult to maneuver. This rings true in MotoGP 15, and being more a racing car guy, I found the transition from four wheels to two to be not only frustrating, but also challenging and rewarding at times. It’s not going to set the racing world on fire, but MotoGP 15 is a good representation of modern-day motorbike racing that fans will mostly appreciate, although it suffers a few technical setbacks along the way.

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Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters

Who you gonna call? Well, if you live in New York City, it’s a safe bet you know exactly who to call, but what if you’re in Tokyo? Who do you call then? The answer is ‘Gatekeepers’, a team of anime stereotypes who love bustin’ ghosts, and are the stars of Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters.

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is a weird blend of RPG, turn-based strategy and visual novel. It’s a fairly brave mix, but then so is Bailey’s, gin and lager. Sadly, the resulting game is just as appealing as said cocktail, though like with most things in life, I’m sure there are some that will enjoy it.

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Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

As the famous saying goes, “There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and a new Assassin’s Creed game every year.” At least, that’s how the saying could have gone, until Ubisoft decided to outdo themselves and launch two Assassin’s Creed games on the same day at the tail end of 2014.

With the world and his wife harping on about Ubisoft’s new-gen offering and those screenshots, it was easy to forget our reliable last-gen consoles were also ready to take us back to the sprawling world Ubisoft have carved out, and for the very last time.

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Dragon Ball XenoVerse

Dragon Ball XenoVerse is a love letter to fans of Dragon Ball. It’s not even really for just casual fans; it’s for the hardcore fans that have watched Dragon Ball Z in its entirety and are intimately familiar with its characters and story. Right out of the gate, XenoVerse welcomes you into a narrative that is well underway. If you are unfamiliar with what happened on the show you will be lost, and nothing in the game will make an effort to help you find your way.

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Ride

The last few weeks I have found myself engaged in a battle that has tested me like no other. Every time I think I’ve sorted it out, something comes along to knock me back down to size. All the while I’m wondering what is wrong with me, and why others don’t seem to have the problems I’m having. Maybe I’m just not strong enough to endure. Despite this pain, I keep trying, only to fall on my face again.

‘Yeah, but everyone struggles with Bloodborne, it’s meant to be a challenge’, I hear you say. That may be true, but this isn’t Bloodborne I’m talking about; it’s Ride, the latest motorcycle racing release from Milestorm Studios. I don’t think I’ve experienced a game that makes me question my gaming abilities so much.

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Life is Strange: Episode 2

Life is Strange: Episode 2 continues the tale of Max, a gifted photography student who also happens to have the ability to alter time. In the first episode, premonitions of giant twisters, drug-dealing students waving guns about and the rekindling of an old friendship were the main focus.

Episode 2 concentrates mainly on the re-united friends of Max and Chloe, as they see if their relationship is as strong as it was or if too much has changed in the intervening years. Like the previous episode of Life is Strange, it’s mainly a sedate adventure game that doesn’t have you making life or death decisions all the time. This episode goes a little too far with the laid-back tempo, however, and turns into a lazy afternoon with an annoying acquaintance rather than an engaging series of events.

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Resident Evil: Revelations 2

It’s fair to say that Resident Evil has had an image crisis over the last decade. Having been removed from its survival horror roots, Resident Evil games have gone from light-gun games, to online shooters, to all-out action games. All achieving varying degrees of success, these games have made it hard to say what a Resident Evil game is or what the series even stands for any more.

Then along came Revelations. Returning to traditional Resident Evil values of tight corridors, limited ammo and shambling creatures, the handheld title found a lot of love (though I wasn’t keen on the PS3 version). So that’s why we’re here with Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Does that mean we’re dealing with a game that has some real bite, or has the series finally lost all of its teeth?

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Resident Evil HD Remaster

I’m going to be honest. I’m a bit late to the party on the whole Resident Evil thing, my only foray into the franchise being Resident Evil: Revelations on the Nintendo 3DS. So when Capcom released a high definition version of the GameCube Remake, I decided it was about time I gave it a crack.

I’m glad I did…

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Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk

It can be a surprisingly refreshing thing to not have to save the whole world from a major catastrophe. Unlike most RPGs, Atelier Ayesha Plus requires you only save one person – just one – and not from some planet destroying monster or calamity, but from an existence outside reality.

This is the setup for The Alchemist of Dusk, but unfortunately the actual game fails to live up to its refreshingly sedate premise. A few questionable design decisions render the entire adventure moot and, if you’re anything like me, will leave you feeling like you just wasted several hours of your life.

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Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd

Hatsune Miku is the Japanese pop idol who is blurring the boundaries of fiction. Created using singing synthesizer software Vocaloid, Miku is a saccharine Japanese idol with her own empire; her songs have been remixed by the likes of Pharrell Williams and she’s even appeared on prime time US TV on Late Show with David Letterman. After sampling Project DIVA F 2nd, I can finally see the appeal.

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Life is Strange: Episode 1

Don’t you get tired of games that keep on asking you to save the world, otherthrow oppressive governments or take on entire armies? It’s nice to see that Life is Strange is a game that’s about life as a gifted photography student in a small American town. No frills, no fuss – wait – she can rewind time. Oooh…

Still, the first episode of Life is Strange is a relatively sedate and unique experience that sets up a bunch of questions and offers very few answers. Only time will tell if this is a series that will pay off but the main thing is that after my time with episode 1 of Life is Strange it left me wanting more. That’s about as much as you could hope for the first in a five part series.

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Far Cry 4

‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it’. How much do you buy into that maxim? Do you seek games that present brand new ideas that aren’t available anywhere else? Do you bemoan AAA game development for the way it uses cookie-cutter templates to produce games that increasingly share their ideas. Are you tired of Ubisoft’s ‘Climb a Tower to Find Missions’ game design philosophies?

If you answered yes to the questions above, Far Cry 4 is not for you. It’s a game that treads old ground, wears its Ubisoft heritage proudly and never dares break any mould of any sort. It’s also a lot of fun, so you’d be kind of missing out. Kind of really missing out.

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Grand Theft Auto V (Now includes PS4/Xbox One)

Few franchises can generate the incredible amount of hype that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto amasses, but it’s easy to see why. This is a series that changed our perception of open-world games and pushed hardware as much as it did boundaries. A series that with a single online trailer can bring the internet to a crawl as it struggles under its demand.

Despite the hype, however, it also rarely fails to deliver.

