Platform: PS3

Review: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 17, 2011

Synchronising three timelines together into one story is a difficult narrative arc to get right. Some writers struggle trying to convey one character’s journey, let alone trying to handle three adventures at the same time. It’s a bold undertaking from Ubisoft, not only trying to draw conclusion to the story of Ezio Auditore, but to allow Desmond Miles’ adventures to continue, whilst revealing new secrets and details about the life of the original Assassin, Altair.

Yet, here we have Revelations, confident that it can juggle such a responsibility, preparing us for the ultimate experience. Is this the definitive Assassin’s Creed game that Ubisoft have been striving to make since the very beginning, or is this a series that should disappear back into the shadows from whence it came?

Tags Altair, Assassan's, Assassins Creed, assassins creed revelations, Blade, Brotherhood, Ezio, Multiplayer

Review: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 15, 2011

Uniting established fictional universes can either be a masterstroke of genius, or an impending experimentation of doom. For something so drastic and enterprising, there is no middle ground for it to sit back on. That’s why the ambition rarely reaches the stage of execution, and if it does, either lives on in infamy or is razed to cinders, never to be heard from again.

One of the more successful efforts sees Marvel, with its web-slinging super hero and victims of scientific experiments gone wrong, going up against Capcom and its justice seeking lawyer and camera-snapping zombie hunters. The house that built Iron Man against the sponsor of the world’s greatest Street Fighters.

It’s a unity that seems to work harmoniously together, and yet creates a beautifully anarchistic play-pen for these characters to throw down the gauntlet and blow chunks out of each other with offensive arsenals.

Now the radically glorious brawler is back for a second turn this year, but with a few added bells and whistles. Question is, with so much rich competition out in the final months of the year, can it possibly be worth another glance?

Tags capcom, Captain America, Chun Li, Darkstalkers, Fighters, Frank West, Hulk, Jill Valentine, Marvel vs Capcom, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mega Man, MvC, MvC3, Phoenix Wright, Ryu, Spider-Man, Street Fighter, Street Fighter IV, Venom

Review: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date November 15, 2011

I’m going to put this out there before I go in-depth with this review: I know shit-all about Warhammer and even less about Warhammer 40,000. I know that Warhammer as a brand is a fantasy table-top game, sold in Games Workshop stores around the globe, and I know that people spend hours meticulously hand-painting the figurines to play with. I know that there are some games on the PC that are related to this franchise and that they’re mainly RTS games. That’s where my knowledge ends.

So, it was a huge surprise to me when Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine took my fancy following the demo. Still not entirely sure what the hell was going on but eager to learn, I volunteered to tackle the full release…

Tags 000, bolter, chainsword, Chaos, Forge World Graia, hack n slash, Leandros, Orcs, orks, Power Axe, Raven, Sci-Fi, Shooter, Sidonus, space marine, Titans, Titus, Ultramarines, Warhammer, Warhammer 40, Warhammer 40K

Review: Batman: Arkham City

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date November 14, 2011

Welcome to Arkham City. If you are looking for clean streets, green parks and a peaceful existence away from the hurly-burly of modern-day city life… you’ve really come to the wrong place! Here you’ve got criminals roaming the streets, buildings decaying all around you and a severe bat-infestation, but if that is your thing then make yourself at home. Just be careful, because once you are in, you might not want to leave…

Tags 360, action, Adventure, Arkham, asylum, batman, city, combo's, comics, Fighter, multiformat, PC, PS3, Rocksteady, The Joker

Review: Rugby World Cup 2011

Post author By Matt Swindell
Post date November 14, 2011

I have to say that as an avid rugby supporter of many years, I’m very excited by the Rugby World Cup 2011 tournament. Being a Welsh boy, and having a team this year who had a good showing in the Autumn International matches, there’s added interest for me. After all, my country stood one of the best chances out of the Northern Hemisphere sides to move their way through to the knock-out stages.

However, I had mixed emotions when it came to the game version of the tournament. The version I played was on the Xbox 360 (of course, other game consoles are available). This was not a reflection on the idea of a Rugby World Cup game, but more because its predecessors had not managed to do as good a job as I had hoped. So, the burning question is, did this version live up to my not-so-high expectations, or blow them out of the water?

Tags playstation 3, rugby world cup, rugby world cup game, Wales, Xbox 360

Review: Dark Souls

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 10, 2011

There are ways of punishing yourself without being as dramatic as to end it all. You could disallow yourself from eating your favourite food for an amount of time, you could lock yourself up in your room and refuse to let yourself out, you could say that you’re not allowed to buy the game release you’ve been waiting months for, or deny yourself watching the film that everyone is talking about.

That, or you could play Dark Souls; a callous, venomous, merciless beast that will not stop punishing you until you break down and cry in front of your television set.

Believe me, this isn’t a company line that has been spewed out to all journalists. One thing we can all harmoniously agree upon is that Dark Souls is a punishing experience that will rob you of your dignity. It will make you question your abilities as a gamer.

Playing this will hurt…

Tags Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Dragon, fantasy, high fantasy, Open world, RPG, Undead

Review: Tropico 4

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date November 10, 2011

If the recent revolution in Libya has taught us one thing, it’s that freedom and liberty are more than worth fighting for. As we watch millions of people brave gunfire and regime reprisals to make their voices heard, most of us are counting our blessings and feeling pretty lucky to live in a democratic nation.

Many of us even support our Arab neighbours; I myself give to the Red Cross and was pleased to hear that they got support to the Libyan rebels extremely quickly. What must it have been like for Gaddafi, watching his people rise up against him and take up arms to overthrow him? Can we possibly understand what that’s like?

Well, not really. None of us run a dictatorship, let alone one that has been active for 40 or so years. Yet many of us are fascinated by the prospect of running a country, and through many games over the years we’ve had our chance.

Now Kalypso Media and Haemimont Games have returned with the fourth iteration of their Tropico series, a game which lets you start your own little tropical paradise and attempt to lead it to prosperity. Having played Tropico 3 a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it, I jumped at the chance to see what improvements and innovations the new title brings.

Tags Gaddafi, Haemimont Games, Politics, Politics sim, Simulator, Tropico, Tropico 4

Review: Worms: Crazy Golf

Post author By James Joell-Ireland
Post date November 10, 2011

Would you associate a couple of worms with golf? Not unless their guts ended up on the bottom of your driver! The only other association I could make is Tiger Woods, because rumour has it, the woman he cheated with had worms, crabs and other horrible creatures living in her… Eugh! I’ll stop there.

When I first heard the announcement that Team 17 were working on a Worms game that did not actually follow the tried and tested formula, I was a little concerned. Could this be the start of more franchising of the series; what next? Worms Pinball? To my amazement, that has already been done.

So, is the Worms’ venture into Crazy Golf a standard spin-off with no quality, or does it have potential. Let’s give this game a swing!

Tags adam sandler, chuckie cheese, crazy golf course, golfing, happy gilmore, mini-golf, team 17, worms crazy golf

Review: The Sims 3: Pets

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date November 9, 2011

It seems that after a lifetime of not really bothering with the Sims as a series, with this very piece I’ll have reviewed two of the games in relatively quick succession (with another on the way). The Sims 3: Pets is the latest title out of EA’s stable (fnar fnar!), introducing dogs and cats (and horses, in the PC version) into the plate-spinning life simulator that is the Sims 3. What separates this Pets edition over the previous expansion from Sims 2, is that you can now control the animals that are in your household; after all, they’re part of the family!

Released as an expansion pack on PC, but as its own separate game on other formats, EA have put a lot of marketing power behind this title. Do pets win prizes or is it a big, steaming dog turd?

Tags Cats, Dogs, EA, horses, Karma Powers, Mysteries, Pets, Plumbob, Simish, The Sims, The Sims 3

Review: Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 9, 2011

One thing you can say for the 21^st Century, we don’t suffer for a lack of Zombies. Whether you’re reading a book, watching a film, following a TV series or playing a game, Zombies are everywhere and they’re coming for your brains.

So, naturally, to keep things interesting, the entertainment industry has to try and keep Zombies as fresh as they possibly can (even if they do smell of shitty nappies and pissed-in pants). Popcap decided to make a game about Zombies, but added some plants into the mix. Seth Graheme-Smith decided to take Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice and give it a sprinkle of Zombies. Even Simon Pegg decided to put his own spin on things.

Let’s not forget Capcom and Dead Rising. Dead Rising initially seems as if it’s one mans struggle in a survival horror situation against a horde of Zombies; on the inside, it’s a bit of a different animal. What they’ve actually done is put you in the shoes of a character in a survival horror situation, and allowed you to tackle it however you see fit, using whatever weapons you can find, dressed up however you like. It’s this sense of freedom that’s made it such a firm favourite among Zombie fans.

That in mind, now Capcom are back with Off The Record, and are ready to put us to the test all over again. Is Zombie Fever still all the rage, or is this setting ready to start rotting away?

Tags capcom, Chuck Greene, Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, Frank West, Off The Record, Photography, What if?, Zombies

Review: Crysis

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 8, 2011

There are few games that can boast such incredible horse power that only a select few machines can handle them and make a somewhat playable experience. Back in 2007, Crysis was one such game, renowned for its overwhelming system requirements and face-melting visuals. With such a legacy, it’s little surprise that the thought of it ever coming to consoles remained a pipe dream.

However, with the arrival of CryEngine 3, designed with consoles in mind, the reality has finally materialised. Now that Crysis is finally ready to hit Games on Demand, the question is, has the market moved on?

Tags Crysis, Crysis 2, Crytek, EA, first person shooter, Freedom

Review: Battlefield 3 (Console)

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date November 4, 2011

Before I go on, I’ll have to say that I’ve been a huge fan of the Battlefield series since the second game hit the original Xbox back in 2006 (nope, never really been a PC gamer). It’s one of the few series that’s had an online mode which kept me going back for well over a year after release, and not the month or so I usually spend online with other games of its type. With that in mind, I, like everyone else, have been eagerly awaiting the release of DICE’s new effort, getting more excited with every passing trailer.

Well, it has finally hit shelves, and with EA eager to make sure that all critics got the day-one patch before reviewing, I spent all week on the Xbox 360 version to see if it lived up to the hype. What I found was a game of two sides…

Tags Battlefield, Battlefield 1943, Battlefield 3, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty, DICE, Digital Illusions CE, EA, Electronic Arts, Shooter

Review: Bejeweled 3 (XBLA)

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 3, 2011

The arcade version of Bejeweled 3 had me excited for several reasons. After playing and reviewing the game on PC back last year, I noted a few issues with the game which I was hoping Popcap would explore in future releases.

Now the Xbox version is out in the public domain, I can report back my findings. Did I find what I was looking for?

Tags bejeweled, Bejeweled 3, gems, Popcap, puzzler

Review: Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date November 2, 2011

Birds are one of nature’s most sadistic creatures. Thanks to Angry Birds, the small feathered creatures have come across as angry and volatile psychopathic maniacs prone to violence and mayhem.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, a 2D side-scrolling action game with big chicks tooting big guns, does little to dispel this gloomy perception. In fact… it revels in it!

