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5 (25) 4 (80) 3 (71) 2 (22) 1 (1) 3.5 starsAverage score of 199 user reviews
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It’s an experience to enjoy, a moment to witness, to be there and be absorbed in fantastic acting, but a flawed plot 0
If we take a look in the Oxford Dictionary for the meaning of video game, we see that it’s defined as “a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a monitor or other display.” That definition exhibits one of the most wonderful and powerful aspects about the video game medium – its openness allows for a huge range of video game genres and mechanics that easily surpass anything movies and music can do. That’s why we shouldn&rs...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A great MMORPG that has an enjoyable story, mechanically solid gameplay and lots of content for Final Fantasy fans 0
Final Fantasy XIV Online was a complete and utter mess of a release that felt like an insult toFinal Fantasy fans. It released in an unfinished state that was so bad that Square Enix decided to remove the subscription fee from the game for over a year. The company also completely reshaped the development team to hopefully salvage the game from all the damage it had received from fans and the press. The failure of Final Fantasy XIV Online triggered its original producer to resign from Square Enix...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
The series remains the only good online mecha game for your PlayStation 3. 0
It’s probably a safe bet to assume that most hardcore gamers now know the From Software name, all thanks to the developer having a massive success with the Souls series. What you might now know is that From Software has been making games for years on various platforms. One of their largest properties is the Armored Core franchise, a series that started way back in 1997 on the PlayStation and is about to have its 15th release with the recent arrival of Armored Core: Verdict Day.Verdict Day ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
If your dying for more hardcore strategy RPGs, then you certainly can’t do wrong with Disgaea D2. 0
It’s crazy to think that 10 years ago we were introduced to Laharl and the gang, and the world of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. It was Nippon Ichi Software’s first game in Europe, and to this day the Disgaea series is probably the company’s most well-known brand. It has had numerous sequels and even the first three titles have had various ports to PSP, Vita and DS, with the fourth game coming next year to Vita. Even though they are sequels, they never continued the adventures of the original cast –...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
For anyone who has never played The Wind Waker, this HD release is one that you must own for your Wii U 0
It’s crazy to think that it’s been over ten years when the internet went ablaze with comments slating the new art style for the, back then, upcoming The Legend of Zelda game, The Wind Waker for GameCube. As time moved on, more people began to convert and grow to love its beautiful presentation and cel-shaded graphics. The Wind Waker is without a doubt the one Zelda game that causes a partition between fans. Some fans love it to the point they think it is the best in the franchise, some hate it, ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
In its fourth iteration, Codemasters’ F1 series has slowly become, thanks to tweaks, one of the best F1 racers. 0
Last year’s F1 2012 from Codemasters began to suffer from the plague that infests yearly franchises. I didn’t knock the game in my review for this, as I felt that it did just enough to be a worthwhile investment, but I stated that the series needed to begin tapping into the history of F1 because releases were becoming too similar – especially so this time, with the sport not changing locations or machines. F1 2013 is here, and, like what I wanted them to do, they have managed to convince the FIA...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
if you’re looking for a different involvement with a video game, then you should give up a spare afternoon for Rain. 0
“A boy awakes to see a girl’s silhouette in the rain. He finds himself lost in a mysterious world.” Those were the first words shown in the début trailer for Rain at last year’s Gamescom event. The trailer continued to give us glimpse of what this game could be. It’s dark and dreary, as rain pours down on a moody, grey musky, city street, then the trailer continues with “until he becomes invisible, the boy’s figure can only be seen in the rain,” followed up with the boy running through the rain,...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Shadow Warrior is a great throwback for anyone who enjoyed the time when shooters were at the top of their game. 0
I think I am in love with this resurgence for reboots of old-school first-person shooters. It wasn’t long ago that Rise of the Triad released, and while not perfected, the game was a rediscovery for the past – its challenging gameplay and complex level design were taken from the 90s first-person shooter library. Shadow Warrior falls along the same lines. It’s not copying from anyone else; it hasn’t got crappy, forced multiplayer; and it certainly doesn’t come across like a game that was crafted ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Soul Hackers is a solid taster into sampling a blast from the past. 0
If there is one thing I have no shame in supporting it’s the idea of old Japanese games getting remade for current systems, especially ones that offer the chance to bring exclusive Japanese titles to the West. The idea that I am missing an entry in a series that I adore is a painful thing to think about. Just ask any Suikoden fan and you’ll hear them grumble about titles that never made it out of the Land of the Rising Sun. Having jumped into the Shin Megami Tensei games during the PS2 era, I ha...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Killzone: Mercenary is the best first-person shooter you can buy for a handheld device, but that doesn't say much. 0
