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Review by Lewie Procter

Braid is the most unique, memorable, emotionally engaging and fun experience I have had with a game in a long time.

Forgive the hyperbole. I am still in shock at how much I loved Braid. (more…)

Review By Will Templeton

Some of you might be surprised to find this here – it’s not exactly a triple-A title. I bought it on a whim from GAME at £20 a couple of months ago so that I could have something to play with the family instead of monopolising the TV, and so far I’ve been very impressed.

It contains a wide variety of game modes, whether they’re actor/film recogition, movie trivia, observation, and so on – I imagine all the modes from the DVD game, and perhaps a few more that would only be possible with a game pad. And most important of all, it saves the questions that each person has seen individually, so that whenever you play it with any combination of people it should give you a question that nobody has seen before. In practice this works most of the time, but there are some modes that appear fairly often but have only a few questions, so you run through those particular ones fairly quickly. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

This is a Korg Synth for the DS.

I was tempted to end this review here actually, there is very little else to say. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

I downloaded Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 last night at around 7pm. Before I got into it, I already knew from reading around that there was 6 game modes, all of which needed to be unlocked, which took around half an hour. I allotted myself exactly this amount of time for a first play. Sure enough, I unlocked all six modes, with a little time to spare.

I then, begrudgingly had to stop playing, as real life got in the way.

I returned at around 11pm, hoping to put in another quick half hour before bed. I initially went back to “Pacifist” mode. First I set myself a 1 million point goal, which I then beat. Then I set myself a 5 million point goal, which I also beat. Then I set myself a 10 million point goal, which I then beat, and in the process got my first achievement. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

I won’t pretend to be a huge expert on the 1942 series, but I have played my fair share of various entries in the series both in the Arcades and via “Capcom Classics Collection” on the Xbox, which has the original 1942, 1943: The Battle of Midway and 1943 Kai.

194X is a series of vertical scrolling shmups, and the common theme across all the games is “There is a war, and we need someone to single handily win it for us, and you’re the pilot for the job”

The thing about the 1942 series, is that it’s fairly old school as far as shmups go, there’s none of the modern level design and scoring system you would find in something like Ikargua, and the pace is fairly relaxed compared to say Triggerheart Exelica, and Joint Strike is no change. It’s half way between a modern remake of the original 1942 and a new entry in the series altogether. (more…)

Review by Amitai Winehouse

I don’t like Snowboarding. After all, very few people who are inclined to video games do. The very idea of risking life and limb for very few rewards, not even a few additional achievements, seems foreign to most of my geek brethren. That is not to say that video game companies do not release video games about this sort of sport. EA “Big” has had a lot of success with the SSX franchise, spawning several games. Therefore, almost two years ago when Amped 3 was purchased, I was slightly perturbed, but not yet totally put off.

Never getting further than the end of the ‘tutorials’, I set the game down until only 3 days ago. Looking for something to play, I picked up on this once more, started afresh and began ‘boarding’. There’s no doubt that this game is one thing, and that is fun. The wholly realistic route is not the idea for games of this sort, and therefore I can take great happiness out of performing two backwards flips followed by a corkscrew 180. (more…)

Review by Lewie Procter

Foreword
I have not yet seen the film WALL·E, and as such I will be reviewing this game entirely on it’s own merit as a game. It is possible (and in fact likely) that having seeing the film before playing the licensed game would have an impact on your experience.

I do plan to go and see the film at some point though, I am doing the whole thing backwards for the benefit of the game playing public.

This review will probably contain minor spoilers.

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Review by Amitai Winehouse

From the off, I want to confirm one thing about myself and my relationship with the Metal Gear Solid series. For some, it is an abusive relationship, in which one partner seems to be nothing but schizophrenic, changing his whim and direction of the game when it suits him. On the other hand, there are those such as me, who take even the very worst with boyish glee, pushing aside the very little we find bad, and savouring the best like the last few inches of a Bacon Sandwich.

I can however see why some may not like Metal Gear Solid. After all, some people do not like balloons, fluffy toys and anything else worth smiling about. Typing away at their computers (yes, I do realise the hypocrisy), they try to confine things to unwritten rules and laws, in this case, video games. Many of those detractors seem to focus on the fact that Metal Gear Solid 4 (and the entire series in reality) is very heavy on sections when you are not allowed to play the game. But the truth is, those who looked forward to MGS4 would in reality be disappointed if we were not told to “Live, Snake” at least once. The games would really only be half the games they are if it wasn’t for these long movie like sections. Kojima has always taken the stance that video games are art, and this is his way of expressing it, through additional story development. (more…)

Review by Rook

Waking up with no memory to see the man beside you murdered by occultist thugs is a strange start to Atari’s last hurrah for big budget single player games. A gritty story, told in the style of a TV series complete with cliff hanger endings to chapters along with DVD styled menus to skip to your favourite parts and the cutscene’s could almost make you buy into it. But Alone in the Dark as a game finds itself in something of a conundrum, and the usual review community has had a difficult time pinning the game down. When a game’s reviews manage to evenly cover 60% of the scale then there’s always something up, something that some people could see, and drag out of the game and other bits that some people couldn’t get over. Alone in the Dark manages to be a game with ideas and vision, and it has them in spades. It just never quite knows how to play its hand.

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Review by Herby

Battle of the Bands is a rarity in today’s gaming world: a music/rhythm game that does not require some type of peripheral like a guitar, microphone, dance pad or electric tuba. Played solely with the Wii Remote, Battle of the Bands simplifies the genre by requiring only simple gestures in your attempt to destroy your opponent. But does Battle of the Bands win the battle for your cash?

The gameplay at the heart of Battle of the Bands is simple – a series of directional arrows runs along the screen similar to Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Swipe the remote in the direction shown at the correct time and you get points; get more points than your opponent by the end of the song and you win. During the battle, if you get enough notes in a row you can launch attacks at your opponent. Of course, your opponent can do the same so you must watch for attacks and block them before they hit your side of the screen.

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