It’s fair to say that the latest iteration, GTA V, has been one of the most hotly anticipated games of all time. Now that it’s out in the wild is it everything we’ve been promised?

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Pro Evolution Soccer 2015

Go back a decade and, while you would still find the FIFA series a huge money spinner for EA, it was another that captured the hearts of game-playing football fans. Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer may have lacked the glitz and glamour of its bigger-budget rival, but through its design philosophy of gentle refinement year-on-year, it always delivered where it counted. PES regularly provided the most realistic game of football, with a pace and flow that FIFA development teams could only dream of.

Of course, during that last decade, things have gone topsy-turvy; FIFA has consistently been the better game, and PES has struggled to find its form, floundering between painfully average and downright ruddy awful. In a way, it’s been like watching my beloved Liverpool.

Still, after spending plenty of time with Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, it seems that someone at Konami or PES Productions has finally remembered what made the series a favourite all those years ago. After making the brave decision to skip the new-generation for the first year, this entry represents an amazing return to form.

So impressive is this return to form, in fact, that within minutes it’s apparent that PES 2015 trumps FIFA in the most important area; gameplay. In fact, I’m just going to outright say that in pure footballing terms, PES 2015 is a much better game than the very good FIFA 15.

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Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops

I like Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops, not because it is a particularly good game, but because it fills a desperate need in the industry; one which seems to have gone by the wayside in the last few years.

It is definitely not a game that you will be talking about later down the line, but it’s fun while it lasts and provides some nice, simple gaming away from the distraction of AAA games and the more high-profile indie games released over the year.

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

The Call of Duty franchise needs no introduction. Love it or hate it, it’s still a behemoth of the games industry regardless of its critics and dwindling year-on-year sales. Last year’s Ghosts was the first to really fall out of favour with many of its fans, and was the most poorly reviewed release to date. With a lack of innovation causing Call of Duty to stagnate, something needed to be done about it – and what better way than to put it in the hands of a newly-formed development studio and propel the series into the future?

Even from the title, it’s quite obvious what Sledgehammer Games are trying to achieve. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – a less than subtle nod to the series’ fourth iteration, which launched its popularity into the stratosphere – is trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle, exploring a new frontier to firmly cement Call of Duty’s position on the new-gen consoles. As it turns out, Advanced Warfare is not the revolution it could have been. Yet despite playing it too safe, it’s still the most fun I’ve had on Call of Duty in a long time.

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Escape Dead Island

Escape Dead Island is a strange game in almost all respects. It is set before the events of previous games, it’s a cell-shaded stealth action game, a stealth action game with zombies, and it tells a strange, psychological story.

Unfortunately, none of these things actually make it a particularly great game, with a few silly mistakes on developer Fatshark’s part, leading to frustrations that bring the whole thing down. That said, even if those were rectified, the story it is trying to tell simply isn’t written well enough.

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Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!!

I’m going to be completely honest: I didn’t even know that the Arcana Heart series was a thing that existed until the press release for its third iteration – Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! – landed in my inbox last week. Being the site’s resident fighting game fanatic, I was baffled as to why I wasn’t aware of it prior, but a quick trip to Google showed a colourful, one-on-one anime fighter with an energetic all-girl cast.

What I found upon closer expectation, however, was a commendable fighter in the BlazBlue mould, but one that ultimately won’t keep me away from the likes of Ultra Street Fighter IV for any real length of time.

Boy, do I hate those exclamation marks…

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Tales of Xillia 2

When I played the first Tales of Xillia, I was instantly drawn into its world and, thanks mostly to its brilliant protagonists, I put a lot of hours in, playing through both stories and seeing pretty much everything there was to see. At the time, I had known there was a direct sequel coming but, like most things Tales related, I had to wait ages for that to be released in the UK. Finally, nearly two years after its Japanese release, Tales of Xillia 2 is here.

The only thing I knew going in was that there would be some familiar faces. I was hoping that there would be some fresh additions to keep it interesting and also some new places to visit. Thankfully for the most part, I was not to be disappointed.

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MX vs. ATV: Supercross

Now, more than ever, I find it’s important to take into account how much a game costs when commenting on how highly you’d recommend it. In MX vs. ATV: Supercross’ case, I’m pretty certain it’s important to note that this is a budget-price racer. Available for around £20, it’s only out on the PS3, 360 and soon the PC.

So, does this low price act as an admission of guilt or is it just good value for money? Well, it’s sort of a bit of both. MX vs. ATV: Supercross features thrilling races, challenging tracks and some decent visuals, yet is ultimately let down by its lack of content.

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Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

Naruto Shippuden

As a fighting game heavily aimed at hardcore Naruto fans, Ninja Storm Revolution is hard to get into for non fans. Yet, some perseverance reveals a fun, if limited, fighter.

I’m a bit of a fair weather anime fan and don’t really watch a lot, as such although I’ve heard of Naruto, I’ve never actually seen it and know nothing of its storyline or characters.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached Naruto Shippenden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution.

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The Evil Within

When arranging with the team who would be reviewing what during this year’s silly season, I had a choice between two horror games, Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within. It’s pretty obvious what I opted for as, well, I’m talking to you right now in a review titled ‘The Evil Within’ and Matt Parker has already delivered his thoughts on the former. I made my choice on one basis: The Evil Within was created by Shinji Mikami and his new studio, Tango Gameworks. Mikami was, of course, the lead behind the second best game of all time, Resident Evil 4, and more recently entertained me greatly with his campy collaboration with Suda 51, Shadows of the Damned.

Thankfully, despite the occasional hiccup, The Evil Within delivers another satisfying, brutal survival horror experience typical of its creator.

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Samurai Warriors 4

It’s not often one series pretty much corners the market, so much so that the game becomes the genre it created. The Warriors games did this many years ago and, due to various spin offs, if you want to play a game in this genre, it comes from the developer Omega Force.

The latest of these spin off games is Samurai Warriors 4, and represents the genre’s first real leap to the next-gen systems. Unfortunately, that leap doesn’t extend to improved gameplay, graphical prowess or storytelling, and leaves it showing only a small spark of promise that is instantly snuffed once you realise how repetitive it all is.

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Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Borderlands has never been a series that I’ve ever gotten to grips with. It’s as unclear to me as anyone else, as it has everything I could possibly want: a good sense of humour, a striking visual art style, solid gameplay, and a heap of extra content to keep me occupied well after finishing the main story. The Pre-Sequel was not the most sensible starting point for me, but it’s a starting point that I’ve enjoyed jumping on nonetheless. 