In some twisted, sadistic joke, Sony’s Vita, which was heavily advertised for its dual sticks that were designed with the idea to help the system overcome its problems with controlling first-person shooters, has yet to receive a decent FPS game. The two big-named titles released for the system, Call of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified and Resistance: Burning Skies – which funny enough were developed by the same studio – weren’t exactly a strong display for the handheld. Sony has decided to show ho...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Etrian Odyssey IV is one of the most rewarding titles you can play on the 3DS 0
Atlus’ Etrian Odyssey franchise hasn’t exactly had presence in the UK. The British Isles were lucky enough to get the first entry back in 2008, thanks to Nintendo helping with publishing the title on the DS, but the series has since been forgotten until now. Thanks to Nippon Ichi Software USA and their extremely promising Atlus partnership, we in the UK can now experience the fourth – and first for the 3DS platform – entry in the increasing popular old-school, Japanese RPG series that harks back...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Puppeteer is a superb demonstration of one team’s imagination let loose on the stage. 0
It’s safe to say that while the people at Nintendo sit in their chairs and twiddle their thumbs as they churn out “new” 2D Mario games that lack enthusiasm, innovative ideas and fresh gameplay twists that fans love the company for, the rest of the gaming development world are still coming up with fantastic designs and presentations for a genre that first started its life in the early 1980s. We’ve already had the amazing Rayman Legends by the team at Ubisoft Montpellier, which ended up being one ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Grand Theft Auto V is the best the series has ever been, and that’s a compliment that speaks volumes. 0
Let’s be honest here, an entry in the Grand Theft Auto series needs no introduction. In fact, Rockstar could very well get away with simply announcing a new title and leaving the marketing down to its fans passing word of mouth. It’s a series that has worked hard to staple itself into the history of video games to become so gigantic that each new entry activates a switch within millions of fans, turning them into frenzied beings as they grasp air for the tiniest bit of news about the game before...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Blizzard has done an outstanding job in bringing Diablo III to consoles 0
Diablo III for PC was a huge launch for the platform. I remember being stuck waiting for an hour and 30 minutes just to be able to login to Blizzard.net and create my character. The launch was a mess, but even so, once the kinks were ironed out, Diablo III went onto sell over 12 million copies and become one of the most successful games on PC. It only makes sense for Blizzard to capitalise on the Diablo brand and bring it to consoles. People know the name Diablo, and some of the older gamers mig...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
If it wasn't for so many indie horror games coming out this year, I’d be willing to say this is the best of 2013. 0
Boo! Feel scared? If not, that’s because real horror is more than just cheap thrills and quick scares. Real horror has to build up atmosphere, raise the tension, and make the player feel uncomfortable and helpless. That’s what indie hit Amnesia: The Dark Descent did when it arrived in September 2010. Amnesia was more than just a fantastic horror game that, for me, overtakes Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly as the scariest game I had ever played. It was a title that opened the notion to gamers t...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
There is no question that this is the ultimate version of the fifth manifestation of Dead or Alive. 0
It has been virtually a year since the first incarnation of Dead or Alive 5 arrived for Xbox 360 and PS3. This was the first time the sexy fighting game series had been created without the father, Tomonobu Itagaki, at the realm to overlook development. To give it a fresh start, Team Ninja decided to update the look of the game and change the appearance of its well known cast to be less anime and more realistic, similar to Ninja Gaiden’s style. A few months later, a port to PS Vita happened, whic...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Lost Planet 3 is a peculiar game. It’s a solid third-person shooter with an identity crisis. 0
The Lost Planet series and I have had our shares of ups and downs. I adored the first game, but loathed the second. When the original game released on the Xbox 360 there was a sense of “next-gen” about it – the gorgeous looking ice world, the grappling hook mechanic, huge, exhilarating monster battles, and of course, you could pilot a mecha-like robot. Lost Planet was a cool (pardon the pun) and exciting third-person shooter. Then Lost Planet 2 arrived and I was hugely disappointed in the direct...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 removes the dud and keeps what it knows best - the frantic Dynasty Warriors action. 0
Tecmo Koei’s Dynasty Warriors series is a formula that could be applied to so many franchises. We’ve already seen the company move from various eras, such as the Sengoku era of Japan’s history or the Hundred Years War that happened between England and France in the 14thcentury. What really made me personally excited was the move to anime licences, such as Gundam and Fist of the North Star. Last year, gamers were treated to One Piece: Pirate Warriors, a game that surprised me with how fun it was....