Tags arcade, chicken, Downloadable, PlayStation Network, poultry, PS3, PSN, ratloop, Shooter

Review: Sonic Generations

Post author By Diogo Miguel
Post date October 31, 2011

It seems like ages since fans have begged Sega for high-definition ports of some of his early adventures. It did take Sega ages but the publisher finally caved in (to a certain extent) this year, with the arrival of Sonic’s twentieth year in the video-games industry. Sonic Generations is not your usual Sonic game, since all of the zones in it are remakes of those found in previous games.

Recent games might not have been in the hedgehog’s best interests, but there is no denying that people still have fond memories of the Mega Drive games. Is it enough, though, to call for development of a new game consisting of old Sonic levels, or is this another step in the wrong direction?

Tags Eggman, Sega, Sonic, sonic generations, Sonic Team, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails

Review: Worms: Ultimate Mayhem

Post author By Stephen King
Post date October 26, 2011

For years now, I have been entertained by Team 17’s Worms. Back in the early days of PC gaming, Worms was my go-to game; all my friends would come round and we would play the multiplayer by taking turns on the mouse, creating teams of worms with hilarious (and sometimes rude) names. After years of producing 2D games things were beginning to get a little stale, and in the early 2000’s Worms took the path taken by many games of the era, and made the jump from 2D to 3D. Now, in 2011 those 3D worms are back…

Tags PC, PS3, PSN, team 17, Worms, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

Review: Dragon Age II: Mark of the Assassin

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date October 25, 2011

Bioware have always kept stories within their worlds very exclusive, and rarely outsource. It’s a testament to the quality of their in-house staff, and also to how highly they value their franchises.

For the first time ever, though, they’ve broken the mould, and allowed The Guild star, Felicia Day, to help create her own character within the Dragon Age world, pen a web series based on their popular franchise, and star in a piece of downloadable content featuring her newly created character.

A nerd’s paradise, for sure, not only has Redemption started airing on YouTube to rave reviews, now Mark of the Assassin has infiltrated gaming marketplaces. However, with Dragon Age II being a sore spot for many, and the victim of regular trade-ins and dust collection since March, can even Day enrich the franchise with her natural charm and enthusiasm?

Tags Awakenings, Dragon Age, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age II, Felicia Day, Hawke, Mark of the Assasin, Tallis

Review: RAGE

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date October 20, 2011

id Software is often the developer labelled as the daddy of the modern-day first-person shooter. While their pedigree in that field is without question, and something we witnessed first hand at the Eurogamer Expo, it’s been a really long time since they’ve given us something new. Instead they’ve focused on great sequels, polishing their idTech5 game engine and re-releasing their classic games across multiple platforms.

So, after a hefty wait, RAGE becomes the first new IP from id Software since Quake in 1996. Does it live up to the heritage that they’ve been reminding everyone of recently?

Tags Borderlands, co-op, Crafting, Dan Hagar, Doom, Fallout 3, first person shooter, ID Software, John Goodman, Looting, Open world, quake, rage, Shooter, The Ark

Review: PES 2012

Post author By James Joell-Ireland
Post date October 20, 2011

The funny balls have gone :(

In the long battle between Konami and Electronic Arts, the former has taken a severe bruising in recent years. Whilst the series lost its way for several years, PES has been regaining its fitness and this year looks as though it is back to full strength. The recovery has taken some time; is the latest iteration of the series good enough to make the first team or will it be sitting on the subs bench until footy fans get bored with FIFA 12?

Tags Konami, pes 2012, pro evolution soccer 2012, PS3, review, Xbox 360

Review: The Baconing

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date October 20, 2011

I love bacon, and I know I’m not alone. Hell, even the veggies like bacon! So, one has to wonder, what isn’t there to like about a game called The Baconing? Surely, it will be filled with slices of pig, all frazzled and fried into streaky meaty goodness, ripe for sticking between two slices of bread with some brown sauce for a good, early morning hangover cure. Surely, the Armageddon of our world wouldn’t be so bad if we were to be engulfed by hog?

Well, Hothead Games clearly think so, and obviously have a phobia of Trotters and Troughs, as they’ve tasked their intrepid hero, DeathSpank, to rid the World of such an impending doom. However, with this being his third outing, and with such a hero being compared to bacon, one has to wonder, is Spanky-two-hands the one overstaying his welcome?

Tags DeathSpank, Hothead Games, RPG, The Baconing, Throngs of Virtue

Review: Driver: San Francisco

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date October 19, 2011

Despite a solid heritage on the PlayStation, the Driver franchise left a lot to be desired during the last console generation (particularly Driv3r, abysmal in both name and design). Like a disgraced uncle who got a little worse for wear at the last family reunion, flashing his nieces and vomiting over the vol-au-vents, it has been too embarrassed to show much of its sheepish face for a few years now.

In a last bid attempt to revive the series, Ubisoft have released Driver: San Francisco on this generation of consoles for the first time. Does the ol’ gal have some life left in it yet, or is it barely worth its weight in scrap?

Tags Driv3r, driver, driver san francisco, driving, Shift, Tanner, Ubisoft

Review: Burnout: Crash

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date October 17, 2011

Burnout is one of the most successful racing franchises of the modern era, offering players a high octane, high adrenaline experience across all platforms since 2001. One of the things a lot of us loved about the series was the Crash mode. You actually got points for doing damage, meaning you could spend your time targeting the other vehicles rather than trying to avoid them.

The Crash mode has been so successful over time that this September, Criterion Games decided to release it as a game in its own right to XBLA and PSN, and I have been spending my time creating some havoc. The question is, will it Crash?

Tags arcade, Burnout, cars, Crash, Criterion, Downloadable, EA, paradise, PSN, Puzzle, racing, takedown, XBLA

Review: Red Bull X-Fighters

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date October 17, 2011

Watching daredevil motocross drivers on big bikes hurl themselves up big ramps, and twist their bodies around in impossible postures while flying through the air can be quite exhilarating. Doing it yourself is much less appealing to most of us. Doing it on a console from the comfort (not to mention relative safety) of your favourite gaming chair is a much more attractive proposition… unless that proposition comes from Red Bull X-Fighters.

Tags arcade, Avoid it, bikes, freestyle, motorcross, PC, PSN, red bull, stunt, x-fighters, XBLA

Review: FIFA 12

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date October 14, 2011

In the words of the third-best manager in English League history: ‘Some say that football is a matter of life and death; I assure you it’s much more important than that’. This is why every year, without fail, millions of gamers get excited when autumn arrives. The trees turn from green to brown, shorts are replaced by jogging bottoms and EA Sports release the latest game in the behemoth that is the FIFA franchise.

Over the life-cycle of this generation of home consoles, FIFA has not only gone to the top of the football tree, it has left its competitors behind in a swamp of Ultimate Team Pack wrappers, dreaming of the day they too can get a full 11v11 online match running.

Although I have been quick to champion the possible return to greatness of the other big football franchise (review forthcoming), it is pretty clear from the sales, the forums and my friends list that FIFA is still the daddy. Question is, does it justify this position? Read on to find out.

Tags EA, easports, Fifa, fifa 12, Football, PC, PS3, Reviews, Soccer, Wii, XBOX360

Review: NBA Jam: On Fire Edition

Post author By James Joell-Ireland
Post date October 13, 2011

On the world stage, 1994 was a memorable year. O.J. Simpson lost a police chase, Kurt Cobain blew his brains out and Commodore Computers went bust. This was also the year of the Rwandan genocide, an event all of western media could not care too much to cover because they were too interested in mourning Ayrton Senna, Richard Nixon or watching Friends. Whilst 1994 past me by without too much excitement, there were two key moments of that year. Firstly, in my mind, Graham Taylor was a cock for leaving England but mere spectators for USA ’94. Secondly, and more relevantly, it was the time I spent hours that year at my friend Andrew’s house, before school, playing the coolest game on the Sega Mega Drive; NBA Jam.

Back in ‘94, NBA Jam was gaining major plaudits for its arcade gameplay, slick presentation and superb commentary. Quotes such as “He’s heating up!” and “From downtown!” have stayed in my mind for over a decade, right until this day. Those last ditch Shot Clock moments where you somehow sink a three pointer from the other side of the court still sit with me as being one my most treasured gaming memories of all time. NBA Jam has had a few releases since the iconic 1994 release, but it’s not been until recently that the game has once again captured the quality of its heyday.

NBA Jam ’99 and the 2003 self-titled reboot were games that rubbed a dirty sanchez on the face of that once hallmarked name. The 2010 release redeemed NBA Jam’s reputation to a degree, but a disc-based release of that game on today’s digital downstream just did not make a great deal of sense. EA, however, have decided to release NBA Jam: On Fire Edition for digital download and we have the game in front of us.

Will it expand and improve upon the almost faultless 1994 release or will it do a Graham Taylor and cock it up?

Tags 1994, Electronic Arts, nba jam, on fire edition, PSN, slam dunk, Xbox Live Arcade

Review: Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date October 13, 2011

I suppose it’s ironic that over the last few months, I’ve reviewed more re-releases than I have brand new games. You can tell when the end of a console’s lifecycle is approaching when they start to take games from a previous gen, give them a new lick of paint, and release them for those who were fans of the original, or those who never got the chance to play the first time around.

Interestingly, however, Resident Evil: Code Veronica hasn’t benefited that much from High Definition. In fact, it’s damn near a straight Playstation 2 port. Granted, the source material represents one of the very best additions to the Resident Evil series, but the point remains in place.

With that in mind, is this version of the game an example of Capcom wanting to give something back to the fans, or more of a reason for them to make a quick buck?

Tags capcom, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Umbrella, Zombies

Review: F1 2011

Post author By James Joell-Ireland
Post date October 11, 2011

Add bad weather to mix and this game is sexy as hell!

It is the start of another F1 season, another year of excessive luxury at Monaco and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Countries from around the world cheer on their home-bred driver and favourite car manufacturer, whilst in the UK we sit and watch Lewis Hamilton star in another Santander commercial.

Formula One is a motorsport that’s like Marmite; you either love it or hate it. For such a high-profile class of racing, it is somewhat mystifying that the license was left wandering around unclaimed since Electronic Arts gave up with it last generation. If anyone was to pick it up and do justice, it would be Grid & DiRT 3 developer, Codemasters.

F1 2010 brought back respect to F1’s gaming reputation after a rather shoddy PS3 exclusive effort by an interim license holder SCE Liverpool, and while it gained many plaudits, fans knew it was far from perfect, especially when it came to the online experience. So what have Codemasters Birmingham done in the last year to bring this game to pole position?

Tags Codemasters, crashes, driver dies in formula one race, drs, f1 2011, graphics, lewis hamilton, monaco, review, safety car, Shanghai, spa, top 10 f1 crashes, video game, weather effects, wheel lock

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters

Post author By Matt Swindell
Post date October 11, 2011

Golf is viewed by many the way it is referred to in the titles for the BBC comedy programme ‘Mock the Week’: officially dull. I’ve never agreed with this, mostly thanks to my Great Auntie Evelyn who was a massive golf fan when I was a nipper. My other Great Auntie, Olga, and I used to annoy her by sitting either side of the TV, flinging paper air-planes with messages written on the wings across her line of sight while she watched the golf, until she gave us both what-for!

I even got quite into playing it as a young man, and was pretty good, but unfortunately golf can be an expensive sport and I never pursued it any further. This is a long standing regret I intend to rectify in a few years time, when my son is old enough to come and play a round or two with me.

