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SunKing

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3.9 stars

Average score of 28 user reviews

Unique concept and gameplay, but lacking content 0

Seen Akira? Seen that bit where Tetsuo starts devouring the planet? Okay, well, this is kind of like that, but a lot less terrifying and a lot more humourous. Essentially, you are placed in around a dozen or more bizarre, earthbound stages where you have to roll this ball around that picks up stuff. As the ball grows bigger, the player opens up new sections of the level and is able to roll over and absorb larger items – from normal household furniture to people to whole continents! There is usa...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Technically astute; artistically unoriginal. 1

Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy and girl go spelunking together. Girl gets kidnapped by an evil terrorist organisation planning to take over the world. Boy just happens to have secret service training because his father is a spy. Boy is forced to go after girl and stop said evil terrorist organisation. Personally, I think it could be this year’s Titanic. Shadow Complex is a 2.5D action/platformer game in the vein of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid. The gameplay consist...

1 out of 2 found this review helpful.

For one thing it does right, it does twice as many wrong 1

  You can’t fault Alone in the Dark for its ambition or for its production values, but for everything else it attempts to do, it does it badly; for every unique innovation it presents, it almost always, unfailing, counterbalances it with something to piss you off. Alone in the Dark isn’t a total disaster, but neither is it any good. Fundamentally, the game is a cross between a traditional, third-person survival horror game (pre-Resident Evil 4) and a first-person shooter. While initially the g...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Not a giant leap, but an incremental step forward for the series 1

 Poor Treyarch – always in the shadow of its allegedly more talented sibling, Infinity Ward. Treyarch’s name is one that has become synonymous with inferiority or slapdash effort. Along with Climax Group (they of Silent Hill: Origins fame) and Ubisoft Shanghai (they of, well, that train wreck), Treyarch seem to have garnered an unfortunate reputation among gamers. Now, I’m not here to argue whether that’s a fair reflection of the company or not, but what I will say is that Call of Duty: World a...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Well made, frequently amusing and fun third-person shooter 1

Blood on the Sand’s shallow but fast-paced, compelling gameplay, coupled with an excellent all-round presentation, makes it a solid, entertaining third-person shooter. However, what allows Blood on the Sand to most stand out is its insanely over-the-top, ludicrous action set-pieces, its characters, plot and dialogue, and because of all these elements, Blood on the Sand, inadvertently, becomes a tribute to and parody of itself, its genre and violent video games in general. Usually I don’t go in...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Awful adaption of a classic film; enjoyable enough as a game 0

As something with the official Don Corleone stamp of approval slapped on top of it, The Godfather 2 is such a horrible bastardisation that fans won’t know whether to laugh or cry at its thinly veiled attempt to keep itself true to the source material. It’s just a terrible mess. The story is all over the place, in no way in keeping with the plot of the films or of the book; most of the characters sound nothing like their movie counterparts; some of the major characters don’t even look the same ...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Quite possibly the best beat 'em up ever made 1

[Editors note: pictures speak louder than words and video speaks louder than pictures. For that reason, I have compiled a video preview of one of the levels from Streets of Rage 2 which cycles briefly through each character, giving you some idea of their range of moves. I have also included some annotations of things I thought were worth pointing out.] Sometimes you can only really appreciate the good stuff when put against the bad. I have been playing Streets of Rage 2 sporadically throughout t...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

A feast of zombie mayham spoiled by some bad design 1

 I’m not sure I’ve ever shouted so much at a game as I have at Dead Rising. In some ways it’s quite exceptional and, in others, rage-quit inducing. It’s a game with as many flaws as it has strengths and is difficult to recommend for that very reason. If, however, you can look your way past the instances of awkward and perverse design, you’ll enjoy a game which is not only engaging, but also interesting and unique in a lot of respects. You play as Frank West, a photojournalist, caught smack-ban...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

A very brief encounter, but a pleasant one at that. 1

From beginning to end, Wanted: Weapons of Fate is straight-up, meaningless fun. It’s a fleeting cheap thrill; a sweet, sugary high. Nevertheless, it’s also a game which fails to evolve past its primordial origins, and it never really goes that extra mile or promises a unique experience. It is what it is: a nicely crafted, slick, delightful morsel of hollow entertainment, which never surprises or astounds but very rarely frustrates, either. It’s a third-person cover-based shooter – a mash-up bet...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

A fun but unremarkable Max Payne clone 2

Stranglehold (or John Woo Presents Stranglehold, to give it its unwieldy full title) is a quite unremarkable third-person shooter which is mostly fun, sometimes frustrating and always tongue-in-cheek. Stranglehold is the sequel to Hard Boiled, John Woo’s 1992 action film extravaganza, and it again follows the insubordinate, roguish Detective Tequila (voiced by Yun-Fat Chow) as he must find and save his old love interest, Billie, and their daughter, Teko. In theme, the game is highly derivativ...