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Ubisoft should be proud that they released the best 2D platformer in over 15 years 0
Sometimes I wish I could just leave a phrase and be done with a review, not to be lazy, but to leave an impactful statement that would get everyone talking. You see, something hit me when I was playing Rayman Legends and it led me to a conclusion that Rayman Legends is the Super Mario Galaxy 2 of Rayman’s gaming career. What I mean by that is Rayman Legends feels like an extension of the already superb Rayman Origins, but just like Miyamoto and his team, Ancel obviously had more ideas to pump in...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Killer Is Dead is a fun title that hits the Japanese quirkiness that we occasionally expect from Japan. 0
If you’re a fan of Grasshopper Manufacture, then you know what you’re getting into when it comes to every Goichi Suda (Suda 51) directed or influenced game that comes out from that studio. Grasshopper Manufacture releases titles that are aimed directly at a niche audience. Compared to the typical mainstream games studio, Grasshopper Manufacture is the rebel child that doesn’t want to create things that are the norm, it doesn’t want to succumb to using the famous video game development guide “How...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
MercurySteam has taken successful mechanics from combat-focused, character action games and blended it with Castlevania 0
I was pleasantly surprised when Castlevania: Lords of Shadow released in 2010 – mainly for the fact that it was a great 3D Castlevania game that I thought would never happen during this generation’s home consoles. It was a departure from the norm, since Castlevania, for the most part, has offered quality 2D action-adventure titles on handhelds, holding up its part of the Metroidvania sub-genre that fans love to throw out at anything that features similar gameplay mechanics. Lords of Shadow went ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A remake with charming visuals and faithful gameplay created by developers who appear to be big fans of the original. 0
Looking back to the start of the 90s and progressing forward towards the end of the 16-bit era, it’s actually surprising how well some of the licensed Disney video games turned out to be. I have fonder memories of such games as The Lion King, Aladdin and Mickey Mania on Super Nintendo, along with Sega’s own take on Mickey Mouse with the fantastic Castle of Illusion on Mega Drive, than I ever did for some of the current gen titles, such as Epic Mickey and the movie-to-game releases of their recen...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Saints Row IV is a fantastic title that feels like the developers were never restricted from creating their own vision. 0
Crazy, insane, nutty, wacky, bizarre, ridiculous and comical are all words that probably came out of your mouth while playing the 2011 extraordinarily absurd Saints Row: The Third. Volition has done wonders to change their approach to Saints Row, which started as a GTA-like gangster game back in 2006. As each sequel released, the series began to gain confidence and grow out of its shell to become its own Identity. Saints Row: The Third was the game to bring the series into the spotlight, splashi...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded will feel like a relic creeping into the modern age. 0
The original release of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (that’s a mouth full) was dated way back in 1987. Man, thinking about that year, I was on my way to turning three years old. As you can imagine, back then, I did not play the original Leisure Suit Larry until later in my life – that would be wrong for such a young guy to be playing video games that feature a topic about a dude trying to get laid. The late 80s were a completely different time to 2013. Back then, we had R...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
This is a faithful remake of a very old first-person shooter that hasn't sacrificed it’s soul for modern gaming. 0
Apogee Software may have helped to release one of the most faithful remakes in the history of video games. If you’ve not head of Rise of the Triad, then it’s probably because you didn’t play PC games back in the early 90s. It has been nearly 20 years since the original release of Rise of the Triad, a first-person shooter that was developed in a heavily modified Wolfenstein 3Dengine and brought innovative concepts to the genre, such as rocket jumping and the ability to look up and down. Even the ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD remains just as good as it ever was 0
