Retro - Timeline
Monday9th Sep 2013
Review Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PlayStation 3)
Sibling Revelry
Renowned for developing first person shooters, it may surprise some to discover that Starbreeze Studios are behind this charming indie adventure. Whether they choose to continue developing titles like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is unclear, but they’ve certainly proven that they’re more than capable of expanding their scope...
Review Puppeteer (PlayStation 3)
Ahead of the game
Within minutes of starting Puppeteer, it's clear that it's an absolutely stunning game. The art style, the animation and the sheer amount of detail packed into each and every visual asset make the title a joy to behold. Trailers and screenshots simply don't do the product justice – this is something that you need to see in motion...
Saturday7th Sep 2013
Review Disney Infinity (PlayStation 3)
It's a kind of magic
Let's start off by addressing the flying Dumbo in the room: Disney Infinity is not simply a Skylanders clone from the House of Mouse. It's pure, unadulterated Disney magic – and completely worth the arm, leg, and kidney that you're inevitably about to spend on it. Even before Pixar's seminal 1995 blockbuster Toy Story,...
Friday6th Sep 2013
Review Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (PlayStation 3)
Girls just wanna have fun
It’s been less than a year since we last went toe-to-toe with Team Ninja’s curious cleavage meets combat comeback Dead or Alive 5, and now – following a temporary detour on the PlayStation Vita – we’re strapping up our appendages and digging out our most inappropriate fighting gear again. As its name so...
Tuesday3rd Sep 2013
Review Rayman Legends (PlayStation 3)
A symphony written in gameplay
With Rayman Origins setting a new standard for everyone's favourite French hero, and rubbing shoulders with the leaders in the platforming genre, Michel Ancel's long overdue sequel has a lot to live up to. Fortunately, Rayman Legends is a tremendously fun and brilliantly designed title that is the very definition of a...
Friday30th Aug 2013
Review DuckTales: Remastered (PlayStation 3)
A-woo-hoo
The original DuckTales waddled onto the NES in 1989, and for over twenty years, it has been remembered fondly by those that played it. But it isn’t just the game that has lingered in the darkest recesses of a generation’s memories, as so too has the television show. From the infectious theme song to the original voice actors,...
Review Snowy: Treasure Hunter (PlayStation 3)
Snow laughing matter
Fresh off Beatshapers’ porting production line comes Snowy: Treasure Hunter, a title starring a polar bear with a passion for treasure thievery. But while Beatshapers' porting pedigree speaks for itself, are Snowy’s adventures really worth the £6.49 asking price? Presented from a side-on view, the goal of each level is to...
Wednesday28th Aug 2013
Review The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (PlayStation 3)
Should've remained classified
Serving as a prequel of sorts to the long-running XCOM series, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified attempts to fuse the strategic elements of turn-based tactical alien zap-em-up XCOM: Enemy Unknown with a third-person shooter. Unfortunately, while there are glimmers of entertainment, the concept doesn't quite coalesce into a...
Tuesday27th Aug 2013
Review Killer Is Dead (PlayStation 3)
Crud on the moon
Killer Is Dead is unashamedly stupid. Executive producer Goichi Suda – better known by his nickname Suda51 – has made a living out of his bonkers plots and premises, but the latest product to drop off Grasshopper Manufacture’s production line takes the nonsense of No More Heroes and kits it out in a straitjacket. This is a...
Review One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 (PlayStation 3)
Pieces of eight
Last month saw the release of Dynasty Warriors 8, the latest instalment in the seemingly never-ending hack and slash series. This month, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 arrives on Western shores, bringing with it more vast, hectic battles to sink your bloodied weapon of choice into. You’d be forgiven for being worn out on Warriors...
Review Lost Planet 3 (PlayStation 3)
You know the drill
Lost Planet 3 is a far cry from its predecessor’s grind-heavy, co-op based campaign. It’s a linear adventure that’s driven by narrative, and the gameplay borrows elements from several different genres and other titles. It’s a game that plays it safe, and for that reason it feels inherently familiar. But that’s not...
Monday19th Aug 2013
Review Do Not Fall (PlayStation 3)
Free fallin'
Abiding to the rules of the title proves to be a bit of a challenge in Do Not Fall, but it's a task worth trying. Despite some minor repetition niggles, this puzzle platformer is a lot of fun – even if it does flirt ever so slightly with the bonkers side. The premise harks back to the days of yore, where video games possessed a...
Review Saints Row IV (PlayStation 3)
The boys are back in town
At one point in Saints Row IV, your character, the Boss, tells series veteran Shaundi that it’s been “one helluva ride”, perhaps inadvertently summarising developer Volition’s latest title. What started out as little more than a franchise looking to piggyback on the success of Grand Theft Auto has travelled an awful...
Sunday18th Aug 2013
Review Time and Eternity (PlayStation 3)
Love will tear us apart
Naughty bubble-baths and tongue-in-cheek dirty jokes are often commonplace in the JRPG genre, but they don't typically accompany an array of mature issues, such as the death of a loved one and secrecy. This is because contrasting potty humour with a deep storyline rarely works, as it’s difficult to empathise with any...
Tuesday13th Aug 2013
Review The Smurfs 2: The Video Game (PlayStation 3)
Feeling blue
One may assume that the business of producing low-budget movie tie-ins died with the untimely self-destruction of THQ, but Ubisoft has boldly picked up the slack with The Smurfs 2: The Video Game, and, as is normally the case with these sorts of releases, the results aren't particularly positive. The evil Gargamel and his two...