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Another mediocre Star Wars game, who would've known? 1

When it comes down to it, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a very average third-person brawler with a decent story. It likes to talk big, impress you with epic set-pieces and grand gestures, but, ultimately, it can never fulfil upon its promises or overcome its fundamental flaws. The story takes place between Episodes III and IV in the Star Wars universe, effectively bridging the gap between the new and old saga. You play as Starkiller, Vader’s newly crowned Sith apprentice. Having killed Star...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

A beautiful, unique (and all too short) brawler 0

Despite its bland, forgettable title, Zeno Clash is a remarkable game from small indie developer ACE Team. In essence, it’s a first-person brawler set in a tribal/fantasy universe. You occupy the role of Ghat, an outcast, who awakens from unconsciousness following a vicious fight with the clan’s leader, Father-Mother. With Father-Mother dead, Ghat is left with no other choice but to escape from Halstedom, his home town, with the help of his female companion, Deadra. The rest of the game switches...

6 out of 6 found this review helpful.

It radiates brilliance at every turn. 0

I started this review at around half-eight in the evening, yet I haven’t written a single word.  It’s now exactly seven minutes past ten, at night, and a dialogue box pops-up, asking me, “Are you sure you wish to quit the game?”“Yes, goddamn you, I want to quit. I want to quit so bad. Why won’t you let me quit you, Plants vs. Zombies?” Plants vs. Zombies is the latest game from PopCap, most famously known for their phenomenally successful Bejeweled games as well as the pachinko-inspired Peggle ...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

An excellent remake, and an excellent game. 0

As Nathan “Rad” Spencer parachutes onto the ground below, he soft lands, performs a forward roll, and gives a cheeky nod to the player holding the controller on the other side of the screen. He’s winking at you. Bionic Commando Rearmed is, itself, a remake of the classic NES game, a 2D-scrolling platformer/shooter, in which you control Nathan Spencer, a soldier working for the FSA (the Americans, broadly speaking) against a fascist separatist group called the Imperial Army (the Nazis, really). A...

4 out of 4 found this review helpful.

Bold, atmospheric, but technically mediocre 0

The Darkness starts off pretty well. It’s New York City – present day – and you play Jackie Estacado, a young button-man working for the local mafia don, your beloved Uncle Paulie. On the eve of your character’s 21 birthday, you’re sent on a mission, by your dear Uncle, to assassinate a troublesome construction foreman. Along with two other goons, who engage in trivial, humorous conversation along the way, you ride shotgun in the backseat of the car, until, that is, you’re ambushed; one guy, sti...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Brilliant concept; flawed execution 1

Conceptually, Mirror’s Edge is brilliant; there is no doubt about it, for me. The idea of a first-person free-running simulator is something I’ve wanted to play having seen The Matrix for the first time. Being able to jump from building to building, across rooftops, pulling out kick-ass moves when needs be, dressing in hot, sexy PVC… Ah, yes, Mirror’s Edge: a great idea, in theory. It’s in practice, though, where the theory pans out. Sadly, Mirror’s Edge doesn’t get the implementation quite righ...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Excellent revamp of an all-time classic 0

It’s Space Invaders, but extreeeeeeeeme! Available for 800 MSP on Xbox LIVE Arcade, Space Invaders Extreme is a revamp of the classic shooter, combining psychedelic visualizer backgrounds (by none other than Mr Tempest himself, Jeff Minter) and a pumping electro-synth-style soundtrack.   It’s a simple game: move your spacecraft at the bottom of the screen with the analogue stick and shoot the waves of incoming alien ships by hammering the ‘A’ button repeatedly. It’s hardly ‘One Bold Step’ for g...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Blood, gore, tits -- what more could you want? 0

Ninja Gaiden 2 is ridiculous, absurd and damn good fun. Its best quality is that when everything is working, when the camera isn’t screwing up, and when the game isn’t being obnoxiously difficult, it makes you feel like an absolute badass. Its worst quality is that, at times, the game can become an infuriating little bitch. The story is, basically, that you are Ryu Hayabusa, Dragon Ninja; some bad guys are going to release an overwhelming evil upon the world in the form of the Archfiend; you ha...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

"Don't stop now... Feels so good... Nothing can go wroooong" 1

OutRun Online Arcade is the gaming antidote to a rainy, Sunday afternoon; it is pure unadulterated escapism, liquid joy in the form of ones and zeros. In between all the Resident Evils and Gears of Wars in this world, they simply don’t make this kind of game any more. Except they do. Because this is Sega we’re talking about here, and they’re not afraid of committing themselves to, what I’d imagine to be, months of development time, hours of endless discussions, trying to figure out which perfect...