The Vita has proven itself to be a powerful handheld with its cross-buy function, allowing fans with both a PS3 and a Vita to play the same game across both platforms without having to buy the game twice. Not only that, but it has also received ports of existing PS3 games and has shown – for the most part – that it has no problem running those titles. As we have seen with the recent release of the Jak and Daxter Collection, it looks like Sony is going back through its catalogue to give Vita owne...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
These Joe Danger games are smartly-designed, fantastic pieces of fun. 0
I’m either deaf of blind, because I never heard or read that the Joe Danger series was coming to Steam – it just suddenly arrived. Not that I have a problem with that, as the Joe Dangergames are brilliant little gems of enjoyment packed into a digital download, and if you never played them on console or just what to experience the games again with a little added bonus, then the bundle on Steam that goes for a tasty price of £16.99 is totally worthy of your investment.Joe Danger is a stuntman who...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
I have come away disappointed with Time and Eternity after it seemed so gorgeous. 0
The whole reason why I noticed Time and Eternity (or Toki Towa as I knew it before it was announced for a Western release) was because of the vivid and interesting art style. It’s different from the norm, even when RPGs go with the cel-shaded style to give it an anime vibe; it’s never been as anime as Time and Eternity demonstrates, with its gorgeous hand-drawn characters. But what lies beneath this beauty is a game that, sadly, doesn’t match its wonderful visuals.Toki, the innocent, red-haired ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Dynasty Warriors 8 is the best entry in the mainline series to have ever been conceived. 0
I first discovered the Dynasty Warriors franchise through Dynasty Warriors 4. It was one of my first imported games from America (I had an imported PS2 because I wanted to play Suikoden III at the time), and I was in love with the open-scale battlefield and the amount of soldiers you could hack down. It managed to make the player feel like an over-powered battlelord that could only be touched by other battlelords. The game was brilliant fun. It’s pretty crazy to think that we are only on number ...
4 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Rush Bros.’ potential of music blended with platforming falls short of its promise. 0
I am a huge fan of music and rhythm games, especially ones that seem to be far-fetched from the definition of “normal,” which is why some of my favourites include titles like Bust-a-Groove,Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and Gitaroo-Man. Knocking around on Steam is an indie title calledRush Bros., a game that advertises itself as a “pulse-pounding, music infused Platform Racing Game.” We have had music fused into other games before, such as the brilliant Rez and its on-rails shooting or Audiosurf and its...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
TrackMania 2 Valley is a strange one to review, it's great, but lacks features. 0
I jumped into the TrackMania series with TrackMania Sunrise, the second entry in the franchise. Sunrise was a great-looking game for its time, coming with the three environments of Island, Bay and Coast for me to experience. Environments are a key part of TrackMania: each one has its own appearance and vehicle with unique handling. I remember hating the Coast environment’s car, because it was a heavy piece of crap with no traction. I spent ages roaring in anger over trying to beat and master tho...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Fans should not hesitate picking up The Walking Dead: 400 Days 0
There’s no doubt that Telltale’s The Walking Dead was a smash hit last year. It sold in the millions and ended up being the studio’s biggest release ever. It wasn’t just the sales that Telltale had to be happy with, since the game was given waves of critical praise by the media.The Walking Dead won so many Game of the Year awards (also my own personal GOTY) that I remember losing count when trying to tally all the honours coming in from various websites and magazines. A plan for a second season ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Jack Keane 2 has some issues, but his adventure is mostly an enjoyable one. 0
Jack’s back – and no, I don’t mean the CTU agent made famous by Kiefer Sutherland. I mean Jack Keane, the hero from the game with the same name. The original Jack Keane was a 3D point-and-click adventure title with some family-friendly charm, due to its Indiana Jones inspiration crossed with a dose of Monkey Island (remember the first game’s box art?) salad dressing, but suffered from unfortunately poor translation work and voice acting that ended up losing some of the ring to its one-liners and...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Van Helsing is a rather fun ARPG that has a lot going for it, that is if you want to play on your own. 0