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Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed

I run through the streets of Akihabara with my fighting partner in tow, looking for an Otaku who sent me a mission request via my smartphone. He wants a cosplay costume from a highly prolific designer who’s gone off the radar. It’s only a side mission, but the payout is pretty good and it means I can purchase a large rolled-up poster I had my eye on to use as a weapon. After running circles around the city talking to various NPCs, I locate the designer, currently being harassed by a group of young misfits with similar interests in mind. After fighting off the mob, the designer agrees to make a cosplay to deliver back to the Otaku, and I can then purchase my poster.

It’s not long after that I sell the poster after finding an electric guitar with a higher attack rating that one of the many grunts dropped, disregarding the twenty minutes of mindless leg-work I just put myself through.

This sums up my time with Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed.

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FIFA 15

FIFA made a pretty strong debut on the new crop of consoles last year, making decent use of the extra grunt without losing any major features in transition. Despite the new engine, however, FIFA 14 on PS4 and Xbox One only refined an already solid experience, never straying too far from the blueprints of its last-gen counterparts.

This year, however, we see EA Sports take a few more risks and evolve their systems a little more and while, realistically, you’re never going to see a drastically different game as long as the formula is this successful, FIFA 15 feels like a solid, natural progression.

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OlliOlli (PS4)

I loved the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise when it was at its prime a couple of console generations ago. Sadly it waned as time went on, I lost interest (as did everyone else), and I haven’t played a skateboarding game since. That is until I picked up OlliOlli, a charming indie take on riding virtual wheeled 2×4 plank death machines.

OlliOlli won’t scratch any nostalgic itches for those yearning for a Tony Hawk’s reboot – not that it tries to – but it does offer a completely different experience that’s as addictive as it is punishing. After initially launching on Vita, it’s now done a 180 over to both the PlayStation 3 and 4, and I’ve been spending time with the latter.

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Ultra Street Fighter IV

When Ultra Street Fighter IV was first announced earlier in the year, reactions appeared to fall into two opposing groups: Those that felt Capcom were really milking it, and those that couldn’t wait for more characters, balance tweaks and system evolutions.

Me? I was – and still am – in the latter group. Street Fighter IV first hit five years ago as astonishing as that may seem and, as a regular player of fighting games, I’m extremely happy that they’re still supporting my favourite fighter with considerable DLC upgrades and offering me new ways to play.

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The Swapper

The Swapper isn’t a new game. Released on PC about a year ago, it was received with near universal praise. A shame, then, that so few people actually played it. Fortunately, with a bit of help from the masters of Vita conversions, Curve Studios, The Swapper has a new home on all Sony platforms.

Like any good puzzle game, The Swapper makes you wonder why its mechanics and ideas weren’t already present in some other game. Gameplay aside, it also helps that it has luscious visuals, an interesting story to tell and clever puzzle designs.

Yup, The Swapper and consoles – the Vita especially – make a great partnership.

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Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Many games try and stand out from the crowd by being bigger and louder. In a day and age where a game’s resolution, polygon count and licensed soundtrack are scrutinised to death, it’s refreshing to see some games shy away from this ‘more is more’ mentality.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War does things differently. It can be best described as a 2D action-puzzle game, but that doesn’t quite do it justice. With a few ‘boss’ battles littered throughout and stunning visuals, Valiant Hearts is a game that contains plenty of touching moments, some simple puzzles and a couple of ropey set-pieces.

You might also learn a thing or two.

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Watch Dogs

Touted as being one of the biggest games to come in 2014, the hype leading up to the release of Watch Dogs was either going to doom it into oblivion or give us everyone’s game of the year. I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting to get out of it, but hacking an entire city sounded like a decent concept. My biggest concern was simply whether Ubisoft would get it right following some recent missteps with the Assassin’s Creed series, though Black Flag did admittedly strike the right balance.

So, during my time with Watch Dogs, I had a lot of ups and downs. For everything I found that bugged me about gameplay and story, I also found something else to redeem it. Although it’s probably not the best way to present a game, it’s all I had to work with.

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Child of Light

Ubisoft hasn’t ever really been known for a prolific role-playing output, but after sampling Child of Light, it makes me wonder why the hell not. Using the always impressive Ubiart engine, Ubi Montreal has turned in a terrific RPG with a style and verve that suggests they’ve been churning them out for years.

Notably, of course, Child of Light is undeniably a visually striking game, but strong mechanics definitely lie behind its charismatic exterior.

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Murdered: Soul Suspect

Murdered: Soul Suspect has been on my radar for quite some time. Let’s face it, what could possibly be cooler than a detective solving the ultimate murder; his own? It’s one thing investigating a murder in the first place, but that’d be positively boring in comparison to solving your own, surely?

Unfortunately, come the end of Murdered I was left a little let down by this story-focused, supernatural thriller. Yet, while it never hits its full potential, there is some enjoyment to be had in following the story through to its shocking conclusion…

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Sniper Elite III

With a title like Sniper Elite, you could probably make a good guess at what the game’s about. With a title like Sniper Elite III, you could also make a good guess that what you’re about to play has been done twice before. To an extent, you’re right.

Sniper Elite III, Rebellion’s latest cranium-splitting ‘snipe ‘em up’ arrives with a bang. The series’ infamous ‘kill-cam’ is as gory as ever and those nasty Nazis are still absorbing your bullets in gloriously gruesome slow-motion. Now set in Africa, the levels you’ll be skulking around are larger than any previous Sniper Elite games and offer you loads of options on how to approach your target. The bigger levels, on top of enemies with A.I. that you can gleefully play with, easily makes this the most enjoyable Sniper Elite to date.

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Drakengard 3

Take some ropey graphics, a shocking frame rate, gore, questionable taste, and a truckload of bad guys to chop down and what do you get?

The surprisingly enjoyable Drakengard 3…

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GRID: Autosport

Sometimes a new IP comes out of nowhere and blows everyone away, but then its sequel takes a step in the wrong direction and forgets what made the original great in the first place. Just take a look at Dragon Age, for instance.

The GRID series knows this all too well. After releasing one of the most highly regarded racing games of its time – pioneering superb driving mechanics, believable A.I. and the time-rewind Flashback feature – they followed it up with the merely ‘decent’ GRID 2, which took a more simplified arcadey route and alienated much of the fanbase.