So, how to fill that golfing void in the meantime? Enter stage left Mr Tiger Woods and The Masters course in Augusta, Georgia (pause for applause).

Tags caddy, clubs, EA, fore, golf, pga tour 12, PS3, Sports, the masters, Tiger Woods, Wii, Xbox 360

Review: Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date October 10, 2011

You know the guy who gets beat in fighting games amidst a whirlwind of combos, special moves and finishers in ten seconds flat? That’s not quite me, but I’m only the next tier up from that. I don’t own an arcade stick or a rapid-fire controller, nor do I possess a strategy guide with all the answers; I’m just a dude with a pad and a fuck-ton of patience…

Believe me; you’ll need that with Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Balanced it might be, but this one will go down in history as one of the toughest fighting experiences on the market. It’s sink or swim, do or die; there’s no middle ground.

I’m about to dive right in…

Tags capcom, Chun Li, Ken, Ryu, SFIII, Street Fighter, Street Fighter III, Third Strike

Review: Resident Evil 4 HD

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date October 6, 2011

It’s been a weird year for me in regards to reviews. I’ve already been able to pass judgement on my favourite game of all time thanks to one re-release, and now I find myself in a position to review the second in my list of personal favourites thanks to another. While the first three Resident Evil games helped define what we all thought of survival horror, Resident Evil 4 came in at the right time and changed the landscape of the genre forever.

The ripples of Resident Evil 4’s impact on the industry didn’t just stop at survival horror, either, also helping to shape many of today’s standards in the third-person shooter market. While its influence on the likes of Dead Space is obvious, those currently enjoying Gears of War 3 might take a second to reflect that it might not have existed in its current format, if it wasn’t for the work of the legendary Shinji Mikami on the 2005 classic. Don’t believe me? Hit Google; Cliffy B has cited RE4’s influence on Epic’s trilogy on many an occasion.

So, it’s fitting that in the same week that one of the modern-day classics concludes its trilogy, Capcom digitally re-releases the game that helped make it what it was.

Does it still hold up today? Mostly.

Tags Ada Wong, capcom, El Gilgante, Leon Kennedy, Los Ganados, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, Zombies

Review: Rotastic

Post author By James Joell-Ireland
Post date October 6, 2011

It has been an incredibly long time since an arcade game release that has got me totally addicted to high-score leaderboards. Then, just like a bus, two come out in the same week. Firstly we have Burnout: Crash (review forthcoming), and secondly we have a little-known game called Rotastic, from a small known developer in the heart of Paris. If you loved the addictive qualities of Popcap’s Peggle, then you are going to fall in love with Dancing Dot Studio’s simple but addictive arcade gem.

Tags action, arcade, dancing dot studios, fling, focus home interactive, Platformer, rotastic, skill, swing

Review: Bodycount

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date October 4, 2011

Black on the PS2 and Xbox was a cult classic. Full of thrilling gunfights, top-notch graphics and audio, and previously unparalleled environmental destruction, it brought something new to the table for the first-person shooter. Through a different developer, but with some of the original team still present, the game has finally found its spiritual successor: Bodycount.

Whether it can repeat the triumphs of its predecessor is another matter. Rumours of many of the original development team jumping ship part-way through, and the recent announcement of the studio closing, do not bode well. Read on to find out if Bodycount is guaranteed to make a killing in shops, or if it has in fact massacred its respectable heritage.

Tags 360, Black, Bodycount, COD, Codemasters, first person shooter, FPS, guildford studio, Multiplayer, nemesis, PS3, Shooter, spiritual successor, the network, time crisis, tron

Review: SBK: Superbike World Championship 2011

Post author By Andy Knight
Post date October 4, 2011

Okay, let me get straight to the point. SBK: Superbike World Championship 2011 is a great example of when video-games in the simulation genre are so busy aiming to be technically realistic, they forget to be a game, and any element of fun is lost creating the real-world experience. As for myself, I have never driven a powerful superbike, so I do not know what it feels like. I have tasted two-wheeled speed when I was in my late teens, however, ‘hooning’ about on my 50cc Honda moped.

It felt fun, and even moving at a top speed of 41MPH, there were times it genuinely felt quite fast and dangerous ( especially the time I came off the thing and broke 2 ribs and my wrist). That, however, is where I feel the game’s creators Milestone Studios miss out on key reality elements. When driving your all-powerful superbike in SBK 2011, it is seriously lacking in any sense of fun, speed or danger.

Tags 11, 2011, bikes, motorbikes, motorcycles, racing, sbk, sim, Simulator, sport, superbikes, world championship

Review: Renegade Ops

Post author By Stephen King
Post date September 26, 2011

What do you do when the world is threatened by the might of an evil super villain, who has nothing better to with his time than to systematically destroy the world and all life on it? The answer? Well, according to the leaders of the world in Renegade Ops, the answer is actually very little. When that threat is the nefarious Inferno, it seems like he really doesn’t mess around. However, you can set your fears aside; General Bryant isn’t going to take this one lying down.

Instead, he is going to amass a team of specialists (‘Renegade Operatives’, if you will), and hook them up with enough weaponry and destructive power to leave the enemy begging for them to stop. With his crew by his side, it is time to take on Inferno and make him pay for ever thinking about being a party in the destruction of the Earth.

Tags action, Avalanche 2.0, cars, explosions, Helicopters, Just Cause. Shooter, PSN, Renegade Ops, Sega, Steam, Vehicles, XBLA

Review: Madden 12

Post author By James Harvey
Post date September 24, 2011

The Madden franchise is one of the games industry’s longest running sports series’, endearing fans of Gridiron action for well over a decade.

So, another year and another Madden release, but will the 2012 offering take the series forward with new features, or is it just more of the same, hiding behind another high-profile cover athlete?

Tags American Football, EA Sports, Gridion, Madden 12, NFL, Quarterback, Super Bowl

Review: BloodRayne: Betrayal

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date September 23, 2011

There are things that go bump in the night, but none of them are as sexy and deadly as Rayne, the sexy-yet-deadly dhampir who made her debut on consoles and PC in 2002. She has since led a quiet existence, ‘thanks’ in part to some truly awful movies that sent her rising star crashing down. She is now ready for a comeback, by way of a 2D hack-and-slash extravaganza.

Tags 360, action, betrayal, bloodrayne, Hack and Slash, Platformer, playstation 3, PS3, PSN, vampires, XBLA, xbox

Review: Splinter Cell HD

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date September 21, 2011

For modern-day gamers, it’s probably hard not to picture Sam Fisher as a Jack Bauer-esque, off-the-rails; hard-ass who smashes criminals up against glass mirror panes and flushes their face down the toilet. However, there was life before Fisher’s transformation into a ruthless renegade with a zest for conviction, and it materialised around eight years ago.

Back then, we were playing with a different Sam Fisher. Instead of seeing bloodshot eyes and a midnight shadow, we were playing an experienced veteran, kitted out with tri-focal goggles, and tasked with figure-heading a new government operation. He was a by-the-book professional and the absolute best in the field. There was no way the government would allow a simple detail like retirement get in the way of re-enlisting their golden boy.

These were the beginnings of Splinter Cell, and the surging popularity of the stealth genre on consoles. Deservedly so, this one was a firm favourite of mine and while it never overshadowed the love I had in my heart for Thief: The Dark Project, I have nothing but fond memories of the first time I fired this up on Microsoft’s overweight black brick!

It was just missing one very important ingredient: High Definition. A detail that was but a generation away. Now that Ubisoft have finally given it the green-light eight years on, we ask ourselves, was it worth the wait?

Tags 3d, HD, Jack Bauer, playstation 3, Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell, tom clancy, Ubisoft, xbox

Review: Mortal Kombat Kollection

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date September 21, 2011

It’s 1992 and you’re eleven years old. You’re at a friend’s birthday party, and you’ve had a belly full of jelly blancmange, crisps, cake and sandwiches. While the parents clean up, your friend excitedly tells you to come up to his room and play his new game. It’s Mortal Kombat. He’s absolutely too young to play the game (as are you, by the way!), but d’ya think he cares? Heck no!

So, there you all are, a group of four, cramped up on a small, single bed, huddled around a 12” TV, passing a SNES pad around. There’s the one friend who wins every fight and boasts about it (a lot), the one who doesn’t know how to throw a kick, the one who screeches annoyingly when he loses and thus, always has his go skipped, then there’s the one who knows how to do a fatality and asks for everyone to ‘let him win’ so he can show them. After all, he’s the one with the cheat guide that may as well be the 20^th century equivalent of a Googlewhack.

The Mortal Kombat series does bring about some fond gaming memories for me. It was one of the first franchises that was bold enough to push boundaries and rattle cages, but it was also complemented by raw aggression and fluid gameplay. I spent quite a bit of my youth (when I may possibly have been underage… *ahem*) playing and enjoying these games.

Back then, you could quite easily have paid £60 for just one of them. Now, it’s 800 points for three. The question we ask ourselves, fifteen years on, is it even worth that?

Tags Goro, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat Kollection, PSN, Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, sub-zero, Test Your Might, XBLA

Review: Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date September 19, 2011

The Apocalypse is upon us again, and Armageddon is following closely behind. The undead are stumbling down the streets, juvenile demons prowl seedy back-alleys and horny semi-naked bird-men are covering peaceful parks with giant bird-poo droppings. That’s right! Horny semi-naked bird-men! The end of days might be here, yet we need not take it too seriously if Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon is anything to go by.

Tags 345 games, apocalypsegeddon, backbone, comedy central, four player, Multiplayer, PSN, Shooter, ugly americans, XBLA

Review: From Dust

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date September 19, 2011

Despite half of the developed world claiming to have no religion, and religion itself slowly being purged from every aspect of daily life to be replaced by realism and science, we just love to play God. From the careful nurturing of Civilization to the all-powerful nature of Black & White, ‘God games’, as they’ve come to be known, have dominated PC top-ten lists since time began.

They haven’t done so well on consoles, however, most likely due to the difference in gamer preference and the notable absence of a mouse pointer. From Dust, an XBLA release by Ubisoft’s sunny, south-of-France studio Ubisoft Montpellier, is set to change all that. With a simple, controller-based system and a shit-ton of hype preceding it, can it really be the one to break the mould? I think not, and here’s why…

Tags black and white, civilisation, from dust, frustation, god sim, populous, sim, Strategy, tribes, Ubisoft, XBLA

Review: Virtua Tennis 4

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date September 15, 2011

I admit that in order to play a certain type of game, you don’t exactly need to participate in the activity in real life. I don’t work for criminal gangs and mob bosses, or spend time joyriding in cars stolen from my neighbourhood, but I still enjoy playing Grand Theft Auto. It’s rare that I visit magical fantasy worlds and slay dragons for my holidays (sadly), but that doesn’t stop me from being absolutely psyched for Skyrim.

That said, my general apathy (and incompetence) as far as sports are concerned has effectively caused me to steer clear of practically all games in the genre. I couldn’t care less about the yearly rivalry between FIFA and PES, and nor was I excited about SEGA’s latest release in their Virtua Tennis Series. When a reviewer was needed for Virtua Tennis 4, however, I bravely stepped up to the role regardless (I know; I’m an inspiration).

