September2010
Review Heavy Rain (PlayStation 3)
Storming
Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain arrived in early 2010 in a downpour of critical acclaim, its storytelling, graphical quality and sheer audacity a breath of fresh air. Now a free patch has added support for Sony's Move controller (with a disc release landing soon) and although the game's strengths still shine through, its niggling flaws are sadly...
Review Hustle Kings (PlayStation 3)
This game's got balls
Hustle Kings isn't anything new to those familiar with the PSN. Developed by VooFoo Studios, the game first saw release at the end of 2009 to much acclaim. With the launch of Move for the PS3, it's become common practice to see some older games get updated to support the Move controller and for Hustle Kings, it's the same...
Review Kung Fu Rider (PlayStation 3)
Is the ticket worth the ride?
On the surface, Kung Fu Rider comes off as a fun variation on the downhill racing formula, removing the boxcars or skateboards players might expect to ride and switching them out for office chairs and luggage. To make this premise even more wacky, the protagonists periodically perform kung fu moves while riding these...
Let's get ready to Tuuumble!!!
When Sony began its marketing blitz for the Playstation Move, the ads focused on how Move differentiates from the competition, namely Kinect and the Nintendo Wii. The Move campaign began with a commercial featuring Kevin Butler as the "VP of Realistic Movements" attempting to persuade the viewer the Move can do things...
Review Start the Party (PlayStation 3)
We rock the party
Start the Party is every core Move owner's worst nightmare: a minigame collection, full of casual, family-friendly gameplay. Although the usual issues that hold back the genre are all present and correct here, it's still not a bad title for families and those wanting a silly but enjoyable introduction to the controller. You won't...
Review Sports Champions (PlayStation 3)
Will it make you want to Move?
When Sony announced it was developing a motion controller for PlayStation 3, it certainly didn't shock anyone to see a collection of motion-controlled sports games to go along with it. While comparisons to Nintendo's Wii Remote and Wii Sports Resort are inevitable, it might be a bit more fair to compare it to the...
Review Pinball Heroes: Modnation Racers (PlayStation Portable)
There are some neat tricks in Pinball Heroes' presentation of Modnation Racers, but in all the table is a little flat
Perhaps the neatest part of the Modnation Racers Pinball Heroes table is its nod towards the formers creation aspect. Flipping the ball inside the Mod and Kart caverns changes the background of the table, with different designs...
Review Pinball Heroes: Fat Princess (PlayStation Portable)
The Fat Princess table in Pinball Heroes depicts the chaos of a stalemate in its source material, but it leads to a busy and complicated experience
One thing Pinball Heroes is good at is providing a pinball experience similar to the source material it's based on. The Fat Princess table carries over virtually every element you'd expect it to. Caught...
Review Pinball Heroes: Wipeout HD Fury (PlayStation Portable)
Pinball Heroes' Wipeout HD table is probably the most accessible of the bunch and it also happens to look fantastic
Wipeout HD is a game that's inherently pretty. Pinball Heroes' Wipeout table therefore, is similarly dreamy. Staying true to the source material, the Wipeout table in Pinball Heroes is all about large blocks of colour. Taking the...
Review Pinball Heroes: MotorStorm (PlayStation Portable)
MotorStorm might be one of the more plain Pinball Heroes' tables, but some great artwork makes up for the limited number of on-screen objects
Many of Pinball Heroes tables opt for complicated, detailed stages with numerous objects from their source material. The MotorStorm table is not like that. There's a truck placed in the mid-section of the...
August2010
Review PixelJunk Racers: 2nd Lap (PlayStation 3)
By focusing on the underlying competitive nature of PixelJunk Racers, 2nd Lap is worthy add-on that will bring newcomers and veterans alike back to the PixelJunk franchise's roots
Being an early PlayStation Network release, and the first in the PixelJunk franchise, a large proportion of the PlayStation 3's user-base are unlikely to have experienced...
July2010
Review Everybody's Tennis (PlayStation Portable)
If you've ever wished for an old-school RPG where the battle system's replaced by smashes and strawberries and cream, then Everybody's Tennis will be a dream come true
This is a fun (and surprisingly deep) sports game dressed in an uber-cutesy Japanese exterior. The Everybody's (or Hot Shots if you're an American type) franchise has always been...