Codemasters are determined to redeem their previous transgressions with GRID: Autosport, however. Boasting a back-to-basics, ‘true’ sequel to the original Race Driver: GRID, can Autosport recapture the magic or will it be another middle-of-the-pack result?

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Wolfenstein: The New Order

Wolfenstein: The New Order is something of an enigma for me. It’s a game of contradictions; a modern-day first person shooter that embraces old school design philosophies; a thoughtful, sometimes touching alternate history war story that also manages to be a stylish, dumb action movie. It’s tonally all over the place like this, yet somehow it comes together, resulting in one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.

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Bound by Flame

Having never played anything by developer Spiders I got a little excited at the thought of playing their latest game, Bound by Flame, especially since it’s in my favorite genre. I easily get sucked into the fantasy setting and tend to spend hours upon hours exploring, grinding and doing as many side quests as humanly possible.

The ‘inhabited by a demon’ premise was what really interested me in this instance, but unfortunately Bound by Flame didn’t burn all that brightly.

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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle

I tend to be very picky when it comes to selecting the types of anime and manga that I invest in, preferring the dark and brooding over the colourful and crazy. This, of course, means that I have many blind spots in my knowledge of both fields’ most popular series. One such blind spot includes the manga JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, a series that has apparently been going strong since as far back as 1986.

Thankfully my ignorance didn’t prevent me from fully enjoying JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle, the latest 3D fighter from CyberConnect2 , though unfortunately some minor gripes and online technical issues did.

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The Witch and the Hundred Knight

I love a good RPG, so I was quite excited to give The Witch and The Hundred Knight a try. An action RPG with a style not dissimilar to some awesome games out there such as Legend of Mana, Alundra and of course Zelda, and lovely cartoon graphics that shine on PS3; what could possibly go wrong?

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Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster

Final Fantasy is one of those franchises that manages to divide its own fan base with every new release. As popular as series poster child VII is, for example, there are many people (crazy, in my opinion) that actually see it as a weak point and hold other iterations, both older and newer, in higher regard. Final Fantasy X is one of those many proclaim to be the very best Square Enix has ever produced, yet much like in the scenario above I personally was never much fond of it.

Being curious as a series fan, however, and with Square Enix deciding to dust off the adventures of Tidus and chums – plus the less popular direct sequel – for a HD re-release, I was more than happy to revisit Spira. In this instance, I found Final Fantasy X in particular to be a classy, character-driven adventure that was far more worthwhile than I originally gave it credit for, while its hyperactive follow-up entertained despite being… well… bat-shit crazy.

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Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Two massively popular things in the world of gaming as you very well know are MMOs and Final Fantasy. They are also two things I’ve mostly avoided for one reason or another over the years. Massively multiplayer online games can feel a little gutless to me, lacking any form of storyline. Any game that tells me to go see someone over there, do that and repeat until bored without a good reason is not onto a good start, and one that does this without giving me a brooding story will generally lose my interest quickly. Final Fantasy VII was my last foray into the universe filled with big swords, logic puzzles, random battles and chocobos, and I’ve not seen any reason to go back or try any of the newer games.

With my obvious disdain perhaps I am the wrong person to review a game that is a mix of two things I don’t tend to gel with (are you? – Andy). However, I may well be the type of person that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is intended to entice to the universe, all the while attempting to please its die-hard invested fans.

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Dark Souls II

To start this review, I feel I need to start with an admission. I played the original Dark Souls for about an hour, didn’t get it and subsequently sent it back to LoveFilm. I had no interest in ‘proving myself’ and simply wrote off the Dark Souls series as simply ‘not for me’.

Yet, being the undeniable professional that I am, when no-one else at TIMJ would step-up to the Dark Souls plate, I begrudgingly said yes and got involved. What follows is a review of Dark Souls II by someone that had no interest in playing the game beforehand, yet still went ahead and completed the game over 50+ hours.

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Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

As I wrote last year for IGN, I recently became something of a Metal Gear convert (and an egg convert too, but I’m not going into all that again). Because of this, after years of indifference towards Kojima’s hugely popular stealth franchise, I only lately found myself able to muster excitement for the next new instalment Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its newly released prologue, Ground Zeroes.

Only, while the open-world Ground Zeroes – acting as a surprisingly short teaser for the former – aptly demonstrates exactly how the winds of change can be a massively positive thing for Metal Gear Solid, I can’t deny that its new tone left me a little fearful for the series’ trademark charm.

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Thief

Is it weird that I love stealth games but haven’t played anything in the Thief series before? You’re right, it probably is a bit weird, but hey-ho, you can’t have played everything, right? Well, my time has finally come, as Eidos Montreal and Square Enix saw fit to breathe new life into this long dormant prowler, rebooting the adventures of master thief Garrett for a new generation.

The result is an able stealth adventure that shines occasionally, but ultimately sees ungainly technical errors ruin its otherwise impressive illusion.

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

When offered the opportunity to review the sequel to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, I jumped at the chance. The original was a beautiful, gothic action adventure that perhaps came as something of a surprise to many, certainly exceeding my expectations with a rich story, gorgeous, awe-inspiring scenery, and a cast straight out of a blockbuster film. The ending in particular was astounding and left me eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Given the success of the first though, expectations were sky high, and unfortunately Lords of Shadow 2 has, to a fair extent, brought them crashing back down to earth.

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Tiny Brains

The Montreal-based developer Spearhead Games has released Tiny Brains on Steam, PS3 and PS4. This indie studio has some impressive credentials indeed, or at least it does due to the fact that at least three ex-triple-A developers founded it; namely Simon Davreau, Atul Mehra and Malik Bourkhira.

While you may not recognise their names without Googling them, the games they’ve taken the lead to develop will be immediately recognisable. Assassin’s Creeds 2 and 3, Dead Space 3 and the Army of Two franchise. Tiny Brains seems a bit of a departure from their previous developments, and its relationship to these others is easily overlooked until you consider the puzzle elements of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, for example.

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Need for Speed: Rivals

When Criterion Games took on the Need for Speed franchise a few years ago with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, it seemed like a marriage made in heaven: A classic arcade racing game picked up by the developers of Burnout, arguably the best arcade racing series ever, could only yield great results. Sure enough in Hot Pursuit and then Most Wanted it certainly did so. Here we are now, with a large part of the Criterion team having formed a new studio, Ghost, to make the latest in the annual franchise, Need for Speed: Rivals.

