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5 (18) 4 (47) 3 (35) 2 (12) 1 (5) 3.5 starsAverage score of 117 user reviews
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Excellent storytelling compels familiar gameplay 4
Spec Ops: The Line is unabashed in its Heart of Darkness influences. Joseph Conrad’s classic journey upriver through the Congo, and later Vietnam and Cambodia in Apocalypse Now, replaced with the golden sand dunes of a desolate Dubai. The once oil rich metropolis reduced to hell on earth as a series of historic and apocalyptic sandstorms ravage the Middle Eastern paradise and its towering landmarks. This is not a venue normally befitting of a modern military shooter, but then Spec Ops: The Line ...
29 out of 30 found this review helpful. -
Ghost Recon's bombastic shift falters in its execution 0
Apart from a few handheld titles and a Wii game, the last time the Ghost Reconfranchise hit consoles in full force was 2007’s Advanced Warfighter 2. Since then we’ve seen three Modern Warfare games change the landscape of the modern military shooter market, shifting the focus to over-the-top set pieces, ridiculous action and a hefty multiplayer component that engulfs all in its way. It seems the only way to compete with the crowd is to follow it, and so Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier s...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Flawed, dumb and surprisingly fun 0
Prototype 2 is a silly game. Its promotional material may try to paint it as something else but its sensibilities remain right in line with its flawed predecessor. The Johnny Cash-laden trailer – full of dead families and sad photographs - may try to elicit some kind of emotional resonance by pulling at the heartstrings of a broken father’s plight, but the story and its characters are little more than a propellant for the absurd actionPrototype 2 revels in. It’s hardly an emotional journey and i...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Writing and characters propel this zombie tale 0
Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead offers a refreshing change of pace for the zombie genre. Like Robert Kirkman’s long running comic book and its TV series adaptation,The Walking Dead focuses on characterisation, story and the state of human morality in the wake of a zombie apocalypse over the mindless slaughter of hordes of the undead. Sure, there’s still a bucket load of zombie violence, but it’s a slow burn with moments of intensity that lends itself well to Telltale’s brand of adventure game s...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A fun aside for the hero of light 0
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare started off development as an action-focused aside for the Alan Wake series. While its wave-based survival mode is still a part of the package, Remedy fortunately came to their senses and realised fans were clamouring for more story, character and atmosphere for the darkness-battling writer. It might not be a full-on sequel but American Nightmare weaves an interesting tale, shedding some light on the ambiguity of Alan Wake’s finale while still keeping its aberrant ...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Newcomers and veterans rejoice; Undisputed is back 0
After taking a break from the franchise to avoid the dreaded annual fatigue, UFC Undisputed is back and ready to step into the Octagon for its hard-hitting third instalment. With the superb EA MMA comfortably filling the gap in its absence,Undisputed has returned to reclaim its crown, adding meaningful improvements to multiple areas that elevate its already solid rendition of the brutal sport of Mixed Martial Arts.It’s evolution over revolution, but it hits harder than ever.Hits are brutalNewcom...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Kingdoms of Middling Side Quests 12
The minds behind Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are certainly cultured in the world of fantasy RPGs. Ken Rolston brings his pedigree (and some Bethesda alumni with it) having worked on both The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind and its successor, Oblivion; while accomplished fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore breathes life into the world of Amalur, creating a 10,000 year history for the developers at Big Huge Games to pull from. When you factor in the fantastic art design from Todd McFarlane and the enthrallin...
71 out of 79 found this review helpful. -
Arrivederci, Ezio Auditore da Firenze 4
Assassins Creed: Brotherhood was a genuine surprise last year, dismissing worries over its short development cycle by building on the solid foundations set by its excellent predecessor and providing another fantastic entry in Ubisoft’s stalwart, parkour-loving franchise. Its quality and success set a precedent for the series, so it’s no surprise to find us a year older with Assassins Creed: Revelations landing at our feet, double-blades in tow; the third game in three years to take us back into ...
18 out of 19 found this review helpful. -
Issues as contagious as a deadly zombie bite 6
You remember that trailer, right? The one that told the harrowing story of a small family torn apart by a fleshthirsty zombie infestation. The one with the slick editing, beautiful music, memorable imagery and emotional resonance we so rarely see in video games. The one that took the internet by storm and re-introduced us all to Dead Island; the zombie game that might just pull at the heartstrings, offering more than just a comical bash of undead slaying. Well you can forget all about that trail...
