November2014
Review #killallzombies (PlayStation 4)
Social media suicide
We all know that the zombie apocalypse is coming, but gamers should have had enough practice by now to survive beyond doomsday. What’s next for a world littered with corpses, then? A reality television show – with a hashtag as part of its title, of course. This is the (horrific) future that #killallzombies peddles, but as...
June2014
Review ZRun (PlayStation Vita)
The running dead
The endless runner and the zombie are seemingly at opposite ends of the video game spectrum. The former is reserved almost exclusively for smartphone-fuelled exercises in mediocrity, while the latter is usually deployed only in the hardest of hardcore horror games. With ZRun, Beatshapers has attempted to reconcile these two warring...
November2013
Review Furmins (PlayStation Vita)
Fuzzy feeling
Furmins is likely to feel familiar. It's a mixture of Lemmings and Cut the Rope: a physics based puzzler that challenges you to construct a passage for the titular creatures to roll through, all while collecting sweets, avoiding death, and reaching the goal in a fast enough time to gain three stars. These stars can then be used to...
August2013
Review Snowy: Treasure Hunter (PlayStation 3)
Snow laughing matter
Fresh off Beatshapers’ porting production line comes Snowy: Treasure Hunter, a title starring a polar bear with a passion for treasure thievery. But while Beatshapers' porting pedigree speaks for itself, are Snowy’s adventures really worth the £6.49 asking price? Presented from a side-on view, the goal of each level is to...
Review BreakQuest: Extra Evolution (PlayStation Vita)
Another brick in the wall
The humble block breaker has been stuck in a rut ever since Arkanoid introduced weapons and allowed you to shoot down bricks with Moonraker-esque submachine guns. BreakQuest: Extra Evolution, an enhanced PlayStation Vita port of last year’s well-received PlayStation Mini, aims to smash that sorry spate of stagnation by...
November2012
Review Jetpack Joyride (PlayStation Minis)
Fun size
You are Barry Steakfries: Nate Drake look-alike, coin collector, and experimental technology thief. Bored of his life in the ‘Secret Underground Laboratory’, Barry makes a one-way bid for freedom. He’s doomed of course, but don’t tell him. It’d break his heart. One of the few iPhone apps to make the jump to PlayStation Minis,...
Review BreakQuest: Extra Evolution (PlayStation Minis)
Block bashing brilliance
Sprinkling innovation on top of what is ostensibly an Arkanoid clone is a tricky task, but developer Beatshapers has achieved it marvellously with the brilliant BreakQuest: Extra Evolution. Building on the original title from 2004, this PlayStation Mini lives up to its namesake by completely overhauling the block bashing...
August2012
Review Wizorb (PlayStation Minis)
Castin’ a spell on Arkanoid
It’s only been a few months since the internet was buzzing about the PS Mini service, because of the release of FuturLab’s fantastic title, Velocity. Well, Sony wants to keep the overlooked service on your mind with Tribute Games and Beatshapers’ latest release. Throwing the block-busting mechanics of old-school...
April2012
Review StarDrone Extreme (PlayStation Vita)
Spinster
StarDrone Extreme should be a mess: the game has a longer list of influences than an experimental electronica band. But somehow developers Beatshapers and Orb Games have managed to fuse the title’s extensive list of disparate inspirations into a cohesive package, and against all odds produced a tremendously enjoyable action puzzle...
March2012
Review Canabalt (PlayStation Minis)
Dashing desperado
The PSP is positively bristling with input buttons, yet Canabalt is a game you can play with just one. Originally conceived as a free-to-play browser game, it made the leap to iOS in 2009, and now graces the PlayStation Network as a PSP Mini. Canabalt’s premise is the ultimate in high concept. The planet has been invaded by...
March2011
Review StarDrone (PlayStation 3)
The joy of losing
The structure of failure in gaming isn't what it used to be. Limited lives and dwindling continues are dying out, instead making way for ever-replenishing health bars and multiple re-spawn points. Simply put, our video games are getting easier. While some titles certainly stray from this convention, for the most part, streamlined...
August2010
Review Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter (PlayStation Minis)
Those who persevere with Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter will be rewarded with a satisfying experience, but the methodical pacing and lack of variety will not be to everyone's liking
Originally released for the PC in the last 1990's, Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter cashed in on the burgeoning hunting genre that was exploding at the time. Opting to meander...