Have they managed to continue the trend of great openworld racing action though, or is this latest release a ghost (ahem) of its former self?

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Tomb Raider (Definitive and Regular Editions)

There was a time when I’d have called Core Design and Eidos’ Tomb Raider one of the most important franchises in the industry. Our busty heroine, Lara Croft, grew well beyond her original aim as a fantasy object for young teen boys and became a pop-culture phenomenon in her own right. Gracing the covers of magazines, advertising countless products and coming to life in two movies, she almost could do no wrong – until 2003’s dire Angel of Darkness hit, that is, and then the wheels fell right off.

With Core Design removed from development duties as a result, Crystal Dynamics were the team tasked with bringing the old girl back to our attentions in 2006 with Tomb Raider: Legend. It was a decent game, certainly, but Lara’s relevance had already started to wear thin. By the time of their third game at the helm, the outdated Underworld, they’d been bested at every single level by Naughty Dog and the Uncharted series. With Lara’s image no longer what it was, the time was right for Crystal Dynamics to give Tomb Raider the fresh start it so desperately needed.

Thankfully, this reboot is so much better than I could ever have imagined, and the newly updated Definitive Edition on next-gen consoles provides a worthy facelift.

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

I was a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed, especially the Ezio trilogy, and then Assassin’s Creed III came out. Sadly I found it to be disappointing, not least because Connor and Haytham failed to adequately replace the charismatic Italian, proving to be rather dull company in comparison.

Rather than moving away from the Kenway family though, Ubisoft made the rather brave decision to make their fourth main Assassin’s Creed game with Connor’s grandfather Edward, a pirate in the Caribbean, as the lead. This has proven to be an utter masterstroke…

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WWE 2K14

Wrestling is a sport pitting men against each other in a raw battle of strength and wits, representing one of the oldest forms of combat pre-dating Christ. In its purist form, it takes an incredible show of strength and skill to better your opponent with a mixture of grapples and throws not too dissimilar in some regards to judo. WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment takes its foundations from that ancient sport and litters it with colour, showmanship some real American hype.

Despite having no interest in the sport, I have got some enjoyment out of wrestling games in the past and I was quite pleased when I heard 2K games had picked up the license for from the dying embers of THQ. This year’s release is the first under the 2K banner and perhaps comes a little early for them to put their usual stamp of detail on it, but surely this would be a positive first step for wrestling fans?

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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

With next generation consoles finally out and so much emphasis on something that’s new and ‘more High-Def’, it’s very easy to overlook the cross-generational games, and this is something I’m guilty of myself. It’s very easy to dismiss games that cross the generational gap as being a bit rubbish purely by association; Tony Hawks: American Wasteland immediately springs to mind.

Breaking this paradigm however is one of my old favourites. Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO series has grown from strength to strength in recent years, taking on franchises like Star Wars, I’ll openly admit that when playing some of the more recent LEGO games, such as LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, I was becoming a bit put off, almost starting to feel that that the franchise was losing some of its magic and razzle dazzle. Fortunately, despite its innate flaws, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes has come along and reminded me that the LEGO games are still well worth a look, and on this quality I hope they’re still with us for a while to come.

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Battlefield 4 (PS3/360)

Many people are quick to put Call of Duty and Battlefield together in the same bracket. Yes, they both come out each and every year and yes, they both primarily are about shooting people in the face. Though what’s always set the Battlefield games apart is their huge scale, bombastic action and vehicle-based combat. I say combat, but what’s really going on is nothing short of mayhem.

With Battlefield 4 signifying EA’s seeming desire to annualise the series, this does cause concern that instead of fully-fledged sequels we’ll instead end up with yearly updates. Luckily, Battlefield 4 introduces new features as well as re-introducing some old fan favourites that make this title stand on its own feet.

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Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition

Injustice: Gods Among Us may not have enamoured us with its silly name earlier this year, but it certainly managed to win our hearts with a captivating blend of tight fighting mechanics and the best story that developer NetherRealm Studios has ever produced.

As is customary with fighters, the ‘Ultimate’ re-release – featuring all DLC and some balance tweaks – obviously wouldn’t be far behind. Significantly, though, the superhero brawler makes its debut on two new formats. Now available on PS4 and PS Vita, Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition impresses heartily in its transition to both next-gen and the smaller screen.

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Ethan: Meteor Hunter

Before I start this review, I want to get something off my chest. ARRRGGGHHHHH! Right, that’s better. Now I’ve got that out the way I shall explain that Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a physics-based puzzle-platformer.

The story is briefly explained in an opening animated sequence that sees Ethan fighting with another Rat and is then serendipitously hit by a meteor. This impact leaves Ethan with a time-pausing capability, telekinetic powers, an odd desire to go collecting bits of broken meteor and a death wish. The latter seems to occur at a higher frequency than the former elements, or certainly did in my case.

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NBA 2K14

Very few sports truly pass me by. Throughout school and into my adult life I am pretty confident and proud of the fact that I play, watch and have an interest in almost anything that involves teams or individuals competing. Alas, we can’t always know everything, can we? Basketball is one of those rare sports where I have to hold my hands up and say I genuinely have no idea and, in all honesty, have no great deal of interest. I was actually surprised to learn recently that Michael Jordan is no longer the poster boy of the sport and the Chicago Bulls are not, apparently the only team. Who knew?

As such, NBA 2K14 is my first experience with the franchise that is to the NBA what Madden is to the NFL, or FIFA to the world of Association Football. Given my only previous experience of a Basketball video-game was NBA Jam, I was a little unprepared for just how deep the level of detail goes. 

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD

Castlevania. Synonymous with vampires, whips and erm, castles, the horror-action series has been present on almost every console since its inception on the NES. My first experience was Symphony of the Night on PS1, before back-peddling to play the roots of the series on the ‘ye olde’ consoles. I’ve always found it to be tricky, inventive and very exciting.

With Lords of Shadow, the series was rebooted for the current, shiny generation to generally rapturous praise. Not wanting to leave its old home behind, Mirror of Fate followed shortly after on 3DS. Now ported to Xbox Live Arcade, it’s found a new home as a lush and surprisingly modern side-scroller.

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Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1

It’s not often that we’ll review a piece of downloadable content here on This is my Joystick. Then again, it’s not often that we get a piece of downloadable content that’s as eagerly anticipated as Bioshock Infinite’s Burial at Sea – Episode 1.

