Retro Reviews
Review Wolfenstein 3D (PlayStation 3)
Serving as a history lesson for FPS newcomers or a nostalgia trip for the old-school, Wolfenstein 3D's presence on the PSN is certainly justified despite feeling ancient in almost every way
Wolfenstein 3D is a game that has been around for a whopping 17 years and as such offers very little new. There are trophies to unlock and subsequent rewards for...
Review Red Faction Guerrilla (PlayStation 3)
Red Faction Guerrilla follows the tale of Alec Mason, a simple miner looking to make an honest living on the developing surface of Mars
But politics are rife on Mars - and the EDF are taking control in none to friendly ways. Unable to resist the temptation of avenging his brother - who fell at the hands of the EDF - Alec Mason is dragged into the...
Review Gunstar Heroes (PlayStation 3)
Gunstar Heroes was bizarrely excluded from SEGA's Ultimate Mega Drive Collection, and while it's irritating to not have your entire collection of Mega Drive titles collectively under one roof - it does make the PSN version of Gunstar Heroes worth so much more than it might have been
Alas, Gunstar Heroes is a game you're pretty much going to want to...
Review Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PlayStation 3)
Set in the vibrant world of Ancaria, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel bares many a similarity to hallmark PC titles such as Diablo
You'll initially select a character from a list of six including the standard fare High Elf to the less than conventional robotic Anubis. Initial customisation is weak, although this comes into play as you collect, buy, sell and...
Review Damnation (PlayStation 3)
Damnation is a stomping cyber-punk affair about everything and nothing
Taking control of rebel gang member Hamilton Rourke, you're plunged into an alternate past (or future?) where the American Civil War is fought with robots. Fighting an evil dictator known as Prescott and his horde of super charged soldiers you'll see five main levels over a 10...
Review Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PlayStation 3)
Playing as an elusive silent protagonist only referred to as "Rookie", you fill the shoes of the fifth Ghostbuster, learning from the best and embarking on a campaign to save Manhattan from a ruthless army of undead reapers
Whilst we were initially concerned, playing as the fifth Ghostbuster gives you a snapshot view of the interaction between the...
FUEL is a massive (5,000² miles massive) open-world racing game, set in a post-apocalyptic future
Think Fallout 3 meets Burnout Paradise and you're along the right lines. There's a loose story about global warming and a lack of fossil fuels, but this is a racing game through and through. You enter races, earn credits, buy better vehicles and win...
Review Trash Panic (PlayStation 3)
Coming from Japan, Trash Panic is as suitably bonkers as you'd expect
Trying to explain the concept of the game in a few sentences will be difficult, but we'll try our best. Challenged with a rectangular playing field [a.k.a. bin], you'll be presented with a range of junk - from simple office stationery to entire golf courses (really); you're tasked...
Review Bionic Commando (PlayStation 3)
A reboot of the franchise starring mechanical armed Nathan "RAD" Spencer, Bionic Commando mixes elements of platforming and shooting tied together in a rather loosely written bizarre-o-rama storyline
The game is set 10 years after Capcom's NES original, in which time has not been kind to protagonist Nate. As he waits for his execution on death-row,...
Review Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars (PlayStation 3)
Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars is a steam-punk first-person-shooter in the vain of Quake and Doom
The gameplay has a frantic feel to it, with characters defying physics both in their armoury and combat abilities - hence the name, we assume. Cellfactor has a rather simplistic single-player "campaign" accompanied by some more worthwhile...
Review Virtua Tennis 2009 (PlayStation 3)
Virtua Tennis is SEGA's acclaimed arcade tennis title, putting you in the shoes of a range of different circuit superstars - Federer, Nadal, Murray, Ivanovic, Sharapova, etc
The World Tour mode allows you to create your own player and watch them rise through the ranks of the SEGA Pro Tennis tour; completing mini-games and training challenges with...
Review inFAMOUS (PlayStation 3)
You play as Cole McGrath, the subject of an inexplicable explosion, and the carrier of some deadly electrical powers
With the entirety of Cole's hometown - Empire City - suffering the consequences of the blast, the government puts the location under quarantine. With a loss of order, and gangs rising from the underground, Cole embarks on discovering...
Review Bejeweled 2 (PlayStation 3)
Bejeweled is a simple puzzle game where the player must match sets of three jewels to progress through increasingly difficult stages
Unlike Tetris and Columns, the screen is constantly full, making the challenge all about finding the jewels to match and also creating "chains" to increase the high score. Matching four jewels creates an...
Review Buzz!: Junior: Robo Jam (PlayStation 3)
There have been a lot of Buzz
games over the last few years. They were an asset on the Playstation 2 simply because they could blur the lines between casual and hardcore players, much like Nintendo's Wii. Capitalising on the mixed age appeal of the quiz games, Sony diversified the gameshow genre to include minigame compilations under the Buzz!...
Review Zen Pinball (PlayStation 3)
Zen Pinball is the latest digital take on the classic past-time, giving players a choice of four tables to compete in a range of different modes
Each table varies in tone to the other; whether it be the automotive "V12" or the Honda advert inspired "Tesla". There's no standout here - each is as glorious as the last with DLC...
