Latest Reviews - Page 7

SunFlowers (PlayStation Network - Vita)

SunFlowers (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Bright spark

The Game Atelier knows a thing or two about putting together a visually pleasing experience. The developer’s previous endeavour The Flying Hamster served up a kitschy twist on the classic bullet hell shooter. Armed with acorns as opposed to artillery, the agonisingly undervalued PlayStation Mini prompted an experience able to warm...

Jet Set Radio (PlayStation Network)

Jet Set Radio (PlayStation Network)

Get your skates on

It’s genuinely hard to believe that Jet Set Radio is 12 years old. To look at the game now, you’d swear blind it was a modern release; the gloriously inventive cel-shaded visuals (well, they were innovative back in 2000, anyway) still possesses an alluring quality, and the quirky soundtrack is virtually assured to get the toes...

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PlayStation 3)

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PlayStation 3)

Got the touch?

When it was first announced, 2010’s Transformers: War for Cybertron seemed about as appealing as a collision with a planet eating asteroid named Unicron. The High Moon Studios developed third-person shooter was revealed right around the cusp of Bayformers fever, and despite the Soundwave-esque sincerity of the developer’s...

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (PlayStation Network)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (PlayStation Network)

Drop-in, bail on it, or does Tony Hawk slam?

When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first landed on PlayStation in 1999 it was welcomed with open arms and scabby knees by skateboarders, as the first video game to capture what it felt like to skate. Neversoft embraced skate culture so vehemently that a number of their team became skilled at riding a real...

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. (PlayStation Network)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. (PlayStation Network)

Stands, but doesn't deliver

“Bizarre” is definitely an accurate descriptor of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. Not only does it encapsulate the themes and design of the 2D fighter’s source material, it also sums up the decisions that went into the rerelease of the 1999 Dreamcast title. It’s a mixed bag with an eyebrow-raising price point...

Papo & Yo (PlayStation Network)

Papo & Yo (PlayStation Network)

Waking the monster

On its face Papo & Yo is a tale of boy and monster, of frogs and fruits, but beneath its fantastical scenario lurks a subtle maturity that goes beyond the reach of many games. It's a story devised to mirror designer Vander Caballero's own struggles in a family that bore the burden of addiction, under an alcoholic patriarch,...

Retro/Grade (PlayStation Network)

Retro/Grade (PlayStation Network)

Back to the Front

Take everything you know about playing video games and throw it out of the window, because everything about Retro/Grade is backwards. Literally. While developer 24 Caret Games calls it a shooter in reverse, at its core Retro/Grade is a rhythm game and a darn fine one at that. Innovative mechanics wrapped up snugly in an envelope...

Sleeping Dogs (PlayStation 3)

Sleeping Dogs (PlayStation 3)

Triad and tested

For a product dubbed Sleeping Dogs, United Front Games’ debut open world adventure is decidedly grisly. The former True Crime follow-up – unceremoniously whacked by publisher Activision in 2011 – was resurrected by Square Enix earlier this year, promising much needed sustenance ahead of Grand Theft Auto’s as-of-yet undated...

Darksiders II (PlayStation 3)

Darksiders II (PlayStation 3)

Dawn of the Death

If your brother was imprisoned, accused of a crime that you're certain he didn't commit, you'd probably do everything within your power to clear his name and support his plight. Except most peoples' crimes don't involve invoking the apocalypse and extinguishing mankind from existence. And most people don't have the Grim Reaper for...

Spec Ops: The Line (PlayStation 3)

Spec Ops: The Line (PlayStation 3)

“Death toll – too many”

Imagine this: somewhere in the seemingly endless sands of Dubai, two innocent civilians are being held at gunpoint, along with an informant holding delicate information that you desperately need. But you’re not the only one in pursuit of this vital data, and the hostages’ lives are being bartered for it. Looking...

Sound Shapes (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Sound Shapes (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Don't stop the beat

Ever since we first played Sound Shapes last year, we've not been able to shake off the feeling that something special was inbound. And here it is. Sound Shapes is inventive, imaginative and creative. It melds music, visuals, simplistic gameplay and robust creation tools into a package that's exactly the sort of game that Vita...

Foosball 2012 (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Foosball 2012 (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Fun with the foos

It’s not often that we get to take the game of foosball seriously anymore. As many carefree teenagers do, we went through a two month love affair with the table-top sport during our heady college days. But our dreams of a glittering professional career were promptly quashed when we were informed by our haughty peers that we had...

Wizorb (PlayStation Minis)

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...

Puddle (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Puddle (PlayStation Network - Vita)

Splash damage

You could never accuse Puddle of lacking ideas. The Vita version of Neko Entertainment’s award-winning fluid-based puzzler is brimming with variety, from a tense jaunt across the test tubes and pipettes of a functioning scientific laboratory, right through to an underground romp as a single droplet of deceased rat discharge...

Dyad (PlayStation Network)

Dyad (PlayStation Network)

The light fantastic

Imagine riding a high speed rollercoaster through a music visualiser. The colours zoom all around you, blending together until you can't tell what's going on or where you are. Everything swirls together in a rainbow mish-mash that makes little sense. It's confusing. It's mesmerising. It makes you dizzy. But it's extremely pretty,...

London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games (PlayStation 3)

London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games (PlayStation 3)

Gold standard?

Like so many sports, London 2012 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games (phew) is a game of two halves. Boasting an impressive tally of 45 events, the official Olympic tie-in doesn't disappoint in the content department. But while a decent proportion of its offering strives for sporting glory, the remainder of the package...

Rainbow Moon (PlayStation Network)

Rainbow Moon (PlayStation Network)

A long, beautiful journey

Witnessing a rainbow is always an awe-inspiring experience, seeing how it’s a collage of the most brilliant and beautiful colours across the spectrum. Setting foot into the world of Rainbow Moon is just as impressive an experience, not just because of the vibrant colour palette SideQuest Studios used to bring the world to...

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation Vita)

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation Vita)

Let’s talk LEGOs

If you’ve played one LEGO game, you’ve essentially played them all. It’s a phrase that’s been heard a time or two since Traveller’s Tales started recreating blockbuster movie hits into block-buster video games since LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game released back in 2005. Their ease of play and whimsical storylines are told...

Ratchet & Clank Collection (PlayStation 3)

Ratchet & Clank Collection (PlayStation 3)

Nuts and bolts

Few video game franchises have greater pedigree than PlayStation’s most dependable crime-fighters, Ratchet & Clank. Armed with a plethora of imaginative gadgetry and a never-ending inventory of wisecracks, the Insomniac's series has been a staple of any self-prophesised PlayStation enthusiast’s diet for the past decade. That...

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation 3)

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation 3)

Blockbusters

Even the Dark Knight needs a little help now and then. Bruce Wayne returns in blocky form after his critically acclaimed first outing, and this time he's brought along a huge gang of friends – and their enemies. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes still hangs on Batman and Gotham City, but the scope has been expanded to give you the chance...