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Review by myp

So, wrestling eh? You either love it or you hate it. Me, I think it’s ok, as long as you accept the fact that it’s just a soap opera for boys. The acting is terrible and the plots are weak, but for some inexplicable reason it still manages to draw me in with its implausible story lines and over-the-top circus theatre. This game takes us to the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of the World Wrestling Federation Entertainment of the 1980s and 90s, back when the fights were real and the best man really did win (sub please check). (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

The S8ek AV8R is a pretty good flightstick. (more…)

Review by Bobby

The Magic Toy Chest is one of those games that if it were a flash based web game would be the talk of the internet. One of those meme like popular games posted on message boards the world over. Because it is one of those games. This game however costs $19.95, the question is, is it worth it? (more…)

Review by The Rev Owen

Deadly Creatures, a third person action game in which you take control of a tarantula and a scorpion in the American desert, has been a difficult game to play through for review. Not because it’s particularly hard. Not because it’s a terrible game I couldn’t face playing. No, it was hard to play because it completely terrified my wife, so I couldn’t play it while she was awake. She’s fine with zombies, monsters and aliens trying to eat my face off while she sits beside me knitting and tweeting, but put me in control of a tarantula and she can’t even look at the screen. (more…)

Review by The Rev Owen

Some games are the worst kind of supermodel, beautiful but empty. Some are aging drunken actors, full of charisma, but stumbling and incoherent. Some are great scientists, brilliant, peerless but impossible to understand. Some are snake-oil salesmen, promising the world but delivering nothing.

Age of Empires: Mythologies for the Nintendo DS is your friend James. He works in IT, is in a long-term relationship with a plain, unremarkable girl and is pleasant company down the pub. He’s just not going to stumble in with a bottle of red wine in one hand, a pair of handcuffs in another and regale you with tales of amazing adventure in Eastern Europe.

This is because James, despite being a nice enough chap, is fundamentally quite dull. He does what he does well – he works hard, always buys his round and treats his girlfriend well – but he’s not very exciting. (more…)

Review by Will Templeton

When the Rock Band Portable Drum Kit arrived at my door, I was pleasantly surprised at the build quality of the contents – the four pads are exactly the same size as the full Rock Band drum set, and made of good-quality rubber. The drumsticks unscrew for easy transport, and have rubberised ends to dampen sounds. The pedal looks flimsy but feels sturdy, and is mounted with a couple of removable carpet grips to keep it from slipping. It’s clear that MadCatz have put a lot of thought into the failings of the original drum kit and piped those into the design of this portable version – the pedal especially is much upgraded from the rubberised one they initially announced. (more…)

Review by Robert Boyd

Meteos Wars is the latest puzzle game to be released on XBLA from Q? Entertainment – publisher of such gems as Lumines Live and Rez HD. As a big fan of Q? Entertainment’s previous games, I went into Meteos Wars with high expectations. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

It’s a testament to how simple and yet compelling the crayon physics core mechanic is that a bunch of clones have sprung up between the initial release of the Crayon Physics tech demo and the release of the proper game, Crayon Physics Deluxe. There have been homebrew clones on the Wii, DS, an iPhone clone, and several PC clones, and those are just the ones I’ve encountered. When I say clone, I don’t even mean that in a derogatory sense, I’m pretty sure they would all happily cite Petri Purho’s IGF winner as their inspiration.

It taps into an idea I know I’ve had since watching Penny Crayon as a kid, drawing something, which then comes to life.

But does it work as a game? For the most part, yes, very much so. (more…)

Home, PS3 – Free

Review by Lewie Procter

(as of Home v1.03)

Booting up home, the first thing I got to do was create a character.

No matter what you do, the character will not look like you, they will look like someone from an awful lifestyle photoshoot.

I was unable to give my guy a beard, maybe I have to pay for that. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

What on earth are DICE doing wasting their time with the Battlefield series? (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

CODWAW (Cod·Wah) is in an odd position, sandwiched between the ‘proper’ call of duty games. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

This review is basically spoiler free.

Fallout 3 is a horrific, buggy, glitchy mess of a game. Large aspects of the design are dated and sometimes even archaic. There are some issues that were problems in Morrowind, then in Oblivion, and are still causing trouble in Fallout 3.

I’ve got stuck in the floor, and stuck to doorways. I’ve had broken quests. I’ve had AI do things which just don’t make sense. I’ve shot an enemy, and instead of sustaining damage, it’s just shot up into the sky in a perfectly vertical line, never to be seen again.

I’ve spoke to a few people who’ve also played it, and some have experienced similar bugs, and some people have not, I guess your mileage may vary.

