April2020
Review Sakura Wars - An Entertaining But Flawed Summer Anime in Video Game Form
Pretty average in pink
Sakura Wars is a soft reboot of SEGA's long running series. Like its predecessors, it combines visual novel and dating sim elements with steampunk robots, as the threat of a demonic invasion looms over one of Earth's major cities. This one's all about alternate timeline Tokyo in 1940, as former navy captain Seijuro Kamiyama is...
February2020
Review Sonic Forces - Hedgehog More Like Roadkill in Another Disappointing Misadventure
Hogs of war
Republished on Wednesday 26th February 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. In some ways, Sonic Forces is exactly what the younger fan base will want. Those who grew up playing Sonic Unleashed, Generations, and the...
Review Two Point Hospital - Management Sim Is a Worthy Successor to Theme Hospital
Sick
Theme Park proved that big business could be big fun, and its spiritual successor Theme Hospital became something of a cult classic that kids from the era continue to quote even today. Given the legendary 1997 business simulation’s legacy, it’s curious that it’s taken this long for Two Point Hospital to make an appointment, but if...
Mini Review Yakuza 5 Remastered - Biggest Game in the Series Is Still Brilliant
Five stars
It took three whole years for the original Yakuza 5 to come West on PlayStation 3, and by that point in 2015, the PlayStation 4 was gaming's dominant console. As such, Yakuza 5 often gets forgotten -- but it shouldn't be. Yakuza 5 Remastered is a potent reminder that this gargantuan game deserved so much better. The story's split between...
Review Bayonetta - The Umbra Witch Gets the PS4 Release She Deserves
Let's dance boys
Bayonetta was a disaster on PlayStation 3. Plagued by load times and frequent frame rate drops, it was by far the worst version of the lot when it took the world by storm in 2010. Since then, however, the franchise has gone from strength to strength away from Sony hardware as it blossoms on Nintendo Switch. The series' second...
Review Vanquish - One of PlatinumGames' Best Titles Knee Slides to PS4
Miss me, sweetheart?
Ever since its release 10 years ago, there hasn’t been anything quite like Vanquish. The fast-paced, stylish third-person shooter quickly became one of PlatinumGames' most memorable joints thanks to hectic action, impressive boss fights, and a whole lot of knee sliding chaos. It was an experience which went down well with the...
November2019
Mini Review Yakuza 4 Remastered - Uneven Storytelling Holds Back Another Solid Yakuza Title
Four's a crowd
When it originally released back in 2010, Yakuza 4 was defined by its four playable characters -- a first for the series. Alongside mainstay protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, players got to experience the stories of charismatic loan shark Akiyama, escaped convict Saejima, and street-smart cop Tanimura. In Yakuza 4 Remastered, all four...
October2019
Review Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD - Monkey's Paw Paradox At Play in Port of Poor Game
Monkey balls
There’s a bit of a monkey’s paw paradox to Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD: SEGA’s vibrant Marble Madness-esque roll-‘em-up has finally made its long-awaited PlayStation 4 debut, but not even apes would have picked this wretched ex-Nintendo Wii exclusive as the version to port. Maligned at launch for its miserable motion...
September2019
Review Yakuza 3 Remastered - Rough Around the Edges, But Still a Great Yakuza Game
Return of the Dragon
Yakuza 3's infamously slow start sees series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu enjoying a relatively quiet life managing an orphanage on the sunny shoreline of Okinawa -- but it's not long before our hero is dragged into yet another dramatic feud between yakuza clans. Yakuza 3 was an ambitious jump forward for the franchise back in 2009,...
June2019
Review Judgment - Top Tier Yakuza Spin-Off Is a Superb Detective Thriller
The truth and nothing but the truth
SEGA's Yakuza Studio has done it again. The Japanese developer has been on a roll this generation, and it's apparently not stopping anytime soon. Judgment is an entirely standalone Yakuza spin-off that attempts to freshen up the formula by adding detective and courtroom elements to an already rich action...
May2019
Review Sonic Mania - A Pixel Perfect Celebration of the Hedgehog's Heyday
To be this good takes AGES
Republished on Wednesday 29th May 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. It still amazes us that SEGA would entrust its most famous creation to a group of fans. Should a team of enthusiasts really meddle with one of...
October2018
Review Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise - Marvellous Manga from the Yakuza Team
Definitely not dead
Fist of the North Star is one of the most popular Japanese manga series in history, starting out all the way back in 1983. TV adaptations, novels, and live-action films capitalised on the original 27 volumes in order to continue and sustain the legacy of legendary martial artist Kenshiro, but when it comes to the latest entry in...