30 out of 32 found this review helpful. -
A novel concept revitalises a franchise 6
Driver is backAfter the abysmal and controversial Driver 3, Ubisoft Reflections’ high-speed Driver series took a drastic fall from the gaming limelight. Its stylish world of brutish muscle cars, Bullitt inspired car chases and emphasis on unadulterated 70s style driving went from being a jewel of the PlayStation era to a distant, forgettable, and often painful memory. Driver 3 dragged the once-popular series through the mud and grime and rendered it virtually beyond repair; transforming it into ...
19 out of 19 found this review helpful. -
The White Wolf returns 0
CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher was an ambitious game. It was hindered somewhat by its fair share of glitches and performance issues - relating to both hardware and abysmal voice work and English translation – but more than anything it showcased the Polish developer’s love for Andrzej Sapkowski’s source material, and their aptitude to not rest on their laurels. Almost a year after its original release in 2007, The Witcher received a re-release, fixing the problems that plagued it the first time aro...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Forever in the making, but still not sure of its identity 0
A few years ago Duke Nukem Forever was dead. Sent to the doldrums of many a cancelled game, destined to never see the light of day. And yet here we are; the year is 2011 and Duke Nukem Forever is actually a finished game – a physical item you can sit down and play yourself. It’s quite a surreal experience considering the twelve year development hell that became the gaming industry’s longest running joke. It had gone through multiple iterations before Gearbox picked it up and set about finishing ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
It's A Slobberknocker! 0
WWE All Stars is a depiction of the sport young kids all over the world dream up during their wildest spurts of imagination. The hits are real and gloriously over-the-top, pitting giant, beefy superstars from multiple generations together in a gratuitous mix of outlandishly stylised, high-flying action. It takes you away to a world you may once remember, where wrestling was a fantastical sight to behold; away from the more realistic style present in the tired and clunky yearly releases of...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A New York Minute 0
Crysis 2 has had PC gamers worried. Crytek’s first foray into this futuristic world of military grade Nanosuits and alien invasions was a landmark title for the platform. Besides from the open, sprawling battlefields and novel abilities granted by the Nanosuit, this was a shooter lauded for its technical profligacy. The gaming rigs of its day couldn’t run it at its highest settings, and if there was ever a reason to showcase the PC’s graphical prowess, Crysis was by far and away the game t...
6 out of 8 found this review helpful. -
Does EA’s latest deliver a knockout blow? 3
A lot of sports games can be criticised for their yearly release schedules, with each new title offering very little from year to year in terms of meaningful new features, instead boiling down to a couple of gameplay tweaks and a roster update. With EA’s Fight Night series there isn’t the burden of annual releases so the team at EA Canada have extra development time to really refine and build upon their previous successes. With Fight Night Champion they’ve surprisingly gone above and beyon...
9 out of 10 found this review helpful. -
A Lovecraftian scarefest 0
Despite their graphical restrictions and penchant for awful voice acting, the survival horror games of the ’90s and early 2000s always managed to frighten with effective use of the protagonist’s vulnerability and a fantastic, panic-inducing atmosphere. In recent years, however, this traditional survival horror genre has almost died out, with beefy mercenaries armed to the teeth with myriad heavy weapons, easily disposing of any ‘scary’ foe they may encounter, replacing the hapless, civili...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Killing zombies, one roll of duct tape at a time 0
Apparently we can’t get enough of the living dead. Whether it’s the traditional slow-moving kind, the terrifying speed-merchants, the plant-fighting variant or even those of Nazi descent, we just love killing zombies in a multitude of increasingly brutal and inventive ways. Even after all these years, Capcom’s Dead Rising is perhaps the prime example of this. Many were put-off and dumbfounded by its unconventional and baffling game design at the time, but the mass zombie destruction was a...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Shanghai shoot-out 0
IO Interactive’s gritty third-person shooter, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men received plenty of publicity when it was released back at the end of 2007. Not because of any widespread high praise or revolutionary game mechanics, but because of a certain high-profile controversy. In reality, Dead Men was an exceptionally flawed game that failed to live up to its potential and the expectations placed on the Hitman developer. Its story might have earned some fans for its brutal tale of two unpredictable ps...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A forgettable romp 0
Yes, you can swing on water After the Prince’s cel-shaded and ridiculously easy adventures in 2008’s Prince of Persia, Ubisoft have seemingly abandoned their new direction for the series, opting to revert back to the original Sands of Time trilogy with Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. It may coincide with the release of Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney’s big-budget movie adaptation of The Sands of Time, but it has little to do with the movie (sorry, no sexy Jake); instead, filling i...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
So you wanna be a fighter? 0
Knock-out blow As a first-year product, UFC 2009 Undisputed was a fantastic start for the Mixed Martial Arts series. It accurately recreated the hard-hitting sport, with a solid stand-up game, plenty of depth and strategy to the ground and pound and its vicious submissions; an impressive bevy of fighters, and competent single player and multiplayer options. Its only problematic flaws came from some unwieldy controls and a severe lack of beneficial tutorials. Mixed Martial Arts is a p...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Give me fuel, give me fire 0
Expect to see plenty of this When you think of a Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay production, you think of big-budget, high gloss, action sequences with fast cars, multiple explosions and plenty of hair-raising moments. Vehicles are engulfed in flames left, right and centre, flipping into the air and careening out of control; buildings collapse upon the streets, shop windows are blown out, helicopters swoop down across the road and city centres are completely and utterly demolished...