With absolutely no knowledge of the real-world game of tennis, or previous video-games of the sport, I wouldn’t get your hopes up for an overly informed review. Nevertheless, read on as I serve up my own spin on the game (and hopefully not too many more terrible puns).

Tags andy murray, court, games for windows live, maria sharapova, PC, roger federer, Sega, sport, sumo digital, tennis, Windows, world tour

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Post author By Jesper Hauerslev
Post date September 14, 2011

The future is coming, and with it comes promise of a better life, a better world and even a better kind of humanity, through the marvel of technology. In fact, the future is closer than you think. As time has gone by, technology has been marching closer and closer to the human body itself.

It started out with a massive computer sitting in a warehouse somewhere… then it got a little smaller and moved onto a desk in your house… then it got even smaller and jumped onto your lap. Then it got even smaller still and leapt into your pocket, and we’ve already seen examples of it jumping into the body itself: artificial limbs, glass eyes with miniature cameras, and even artificial hearts. The future is closer than you think, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a wake-up call for you stand up and take notice.

Tags action, augmentation, Deus Ex, FPS, human revolution, invisible war, PC, PS3, RPG, Shooter, single player, Xbox 360

Review: Dead Island

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date September 12, 2011

Holidays are a necessity. We all need a break from the insanely fast-paced nature that the 21^st Century dictates. Without time to relax and unwind, we’d probably all be bouncing off the walls, our eyes spinning inside our head and our tongues permanently poked out, looking like a cross between a gargoyle and a caffeine-fuelled cartoon character.

Naturally, the concept of rest and relaxation varies from person to person. Some choose to go to remote, countryside landscapes, others choose to go to theme parks and ride turbulent rollercoasters. Then there are those who love the all-inclusive beach resorts that offer free food, drink and sun. For the cast of Dead Island, this final option certainly seems to be the most enticing.

That is until their blissful nirvana is marred by cannibalised corpses and swimming pools discoloured with blood. Suddenly, they wish they were back home, stuffing envelopes and making daisy chains out of paperclips.

Dead Island is one of most talked about games of the year, and one that certainly seems to have people on the fence. Now that the wait is finally over, I tell you, once and for all, whether the whole experience is worth taking a vacation for…

Tags Bites, Borderlands, Dead Island, Deep Silver, Fallout, Improvisation, Infected, melee, run!, Survival, techland, Undead, Zombies

Review: Crazy Machines Elements

Post author By Stephen King
Post date September 4, 2011

If you know anything about the existence of Rube Goldberg, then you are pretty much on track for understanding the premise of Crazy Machines Elements. If not, then it can be rather simply explained. Imagine you want to make a cup of tea (a simple task I understand) but instead of just boiling the kettle, you construct an apparatus to do so. One that sets fire to a towel, which in turn acts like a fuse and lights a puddle of petrol on the ground, which then goes over to the wooden table and catches fire, causing the kettle to boil!

Basically, your task is to figure out the missing parts of these kinds of machines, to help them perform certain tasks. Now, if you thought my explanation of a Rube Goldberg machine was slightly over the top, just wait until I tell you what sort of madness Crazy Machines Elements produces.

Tags Crazy Machines Elements, PC, Xbox 360

Review: Call of Juarez: The Cartel

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date August 8, 2011

Call of Juarez: The Cartel is the third game in the Western First Person Shooter series from Techland, and moves the series from the badlands of Mexico to a modern day setting on the streets of Los Angeles. That is not to say that there aren’t still some links to its predecessors, with a few levels still based in the Mexican planes, and both the chief hero and villain being descendants of those in the earlier titles.

Out now for both PS3 and Xbox 360, and with a PC version due in September, all the major platforms are covered here. Read on as I pick up my six-shooter, to see if the modernisation has helped or hindered what has become something of a cult series, since its debut back in 2006.

Tags ben mccall, Call Of Juarez, coj, FPS, mendoza, PS3, the cartel, XBOX360

Review: Dragon Age II: Legacy (DLC)

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date August 3, 2011

I’ll be honest: Dragon Age 2 disappointed me [if you remember, Debbie rather liked it – Andy]. I was a big fan of the original game, but found that its sequel fell quite short of the mark. Confining the player to a city for 80% of the game with only a few brief excursions outside, it became tedious deep into the second act. By the time you reached the end, you’d gone past the stage of caring. Really, I expected much more from the series, and from Bioware. It seems I wasn’t alone either; the outcry against Dragon Age 2 still continues and seems to outweigh the positivity at every turn.

Bioware have heard the feedback, and claim that they’ve been listening. Upon announcing the DLC, they said that they will be focusing on the things that people love about Dragon Age, and moving away from the foundations set by Dragon Age 2 which they disliked.

Now that I’ve got my hands on Legacy, I can tell you that it is definitely a step in the right direction…

Tags Bioware, Dragon Age 2, EA, Hawke, Legacy

Review: Shadows of the Damned

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date July 21, 2011

I have a confession to make that may surprise, upset, or even anger some of my peers. I’d never played a game by Suda 51 before. I know, I know, and it’s not that I didn’t want to. I was desperate to sample the evidently stylish Killer 7, I just never managed to pick up a copy, and although I wouldn’t say I was busting a gut to play No More Heroes, I kinda had my eye on it as one to sample at some stage.

Thankfully, I have been able to rectify this situation with the recently released Shadows of the Damned; a dark and twisted collaboration between Suda 51 and Resident Evil 4 director, Shinji Mikami. I would say that I had no words for the sheer depravity that I witnessed during my time with the game, but then that wouldn’t make for a very interesting review, would it?*

*Probably neither will the actual review, but screw you guys, I do this for free…

Tags demons, EA, Electronic Arts, Fleming, Garcia, Garcia Hotspur, Grasshopper Manufacture, guns, Johnson, Paula, Shadows of the Damned, Shooter, Suda 51, Third Person Shooter, Third-Person

Review: Backbreaker: Vengeance

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date July 15, 2011

I think it is safe to say that I am widely regarded as the resident Sports Freak around the TIMJ offices, as I have something of an unhealthy passion for almost anything that constitutes sporting competition. As such, when titles such as Backbreaker: Vengeance come along I am usually somewhere near the head of the queue, jumping up and down, arms waving and shouting “Me! Me!” when the question of “Who wants it?” is asked.

Developed by NaturalMotion Games as a kind of spin off to last year’s Backbreaker title, Vengeance puts you in the uniform of an American Football team but does away with all the boring parts like scrimmage and tactics. Instead it focuses on the crunching tackles and speed that make the game so exciting to its fans (lockouts aside). Question is, does this maximise the gaming fun or leave you feeling a little short changed? Read on to find out.

Tags American Football, backbreaker, Madden, NFL, vengeance, XBLA, xbox

Review: No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date July 13, 2011

Amongst the Wii’s library of well-established first-party juggernauts and family-oriented shovelware, the occasional title sticks out from the rest. Released in 2007 by Suda 51, No More Heroes was a prime example of one of these games. With a more mature slant than the average fare and an utterly barmy attitude, it provided something a bit different for the discerning gamer.

Fast-forward to 2011, and the developers have decided that it’s finally time to unleash No More Heroes on Sony fans, for better or worse. Subtitled ‘Heroes’ Paradise’, this updated version promises HD graphics and Playstation Move support. Will Suda 51 have done a top job with this PS3 remake, or will it be more ‘zero’ than ‘hero?’

Review: Alice: Madness Returns

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date July 7, 2011

Whenever the name “Alice in Wonderland” is mentioned, one of two images spring to most people’s minds. The cuddly yet strangely disturbing Disney telling or the original text penned by the literary legend Lewis Carroll. Recently, however, a new imagining of the tale has been creeping into our cultural history, a version that is quickly becoming the definitive one for many. American McGee, iD Software (the guys behind a little game called Doom) veteran and gaming visionary showed us his twisted vision of the classic in 2000, introducing us to his broken and insane Alice and scaring the shit out of us with his ruined Wonderland.

Fast forward eleven years and, despite the fact that most of the world has forgotten about it, Alice is back to finish what she started. Alice: Madness Returns, developed by McGee and his Shanghai studio Spicy Horse, is out now for all the consoles and the PC, which is what I’ve been playing it on. Alice has been away for a long time, almost as long as Duke, so can she still compete with the best out there? Titles like Darksiders, Enslaved and Prince of Persia have brought new innovations to the action platformer genre, while the style itself has fallen out of favour in recent times. Does all this really matter? Not at all, and I’ll tell you why…

Tags action, alice, alice in wonderland, american mcgee, cheshire cat, hack n slash, insane, lewis carroll, mad hatter, madness returns, march hare, PC, platforming, PS3, Scary, spice horse, trippy, vorpal blade, Xbox 360

Review: Red Faction: Armageddon

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date July 6, 2011

From First Person Shooter to Third Person Sandboxer, the Red Faction series shows that THQ developer, Volition, aren’t afraid to reinvent the wheel when it comes to one of their cult franchises. The first Red Faction was famous for its ‘Geomod’ technology that allowed players to deform the terrain and structures around them with explosive power, making Keycards a thing of the past. After a lengthy hiatus (for the gaming world, anyway), in 2009, Volition brought the series into the current generation with Red Faction: Guerrilla, and boy was it impressive.

Alec Mason’s tale of a political power struggle on a terraformed Mars stayed with me for quite some time, and after playing it, I was happily labelling it as one of the most polished Sandbox games I’ve encountered. The upgraded destruction was easily the most memorable aspect of a largely enjoyable game, as nearly every building you looked at could be destroyed in some way, shape or form. Toppling entire buildings was a joy to behold as you could almost feel damaged structures struggling under their own weight, before satisfyingly crashing to the ground in a destructive orgasm of steel and concrete.

Two years later and Volition are back again with their next instalment, and once again they’ve decided to change things up. Is it for better or worse?

Tags Aliens, Creatures, Infestation, Magnet gun, Red Faction, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Third Person Shooter, thq, Volition

Review: L.A. Noire

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date July 5, 2011

It would be fair to say I was an unusual kid. While most of my school chums would spend their free time playing football, watching football and generally delving into the all-consuming universe of football, I was playing cops and robbers. I was obsessed with crime fiction; I wrote it, read it and watched it on TV as much as I could. There was something about the way a crime was committed, investigated and solved that captured my imagination and it is an interest that’s stayed with me throughout my life. The one thing that was missing was a really good crime game. I bought every game that had a modicum of police work in it, only to find bland shooting and driving taking precedent over grass-roots investigation.

Enter a Team Bondi and Rockstar double act, and me at 22. My ear is usually pretty close to the ground and I heard rumblings of L.A. Noire soon after Red Dead Redemption hit the big time. First details were slight but immediately exciting. As more was revealed, the excitement only built. Would this be the game I’d been waiting for since I began playing? Could Team Bondi, a developer I’d never heard of, harness the gameplay we know and love from Rockstar and truly embrace new technology to deliver something stellar? Let’s find out, or should I say, investigate…

Tags 40's, car chases, cops, Detective, driving, film, Investigation, LA, los angeles, mob, murder, noir, noire, period, post-war, robbers, Rockstar, shooting, Team Bondi

Review: Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (DLC)

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date June 28, 2011

I’ve declared my love for Street Fighter a few times on here since we started, not least when I reviewed Super Street Fighter IV last year. My entire youth was spent playing Street Fighter games in some capacity, and to this day the series still means a lot to me and my life with games.