Review SingStar Pop Edition (PlayStation 3)
Music games have a huge pool of popularity just now
You've got Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Rock Revolution - erm - Wii Music and many more. All of which cater to different crowds and different types of music genres. In the cases of the aforementioned - Wii Music's nursery rhymes aside - it's usually the commercial rock crowd. Thank goodness for...
Review X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PlayStation 3)
Based on the new Hugh Jackman Wolvie movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set just before the X-Men films, filling in much of the character's back-story; something which may or may not please comic book aficionados, but is tackled all the same
The game is directed via a series of flash-backs, which can get confusing, but the majority of the time works...
Review The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena (PlayStation 3)
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena is actually a package consisting of two games; the fresh Riddick chapter Assault On Dark Athena and the earlier XBOX-cult exclusive Escape From Butcher Bay
As it stands, that makes The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena a rather beefy package, including two complete 9-hour games and a...
Review OutRun Online Arcade (PlayStation 3)
OutRun Online Arcade is a port of the classic OutRun 2 SP arcade board, a SEGA AM2 game which featured in part in the home console releases of OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
Based upon Yu Suzuki's original racing classic, OutRun 2 SP introduced slip-streaming and an American theme. OutRun Online Arcade is a perfect port by Sheffield's SUMO Digital,...
Review FIFA 09: Ultimate Team (PlayStation 3)
Ultimate Team is an extension to the excellent Fifa 09, allowing players to earn coins, buy trading cards and complete a sticker album
Upon loading Ultimate Team you will be given your first pack of cards featuring some amateur players. From here you can build your team and play matches in order to earn coins. Earning coins allows you to buy new...
Review Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists Of Plastic (PlayStation 3)
Originally developed for the PC by Mark Healey, the co-founder of Media Molecule, Rag Doll Kung Fu is a parody of classic kung fu movies
The game is a simple arena based beat 'em up, akin to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros., where up to four players select an action-figure protagonist and battle it out on a purposely cliche stage. Rag Doll Kung Fu has a...
Review Wanted: Weapons Of Fate (PlayStation 3)
Set shortly after the ending of the movie, you take control of Wesley Gibson, a smug-faced assassin with the ability to curve bullets
With the death of his mother burning in his veins, you'll embark on a one-man crusade for revenge, with the narrative flitting between the past and present. Wanted: Weapons Of Fate consists of a 6-hour single campaign...
Review The Godfather II (PlayStation 3)
Obviously taking license from the incredibly successful 1974 movie, The Godfather II is the follow-up video game to 2006's mixed success sandbox adventure
Deviating sacrilegiously (but necessarily) from some areas of the original movie's plot, you play as Dominic, a soldier under the previous game's protagonist Aldo Trapani. After a brief encounter...
Review Buzz!: Brain Of The UK (PlayStation 3)
Buzz
is a popular Playstation quiz franchise, providing a satirical look at gameshow culture. The PS3 version of Buzz!: Brain Of The UK plays host to 1,000s of new questions, alongside the return of online multiplayer and the ability to create and distribute your own quizzes online. Just like Buzz! Quiz TV, Buzz! Brain Of The UK has gorgeous...
Review Buzz!: Brain Of The UK (PlayStation Portable)
Buzz
is a popular Playstation quiz franchise, providing a satirical look at gameshow culture. The PSP version of Buzz!: Brain Of The UK plays host to 1,000's of questions, a short singleplayer campaign and a couple of multiplayer options. As always, the Buzz! presentation is razor sharp, providing some new "parody" lines from master host...
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...
Review Stormrise (PlayStation 3)
Stormrise pitches a moderately engrossing sci-fi plot involving a race of human survivors known as The Echelon
As human survivors of a failed climate control experiment, they go up against the Sai, an evil tentacle bearing race. The game doesn't exactly do a strong enough job of explaining its premise, but the characters develop enough to create...
Review Burn, Zombie, Burn! (PlayStation 3)
Bruce, a rad quiff-sporting stereotype, was hoping to spend his weekend cozying up to bubble-gum popping spouse Daisy
Sadly, there's an unannounced zombie invasion issuing him with the task of clearing out the undead. Thankfully Bruce has a stash of crypt crocking weapons available. Burn, Zombie, Burn! is an old school arcade shooter inspired by...
Review Vin Diesel Wheelman (PlayStation 3)
Wheelman puts you in the shoes of Hollywood super-star Vin Diesel, as he tears up the streets of Barcelona posing as Milo Burik
Finding his feet in the Spanish province, Vin Diesel starts to learn about Barcelona's criminal underground and builds up a relationship with numerous shady locals as a wheelman. Wheelman is an arcade style driving game...
Review No Gravity: The Plague Of The Mind (PlayStation Portable)
No Gravity: The Plague Of The Mind is a space-bound shooter set in the year 8002
You play as one of the few remaining adventurous pilots, tasked with the mission of scouring space to wipe out the vicious "mind plague". No Gravity's interpretation of space is fantastic. It mainly achieves such gorgeous visuals by the way it fills the screen with...