8 out of 8 found this review helpful. -
After five years in the making, it's time to wake up 1
A successful, Stephen King-inspired horror novelist, whose dressing style features a suit-jacket with leather elbow pads, isn’t someone you’d expect to be an action hero. However, the titular protagonist of Remedy’s long awaited psychological action thriller, Alan Wake, is surprisingly adept at wielding all manner of powerful firearms. Maybe it should have been expected given Remedy’s pedigree for cinematic action with the brilliant Max Payne, but since Alan Wake’s announcement back in 20...
17 out of 17 found this review helpful. -
World Cup glory or penalty shootout agony? 7
FIFA’s World Cup and European Cup games have received a deservedly bad reputation throughout the years. They’re usually rushed out to coincide with the big event not long after the latest annual outing, often skimming over substantial features and adding nothing new to the gameplay despite their full pricing. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa looks to break up this disappointing formula, featuring a plethora of new and unique features whilst improving upon the already fantastic FIFA 10 eng...
31 out of 35 found this review helpful. -
Shoot to thrill 0
Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and co. may have satisfied our Wild West thirst on the big screen, but the world of gun-slinging outlaws has never really materialised in any meaningful way on the videogame circuit. Red Dead Redemption could go some way to filling that void this May, but until then, if you’re looking for some rootin’ tootin’ shootouts at dawn, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West could be a good way to pass the time. Howdy partner Lead and Gold is a third-person, team-based ...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Sam Fisher is back and better than ever 0
Sam Fisher may have lost his daughter, killed his best friend and seen his life begin to unravel, but his troubles are nothing compared to the tumultuous few years Splinter Cell: Conviction has endured. After a debut trailer depicting an old, downtrodden Sam Fisher - long hair and beard in tow – involved in hand-to-hand combat in broad daylight, the team at Ubisoft Montreal took early criticism on board and carried Conviction back to the drawing board for some much needed redesigning. The...
11 out of 11 found this review helpful. -
Going deeper underground 1
It’s rare for games from Europe’s Eastern Bloc to receive as much attention as games from the West and the Far East. The most successful titles from this region have been the Serious Sam and S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, but there’s always been something oddly appealing about this particular “genre” - if you can even call it that. Their storylines are typically fairly unique while the developer’s ambitions spread far and beyond the technical limitations that befall them. These games may have the...
28 out of 29 found this review helpful. -
The return of the fist bump 0
The first Army of Two had some issues trying to find its tone. On the one hand all it wanted to do was bro-out, offering fist bumps, air guitar and “pimped” out golden weapons to fire. While on the other side of the spectrum it dealt with seedy private military corporations in real-world conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some oddly-placed conspiracy theories about 9/11 and America’s reasons for going to war in the Middle East. The two sides never really gelled, and the co-op gamepla...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Destruction 2.0 0
Competition is always healthy. After dominating the realm of multiplayer first person shooters for so many years, DICE’s Battlefield series has been overtaken in recent times by the surging emergence of Call of Duty and its Modern Warfare brand. The first Bad Company was a step in the right direction, offering a substantial multiplayer package whilst also showcasing the Swedish developer’s first attempt at a dedicated single player campaign, complete with memorable characters and an actua...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Braaaaaains! 0
This image more than set the scene Zombies, zombies, zombies; they’re everywhere. In our games, our movies, our books; whether they’re the classic slow moving kind, the crazy sprinting kind or even those that aren’t technically zombies, though we all know they really are (you’re not fooling anyone Resi 5). It seems we can’t get enough of the brain-hungry undead, even when they’re becoming about as stale as their own decomposing bodies. As a result, it’s a surprise to see Borderlands t...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Braaaaaaaains! 0
Spooky! Zombies, zombies, zombies; they’re everywhere. In our games, our movies, our books; whether they’re the classic slow moving kind, the crazy sprinting kind or even those that aren’t technically zombies, though we all know they really are (you’re not fooling anyone Resi 5). It seems we can’t get enough of the brain-hungry undead, even when they’re becoming about as stale as their own decomposing bodies. As a result, it’s a surprise to see Borderlands take the zombie route and c...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Filling out the ACII package 0
Assassin’s Creed II’s first piece of downloadable content, The Battle of Forli, was a short, underwhelming effort, though it did have some redeemable features, filling in some blanks in ACII’s story and introducing a few interesting new characters. The second piece of DLC, The Bonfire of the Vanities, is short on story elements but it’s a much more substantial package overall, offering a new area to explore and a more traditional brand of Assassin’s Creed gameplay. A good old fashioned assassi...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Return to Rapture 4
Bioshock 2 has long been bemoaned as the sequel that was never needed. The original Bioshock captivated gamers with its thrilling narrative and cast of fantastically eccentric characters; dealing with philosophical ideals, moral choices, a society driven to insanity and the complexities of free will in an underwater utopia gone wrong. Rapture was the star of the show; an atmospheric city built deep below the waves. Its 1930s art deco architecture housed by the criminally insane minds of the smar...