Now, Capcom have decided to see out their fourth iteration of their seminal fighter by releasing a DLC pack that will update your copy of Super Street Fighter IV, making it the definitive and final version that they’ll release. Available now on Xbox Live & PSN for 1200MP and £11.99 respectively, and soon on retail disk; is it worth your cash?

Tags Arcade Edition, capcom, Evil Ryu, Oni, Street Fighter, Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Yang, Yun

Review: Hunted: The Demon’s Forge

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date June 27, 2011

Way back in October last year, I was fortunate enough to go to Earls Court for This Is My Joystick and take in the Eurogamer Expo for the first time. Whilst there I managed to get some hands-on experience with a few promising titles that we have subsequently seen hit the shelves with varying degrees of acclaim. Titles such as FIFA, PES, F1, Gran Turismo, Killzone 3 and Medal of Honour were all on show and at various stages of development, but as I left the Exhibition Centre there was only really one game that I was thinking about; Hunted: The Demon’s Forge.

The game, created by inXile and published by Bethesda, is a third-person Dungeon Crawler that is very much geared towards co-op play. The early demo was covered in some detail by Jacob, who also had some hands-on time at last year’s E3 and we have been tracking the game ever since. The Xbox 360 version finally hit the shelves on June 3rd and I was quick to get my hands on a copy to find out if the final product lived up to the early promise.

Tags Bethesda, demons forge, Dungeon Crawler, eurogamer, Hunted, inxile, PC, PS3, XBOX360

Review: Duke Nukem Forever

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date June 23, 2011

I took my time in reviewing Duke Nukem Forever. Not because I decided to conduct some weird, parallel ritual to its development time or because I was waiting for others opinion. I did it because I wanted to make sure I got this review absolutely right. That I was giving a semblance of sacrifice through carefully considering my words, hoping it goes some way to help justify the efforts of numerous developers who have worked on this game and have done for the last thirteen years.

No game has ever taken this long in being developed and, as a result, the Duke Nukem name has gone from being one of the most beloved and iconic in our industry to a laughing-stock. Back in ’96, Duke was ripping other games and their developers to shreds, revelling in his own self-worth at how much ahead of the pack he was. Now, he’s fallen so far behind, the competition doesn’t even acknowledge that he even existed.

So, is Forever the comeback Duke needed, or will this be the final nail in his coffin? Can he really make an impact all over again?

Tags 3D Realms, Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem: Forever, first person shooter, Gearbox, Gearbox Software, Vapourware

Review: Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date June 21, 2011

I remember a time when there were plenty of realistic and punishing shooters available on the market (it wasn’t that long ago either, even for consoles!), but in times when even Ubisoft are taking Ghost Recon in a faster-paced, action route, the hardcore market is looking remarkably bare. To me, it’s a great shame that while the Call of Dutys’ seemingly rule the market, those after something a tad more cerebral have to lose out. Defiantly, Codemasters are back with Red River, another entry into the Operation Flashpoint series; a squad-based shooter that’s well known for its brutally punishing nature and requirement for tactical foresight.

In spite of its flaws, I have to admit that to being a fan of the previous game, Dragon Rising. It was tense, challenging and absolutely thrilling from start to finish (former Staff Writer, Brian, agreed in his review), so you can probably imagine how I must have been eagerly awaiting the new game something chronic. So, did it make the grade?

Tags co-op, Codemasters, Dragon Rising, FPS, Operation Flashpoint, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Operation Flashpoint: Red River, Red River, Tactical, Tactics, Team work

Review: SNIPER: Ghost Warrior

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date June 20, 2011

SNIPER: Ghost Warrior was originally released on the PC and Xbox 360 around a year ago to universal panning from the critics, earning itself an average of only 45/100 on [Metacritic] for the 360. Dodgy technical integrity and questionable design decisions left SNIPER with a bitter, acquired taste that many would have rather spat out. This begs the question: What possible reasons could City Interactive have to port the game over to PS3?

Well, firstly, the game actually didn’t sell too badly despite its shortcomings, amassing one million sales altogether in the first seven months. I don’t know whether its decidedly badass name and pretty picture on the front cover saved the day here, but either way, SNIPER shifted enough copies to justify a sequel; Ghost Warrior 2 is headed to store shelves later this year, for all three platforms at once.

A slightly more compelling excuse for SNIPER PS3 arriving to the party almost a year late, than merely to prepare Sony fans for the sequel, is that (according to the advertising spiel) the game has been ‘massively enhanced’, this time round. Sadly/thankfully I didn’t get to experience the apparently messy original on PC and Xbox 360, so I’m approaching the PS3 version with a fresh outlook, untarnished by any past mistakes. Will SNIPER: Ghost Warrior have its sights set for a dead-on hit this time round, or is another miss inevitable?

Review: Portal 2

Post author By James O'Leary
Post date June 14, 2011

Portal 2 has been one of the most anticipated games in recent history, and with so much hype around the release, James ‘O’ looks at the sequel to one of Valve’s most popular games ever, the genre-revolutionising Portal. Released on PC, Xbox and PS3 back in April, Portal 2 is a great example of how a small game like Portal can grow up and stand on its own two feet against other behemoth titles in the gaming industry.

Tags Glados, Portal, Portal 2, Portals, Still Alive, Valve, Wheatley

Review: DiRT 3

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date May 30, 2011

There aren’t many games out there that I can look back to as being landmark titles in my gaming life, but one of them would easily be the Colin McRae Rally series. While I’ll never class any of the series among my favourite games of all time, the reason I recall it with so much importance is it was one of two titles back in the 90s that helped change my mind entirely on the merits of the racing genre (the other was Gran Turismo, if you’re wondering). Since the series’ inception in ‘98, a lot has changed in its transition from simple Rally simulation to the off-road extreme Motorsports powerhouse it has become in recent years, but the most felt change came with the passing of the titular man in tragic circumstances in 2007.

With McRae gone but not forgotten, Codemasters have decided that now is their time to move on, with DiRT 3 being the first off-road game from them in eight iterations to omit the McRae moniker that would no doubt have otherwise adorned the box. It’s fitting then, that while respecting what came before, Codies have taken a chance on implementing what could be a big part of the series’ future in Gymkhana. The burning question, though; is that future bright?

Tags Codemasters, Codies, Colin McRae, DiRT, DiRT 3, Gymkhana, Rally, Rally-X

Review: Sega Rally Online Arcade

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date May 27, 2011

Back when I was a kid, holidays meant camping or going to the beach. Like any gamer, wherever we went I made it my business to seek out any and all arcades within walking distance of the campsite or holiday park. Lucky for me, British beaches are jam-packed full of the things and I spent all my money on countless games of Tekken, Street Fighter, House of the Dead, Silent Scope and Outrun. One game that I always had a crack on, wherever I was, was Sega Rally Championship. Offering short, exciting races with a rally twist, it became a staple favourite in arcades across the country and is on many veterans top 5. Why do I bring this up? Well Sega have seen fit to rip this classic out of its cabinet, doll it up for the HD generation and slap it on Xbox LIVE Arcade for all to play under the moniker Sega Rally Online Arcade. Wishful thinking or shrewd business move? Can a 15-year-old arcade port make modern, money conscious gamers part with their hard-earned cash? Let’s find out…

Tags arcade, boring, championship, heartless, limited, nostalgia, Old, Rally, Sega, short, XBLA, Xbox 360

Review: Moon Diver

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date May 23, 2011

Back in 1989 Ted Bundy was executed, George Bush Senior became the 41st president and there was the Massacre of Tiananmen Square. Movie lovers had the likes of Batman, Look Who’s Talking and The War of the Roses. It was also the year that a very clever chap called Kouichi Yotsui came up with a side scrolling platform game called Strider, which kept arcade goers very happy and very poor.

Why are we going on this trip down memory lane I hear you ask? Well Kouichi has directed a new PSN and XBLA title, developed by feelplus and published by the mighty Square Enix, that is something of a homage to that title and is available for download at £9.99 or 1200MP respectively.

Can it reach the stars or is this destined to dive in the charts? Read on to find out.

Tags 2D, feelplus, Kouichi Yotsui, moonsault, oon diver, platform, Square Enix, strider

Review: Brink (Console)

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date May 20, 2011

When playing Brink, the very idea of getting tooled up, sprinting ahead into the enemies base and firing away at them until your heart’s content without back-up or any sort of strategy will find you lying face down in the dirt quicker than you can say ‘Help Me!’

If you’re a lone wolf who wants glory, fame and notoriety and complains every time someone in your team ‘steals your kill’, don’t even give this a second glance on the store shelf. Don’t even blink when you pass it by. This isn’t for you, you’re not for it. Go back to CoD.

For the rest of you, read on. Brink may just be the best thing that ever happened to you…

Please note: There will be two reviews of Brink coming from This Is My Joystick! This has been reasoned due to the differences of online play on both PC and Console versions of the game. The review you’re about to read has been played on Xbox 360. A review of the PC version is forthcoming…

Tags Ark, Bethesda, Brink, FPS, Microsoft, Resistance, Security, Splash Damage, team, Team Fortress 2, Valve, Xbox 360

Review: Outland

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date May 13, 2011

Outland is a new 2D platform/adventure title of the Old School Prince of Persia variety, developed by Finnish studio, Housemarque, and published by Ubisoft for both PSN and XBLA. In fact, anyone old enough to remember the early Prince of Persia games from the 8-Bit era will see more than a few similarities here; from the running and jumping to the way your hero swings his sword and hangs from ledges. There is very much a sense of nostalgia as an older gamer.

That’s not to say Outland isn’t a breath of fresh air, though, and with a fairly unique graphical feel and a well written audio score to match it has everything you’d expect of a modern day title. So the only question that remains is; is it any good?

Read on to find out.

Tags housemarque, LIMBO, outland, Platformer, Prince of Persia, PS3, PSN, Reviews, Ubisoft, XBLA, Xbox 360

Review: WWE All Stars

Post author By Andy Knight
Post date April 22, 2011

Ah, wrestling! Socially unacceptable to like, you’ll find yourself vehemently mocked if you’re a fan, and yet it somehow still draws some of the largest television audiences and crowd attendances on Planet Earth. Myself? I am a die-hard fan, and have been ever since I saw my very first Saturday afternoon wrestling on the television. Of course being British, my first exposure was to the “sport”, was mainly watching obese overweight old guys in ill-fitting leotards. I’m talking about the likes of the infamous Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, and Jackie Pallo plodding about the ring and being out of breath within the first minute of a match starting.

Then with me at the age of eleven, my family got our first satellite dish and I had my mind blown by what was then called the WWF; the World Wrestling federation. In the WWF, the wrestlers weren’t fat old men; these guys had muscles where muscles shouldn’t be, and they pulled off manoeuvres Bid Daddy could never even dream of. All round there was a higher level of performance and showmanship. From that moment on I was hooked, I loved wrestling more than I loved… erm, my Gran!