April2010
Review Pinball Heroes: PAIN (PlayStation Portable)
PAIN's Pinball Heroes table really doesn't stack up next to the quality of the rest of the package, with basic visuals and a lack of ideas
It's probably coincidence that PAIN's Pinball Heroes table is a bit rubbish - the PSN title it's based on is certainly not one of our favourites in the PushSquare office, so there's no real love lost here. When...
Review Pinball Heroes: High Velocity Bowling (PlayStation Portable)
Clever use of the bowling mechanic makes High Velocity Bowling's table one of the more interesting choices from Pinball Heroes' selection
High Velocity Bowling's Pinball Heroes table is based on the aesthetic of the PSN game of the same name. That means there's a faux mid-50's vibe to the cabinet's aesthetic, with a huge ten-pin bowling graphic...
Review Pinball Heroes: Uncharted Drake's Fortune (PlayStation Portable)
The Uncharted aesthetic is very pleasing, but the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Pinball Heroes table lacks the imagination of its counter-parts
Based on the huge Playstation 3 hit from Naughty Dog, the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Pinball Heroes table is a competent but simplistic experience. It's an aesthetically pleasing table, with the plane crash...
March2010
Review Pinball Heroes: Everybody's Golf (PlayStation Portable)
Easily the best of the Pinball Heroes tables, the Everybody's Golf pinball cabinet is a delightful recreation of Clap Hanz's super-accessible golf franchise
Based on Clap Hanz's Playstation golf franchise, the Everbody's Golf table in Pinball Heroes is a loving recreation of some of the game's concepts. Working with the golf theme, the Everybody's...
Review SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 (PlayStation Portable)
If you're looking for a multiplayer shooter on your Playstation Portable, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 is probably the best you're going to get
It's a pretty staggering technical achievement, providing all the staples you'd expect from a standard console multiplayer shooter, on a system that fits inside your pocket. The campaign is fine, but it's the...
November2009
Review Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PlayStation Portable)
Jaked Up
After a short hiatus, the double-jumping Playstation powerhouses known as Jak & Daxter are back in full force with their eco-sage hottie friend Keira along for the journey. The world is low on eco, and is tearing itself apart as a result. Of course, as the platforming duo you'll have to double jump your way through the game's...
Review LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation Portable)
Material world
In many ways LittleBigPlanet PSP is a direct port of Media Molecule's PlayStation 3 monster. Visually, tonally and mechanically the games are close to identical; Studio Cambridge do an outstanding job of recreating Media Molecule's vision on a portable system. The single player campaign is new however, sending Sackboy (or Sackgirl) on...
October2009
Review LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival (PlayStation Portable)
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival may not be a full-on sequel, but it's still all-singing, all dancing fun
It's outrageously good value for money too. LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival is still as boisterous as you might expect. The dastardly BuiBui from the previous two games have returned and kidnapped the sleeping LocoRoco. If they can escape the hazardous...
Sent on a rich safari working for clients such as National Geographic, Afrika is a photography simulator in which you scope landscapes for the best possible wildlife photographs
You'll unlock varying equipment along the way, allowing you to take better photographs and learn new techniques. Afrika is a fairly large game, with plenty of environments...
September2009
Review Gran Turismo (PlayStation Portable)
Polyphony Digital's world conquering Gran Turismo franchise finally makes its scaled appearance on the PSP with a mind numbing 800 cars and 35 tracks
Gran Turismo's world famous physics simulation returns, with a wide variety of cars and track types (dirt, snow, race track) to pit your wits against. There are a range of driving challenges to...
Review MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (PlayStation Portable)
Motorstorm is one of Sony's "new-breed" franchises, emerging as a Playstation 3 launch title
Evolution Studios' "not-quite-sim-not-quite-arcade-racer" makes its first foray onto other platforms with Motorstorm: Arctic Edge; an off-shoot of the lavish environments from PS3 sequel Pacific Rift. Arctic Edge, as the title suggests, is set atop...
July2009
Review God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (PlayStation Portable)
Kratos's PSP début is angry as ever
The game is set as a prequel to the Playstation 2's first God Of War title, where Kratos has been saved by Ares and is working out a seemingly never-ending chain of payback to the Gods of Olympus. The tale develops much further later on in the game and gives Kratos a much deeper sense of character, but we don't...
Review Numblast (PlayStation 3)
Despite being a puzzle title inherently involved with numbers, it's with pleasure for us to inform you that Numblast has absolutely nothing to with maths
You rotate quadrants of four numbers aiming to create 4x4 squares of the same number. Doing so will increase the number tally, making it possible to score outrageous combos by placing higher...