I don’t really care about these bugs. (more…)

Review by Amitai Winehouse

If Spider-Man: Web of Shadows was a singer, it’d be Britney Spears. Filled with hope and joy at the beginning, and backing it up with stimulus. But then, as you spend more time focusing on it, you realise the small faults. Eventually, it vomits and passes out every once in a while and despite trying to ignore it, it keeps embarrassing itself more and more. (more…)

Review by Numan1617

To start off, and clear up some confusion surrounding Still Alive, I will state that the main game is exactly the same as the one included in The Orange Box. However, there are an additional 14 test chambers and new achievements that were not on the disc.

Given the length of time that The Orange Box has been out, I will not cover the main story/game of Portal but will instead focus on the new challenges. All of the charisma of the old Portal is still there and the challenges really do make you start “thinking with portals” once again. The new game mechanics add to the feeling of impending doom you get when playing through the story version of Portal, and some of them really make you sit back and think “how the… do I do this?” (more…)

Review by Amitai Winehouse

As a pre-warning to anyone reading this review, I must tell you that I am reviewing the Playstation 3 version of this game. As far as I am aware, the PS2 Version will likely be the same as last year with minor updates. They have done the same for the last 2 or 3 years.

Last year was not a good year for PES. Poor online play. Not ‘next generation’ enough for consumers. FIFA arguably catching up. A horrible port appearing on arguably it’s biggest non-USA console, the PS3. Konami had a lot of work to do, and I can gladly say that they’ve done that and more. The graphics are better, the atmosphere is better, and the gameplay is what it should be, unlike FIFA.

Pro Evolution Soccer has always been renowned for one thing, even in the days of Oranges11, and that is quality football. It’s been called the “Football Fan’s Game”, and never is this more true than in 2009. From the minute your first game kicks off, you feel as though you are in the stand watching a match, a real match. Players move realistically, the ball flows, and every pass seems to count. When the ball hits the back of the net, you can’t help but celebrate ever so slightly. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

World of Goo is as close to perfect as it gets.

Please get it.

It’s genuinely incredible. (more…)

Review by Will Templeton

Mega Man 9 is a game that shouldn’t really exist. The current climate of videogames tends to be that games should be challenging, but ultimately beatable. This is a philosophy that works best with the majority of gamers – people who play a few rounds of Call of Duty after work, or pull out Wii Sports with the kids. People who use GameFly and expect to be able to whizz through a game and get the full experience, and then swap it for another. Even Ninja Gaiden, widely acclaimed for its unforgiving nature, takes pity on you if you fail too much and offers you an easier option. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

Lost Odyssey is a bad game.

The problem is, it’s a good JRPG. (more…)

Review by Will Templeton

Whose side are you on? It’s one or the other. It’s a debate that’s raged for centuries. But do you care? (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

Multiwinia is a damn pretty game. (more…)

Review by Rook

Last time I fought these aliens it marked something of a downturn in the game. This time, there’s a group of nano-suited Koreans on the ridge to the right and a plethora of aliens snaking through icy channels cut out of the surroundings. Cloak mode is on and I’m letting the North Koreans deal with the threat. It’s tempting to grab the high ground lay down fire, but I’d be sandwiched between two sides. A brief moment hauled up to recharge and take stock is where it all goes a bit wrong. The first alien is taken down by a Gauss Rifle shot but two more have taken up predatory stances and are about to pounce, speed mode kicks in and leaves them behind. Underneath the Korean squad now, the new machine pistols are perfect for this. Leaping up behind, strength mode kills the recoil as I rip them apart, grinning. Nomad is gone, and in comes the Psycho. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

Spore is life, the universe and everything, packaged up in a charming, albeit sometimes infuriating, user friendly click-a-thon. It is one of the most important PC games released in a long time, and it wouldn’t surprise me if in 10 years time we are feeling it’s impact. That said, it is far from perfect. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

I first booted up Bakushow, and found to great surprise that there is no single player mode. That’s fine though, I’m not going to discriminate against a game for being multiplayer only. I will say this though, the packaging should certainly be more explicit in telling you that if you only have access to one DS it is basically just a title screen.

Not that there is much else here even if you do have multiple players. (more…)

Review by Rook

Making your way through the driving rain, the remnants of the abandoned town of Limansk stretches out ahead. Somewhere over the other side is the reactor core, the heart of the zone. Shuttered windows, and nailed up doors leave only the streets which look oh so very open. With the warning of an ambush ahead fresh in mind I find myself pressing up against the few ruined cars that have long since been abandoned. A cursory sweep with binoculars doesn’t give anything away, but a moment later lightning baths the fronts of the buildings and in a window, for a brief second, a black silhouette is outlined in cold white light. Raising the scope of the silenced rifle, the figure remains a shadow in a patch of gloom, but it’s enough. Raising the sights just a little to factor in the bullet drop, the trigger is pulled and the inevitable happens: “This is XRay Engine crash reporting client. To help the development process, please Submit Bug or save report and email it manually”. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

I have never played Guild Wars, or any other NCsoft/ArenaNet game in my entire life.

The nice lady from ArenaNet let me in the PAX party early with the VIPs, and then gave me 8 free drink vouchers.

10/10