Fast forward some twenty-four years later and here I am, still into wrestling. Not in the same way as I was a kid, but none the less I remain loyal and still watch the WWF; or WWE as it is now known (the panda loving people apparently got to the WWF name rights first, so the wrestling folk were forced to change it). Alongside this addiction has also been my need to buy every wrestling game ever released; from the likes of the Megadrive’s WWF Super Wrestlemania, through to the Dreamcast’s WWF Attitude, right up to today’s WWE: Smackdown versus Raw franchise. There is literally no wrestling game I haven’t played, so I think that legitimately makes me the front-runner to review the latest WWE and THQ offering; WWE All Stars.

Tags PS3, review, This Is My Joystick, video game, Wrestling, WWE, WWE Allstars, Xbox 360

Review: MotoGP 10/11

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date April 19, 2011

For those of you not familiar with Moto GP, it is effectively the Formula 1 of motor bikes. The season comprises eighteen race weekends across fourteen countries and includes insane speeds, superstar riders and all sorts of cutting edge technology just like its four-wheeled cousin.

Moto GP 10/11 is the latest video game iteration of the sport, developed by Monumental, and follows this year’s schedule. Does it match up in video game format to Codemasters F1 title? Read on to find out.

Tags 125cc, capcom, monumental, moto gp 10/11, moto2, MotoGP, motorbikes, PC, PS3, racing, Simulation, superbikes, XBOX360

Review: Fight Night: Champion

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date April 6, 2011

Boxing is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact some would have you believe it is a barbaric activity that simply allows two violent Neanderthal’s to beat the poop out of each other for thirty minutes or until one of them is hurt enough not to continue. I however believe it to be a sport that tests the mind and body of its participants in a way that cannot be matched by any other. Some of the sporting world’s greatest ever athletes and sharpest minds belonged to boxers, not least the greatest of them all.

Over the past five years Fight Night has become one of EA Sports’ flagship franchises, which suggests I am not alone in hailing the great gladiators of Madison Square Garden as heroes and the series has grown and developed immeasurably since Fight Night: Round 3 was released back in 2006. The latest title was released last month on all platforms and I have been putting it through its paces to see if it can become a true Champion.

Tags boxing, champion, EA, easports, fight night, Fight Night Round 3, Fight Night Round 4, PS3, XBOX360

Review: Dragon Age II

Post author By Debbie Lloyd
Post date April 5, 2011

Dragon Age Origins, to me, was always something that could have been brilliant, but just fell a little too short the second it started to take itself too seriously. I remember playing Origins very clearly; sure, there was some light humour here and there but it was always good to put Alistair and Morrigan in the same party if you were up for an extra laugh to distract from the heavy nature of the plot.

Until I played the demo for Dragon Age II I was expecting to feel the same about the sequel. I thought it was just going to be another western RPG filled with over the top lore, sprinkled with a healthy dose of dragons and magic. I am so glad I was mistaken, as this has now turned into a potential winner for my game of the year so far.

Tags Bioware, Dragon Age, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Origins, EA, Hawke, PC, PS3, Templar, Xbox 360

Review: Killzone 3

Post author By Jacob Saylor
Post date March 13, 2011

Killzone 3, Sony’s first ‘Triple-A’ game to be released that features both ‘Move’ and 3D functionality was released on February 26th. The face lift the Killzone franchise saw from iterations number one to two was shocking, however, does this mean that we will once again see such improvement? To find out if Killzone 3 lives up to the hype train following it or if it gets derailed; read on.

Tags first person shooter, FPS, Guerrilla Games, Helghast, ISA, Killzone, PS3, Shooter

Review: Stacking

Post author By Michael Charge
Post date February 25, 2011

Double Fine are among my favourite developers in recent years, with games like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend sitting proudly on my shelf despite their flaws. All their games have a quirky sense of humour from Tim Schaffer (he of Lucasarts fame) along with distinctive art styles. However, Double Fine recently went into the downloadable market, first with last year’s Halloween themed Costume Quest and now with their latest game, Stacking. Is it a tower of fun or a stack of… something else?

Tags Double Fine, Russian Dolls, Stacking, Tim Schaeffer

Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date February 24, 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sparked controversy for a number of reasons, one of the main reasons being Activision’s rather steep pricing for its numerous map packs. A decade ago, new first person shooter maps on PC were added by the developers as a free gratuity to the community, or created by dedicated modders. It came as no surprise, therefore, that many gamers uttered a sharp intake of breath at the sight of the Stimulus Map Pack on the Xbox Live Marketplace for a hefty 1200 Microsoft Points, or £9.99.

What made this questionable ‘deal’ even less inviting was that only five maps were included, and two of these were simply recycled from the previous Modern Warfare game. Nonetheless, eager Codders bought the DLC in droves, along with the subsequent map packs for the title. Fast-forward to today and Call of Duty: Black Ops has just received the first map pack of its own, rather appropriately named the ‘First Strike’ pack. Pricing is once again set at 1200 MSP, so the question on everyone’s lips is if the package is worth its premium price this time round (unless you’re one of the really dedicated fans/mugs who would buy it regardless).

Tags 1200 Microsoft Points, Ascension, Berlin Wall, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, COD, Discovery, DLC, Downloadable Content, first person shooter, First Strike, FPS, Kowloon, Levels, Map Pack, Stadium, Stimulus, Xbox Live Marketplace

Review: Fallout: New Vegas DLC

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date February 22, 2011

Fallout: New Vegas is a flawed masterpiece, by now, most of you will be well aware of that. There’s many things the game has done right, aspects which set it apart from its predecessor, and established elements improved for the better. Yet, the game was lathered with appalling, game breaking glitches at launch and remains, despite numerous patches, to be a sloppily presented end product that went gold too soon.

That being said, I’ve spent many hours of my life in the Mojave Wasteland, exploring every nook and cranny, promoting myself from a mere courier, to the very element that will shape the future of New Vegas forever. By no means is New Vegas a small game, but it seems Obsidian aren’t taking any time off from the vast desert wasteland, producing even more content for their open World epic.

The question is, should you go back? Well, This Is My Joystick will throw themselves back unto the blazing heat of the sun, suffering the landscape with parched throats, scorched feet and submitting themselves to radiation poisoning and sleep deprivation to tell you whether you should invest any further into Obsidian’s version of the Fallout series. So sit back, strap your Pip-boy on and let us indulge you with our findings.

Please note: Dead Money is currently only available on Xbox 360, however, on February 21st, will be made available for Playstation 3 and PC. From then on, all future New Vegas DLC will release simultaneously on all three formats.

Tags Bethesda, Fallout, Fallout New Vegas, Las Vegas, Obsidian Entertainment, Wasteland

Review: Dead Space 2

Post author By Debbie Lloyd
Post date February 16, 2011

It’s been a very calm two-year break since Dead Space. Neighbours are no longer calling in to check on you every time they hear a scream, fearing that you are being brutally murdered. It’s that time again though, and Isaac and his pals, the Necromorphs, have come back to haunt our dreams once more, causing more concern for those around us as blood curdling screams rip from our throats while we get our virtual heads ripped off.

If you haven’t finished the original Dead Space, close this page down and do it now before you even think about reading the rest of this review. Visceral have not been shy about spoilers in Dead Space 2 , including vital plot points from the first game which will play a major role in the second part of Isaac’s story.

Tags Dead Space 2, EA, Horror, Isaac Clarke, Javelin, Necromorph, Nicole Brennan, Sequel, Shooter, Stross, Third-Person, Visceral

Review: Nail’d

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date February 15, 2011

As a youngster I was kind of infatuated with motorbikes, not racing bikes but motocross. This developed after years of watching kickstart after school and riding the mini bikes at the fair at every opportunity. This diminished as I got older but when I got married a few years ago I couldn’t help but take advantage of the stag-doo option of Quad Biking and loved it. As such, when the review copy of Nail’d hit the TIMJ offices I was quite keen to get a look in.

Nail’d is a new arcade racer developed by the creators of Call of Juarez and Chrome: Techland for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Billed as the “fastest off-road arcade racing game”, it is something of a hybrid of Motorstorm and Pure with an added dose of Billy Whizz. I have recently been spending time with the Xbox 360 version to find out if it’s a Nail’d on winner. Read on to find out.

Tags arcade racer, atv, deepsilver, Motorstorm, mtx, PC, PS3, PURE, speed, techland, Xbox 360

Review: Gran Turismo 5

Post author By Giuseppe Nelva
Post date January 24, 2011

Some say that the most difficult part of writing an article is the beginning. It’s often even harder to devise an inception for a review that would feel somewhat original and unique. In the case of Gran Turismo 5 such a task is actually quite trivial: all you need is to start without complaining about the relatively long development time, or the allegedly “endless” or “infinite” delays (for the record, the game has been delayed only twice, and one of those two times the delay was a mere twenty days, but looks like quite a few media sources somehow missed this detail).

Personally, I’m quite sure that Kazunori Yamauchi didn’t personally hold me at gunpoint to prevent me from playing any other game while I waited for Gran Turismo 5, so I would say that the fact that Polyphony Digital was allowed to take their time to work on the game is rather marginal and inconsequential to the end-user, if not actually positive.

Full disclosure: The reviewer played the game to level 31 A-spec and 37 B-spec, reaching a progress of 96% and driving 46,912 miles. He cleared all the special and seasonal events (to date) and all the license tests with gold and silver trophies. His garage includes 339 cars and he won 422 races, as tracked by his game profile, publicly accessible by looking up the PSN ID “Abriael”.

Tags Gran Turismo 5, GT5, Kazunori Yamauchi, playstation 3, Poliphony Digital, PS3, Racing Simulator, review, Sony, wall of text

LittleBigPlanet 2

Post author By AJ Thompson
Post date January 21, 2011

Sequels are a dangerous realm in the video game world. They can be an awesome, new and improved adventure which cements gamers’ love of the series; or they can be a stain upon the quality of the series, haunting the developers for years to come. The people behind Devil May Cry 2 know what I’m talking about.

So what about the sequel to LittleBigPlanet? Is it a sequel which honors its predecessor, or a game for fans to avoid at all costs? Happily, it’s the former. This is a game which improves upon the original and then some.

Tags litt, Little Big Planet 2, LittleBigPlanet, littlebigplanet2, media molecule, Platformer, playstation 3, PS3, Sony

Review: Back to the Future: The Game

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date January 14, 2011

Marty McFly is best remembered for two things. Rocking out to “Go, Johnny, Go” and Hoverboards. It was a role that idolised Michael J Fox back in the 80’s and made him a household name overnight. The Back to the Future films are legendary and many critics claim you need to see them before you die (which I would strongly advise you do, by the way). Even twenty years after the original was released, the film still holds up incredibly well with today’s standards and remains one of my all time favourites. Yet, despite the brilliance of the trilogy, it strikes me as odd why the series never received an equally quality computer game?

Well, times may be about to change. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, not only was the original movie re-released in cinemas with extra polish and a blu-ray version was released, Universal Pictures signed an exclusive deal with Telltale Games to produce an episodic gaming series based on the franchise with all-new stories. As exciting as it was unexpected, this five-part series has Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as ‘Doc’ Emmett Brown with Bob Gale (one of the original writers) serving as a consultant for the games script. To make things even more exciting, Bob Gale himself has stated, unlike the previous animated spin-off and comics, he considers these five games to be a part of the Back to the Future series and counts them as part of the main trilogy, thus proving that this is more than just a simple cash-in attempt. The first episode takes place six months after the events of Back to the Future Part III and sets the tone for the following four episodes. To date, the series has been released on PC and MAC with a PS3 and iPad version due in 2011.

