Games
Journey Review (PS3)
April 14, 2012
Thatgamecompany is back with their third game, Journey, which sees the player travel across a strange and beautiful land to their ultimate destination, with other real players accompanying them along the way. While the gameplay and visuals are unique, the ethos and atmosphere behind Journey harks back to the wonderful worlds of both flOw and Flower. And much like its predecessors, exposition is a visual experience, left for the player to interpret.
The player is given control of a small, robed and hooded figure who can run, jump and slide and that’s about it. Beautiful in its simplicity, the game naturally introduces its salient features and mechanics through player discovery. Anyone seeking a complex platforming system and an arsenal of special moves may be disappointed because that is the very antithesis of Journey.
Continue reading »Joe Danger: Special Edition Review (Xbox 360)
March 3, 2012
Finally, I hear some of you say. It was only 18 months ago that Joe Danger was released on the PSN so it’s good to see its release on Xbox LIVE. I have to be honest and say I’d only played a little bit of the game on the PSN and enjoyed what I saw. So I was definitely interested in getting my hands on it again when I heard the Special Edition was being released on Xbox LIVE.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Review (PS3)
February 15, 2012
Naughty Dog have really set the bar with the Uncharted franchise, starting with Drake’s Fortune and the critically acclaimed sequel in the form of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The storylines are like Hollywood blockbusters and the gameplay is second to none. So people were yet again expecting something special with Drake’s Deception. But have Naughty Dog been able to deliver yet another classic?
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Review (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
January 13, 2012
Our old friend Ezio Auditore is back for one final romp, and this yearly dose of conspiratorial frolics is getting somewhat perplexing. Surely such a hasty turnaround should result in shoddy and rushed sequels? But I think it’s safe to say last year’s Brotherhood proved us all wrong, with a healthy measure of new content and logical improvements. The question is, as we close Ezio’s chapter of the story, has Ubisoft’s army of international studios pulled it off once again?
Revelations is the first game to tie all three existing protagonists together, exploring both the twilight years of ancestors Ezio and Altair (the 12th century Syrian assassin), and fleshing out present day Desmond’s troubled past. Now here’s where I have to blurb the “previously on Assassin’s Creed..”, but to tell you the truth, it isn’t exactly straightforward. Not that the esotericism is necessarily detrimental to the franchise, but it does make it a tad impenetrable to newcomers.
Continue reading »Free ‘Joe Danger’ Christmas Special Edition DLC On Xbox 360
December 20, 2011
Along with the release of the Joe Danger Special Edition on Xbox 360, Hello Games are throwing out some free, yes that’s right, FREE, festive DLC from 21st December. In case you weren’t aware, it’s nearly Christmas so in keeping with the festive season, you’ll be able to download the Santa DLC which includes a Santa costume, new Quad bike and, when selected, it will snow whilst you’re performing some sick tricks throughout the game.
Not only do you get a new vehicle in the Quad bike, but the controls are slightly different to the bike in that the ATV is faster and more bouncy. So if you’ve already mastered some tricks on the bike then you’ll have to ho-ho-hone your skills once again and try the new Quadbike across all the courses in the game.
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LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 Review (PS3)
November 25, 2011
There’s no more books and no more films, so it’s a welcome sight to see the second installment of the LEGO Harry Potter games hit our shelves. Yet another LEGO game of a popular movie franchise hits our shelves, and I can see how some people could get bored by the amount that are out there. But these games are just too damn fun. So what makes LEGO Harry Potter years 5-7 different from the rest and worth your money?
Jak and Daxter HD Collection Announced
November 12, 2011
As you may know, I have quite a love for the Jak and Daxter franchise so you can only guess my excitement when the Jak and Daxter HD Collection was finally announced.
Ever since I played the first Jak and Daxter game back in 2001, I’ve been completely hooked with the loveable duo and have bought ever iteration of the game since. I was quite disappointed with The Lost Frontier which was released on the PSP and ported over to the PS2 and wasn’t a proper Jak and Daxter game in my opinion. I’ve been dying for Naughty Dog to bring us the sequel we’ve all been screaming for, and this goes some way to filling that void.
Continue reading »Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review (PC/Xbox 360/PS3)
August 30, 2011
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has a hefty weight on its shoulders: the expectations and apprehensions of thousands of fans of the original Deus Ex released in 2000, a highly acclaimed RPG whose levels of complexity in both gameplay and narrative are a force to be reckoned with. But in another respect, it’s almost a new franchise that needs to win over a new generation that doesn’t necessarily remember PC games of a bygone era. Either way, half-baked isn’t going to cut it. Fortunately, the game has spent at least four years in development, showing Eidos is committed to giving the franchise a prequel it deserves.
Story
You play as Adam Jensen, a former cop who works as a security specialist for a bio-mechanical augmentation company known as Sarif Industries in 2027. These augmentations are the powerfully divisive preoccupation of the age, raising tensions in society and exposing the disparity between the have’s and have-not’s. The corporations bill them as the next stage of human evolution and a chance to better ourselves, while anti-augment groups are concerned over both philosophical issues, such as playing god, and inequity problems.
Continue reading »10 Most Wanted Video Game Releases For Autumn / Winter 2011
August 18, 2011
The autumn/winter period of 2011 looks set to both blow my tiny mind just like the gaming end of 2010 did last year, and financially destroy me. The cavalcade of great games coming out just in the next few months, let alone early 2012, is almost too long to list, so here’s a few of my most anticipated releases that will keep me firmly in front of the video gaming screen during the cold months.
10. Dead Island
Release: September 9th
This is my wildcard, so to speak. I can’t vouch for any tried and tested genius from this game to make it onto my wanted list. However, the less-is-more direction of the zombie-play has me more than a little intrigued. For instance, just one zombie is tough to fight off (so could be somewhat different from the likes of Left 4 Dead 2), thus the bleak screams of four or five of the chaps becomes utterly petrifying. Plus, plenty of melee frolics, including kicking and explosive throwing knives, makes Dead Island a worthwhile gamble.
F1 2011 Game Preview (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
June 30, 2011
F1 finally came back to the PC and major consoles last year in the form of Codemaster’s F1 2010 video game and, the occasional AI and pit-stop bug aside, it certainly lived up to the hype receiving widespread critical acclaim including a gaming BAFTA for best sports game.
However, whilst the game created a solid base there was still much room for improvement and so this year’s version of the franchise aims to build on the successes of last year whilst learning from the mistakes, and all indications suggest that there have been some substantial leaps forward in F1 2011.
The first major change in the game mirrors those occurring in the sport in real life: the rules. DRS (which stands for ‘Drag Reduction System’) and KERS (‘Kinetic Energy Recovery System) have both been introduced into the sport this year as a way to increase the excitement of races; the former opens a rear-wing flap reducing drag (and thus increasing speed) whilst the latter gives a speed boost from a battery charged under breaking. Both of these technologies along with the new Pirelli tyres have proven very effective at creating interesting races in real life, and there is no reason given that they are present in the game that they will not do the same.
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