September2018
Review Valkyria Chronicles 4 - The Strategy Sequel We Waited a Decade For
The Art of War
Republished on the 25th September, 2018: We're bringing this review back to coincide with the launch of Valkyria Chronicles 4. The Valkyria Chronicles series is set during a low fantasy re-imagining of World War II, here called the Second Europan War. The topography of the Europan continent is only marginally different to our Europe,...
August2018
Lan Di-drama
Shenmue may be considered a cult classic, but it’s important to remember that Ryo Hazuki’s revenge mission divided critics when it originally released on the Dreamcast almost two decades ago. SEGA legend Yu Suzuki spent a small fortune on the first foray’s dingy Yokosuka setting, but despite being wildly original, the game...
July2018
Review Shining Resonance Refrain (PS4)
Shine on
SEGA's classic Shining series is back, and it's definitely not what old school fans may remember. Shining Resonance Refrain is an enhanced remaster of Shining Resonance -- a PlayStation 3 title that launched only in Japan almost four years ago. It arrives on Western shores with a full (and optional) English dub, as well as a fresh way...
May2018
Review SEGA Mega Drive Classics (PS4)
Genesis
SEGA Mega Drive Classics is one of those games you've probably already made up your mind about. The Mega Drive (or the Genesis, depending on where you are) played host to some absolute gems in the 90s, and for many, the chance to relive some fond memories on PS4 will be an attractive proposal. There are over 50 games in this retro...
April2018
Review Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4)
Way of the Dragon
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life looks and feels like the next-gen Yakuza that we've been waiting for. Taking the developer's Dragon Engine out for its first drive, this is the sixth (or seventh, if you count the fantastic Yakuza 0) mainline entry in SEGA's crime drama action role-playing game series, and it's bloody brilliant. The much...
July2017
Review Valkyria Revolution (PS4)
Shite of the Valkyries
Valkyria Revolution is a spin-off to Valkyria Chronicles that eschews much of what made that game popular and fails to improve upon it in any way. The tactical combat of Chronicles has been radically revamped into an action role-playing game to disastrous effect, the story is hampered by a catalogue of issues, and on a...
April2017
Top of the pops
In a year that's continuously exceeded expectations, you weren't going to bet against Puyo Puyo Tetris being anything less than outstanding, were you? SEGA's gaudy puzzle-'em-up is a real joy, blending the breakneck brick building of Tetris with the more methodical splotch popping of the less-popular Puyo Puyo – sometimes on the...
January2017
Review Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone (PS4)
Tone stop believin'
2015's Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X was a little bit of a departure for the long-running rhythm game series. Rather than adhering to the traditional, gameplay-focused framework of the franchise set up in earlier instalments, X thrust players into a sugary sweet narrative starring the popular virtual popstar and her equally...
August2016
Review Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X (PS4)
It's got the X-Factor
One of the songs in the brand new rhythm game, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, is called Holy Lance Explosion Boy, and it's about an unsettlingly young boy accidentally getting someone pregnant, featuring lines like: "This 0.02mm barrier is seriously getting annoying." If the thought of a kawaii, virtual boy's condom splitting...
May2016
Review Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (PS4)
Tanks for the memories
When Valkyria Chronicles launched on the PlayStation 3 in 2008, it was a breath of fresh air. A solid strategy title bolstered by a lovingly crafted watercolour art style, it was hit with critics, and quickly amassed a reasonably niche, but enthusiastic following. Fans of the original will be quick to recommend Valkyria...
December2015
Gangster's paradise
Should the long awaited Yakuza 5 prove to be the PlayStation 3's swan song, there couldn't be a more fitting release. Like the last-gen system itself, the latest instalment in SEGA's seedy soap opera is occasionally convoluted and slow to get started, but it's deeply entertaining all the same. It may have taken series protagonist...
October2015
Review Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax (PS3)
Anticlimax
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax has made the leap West. Released for the Vita and PlayStation 3 eleven months ago in Japan, the assist-based 2D fighter brings together characters from the Dengeki Bunko portfolio in a Sega-themed world to battle against a mysterious, evil force. Featuring 14 playable characters and 23 more cameo...
July2015
Review Tembo the Badass Elephant (PS4)
Peanut stutter
Tembo the Badass Elephant should have been ten tons of fun, but instead it's a steaming pile of missed opportunity. This is Pokémon developer Game Freak's first PlayStation release since surgeon simulation Click Medic deployed in Japan over 15 years ago, and so it carries the weight of industry intrigue for that reason alone. But...