Has it been worth the long wait? Does it hold up to the legacy of the series? This Is My Joystick is here to answer all your questions.

Please note: Episodic games tend to follow a different review structure to our normal reviews, as such, this is an ongoing review. Keep checking back here for our thoughts on all the other episodes in this series as they’re released.

Tags Adventure Games, Back to the Future, Christopher Lloyd, It's About Time, Michael J Fox, PC, playstation 3, Sam and Max, Telltale Games, Wallace and Gromit

Review: Create

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date January 12, 2011

Here at This Is My Joystick we have often stated, both collectively and individually, that modern gaming lacks a bit when it comes to innovation. We have bemoaned the endless cycle of regenerated franchise titles such as FIFA or COD as uninspired or repetitive, so when Create arrived in the office there was a genuine clamour and the hands went up almost in unison to claim the review copy.

Fortunately for me, all this interest caused so much confusion that I was able to nip in and pinch it from under the noses of my colleagues, the question now becomes was EA’s new multi-platform game worth the effort? Read on to find out.

Tags Art, create, EA, magic pen, PC, PS3, Puzzle, review, Wii, XBOX360

Review: X-Men Arcade

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date January 10, 2011

I was an arcade rat back in the 80’s and most of my time was spent with the same three games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons and X-Men. I dread to think how much of my money has ended up in the coin slots of these machines across the country but it did serve me many hours of entertainment while I was growing up. Therefore, the announcement of X-Men coming to XBLA & PSN 18 years later was an exciting moment for me and meant I could finally play this game as many times as I wanted without paying another penny.

Now that the dust has settled, has it been worth the wait?

Tags America, arcade, Beat em up, Colossus, Continues, Cyclops, Dazzler, Insert Coins, Japan, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Online Multiplayer, Professor X, PS3, PSN, Sentinels, Storm, Streets of Rage, Wolverine, X-men, Xbox 360

Review: Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date January 7, 2011

Marvel Comics are a company that have no problem reinventing their property in multiple, self-contained universes. Hell, you only need to check out Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions to see just four of the main contenders to see just how diverse these takes on popular characters can be. One such reinvention is probably more popular with younger Marvel fans than your usual comic reader and actually started life as a way of taking Marvel’s popular characters and turning them into a line of cutesy, super-deformed toys suitable for children of younger ages.

Such was their popularity that a Saturday morning cartoon show was formed and maybe somewhat predictably, along came the accompanying game shortly thereafter. Courtesy of THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment (or Mass Media, depending on the platform), the first game based on Hasbro’s figurines tanked, and rightly so. It offered nothing new or interesting and seemingly was a simple cash-in, marketed at getting little kiddies to beg their parents into buying it to match their Marvel Super Hero Squad bedspreads and lampshades.

Undeterred by the game’s critical and commercial failure, THQ passed the development duties over to Griptonite Games for the sequel, ‘The Infinity Gauntlet’, released last November. Being the site’s resident Spider-Man fanboy (thus making me the authority on all things Marvel, clearly), I was tasked with seeing if this game is worth purchasing for the kids (and big kids) alike.

Tags Hasbro, Hulk, Iron Man, Marvel, Marvel Super Hero Squad, Marvel Super Hero Squad 2, Spider-Man, The Infinity Gauntlet

Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date December 23, 2010

Ah, Assassin’s Creed. This series has been somewhat of a puzzle for me. I very much enjoyed the first game in spite of its obvious flaws and in my circles I often found myself to be one of the few defenders of its free-running thrills. It featured what was undoubtedly one of my favourite game engines of all time, but thanks to an undeniable amount of repetition, it certainly couldn’t be considered one of my favourite games of all time. With the second game I pre-ordered as soon as I possibly could, awaiting it with high hopes, but later cancelled once I’d played a very early and clunky build at Eurogamer 2009. In fact, I only just picked up the sequel in the light of this very review of Assassin’s Creed’s first foray into what I was led to believe was a ‘spin-off’.

I found playing the sequel a bit of an eye-opener, instantly wishing that I hadn’t cancelled that pre-order last year. I found myself in awe of how Ubi had listened, then provided more of the great elements of the first title, while adding a better mission structure and removing all traces of the grind that nearly ruined it as a franchise in the eyes of the media. It is probably now fairly regarded as the big title that Ubi had hoped in 2007. Even with that turnaround of success, Brotherhood worried me; was it a lazily developed cash-in, just a year after the last game? Would it really add anything revolutionary compared to last year’s instalment? Can the game engine really lend itself to an enjoyable online mode?

The answers to those three questions in short are; no, yes, and hell yes! Want more detail? You know what to do to find out!

Tags Assassin's Creed:Brotherhood, Assassins Creed, Blade, Ezio, Hidden blades, Jade Raymond, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal

Review: Megamind: Ultimate Showdown

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date December 22, 2010

So, the bad guy never gets the girl or the glory. That’s generally how things work out, right?

Well, Megamind, the latest animated feature from Dreamworks, may change your perception on things just slightly. Megamind is the kind of bad guy that is so incredibly awesome, so invincible and maniacally diabolical that he can kill his arch-nemesis (a super hero) and take over an entire city, ruling it with his own iron fist. Now how many of those do you know? Not many I’d hazard a guess.

Naturally, success dictates, and therefore aforementioned animated feature spawns spewed-out cash-in game designed to capitalise on the film’s popularity. However, the game, Ultimate Showdown, is surprisingly not a rehash of the events of the film, but is, in fact, a separate, self-contained story featuring the blue, big-headed protagonist (or antagonist?!) of the hit Dreamworks movie.

Question is, is the story and game any good ? Let’s find out…

Tags Megamind, Movie Game, Movie tie-in, thq, Tina Fey, WilL Ferrell

Review: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom

Post author By Simon Weatherall
Post date December 13, 2010

When the chance to review Majin came up, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure I was going to like the game. I, for one, had never heard of it up until we were asked to review it, so a little research was my first priority. With my interest then piqued in the title developed by Game Republic (famous for the Clash of the Titans game) and published by Namco Bandai, I had to persuade the rest of the staff that they didn’t want to touch this title (using Clash of The Titans as my main point of reference).

Everybody who knows anything about me (and possibly even regular readers) will have worked out that I have a bit of thing about Japanese games, so much so that I will do anything humanly possible to play them. I will honestly admit that the TIMJ staff as a general rule have to fight me for anything made by a Japanese company (I use big samurai swords, they cut deep).

The game came and so I played, hoping that I wouldn’t be as disappointed with this as I was with Clash of the Titans.

Tags Adventure, clash of the titans, Game Republic, Japanese, lite-rpg, majin, majin and the forsaken kingdom, Namco Bandai

Review: Splatterhouse

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date December 13, 2010

Splatterhouse, as you can perhaps tell by the name, is a great game for all the family, involving messy but fun art projects like watercolour painting and making finger puppets. Yeah, right. Splatterhouse is the foulest, most despicably vile filth I have ever had the fortune/misfortune to put in a games console. Developed by Namco Bandai, it is essentially a remake of the classic 1988 arcade game of the same name; a side-scrolling beat ‘em up with over-generous lashings of blood and gore.

The transfer to 3D and modern-day standards hasn’t changed the essence of the game much; if anything though, it’s made it even more gruesome. Imagine the infamous Gears of War chainsaw slice, over and over and over again… for around ten straight hours and you’ll get a pretty accurate impression of what’s in store here. The question is, however, after a thorough disembowelling, has Splatterhouse actually got enough guts on offer to make it a worthwhile experience?

Tags 1988, 2010, 360, arcade, Beat em up, blood, Classic, Dante's Inferno, Fighter, God of War, Gore, Horror, Namco Bandai, playstation 3, PS3, Snuff, Splatter House, Splatterhouse, Third-Person, Violence, xbox

Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date December 8, 2010

At the risk of upsetting my peers of a similar age or older, I’ve never really fully appreciated the simple genius that is Pac-Man. I know all about and respect his lineage, contribution and importance to the industry, but nearly any attempt on my part to plough any time into the game over the years usually ended after ten minutes. In fact, the most attention I ever spent on it was thanks only to Google’s famous interactive logo celebrating Pac-Man’s thirty years in gaming a few months ago. It was also probably the reason that 2007’s Pac-man Championship Edition totally passed me by.

The sequel to that remake, Championship Edition DX, hit the marketplace Wednesday just gone and for some reason I opted to give the trial a go and something strange happened; I couldn’t stop playing it. What made this edition of Pac-Man appeal more than the others? Some subtle reinvention, for one.

Tags Blinky, Champion Edition DX, Clyde, Inky, Namco Bandai, Namco Generations, Pac-man, Pinky, wakka

Review: Crazy Taxi

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date December 7, 2010

I don’t mind admitting that as a younger man I was a huge Sega fanboy. I am also happy to state that arcade racer Crazy Taxi was one of my favourite games back in the day and I did spend a fair bit at the arcades trying to master it. Suffice to say when I first heard it was coming to XBLA I was more than a touch excited and was very quick to nominate myself for the review.

Crazy Taxi also now happens to be available on PSN and at 800MP or $9.99. The question is does this port of one of Sega’s classic titles warrant a purchase or should it be consigned to the Arcade Graveyard? Read on to find out.

Tags arcade, crazy taxi, dreamcast, driving, PSN, Sega, XBLA

Review: Alien Breed 3: Descent

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date December 2, 2010

The Amiga defined a generation, bringing with it some classic titles that are still as beloved today as they were back then. Alien Breed, created by Team 17, is a reimaging of one such classic Amiga title and has been released in episodic instalments via digital download mediums across multiple formats throughout the year. Descent is the third and final instalment in this new Alien Breed series and follows the continuing story of Theodore J Conrad, an engineer aboard the spaceship Leopold as he struggles against a wave of unrelenting aliens.

Does Conrad and Alien Breed go out with a bang or will this last episode redefine the series for the worst?

Tags Alien Breed 2: Assault, Alien Breed 3: Descent, Alien Breed: Impact, Aliens, Conrad, Mia, PC, playstation 3, PSN, Steam, team 17, Unreal, Unreal Engine, Xbox 360, Xbox Live

Review: Fallout: New Vegas

Post author By Debbie Lloyd
Post date November 22, 2010

Following on from the huge success of Fallout 3, it was hard to know whether it was best to play it safe and keeps things the same, or take a bit of a gamble with something different to keep it fresh. Fallout: New Vegas has actually managed to do a bit of both. Retaining all the charm that made its predecessor such a hit, New Vegas delivers some impressive extras making your journey through the Mojave Desert all the more enjoyable.

I picked up the Collectors Edition which included a set of poker chips from the casinos featured in the game, a graphic novel acting as a sequel to in-game events, a pack of cards from mini-game Caravan, and a ‘making of’ DVD, all packaged very nicely in a collectors box.