33 out of 35 found this review helpful. -
One way ticket to Hell 1
It’s rare for video games to look to the literary world for direct inspiration, and you can guarantee there were plenty of eyebrows raised with the announcement of Visceral Games’ brutal action title, Dante’s Inferno. One man’s journey through the Nine Circles of Hell, as depicted in Dante Alighieri’s epic literary masterpiece The Divine Comedy, doesn’t exactly lend itself to the hack and slash genre. But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The Divine Comedy’s vivid imagery of Hell an...
3 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Outnumbered but never outgunned 0
Are you bored of modern shooters and their emphasis on the latest high-tech weaponry, Middle-Eastern conflicts; the brutality of war and plot twists you can see coming from a mile away? Well, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter might just be the game for you. There’s no story, no characters to care about and most certainly nothing that could be considered sophisticated. The emphasis is purely on shooting as many things as possible with as much absurd weaponry as Sam “Serious” Stone can ha...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Cheap, but underwhelming 0
Late last year when downloadable content was announced for Assassin’s Creed II I was definitely excited. The second game in the franchise was a vast improvement on the original in nearly every way, and earned its place as one of my games of the year for 2009. Both pieces of DLC, Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities, will slot into the vacant spaces for memory sequences 12 and 13, filling out blanks in Ezio’s story rather than expanding upon the events at the end of the game. Final...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
It doesn't get much crazier 0
Bayonetta is a very generous game. Past the 14 hour run time, through the epilogue, final credits and beyond, it never stops giving, providing plenty of surprises and spectacular moments that are sure to leave you picking your jaw up off the floor time and time again. Emerging from the mind of Hideki Kamiya and PlatinumGames, the comparisons to Devil May Cry are plentiful. But Bayonetta’s sultry female lead, ridiculous action, flawless combat and sheer over-the-top nature make it a cut ab...
0 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Dances with Smurfs 0
James Cameron’s Avatar has been a long time coming. The acclaimed director’s first film since the award winning Titanic has been shrouded in mystery for years with the inevitable video game tie-in following suit. This year’s E3 saw Cameron spend a good few hours talking about the project during the Ubisoft press conference without even a shred of footage; instead relying on his own words to sell the product. With the big man backing it and so much secrecy there was a degree of hope towards the ...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Va va voom. 0
World War II games have saturated the market for many years now. They’ve focused on the front lines of war from the view of various Allied forces and an aim to recapturing those jaw dropping ‘Saving Private Ryan’ moments with patriotism and historic relevance. Pandemic’s swansong title, The Saboteur, throws all of that out the window, using World War II as a backdrop - rather than a focus - for an open-world story of revenge in Nazi occupied France. Le Eiffel You play as Sean Devlin, an Iris...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Stay frosty 0
After all the hype and anticipation; controversy surrounding questionable viral videos and shockingly violent leaked footage; lack of dedicated servers, uproar amongst PC gamers and multiple boycotts; it’s clear to see Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has a lot to live up to and answer for. This type of attention is normally reserved for a major Halo or Grand Theft Auto release, but after the success and praise heaped upon Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward have propell...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Say goodnight to the city that never sleeps 0
From April 2008 to October 2009 our time in Liberty City is finally over. We’ve led the life of an Eastern European immigrant in search of the American Dream and a chance at revenge, to the rough and tumble biker just trying to keep his gang - or should I say ‘family’ - from the brink of annihilation. We’ve experienced the seedy underworld of this sprawling city, and now it’s time to hit the high life; full of expensive clubs, fast cars and lots and lots of gold. The Ballad of Gay Tony is the t...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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