Push Rewind

We’d love to give this recap a bit of oomph by informing you that it’s been an incredibly eventful week in the PlayStation Nation, but we reckon that the gaming industry’s gone on strike while the World Cup and Wimbledon edge closer to their conclusion. Still, that’s fine by us, as we’ve spent the past seven days huddled around the office television, trying to get a glimpse at some sporting event or other. Thankfully, we did at least find time to pump out a serious number of reviews, all of which you’ll find lovingly compiled below.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn

Reviews

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn - 8/10

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn lacks a bit of the polish that we've come to expect from recent Warriors titles, but it makes up for it with the most well realised combat and best official mode that the series has seen. You'll come for the explosions, stay for the addictive levelling mechanics despite some over complex touches, and maybe even realise your dreams as you decide to smash a weaponised asteroid into Earth. Hail Zeon and all that.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark - 3/10

Hindered by its desire to deploy alongside Michael Bay’s latest abomination, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark shoots itself in the robotic foot, fumbling with a poor narrative, terrible voice acting, and significantly less polished gunplay than fans of High Moon’s output may be used to. The positive moments are few and far between – with even fan favourite Grimlock failing to make the release feel worthwhile. The developer does deserve credit for at least attempting to please franchise veterans, but that doesn’t detract from the fact this is still a shoddy experience dressed in the shell of its more successful predecessors. It’s not always entirely drab – a bit of mindless blasting is always entertaining in short bursts – but much like the weedy Ultra Magnus, this is still a shadow of the title that it’s trying to replace.

Other Reviews

PocketStation

Features

Feature: What the Heck Is a PocketStation?

Back in the mists of time, when Tamagotchi was still a thing and we were all wondering if SEGA’s Dreamcast was really going to turn things around for the ailing hardware company, Sony took the Sonic the Hedgehog maker's new Visual Memory Unit concept – a portable memory card with a built-in LCD screen – and, well, seemingly copied it. Upon its Japanese release in 1999, the device sold out, but despite plans for a global launch, the impending PlayStation 2 meant that it never hit Western shores. So, what makes the curious peripheral special?

Matters of Import: Shining a Light on PS Vita's htoL#NiQ -Hotaru no Nikki-

Nippon Ichi, perhaps best known for its Disgaea role-playing game series, has recently released a new PlayStation Vita game in Japan that’s very different from its usual output. htoL#NiQ is a puzzle game, and is best – or perhaps most lazily – described as Japan's answer to monochrome indie die-lots-‘em-up Limbo.

Other Features

DriveClub PlayStation 4

News

Sony's Not Worried About PS4's Software Lineup This Fall

The word on the street is that the PlayStation 4 has no games – and a spate of delays into 2015 haven’t exactly helped the console’s case. With the likes of The Order: 1886, Batman: Arkham Knight, and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt not due out until early next year, alarm bells have been ringing on online message boards regarding what we’re all going to play on Sony’s next-gen console this Christmas. Fortunately, the platform holder isn’t overly concerned.

Blimey, Only Four in Ten PlayStation Games Actually Make Money

Many of us play video games, but very few of us can fully appreciate just how harsh the business surrounding our hobby can be. As it turns out, releasing a piece of interactive entertainment is an incredibly risky gambit, and in a recent interview, Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida revealed just how dicey the industry can get.

PS4 Port The Last of Us Remastered Is Agonisingly Close to Completion

PlayStation 4 port The Last of Us Remastered has sort of crept up on us like Joel and Ellie in a Firefly stronghold. The game – which was announced earlier in the year after numerous leaks – is due out at the end of the month, and judging by a Tweet posted by lead programmer Jason Gregory, it’s very nearly complete.

Developers Declare That PlayStation 4 Is the Best Console Right Now

We know that Sony supposedly loves developers, but is that affection reciprocated? It turns out that it is, as a slew of studios have voted the PlayStation 4 as the best console currently on the market – beating the Xbox One, Wii U, 3DS, and even the firm’s own PlayStation Vita. The system finished fifth in industry publication Develop’s Top 100 Tech List, two spots ahead of Microsoft’s machine.

Guide: How to Connect the DualShock 4 Wirelessly to the PS3

While the DualShock 3 is a perfectly serviceable input device, it lacks the refinement of the PlayStation 4 controller’s more ergonomic shell. As such, you may be cursing Sony’s classic peripheral when you return to your PlayStation 3 backlog – but fortunately, there is an alternative. While the DualShock 4 has always been compatible with the Japanese giant’s previous generation console, you had to have the peripheral plugged in – but due to a recent firmware update, that flaw appears to have been fixed. Here’s what you need to do.

Other Noteworthy News

Video of the Week

This Is What Grand Theft Auto V Would Look Like in Real Life

The stars of Grand Theft Auto V may not be the most savoury people on the planet, but we’d be lying if we said that we didn’t want to step into their shoes for a day or two. It seems that Spanish filmmaker Zapruder Pictures had a similar temptation to masquerade as Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, too, as it’s put together this impressive short film based on the Rockstar Games release’s debut trailer.