The biggest strengths that Infinite had was its characters, story and setting. Burial at Sea tries to re-use our affection for Infinite’s characters and the original Bioshock’s setting but then has to create its own (half of a) story in about two hours of play time. A difficult feat at the best of times and one that Burial at Sea doesn’t quite pull off.

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Beyond: Two Souls

Quantic Dream’s David Cage has managed to turn himself into one of the industry’s most opinion-splitting figures. For every person you find that truly buys into his vision of ‘emotion’ and storytelling, there’s another that sees him as the cinematic orchestrator of shallow, straight-to-DVD interactive movies. While I’ll go as far to say that his games are interesting and I would likely play both Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the US) and Heavy Rain again, I found them lacking the very emotional connection that Cage has always evangelised. Weak characterisation and silliness prevailed over impressive atmospheres and, in Heavy Rain’s case in particular, the plot – the crux of the experience – was easily broken through nothing more than player choice.

Cage and his team are back with Beyond: Two Souls in another attempt to tug at your heartstrings. Unfortunately their latest effort is typical of their prior work, in that while it remains stimulating, it’s simply another display of cinematic style over substance.

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Puppeteer

Pantomime season is nearly upon us yet again. Christmas just around the corner. The theatre beckons us like a Mecca for those wanting to find comfort in familiar stories, rekindling the joy and hope of childhood. With Puppeteer, the romance of the theatre is beautifully realised for us all to experience, without even leaving the comfort of our own home.

Why do I so brazenly mention Christmas? Well, it’s a time when many of us head to theatres and schools to witness pantomime and nativity plays. If you think about the zaniest story you’ve seen in the theatre and then double it, triple that and then quadruple that, you might then have an idea of how crazy the story is in Puppeteer.

With fast shifting beautiful scenery, fantastical story and gorgeously created characters, I found myself being drawn deeper into the universe of Puppeteer as each scene sprung its way into view, telling the tale in a seemingly effortless way.

To overthrow an evil tyrant, our hero Kutaro, a headless puppet boy, has to find a magic pair of scissors. Can it get any crazier than that? Yes, yes it can.

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A-Men 2

I like to think I’m reasonably good at gaming, and am always up for a challenge. So having recently completed Hotline Miami, I was game for another toughie. Time for me to take on A-Men 2 then…

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How to Survive

Have you ever thought that there weren’t enough games with  zombies in them? Like the re-animated corpses they star in, games with grave-vacating enemies just keep on coming and the trend refuses to die. Adding to the pile of undead-related games is How to Survive.

Will this downloadable title be nothing more than digital deadweight, or is it a binary blockbuster? Let’s have a look.

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PES 2014

There was a time when I was a staunch PES fan. I bought it year after year without fail and loved every version. With PES 2008, however, things started to change. For the first time, some of the fun had gone, and from that year on I started buying FIFA. I’ve played the odd game of PES since then at friends’ houses, but PES 2014 is the first version I’ve really gotten to grips with in six years.

So did absence make the heart grow fonder?

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FIFA 14

Autumn. The time of year when the clocks go back, the temperature drops, leaves start to fall from the trees and the European football season comes to life. This season threatens to be one of the most open ever in the English Premier League with Management changes at each of last season’s top three, and with changes at the top for Spain’s big two and the European champions, wherever you look there are new eras dawning. Just don’t mention Manchester United.

Autumn also sees the annual release of one of the gaming world’s biggest franchises, FIFA. With the imminent arrival of next-gen consoles, there is perhaps even more scrutiny than ever on a title that has been criticised for doing the bare minimal each year. So how does FIFA 14 fare?

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Skydive: Proximity Flight

Sports games are plentiful and developers will try anything to make theirs stand out from the crowd. One of the easiest things you can do is to pick a niche sport that people have heard of but have never played in video-game form.

I guess that was the idea behind Skydive: Proximity Flight. What we have is the world’s first game based off the ‘sport’ of wingsuit flying. Does Skydive: Proximity Flight have anything else going for it other than this fact? Well, let’s have a look.

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Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

As has always been the way with fighting games since the 90s, it’s normal to see several revisions over the course of an iteration’s lifespan. Street Fighter’s done it, Mortal Kombat has done it, and now Tecmo’s Dead or Alive 5 appears to be the latest series to adopt this direction.

The self-proclaimed Ultimate Edition of DOA5 has recently hit stores. Is it a shameless cash grab or is it worth making the upgrade?

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The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified tells a story of survival. Not only of mankind’s survival in the onslaught of an alien invasion, but also of the survival of a game that went in and out of development hell for years. Bouncing from studio to studio and surviving numerous iterations, it finally escaped this vicious cycle; but the question now is, has it escaped unscathed or does it carry too much emotional baggage?

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Saints Row IV

Saints Row IV had a strange conception. starting off as a piece of DLC for Saints Row: The Third, THQ’s troubles led to the game being transformed into a fully-fledged disc release.

We all know what happened to THQ in the end. They vanished and it was up to Deep Silver to come in and pick up the pieces. The question is, has this troubled development process created a troubled product? Let’s have a look, shall we?

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Madden NFL 25

America. The good old U S of A. Land of the free and home of the brave, where everything is blown up beyond all proportion and failure to exaggerate is an understatement. Where your car has a ‘hood’ and a ‘trunk’ whilst you wear your ‘pants’ on top of your shorts,; and where football is a game played with an egg-shaped ball, primarily in the hand; and the winners of a thirty-two team, entirely domestic competition are crowned World Champions.

American football, as we know it, continues to grow its worldwide fanbase and it is perhaps a testament to this often overlooked appeal that this year sees the Silver Anniversary of a much-loved gaming franchise now known as Madden NFL. To commemorate, EA Sports have taken the unprecedented step of dropping the year from its latest version, instead opting for celebratory 25. So does this herald a bigger leap under the ‘hood’? Read on to find out.

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Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Sam Fisher’s had a rough old time. He’s always having to save the world, he never gets thanked for it and he’s forever crawling through air ducts. That’s no way to treat an American hero!

The latest in the Splinter Cell series is Splinter Cell: Blacklist and it treads the fine line between making something new and trying to be familiar enough to please the fans. How well does Blacklist straddle this line? Let’s find out.

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Lost Planet 3

Welcome to E.D.N III, where it’s cold and dangerous and where dark secrets will end you if the wildlife hasn’t torn your limb from limb first.