Sunday11th Aug 2013
Review Spartacus Legends (PlayStation 3)
Are you not entertained?
Ubisoft’s first foray into the free-to-play market on consoles arrives in the form of Spartacus Legends, a one-on-one fighter that pits upgradable gladiators against each other both online and offline. It’s an historical premise that slots wonderfully into the genre, but does its freemium nature take away from the...
Tuesday6th Aug 2013
Review Tales of Xillia (PlayStation 3)
A tale worth telling
You may be inclined to disregard Namco Bandai’s latest offering in the Tales series, but although it's the thirteenth main entry in the franchise (not including spin-offs), and bursting with strangely dressed teens with voluptuous hair-dos – as well a few girls who need to be told that strategically placed ribbons don't...
Review Tekken Revolution (PlayStation 3)
King of free-to-play fighters
The video game industry is changing faster than a Tekken character’s costume. The digital era has ushered a flurry of new distribution models for publishers to exploit, and that’s left major firms like Namco Bandai juggling dozens of ideas in the hope of happening upon a critical hit. Tekken Revolution, one of the...
Monday5th Aug 2013
Review Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (PlayStation 3)
Fairway to heaven
You’d need a heart more barren than a bothersome bunker to dislike Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (or Everybody’s Golf, as it’s known in Europe). Originally putted onto the PlayStation Vita, this PlayStation 3 port of the sugary sporting sim is every bit as sweet as its portable predecessor. Boasting a bevy of colourful...
Review Narco Terror (PlayStation 3)
Don't do drugs
Narco Terror is a cheesy 1980s action movie squeezed into a pseudo-isometric twin stick shooter, full to the brim with stupid one-liners, massive explosions, and drug peddlers with machetes. It’s a game that’s based on simply having dumb fun – but how long does it take for the novelty to wear off? As you may probably guess, the...
Tuesday30th Jul 2013
Review Cloudberry Kingdom (PlayStation 3)
Hop, skip, and jetpack
Cloudberry Kingdom sounds a bit like one of those free-to-play cutesy-looking titles that you’d usually find on Facebook – probably having something to do with trading fruit to friends while maintaining a happy little kingdom full of poorly illustrated, smiling animals. Thankfully, hidden under the game’s somewhat...
Tuesday23rd Jul 2013
Review Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PlayStation 3)
Out of sight
Fresh from a successful period on the PC – with a name too crude to be published here – Curve Studios has transposed its undercover espionage excursion to the PlayStation 3 and Vita. However, while its title may be slightly less colourful, Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark retains the assets that made its computer counterpart great:...
Friday19th Jul 2013
Review Painkiller: Hell & Damnation (PlayStation 3)
Damn it all to Hell
Developers have a nasty habit of referring to their games as ‘old school’ when they know that they may not be very good by modern standards. Pitched as a nostalgic trip down memory lane, and designed to serve as both a remake and a sequel to 2004’s Painkiller, does Painkiller: Hell & Damnation dance with the devil or...
Tuesday16th Jul 2013
Review Dynasty Warriors 8 (PlayStation 3)
Xiahou done
There comes a time when you begin to ask yourself why you’re still playing a series of games that has somehow spawned eight main iterations and countless spin-offs while retelling the same old story over and over again. What could possibly be keeping your interest in a franchise that has done almost nothing but stick to its guns for...
Friday12th Jul 2013
Review Deadpool (PlayStation 3)
Chimichangas!
Juvenile quips, over-the-top gore, fourth wall breaking referential humour, and excursions into insanity all paint the picture of the perfect Deadpool game, and in some ways this is it. You'll laugh wholeheartedly at the jokes and ridiculous scenes, but despite the excellent realisation of the character, the highly repetitive and...
Tuesday9th Jul 2013
Review Strength of the Sword 3 (PlayStation 3)
One knight stand
The ambitious creation of the talented twosome at Ivent Games, Strength of the Sword 3 isn’t actually the third in a series, but rather a standalone title. Peculiar naming tactics aside, it does do a lot to impress despite its developer's diminutive size. As is often the way with budget fantasy titles, a hellish army is marching...
Tuesday2nd Jul 2013
Review Arcania: The Complete Tale (PlayStation 3)
Arrow to the GPU
A great fantasy RPG should immerse you completely into its virtual world, making you truly believe in the mysterious realms around you. A great fantasy RPG should compel you to the point that you want to speak to every character in order to learn intricate secrets both pivotal and unrelated to the game's plot, and should encourage...
Thursday27th Jun 2013
Review Dungeons & Dragons Chronicles of Mystara HD (PlayStation 3)
Towers above, casting a superior shadow over generic brawlers
Retro history teaches us that it must not be easy to create a fun and hugely replayable side-scrolling beat-'em-up. The genre is riddled with pitfalls, including repetitive gameplay, tedium and dull button-bashing controls. For every gem like Streets of Rage 2 there has been an abundance...
Wednesday19th Jun 2013
Review Sacred Citadel (PlayStation 3)
Imitation is the sincerest form of splattery
A group of adventurers are attacked while relaxing in a tavern and must flee a town that has been set ablaze: does this sound familiar? Indeed, as the opening of Sacred Citadel mirrors the events of the first stage of Guardian Heroes, co-op brawler fans can look forward to a number of nods in reverence to...
Tuesday18th Jun 2013
Five years in the pit lane
The racing genre is divided between arcade and simulation fans. While other genres have fairly interchangeable skill sets, what works in an arcade racer will send you straight to the hospital in a racing sim; the no holds barred action of Need for Speed caters to the former, while Gran Turismo appeals to the latter. But...