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

A perfectly adequate remake to a classic game 0

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is yet another attempt by Eidos to relive the glory years of Lara Croft — you know, when she was the highschool prom queen, instead of the now broken-down old whore she’s been reduced to. The game itself is actually a remake of the original PS1 classic, then released in 1996, but with added gameplay features, enhanced graphics and some rejigged levels. It’s a game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel for the platforming genre — but nor does it pretend to. It’s an entertaining...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime is on my side -- yes it is! 0

Flashback to August 2008: Jonathan Blow releases Braid on Xbox Live Arcade to much critical and popular acclaim. As it turned out, it was to be a monumental and defining year for indie gaming in general as World of Goo, released in late 2008 for the Wii and PC, again won the plaudits of critics and gamers alike. It was to be the year where the industry stood up and took notice of what was going on right under their noses; the bedroom coder — previously thought long dead in these times of large d...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Interesting experiment; not so great a game 14

I’m going to save the reader a lot of time here by getting to the point: The Path is not a good game; in fact, it’s not a game at all. It’s not fun. It’s not exciting. It’s not even that enjoyable. What The Path is, is interesting, mysterious, clever, atmospheric and - forgive me for saying so - poetic. The Path is a puzzling ‘interactive experience’ which has no real aim or end goal. The Path is aimless; and yet, if you keep an open mind, and if you bury your preconceptions, you will find that ...

21 out of 22 found this review helpful.

An evolution in survival-horror 0

Dead Space is not just another Resident Evil clone; it is more than that. Yes, it may feature gameplay mechanics which are standard for the genre, pioneered by The Godfather of survival-horror; however, there are more than enough innovative, well-designed and well-executed features in Dead Space that not only allow it to set itself apart from the competition, but, also, to possibly rival it. In Dead Space, you play as Isaac Clarke, engineer and on-board systems specialist, who has been sent out,...

8 out of 9 found this review helpful.

A curious cocktail of RTS and RPG spirits 0

Dawn of War II is a rather strange mix of real-time strategy and role-playing elements that you'll either get, love and cherish; or hate, curse and despise. When many games at the moment are trying to do 'bigger and better', Relic goes and does something completely different; instead of just doing a by-the-numbers sequal to the original Dawn of War, they decide to make fundamental changes to the gameplay - in essence - making it a whole different game, and at the risk of alienating a loyal fanba...

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Great game, fatastic idea, but lacking in content 0

Every Extra Extend, hmmm. This is a game I can see myself playing while on a train waiting for the next stop. It is an extremely simple high-concept game that turns most ’shumps’ on their heads; and this is partially why I love the game: for its originality in its approach. The other reason why I think it’s great, and this is something that borrows from other classic puzzle games, is that it forces the player to adopt a risk/reward strategy in their approach to the game. This is present in Tetr...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

An impressive technical achievement for the PSP 0

The God of War series has made its mark on the Playstation 2 platform with its combination of intuitive combat mechanics, simple puzzle solving and less than annoying jumping sequences (an exception to the trend, I know). Interestingly, this game in the series is made by Ready at Dawn studios, not SCE Studios Santa Monica - who made the last two games in the ever expanding saga. Ready at Dawn Studios is mostly comprised of ex-Blizzard and Naughty Dog employees, their previous and only game to th...

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

An unfortunate misstep for the series... 0

Playing Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a frustrating experience, but for all the wrong reasons. Let me elaborate. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is the fourth game in a series where the sole focus is on stealth, silent take downs, sneaking around, hiding from enemies and rappelling from roof tops. In the course of all this you are bound to trip a few alarms, alert a few enemy sentries and generally die a lot. However, the only reason you do die in this game is because you as the player weren’t smar...

0 out of 2 found this review helpful.

A great addition to the series bar some multiplayer issues. 0

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is the third game in the Red Alert universe and the seventh game in the Command & Conquer series as a whole - excluding the expansions and the digital atrocity named Renegade. As such, if you’ve played any of the previous titles in the series, then you’ll know roughly what to expect here but with a few notable differences. First off though, the story… Red Alert 3 follows the fall of the Soviet Union at the hands of the Allies once again. On the precipice o...

0 out of 1 found this review helpful.