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Rayman Legends

I’ll happily go on record to say that 2011’s Rayman Origins is one of the best platformers I’ve ever played. As a fantastic re-imagining of a dormant series, the game played a large part in reigniting my love for an entire genre; a love that had been dwindling since my youth.

Following something of a strange development cycle, where the game was a Wii U exclusive and then suddenly wasn’t a Wii U exclusive, and then was delayed until September for no reason despite being finished, the follow up, Rayman Legends, is finally in our hands on all platforms.

Is it another hit for Michael Ancel and the Ubisoft Montpellier team?

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Payday 2

I’ve heard games labelled as ‘anti-social’. I’ve heard people say that playing games causes you to lose friends and not talk to people for hours on end.

Payday 2 is the answer to that. It’s a co-op heist game where you need to work and communicate with others. It’s not anti-social at all. Well, apart from the bits where you’re shooting hundreds of lawmen and robbing people blind. That’s a bit anti-social.

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The Walking Dead: 400 Days

With the emotional ending of the The Walking Dead: The Game‘s first season still fresh in memory, many of us are now looking forward to the next season. First, however, we need to make a pit stop at The Walking Dead: 400 Days.

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Divekick

Fighting games have come a long way since I first discovered my love for Street Fighter II back in the 90s. From having just three or four special attacks per character back then, the genre is now bloated in comparison with lethal finishers, EX and Super Moves, complicated balance systems, umpteen hit-combos, stage-interactions and tag mechanics; it can be a daunting ask for genre newcomers to get to grips with it all. Divekick, however, is a game that rejects all those advancements and strips the fighting game experience down to two or three specific elements.

While Divekick actually started life as an inside joke from the competitive scene’s commentary that the diving kick (where a character can jump and then sharply descend with downward kick) is a cheap, overused tactic, it’s impossible to deny the lessons that this literal two-button fighter can teach players both old and new.

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Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Vita)

Warren Spector and Junction Point Studios’ Epic Mickey was a bit of a flawed gem for the Wii. Offering a spectacularly unique take on Disney’s mascot, it was ultimately laden with control and camera issues. Its sequel, The Power of Two hit all major platforms earlier this year and although great efforts were made to fix most of the problems from the first game, the development team had managed to create a whole load more in the process.

Epic Mickey 2 now hits the Vita at a bargain price. Do Mickey and the gang fare any better on Sony’s handheld?

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Defiance

I can’t be sure, but the idea of a video-game and a TV show being able to influence each other is pretty original. The possibility of your actions in one form of entertainment changing the course of another  more accepted form of entertainment is exciting and is what lends Defiance much of its hype. Developed in tandem, the TV series and the game paint a picture of a world ravaged by war and accidental terraforming. While the show has characters and dialogue and stuff, the game takes the form of probably the first functional, easy-to-use console MMO.

That said, it does rely on you being into your schlocky sci-fi, and if you want to get the full experience you not only have to be into third-person shooters but MMORPGs as well. Have Trion Worlds and SyFy put too much faith in the community with this one? I think yes.

Note: During this review any time I mention ‘Defiance’ I’m referring to the game. If I reference the TV show I’ll make it clear.

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Remember Me

Memory is a funny thing. It can easily be distorted over time and often betrays us. As a concept, a game about people’s memory and altering someone’s recollection of events could be amazing.

So have Dontnod managed to pull off the amazing? Their debut game, Remember Me, is an action adventure title that plays with the idea of what memory is and how it shapes who we are. Question is, is it a memorable experience or something that’s best forgotten?

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Resident Evil: Revelations (PS3/360)

It’s not often that you get a handheld title ported onto home consoles. Most of the time we’re used to seeing big budget titles get shrunk down to fit onto handheld consoles, often with bad results. GTA on the Game Boy Color, anyone?

This is where Resident Evil: Revelations stands out. Originally released on the 3Ds, Capcom’s title has found its way onto the PS3 and the 360 as a full retail game. Does it work, or is it another Resident Evil game that’s more horrible than horror full?

We’ve all recovered from the mess that was Resident Evil 6, haven’t we? Terrible gameplay and an extremely bloated campaign has left me truly wary of going back into the land of RE.

I took some comfort in the fact that Resident Evil: Revelations was pretty well received when it was launched on the 3DS. Our own Andy seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. So with this being a near identical port, could this finally be a Resident Evil game that I enjoy?

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Ride to Hell: Retribution

I’ve always generally had at least a few shitty games per generation close to my heart. On the PS1 it was Pandemonium 2 and one of those budget games, some kind of rogue-like thingy. On PS2 it was Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance and Urban Reign. On 360, it has to be Too Human. No idea why; just really like that game.

When Ride to Hell: Retribution was first announced it sounded like it had all the right things going for it. Brutal mêlée combat, tense shoot-outs and bike vs bike action to rival Road Rash. Although GTA4‘s Lost and Damned fulfilled my bike gang fantasies story-wise, the game’s stodgy controls made it a bit of a chore. Finally, I thought, I’ll be able to rock into a town on a beastly Harley and cave some heads with my biker chums. Oh Jesus, how wrong I was…

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The Last of Us

The Last of Us is a third-person stealth action game brought to us by Naughty Dog, the creators of the Uncharted franchise and pioneers of the rollercoaster action video-game. Coming from such a prestigious software house you would expect a certain degree of excellence from The Last of Us and in this respect your expectations will be completely satisfied.

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Star Trek

Oh my. You know what’s illogical Jim? The fact you can buy games for the same price as Star Trek that have oodles more originality, features and story. Yet as fans of Star Trek you will know that this isn’t the point. The point is you get to experience what it’s like to cruise about in our universe’s most famous fictional space ship, the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

Coupled with that, you get to play as arguably the world’s most famous fictional captain, James T Kirk, and if that wasn’t enough you could also decide to tickle the game as his anally-retentive alien buddy, Spock. Further to that, you can play with your real-life best mate, backing you up as a co-op buddy. It seems more logical then that one should play this game, if these facts alone beams your target and thrusts your shuttle.

I popped on my pointy ears and proudly affixed my Starfleet insignia on my red Starfleet uniform. I was undoubtedly going to die many times like the poor TV extras from all the Star Trek series’ that died in one episode and then ended up coming back with more to say and do in later episodes of the same series.