I’ll be honest with everyone reading this review: I don’t know much about Van Helsing. The limited knowledge I have is that the character was created in Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel and is known for hunting down vampires and other monsters. Oh yeah… He was also played by Hugh Jackman in that okay Van Helsing film, but I couldn’t help but notice he was missing those hairy sideburns and was sorely lacking adamantium in his hands. Jokes aside, I wasn’t sure what to expect from NeocoreGames’ first at...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
The return of the GRID franchise isn't as ground-breaking, but it is still a great racer. 0
Looking back at the huge catalogue of racing games that came out in the 7th generation of console gaming, I would say that Codemasters’ original GRID was certainly up there as one of my favourites. GRID was filled with variety and excitement, and it ended up being an addictive track race that looked gorgeous at its time of release. We must not forget that GRID was solely responsible for the fantastic idea of being able to rewind back a few seconds to correct a mistake in a race, thanks to its Fl...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Naughty Dog has taken what it’s learnt from Uncharted and created storytelling excellence, great combat and tension. 0
After the reveal of The Last of Us and hearing that the extremely talented people at Naughty Dog were behind this new IP, I was never going to be concerned if this was going to be a decent game. Just look at the studio’s history and you can see that quality is something they have refined, from Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter to their latest Indiana Jones-esque trilogy of the Uncharted franchise. All are great in their own way. My concern was if Naughty Dog could pull off a serious, down-to-earth...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Remember Me is a decent title that will most likely be forgotten by most and remembered by so few. 0
It’s ironic that I am covering a game about memories when I had completely forgotten about the first reveal of Remember Me. It first surfaced back in 2011 at Germany’s GamesCom show, where it was teased as “Adrift” and targeted as a PS3 exclusive until Sony let go of the game, due to the newly-formed French studio, Dontnod, having creative disagreements with the Japanese corporation. It wasn’t till GamesCom 2012 that the title resurfaced with a new name and a new publisher – Capcom came in to fu...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Filled with charm, beautiful art, lovely music and good characters, this game is spoilt solely by its puzzles. 0
The foundation of the story is one Jeremiah Hazelnut’s inescapable adventure as a magician’s apprentice into the wonderful world of magic. After summoning a humanoid rabbit named Marquis de Hoto, Jeremiah is whisked away to a place called Mousewood to get his induction as an apprentice. All doesn’t seem right, and trouble begins to brew soon after a pesky illusionist begins creating problems for the habitants of Mousewood and the other worlds connected by the legendary portal trees.This is not a...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A game like Thunder Wolves is aimed at doing one thing in mind, offering players the chance to blow crap up. 0
This may sound like a stereotypical male, but man, I love explosions. Thankfully, loving explosions won’t get me into trouble in a virtual world. If there was one period that promoted the enjoyment of explosions, it was most likely the 80s. We’ve had a bit of a resurgence with explosive action flicks, with the likes of The Expendables, The A-Team and Predators all tapping into peoples’ enjoyment of such over-the-top action. The developers at Most Wanted Entertainment seem to be such fans of acti...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Soul Sacrifice stands on its own as an enjoyable title with an ambitious sacrifice concept – it just not quite right. 0
Sony’s Vita is still crying for that game to signal a rebirth. The Vita hasn’t hit its stride and Sony bizarrely hasn’t gone into panic mode yet, something Nintendo did when the 3DS was lacking momentum after its release, pumping out quality games to get people interested in the system. This is something Sony needs to do. Sure, some games are good on the Vita, and one of them,Persona 4 Golden, is one of the best I have ever played…but it’s an enhanced port, which isn’t quite as amazing as having...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful.
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