PS3, PS4 Reviews - Page 6

Mind games

Smart As appeals to your egotistical side. The PlayStation Vita puzzler is rewarding, challenging, and supremely satisfying – but the game’s key ingredient is the way in which it provides real-time information on your achievements compared to other players. Whether it's your friends, co-workers, neighbours, or even strangers –...

Helghastly

Killzone HD almost never happened. Franchise creator Guerrilla Games had to search long and hard for the PlayStation 2 title’s original assets – eventually discovering them in a shoebox beneath the house of an IT technician. Even with the appropriate materials located, it spent many hours sorting through outdated source code and...

Tasty treat

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz almost represents a return to form for this troubled series. Returning to the original's simplicity, it recaptures a lot of the charm and magic from when the series first rolled into our hearts over 11 years ago. Indeed, its sickeningly cutesy aesthetic is as delightful now as it's ever been. But this is...

Looks can be deceiving

Dead or Alive 5 is nothing if not utter nonsense. Tecmo Koei has had seven years to stuff its flashy fighting series full of gibberish, and it’s delivered. Unfortunately, it’s forgotten to fully advance the combat systems at the heart of the experience along the way – and the sequel feels like a half-step as a result...

Third time lucky?

WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship is certainly an improvement over last year's title. The presentation has been greatly enhanced, with the menus and audio more reminiscent of its contemporaries. Meanwhile, the in-game visuals show far more fidelity with improved detail and lighting. However, there're still some glaring issues...

The Spy Who Bored Me

With the new James Bond film Skyfall out next month, you might expect this year's 007 game to be all about the present — instead, Eurocom digs into the franchise's rich legacy, updating some of Bond's more memorable moments for the modern era. With the successful reimagining of GoldenEye, Eurocom proved that they know their...

Go West

Most people would agree that Resident Evil: Code Veronica was the last truly scary title in Capcom’s survival-horror series. Ever since the closing credits rolled on that Dreamcast classic way back in 2000, the popular view is that the franchise has been gradually getting more Westernised, and slowly shedding the foundations of the genre...

Not-so-great white

It’s always unfortunate when a game shows a massive amount of promise and ultimately falls short, but in the case of Derrick the Deathfin it’s almost criminal. The game is stunningly beautiful and the amount of care that Different Tuna’s invested into development is evident from the start, but unfortunately the rest of the...

Movie magic

Joe Danger is back, performing more death defying stunts with style and panache. This time, however, Joe has hit the big-time and has become a Hollywood stuntman. And with his new job comes new responsibilities; he's not just driving quad bikes and motorcycles anymore, instead he must master mine carts, snowmobiles, skis and even jet...

Copy right

In a generation where just about every game has some kind of serious story with complex characters, Retro City Rampage does a complete 180 and focuses on plain and simple goofy fun. The 8-bit styled game resembles the original Grand Theft Auto at first, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll also find it pays homage to a handful of...

Shadow runner

Ever since the release of Crazy Taxi on the PlayStation Network, people have been asking SEGA to port the extremely popular Sonic Adventure 2 to PS3. Originally released in 2001, the game was not only one of the showcase titles for the Dreamcast hardware, but also an extremely innovative experience. Later the title would be ported to...

Paint by slumber

The Unfinished Swan starts with a blank canvas and a single stirring idea. Blinded by grief following the untimely passing of his mother, protagonist Monroe finds himself locked in a fantasy world littered with problems that mirror his own. Feeling purposeless without the guidance of his guardian, the orphan is forced to deduce his...

Rat race

Dishonored doesn’t have much time for modern video game conventions. Arkane Studios’ delectable steam-punk romp does away with unnecessary multiplayer components, multi-million dollar set-pieces and tutorial missions that last almost as long as the campaign itself. At times, its complete disregard for expected standards can be to its...

Champions League

Compared to reality, FIFA 13 is pure; an uncompromised look at all the thrills that football entails, wrapped in a stylish package that wouldn't look out of place on television. Mercifully it remains focused on the core of football, free of the scandal that so often overshadows the sport presently. There are no faked injuries or...

Love the NiGHT life

While SEGA’s offerings in recent years have been a varied assortment of peaks and valleys, there was a time when there was no disputing their quality. During the Saturn era Sonic Team put out several innovative games that defied genre conventions and immediately captured the hearts of the SEGA faithful. NiGHTS into Dreams has...

The whole world in your hands

Sony is often criticised for shrinking its home console franchises down to handheld size – but, despite the best efforts of its detractors, that commentary doesn’t always hold weight. Sackboy’s maiden craftworld campaign may have been animated by the DualShock 3, but LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is one of those...

Watch the throne

Our little king is all grown up. After rising to power in Wii's Little King's Story, New Little King's Story sees King Corobo lose his kingdom during one heck of a party. After escaping with a small cadre of loyal subjects, Corobo must prove once more why he deserves to rule by rescuing lands and princesses alike from the clutches...

Primal rage

In an industry which is seemingly obsessed with burly soldiers packing massive machine guns and other associated heavy ordinance, it’s somewhat ironic that 2012’s most shocking representation of video game violence should come from a title which features no automatic weapons whatsoever, but instead insists that you utilise tooth and...

Go, go, go!

In the high-speed world of Formula One, the slightest error can be the difference – quite literally – between life and death. Push the pedal to the metal for a tenth of a second too long and your race weekend could be over, as you end up hurtling off the track and – if you’re lucky – into a wall of tyres. This is why it’s of...