This wouldn’t phase me though; I was ready to take on the challenges that lay before me and experience the video-game equivalent of JJ Abrams’s adrenaline-fueled reboot of the franchise. An easy thing to do you’d have thought with all that history, all those wonderful stories to draw from. Yet then I read something curious. The ruthless Gorn invaders. No wait, what?

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Metro: Last Light

Based on the popular novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 was a game that I just never got around to finishing, partly thanks to reviews taking precedent and partly because it just wasn’t resonating for me in the time that I spent on it (Phil Ubee reviewed it for us, though, and thought it was decent). It’s fair to say it’s gone on to have a bit of a cult following since, and the buzz around developer 4A Games’ newly released sequel, Metro: Last Light, has been positive to say the least.

Is this an IP worth revisiting, though?

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Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

After the series’ unsuccessful expedition into modern times with Call of Juarez: The Cartel, the Call of Juarez series is proudly stepping back into its rightful, spur-clad boots. “Out with the shitty, gritty city that people mainly pity. Back to the best, blessed Wild West that people don’t detest,” someone at Techland probably said once, in a board meeting.

The po-faced goings on of its predecessor went hand in hand with the aesthetic blandness of the art direction and the deeply unlikeable, soulless characters. In this iteration, however, things are different; everything is done with its tongue hanging flaccid out the side of its mouth. There is vibrant colour and interesting scenery all around the player, and the characters are all hilariously exaggerated.

The game acts as another shining example of a studio testing the waters with a smaller scale, downloadable title; and, just like with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Ubisoft have delivered the digital goods once more.

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Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Shooting games. They’re all a bit ‘samey’ and too serious for my liking. Stories that are as complicated as Duplo, characters as well-rounded as a square with locations as colourful as a Charlie Chaplin film. No sir, I’m not too keen on your modern-day shooter.

Luckily for me, this here is Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. A neon-fuelled, 80’s action flick of a shooter that doesn’t take itself seriously. Which is a good thing, because this is one of the most stupid and ridiculous games I’ve played in a while. Please note: I mean that as an extremely positive thing.

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Persona 4 Arena

So, I only recently discovered that I absolutely adore Persona 4 (see here and here). I also have a particular fondness for fighting games. With that, I can only assume that someone at Persona developer Atlus has some sort of future-predicting, mind-reading doodad at their headquarters because with the aid of the very able Arc System Works, they’ve been able to mash the two things together with Persona 4 Arena.

My dream game, surely?

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Thomas Was Alone

If you took to heart the superfluous ramblings of Quantic Dream’s David Cage, then you’d be led to believe that creating an emotional connection with a player is only about graphics. The argument makes sense; with beefier graphical power comes a more realistic character model, and with it a wider range of relatable facial expressions.

Even so, the number of polygons you’re able to shove into a virtual elderly-man’s doughy-eyed face is not proportionate to the amount of emotion the player will feel.

We know that it’s not true. Many animated, visually simplistic movies are just as emotionally affecting as any live-action romp; the first ten minutes of Pixar’s Up was as gut-wrenching as anything I’ve ever seen in cinema and stands as a prime example.

Likewise in games, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, and even Journey, without a single line of dialogue, were both better written and provided me with infinitely more emotional payout and attachment than either of Cage’s grittier efforts. I held back the tears as the former ended, and felt unbridled joy come the end of the latter. With his games I had enjoyment but ultimately felt nothing following it.

His argument can be put to the test once more thanks to Thomas Was Alone, a simplistic puzzle-platformer where the characters, each made up of a single polygon, will absolutely capture your heart.

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God of War: Ascension

Ah, God of War; home of murderous rage, quite literally eye-popping and gut-wrenching finishing moves, and the odd slightly inappropriate mini-game. Since the release of God of War on the PS2 back in 2005, the series has consistently set the benchmark for action games with its epic story of deicidal revenge, brilliant fighting mechanics and stunning graphics.

Though having finished off pretty much everyone in Greek mythology, can God of War: Ascension continue to lead the way, or is this another story of diminished returns with a sequel too far?

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Darkstalkers Resurrection

Back in the 90s when Street Fighter totally dominated the arcade fighter scene, Capcom were looking for a way to step away from the all-too-common martial arts setting and provide their audience with something a little different. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors was their answer, bringing together an outlandish cast of vampires, Egyptian mummies, rock ‘n roll zombies and, of course, that famous crazy cat lady named Felicia.

Currently, fans are desperate for news of a fourth Darkstalkers game that may never actually come, but thanks to port-specialists Iron Galaxy, the second and third iterations have made their way to XBLA and PSN in one delightful little bundle.

Darkstalkers Resurrection should serve to sate their needs a little while longer.

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Dead Island: Riptide

Sequels; love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’ve been an important part of this generation. Rather than taking risks on new IPs, many publishers have played it safe and stuck to tried and tested franchises that are guaranteed to bring the cash flowing in. With developers and publishers downscaling and going out for the count left right and centre, you can’t really blame them either.

Yet sequels don’t have to be a bad thing. We’ve been treated to some fantastic trilogies and more-ogies during this console cycle; Uncharted, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed and Bioshock just to name a few. In these examples, every successive release stuck to the formula that fans loved whilst making refinements that kept it fresh. Sure, there may have been some missteps and divisive opinions over those changes, but at least you can say they tried something new.

Which is a lot more than can be said about Techland’s Dead Island: Riptide.

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Terraria

You’ve heard of Minecraft. I can almost know that with certainty. You may not have played it or even seen it, but unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last few years you’ll have heard about it somehow. The blocky mine-’em-up has literally taken over the universe and made an absolute fortune for its developer Markus ‘Notch’ Persson and his company Mojang.

Unsurprisingly, many other developers have attempted to cash in on the seemingly overnight rise in interest over the genre, mostly by copying Minecraft exactly and adding minor tweaks. Before 4J spat the title (or at least a year-old version of it) on to XBLA, a few indie games even gave it a try.

Not wanting to jump on the bandwagon too hard, indie studio Re-Logic decided to take the mine/craft/survive formula in a different direction. Terraria, released after the Minecraft ‘alpha’ but before the game was actually ‘finished’, was a side-scrolling take on the genre that focused more on actual progression and survival combat than simply building large edifices out of endlessly mined stone. It also took the action into the 2D realm and was more than a little popular, although it never managed to reach the heights of its three-dimensional cousin. Now available on XBLA and PSN, does Terraria have enough to drag people away from their endless worship at the altar of Minecraft?

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