August2013
Review Tekken Revolution (PlayStation 3)
King of free-to-play fighters
The video game industry is changing faster than a Tekken character’s costume. The digital era has ushered a flurry of new distribution models for publishers to exploit, and that’s left major firms like Namco Bandai juggling dozens of ideas in the hope of happening upon a critical hit. Tekken Revolution, one of the...
May2013
Review Star Trek: The Video Game (PlayStation 3)
Below par trek
If you're looking for an epic and exciting sci-fi setting filled with awful, often game breaking bugs – and you didn't already get your fill with Defiance – then Star Trek: The Video Game should be right up your alley. Not even the palpable hype from the impending movie, as well as the stellar cast, can save this generic action...
February2013
Review Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PlayStation 3)
Crikey! This game is flippin' tidy, mun!
Nowadays, large-scale RPGs seem to be everywhere, and with such a rich choice of games available, it’s hard to discern the classics from the rabble. It can also be easy to exaggerate the quality of the very best in the genre, due to long development processes and the length of the adventures on offer. But...
January2013
Review Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection (PlayStation 3)
High tension definition
The Budokai series first launched on the last generation of consoles. It spawned three games, each sporting their own take on the epic Dragon Ball Z story. Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection repurposes the first and third titles from the franchise – but are they enough to capture your attention in the HD era? Let’s get...
March2012
Review Touch My Katamari (PlayStation Vita)
Roll with it
Katamari Damacy began as a happy ball of creativity, an innovative concept revolving solely around the simple act of rolling. Eight years after it first arrived, the novelty has dissipated, the industry nary raising an eyebrow at the series any longer. Time, and a lack of forward movement, has normalised the Prince and King of All...
February2012
Review Enslaved: Odyssey To The West (PlayStation 3)
Monkey magic
Loosely based on the traditional Chinese novel Journey To The West, Enslaved dictates the tale of Trip and Monkey as they traverse a dangerous post-apocalyptic world. Set some 150 years after the Earth's collapse, human life has all but been eradicated. The overgrown, dilapidated skyline of New York city greets the couple's arrival in...
Review SoulCalibur V (PlayStation 3)
You'd sell your soul for this game
Even though fighting games are enjoying a new renaissance of popularity — a "second coming," if you will — updating a popular franchise still carries a healthy amount of risk. Change too much and risk alienating your loyal fanbase; change too little and you're mid-90s Capcom, famous for pseudo-sequels...
August2011
Review Galaga Legions DX (PlayStation 3)
Galaga Legions DX struggles to emerge from the shadows of its spiritual predecessor Pac-Man Championship Edition DX but it is still a similarly eye-watering re-imagining of an old arcade favourite
Its hard not to be excited about the successor to Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. Namco Bandais futuristic rethink of the classic pill-popping...
December2010
Review Deadstorm Pirates (PlayStation 3)
Davy Jones' lock-on
Over the years Namco has been prolific in developing light-gun titles including Ninja Assault, Point Blank and most prominently the Time Crisis series. Earlier this year it unleashed two-player on-rails shooter Deadstorm Pirates as a sit-down booth coin-op, so considering the possibility that your local arcade has not invested in...
Review Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (PlayStation 3)
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is a delightfully addictive sensory experience
Everything about Namco's re-reboot is perfectly tuned and overwhelmingly memorable. A must-have. Pac-Man has always been a bizarre game. Take a moment to digest the original's pitch: an incomplete pizza roams around a haunted maze scoffing tablets. Weird, right? Pac-Man...
November2010
Review Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PlayStation 3)
Running out of time
Practically from the moment Sony announced the PlayStation Move controller, so-called ‘hardcore’ gamers have been more than happy to brand it a device aimed at ‘casual’ players. It could be argued that they have a point – especially when you consider how closely some Move titles resemble undemanding Wii-standard...
April2010
Review Namco Museum Essentials (PlayStation 3)
Namco Museum Essentials is a beautifully presented trip down memory lane that's worth an hour or so of anyone's time
Packing five classic Namco arcade titles (and one "new" game), it's hard to argue that Namco Museum Essentials goes below the call of duty for its sub-£10 price-tag. But some glorious presentation and procedural unlocks...
November2009
Review Tekken 6 (PlayStation 3)
Continuing the outrageous story-arc of the Tekken franchise, Tekken 6 opens to a lengthy introduction reminding you all the events of the King Of Iron Fist tournament thus far
The drill remains pretty familiar in Tekken 6: corporations rule the world, with many clashing along their relevant paths. With the bad blood already flowing through the...
September2009
Review SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny (PlayStation Portable)
Well, it's Soul Calibur on the PSP
Based on many of the mechanics from the SoulCalibur IV engine, Broken Destiny is a weapons-based fighting game featuring a host of familiar and equally ridiculous characters. The Star Wars characters from the Playstation 3 version of the game have been replaced with the much better suited Kratos and the deeply...
March2009
Review Afro Samurai (PlayStation 3)
Afro Samurai is a reimagining of the "popular" anime series (we air-quote it because, while we're not anime zealots, we've never heard of it - Ed)
As a child, Afro Samurai witnesses the murder of his father to the hands of the Number One Headband (the bestest swordsman there is). It's from this moment on that Afro Samurai seeks out the Number Two...
February2009
Review Noby Noby Boy (PlayStation 3)
Where to start? Created by Katamari mastermind Keita Takahashi, you play as BOY, a small-worm like creature with four legs who can stretch almost infinitely
His front legs are controlled with the left stick and his back legs with the right. Essentially pulling the sticks apart will stretch BOY until he reaches the constraints of the randomly...