Tags Bethesda, Blackjack, Fallout New Vegas, Glitchy, Mojave, perks, Roulette, RPG, Shooter, VATS, Xbox 360

Review: Rock Band 3

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 18, 2010

Unlike Guitar Hero, Harmonix have been slightly less frequent with releasing instalments of Rock Band. Certainly, you can argue that with The Beatles and Greenday, they’re beginning to milk the Rock Band name, but this is only the third actual Rock Band title in the brand for console platforms, which is actually quite surprising when you consider how long its been around. However, what may be more surprising to you is that it’s also the most innovative and forward thinking of the lot, not just for Rock Band but any rhythm game released to date.

How is that possible? Read on…

Please note: the reviewer of this game did not have access to the Keyboard or any of the pro instruments. Reviewed experiences with RB3 are purely based on the original controllers and how the game fares in Single Player and Online. As such, this review may be subject to change in the future.

Tags Harmonix, Music, Rhythm Games, rock band, Rock Band 3

Review: Saw II: Flesh and Blood

Post author By Simon Weatherall
Post date November 17, 2010

Tobin Bell might possibly be the creepiest guy in a film. Now I’m not saying that the guy is downright weird or anything, he just plays characters far too well. That said, Jigsaw was the only thing I liked about the Saw film franchise. The twisted way of dealing with his victims, having them kill themselves with nothing more than circumstance and swift kick in the right direction.

A while back I had the chance to play Saw: The Video Game, by Blacklight; Tango Down developer Zombie Studios, and I have to admit that I did enjoy it more than the movies. It wasn’t as graphic, but it did try to have shock value but that’s not why I liked it either. It was because it made me feel more engaged within the storyline. I know it wasn’t the best game ever made, but trying to work out the puzzles was brilliant. Even if the setting on occasion was tasteless and so far off the reservation that your moral compass would be telling you to die and save someone else’s life, you knew that a selfless act like that wouldn’t happen.

Zombie Studios once again return to the Saw franchise, and I have to admit that when Saw II: Flesh and Blood was announced I was quite surprised, especially with the first game not getting the best reviews and getting slated for its distastefulness. Dubbed ‘torture porn’, the first game managed to pass classifications and here we are again, with another helping of gore slipping through. Just like the movies, we have another full helping of torture, puzzles and horror; the biggest question to be answered is whether it’s actually any good?

Continue reading “Review: Saw II: Flesh and Blood”

Tags Jigsaw, Saw, Saw 2: Flesh & Blood, Saw II, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, Saw: The Video Game, Zombie Studios

Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Post author By Michael Charge
Post date November 17, 2010

Even if you don’t like Call of Duty, you have to admit that last year’s Modern Warfare 2 did rather well at its launch, drawing in a huge number of sales ruined only slightly by the Infinty Ward snafu a couple of months later. However, this year is Treyarch’s year and they are taking us to back to the Cold War. Can it match up to last year’s blockbuster or should this game never have got off the boat?

Tags Activision, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, COD BLack Ops, Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2, Treyarch

Review: Alpha Protocol

Post author By Trent Pyro
Post date November 17, 2010

Ever wanted to be a spy? I have. When I was a kid I used to play spies with my mates, chasing them around my village with my plastic gun, catching them and interrogating them after a juicy shoot-out. Just like James Bond. Now, courtesy of Alpha Protocol from Obsidian Entertainment I can find out if I would really be any good at it. Taking its cues equally from Mass Effect and Splinter Cell, this ‘espionage RPG’ tells the tale of a super secret government organisation tasked with keeping the world in check and stopping dastardly terrorists from blowing everything up. The big question, as always is whether it’s any good. Let’s find out…

Tags Alpha Protocol, annoying, computers, cover, espionage, gadgets, guns, hacking, innacurate, James Bond, NSA, Obsidian, RPG, secret, Shooter, spy, Stealth, terrorists

Review: WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date November 16, 2010

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011 is the latest game in arguably the gaming world’s biggest Wrestling franchise. Released by THQ and developed by Yukes, the game is available now on all home consoles. Now, I have to hold my hands up right from the off and admit I am far from a Wrestling fan. In fact I would say that prior to receiving the review copy of WWE: SvR I have watched no more than sixty minutes of the popular sports entertainment show ever. This has led to a fair few google and youtube searches of over muscled men in lycra hot pants, much to the amusement of friends, family and colleagues alike.

So the question is, does the game do the WWE proud and has it converted me? Read on to find out.

Tags PS3, raw, smackdown, Sports entertainment, thq, Wii, wrestlemania, Wrestling, WWE, Xbox 360, yukes

Review: Deadly Premonition

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date November 16, 2010

Deadly Premonition, like all murder mystery games, raises a lot of questions. Who is the killer? Who is the main character’s split personality, and why does no one question him publicly being talked to? Why does the game look years old? How do you get money for shaving your facial hair, saving the game and perving in old women’s windows? Why am I being mouth-raped by zombies doing the backwards limbo? Where did my sanity go? What were the developers thinking?

Unfortunately, Deadly Premonition creates a lot more questions than it answers. Developed by Access Games, I think I can quite honestly say I have never, in my many years of gaming, come across anything remotely like it. Available for a mere £15-20 at release, this astonishing piece of… I don’t know… has been in the making for a long time, originally intended as a budget title on PS2. I’m guessing they just had far too much fun making it to be bothered about releasing it any time sooner, so who knows how many years down the line, here it finally is, on the Xbox 360.

Review: Costume Quest

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 10, 2010

Double Fine Studios are one of the most underated developers out there and it’s certainly not from a lack of trying. Since their inception, they have produced a small but quality filled catalogue of games, yet continue to meet limited commercial success. You may have heard talk of a game called Psychonauts or last year’s Brutal Legend, both of which brought something different to the table, both of which are adored by respective fanbases, both of which just about made enough for a return on the game but made hardly any profit. This is part of the reason Tim Schafer’s team decided to adopt a new marketing strategy, splitting their teams up to work on smaller games and opting to release downloadable produce instead of a boxed, retail copy.

Costume Quest is their first effort in this new campaign. Will this merit the success story they’ve been looking for?

Tags Candy, Costume Quest, Costumes, Double Fine, Final Fantasy, Halloween, Monsters, Tim Schafer, Trick or Treat, World of warcraft, XP

Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Post author By Stephen Jacob
Post date November 9, 2010

Since its creation in 1977 the Star Wars universe has grown to be one of the most prominent in entertainment history. Although usually associated with a certain stereotype, its huge presence in pop culture is undeniable. Aside from the movies it can probably be argued, though, that no other Star Wars product had really enjoyed mainstream success. The Force Unleashed was released in 2008 and became the fastest selling Star Wars game ever, hitting over 1 million sales worldwide in only its first month. Ultimately, it went on to become the most successful Star Wars game ever made.

Despite a number of serious gameplay issues The Force Unleashed was a game I deeply enjoyed playing. It bridged the gap of the events between episodes 3 and 4, adding new characters to the lore while also delivering a surprisingly solid story. The player assumed the role of Galen Marek (codename, Starkiller) Darth Vader’s secret apprentice who is ordered to hunt down the remaining Jedi. You were referred to as the ‘Human Wrecking Ball’ with the devastating power of the Force at your disposal.

Tags Darth, Darth Vader, force, force unleashed 2, Jedi, Lucas Arts, PS3, Sith, Star, Star Wars, Starkiller, unleashed, Vader, Wars, Xbox 360

Review: F1 2010

Post author By Andy Corrigan
Post date November 9, 2010

I must admit, I’m only something of a casual Formula One fan; I love to watch the races, have a general idea on who is competing for what each year but I have absolutely bugger all knowledge about the technical levels of which fans usually spend hours following and debating. So having last played an F1 game back on the PSOne, when it was announced that the license would be changing hands from Sony to Codemasters, I was a little intrigued on how it would pan out and how much will have changed in a decade. This is Codies’ first year bringing the franchise to the ‘big two’, having focused only on the handhelds and the Wii last year, so I was very much looking forward to seeing how they managed the precarious task of balancing fun vs. realism in a sport that people can be very particular about.

Tags cars, Codemasters, Codies, Cornering, driving, F1, F1 2010, Formula One, Pole Position, racing, Simulation, Sony

Review: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Post author By James Sheppard
Post date November 8, 2010

Naruto is one of those fickle things; you’re either going to love the little orange jumpsuited, spiky blonde-haired chap and his animated adventures, or hate his guts for the annoying, excitable little pipsqueak that he is. The extent to which you will enjoy Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 may depend entirely on whether you sit firmly within the former camp, or the latter. The game was developed by CyberConnect2, and is certainly not the first Naruto title by them, and I’m sure it will not be the last, either. If my reliable sources are correct, (*cough* Wikipedia *cough) NS:UNS 2 is in fact their tenth Naruto game, and their other main claim to fame being the reasonably successful, if not critically acclaimed, .hack RPG series on PS2.

The Naruto games by CyberConnect2 on PS2 and PSP ranged from average to fairly decent affairs, but as of late the move to the current gen of home consoles seems to have improved the standard. The first Ultimate Ninja Storm released two years ago on PS3 was a reasonable success, boasting a free-roaming game world, loads of characters from the anime, and solid fighting gameplay. Will Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, coming to Microsoft’s console as well for the first time, continue the trend, or has it turned out about as appealing as a bowl of dog-food ramen?

Tags action, Adventure, Animation, anime, Beat em up, Console, CyberConnect 2, Fighter, fighting, Jutsu, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Ninja, Ninjutsu, playstation 3, PS3, tv, Xbox 360

Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post author By Ray Willmott
Post date November 1, 2010

When a new team is placed in charge of an established, beloved brand, measured with the task of making it up-to-date and current, bad things can happen. However, it is fair to say that the Castlevania series, at least when it pertains to home consoles, is in need of a new coat of paint. The series has found great success on handhelds and re-releases on arcade marketplaces of late, but as the recent ‘all-new’ Castlevania on XBLA proved, things needed to change.

Introducing Lords of Shadow, the first fully fledged 3D Castlevania game this gen. Scrapping the 2D side-scrolling look and feel of previous instalments for something entirely new is a big gamble, but with names like Hideo Kojima involved in the development and voice actors such as Patrick Stewart, Jason Issacs and Robert Carlyle pledging their support, surely this cannot fail? Can it?

Review: R.U.S.E.

Post author By Michael Charge
Post date October 28, 2010

Ah Ubisoft. Your cunning plans of using evil DRM were thwarted via the gaming public so you decided to go with the sensible option on your latest strategy game. A good choice too, as R.U.S.E. is an excellent entry into the RTS genre that takes a familiar setting and puts its own spin on it through the use of cunning plans.

Tags Cunning Plans, Eugen Studios, R.U.S.E., Steam, Ubisoft

Review: Pro Evolution Soccer 2011

Post author By Phil Ubee
Post date October 27, 2010

Pro Evolution Soccer and its predecessor, International Superstar Soccer, have been one of Konami’s biggest selling franchises for a generation. For years it was regarded as the flag bearer of console football but over the past few years it has seen EA Sports FIFA not just catch up, but overtake and disappear into the distance.

Konami have been talking of taking back their crown for the past couple of releases with no real substance but this year promised to be different. Heck, even I stated on my demo impressions that the potential was there for a title challenge. I’ve been interrogating the full release to see if this challenge is genuine or if PES once again fails to deliver.

Tags Football, Konami, PES 2011, PS3, Reviews, Soccer, Xbox 360