Tag: Retro - Page 16
Review BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (PlayStation 3)
Developed by Guilty Gear's Arc System Works, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a fresh break for the company after countless re-releases of the fighting franchise they're best known for
It's a 2D beat 'em up, released on the backfoot of the genre's re-emergence, and it feels fresh. With a 12-character strong roster, each with their own unique fighting...
Review Namco Museum Essentials (PlayStation 3)
Namco Museum Essentials is a beautifully presented trip down memory lane that's worth an hour or so of anyone's time
Packing five classic Namco arcade titles (and one "new" game), it's hard to argue that Namco Museum Essentials goes below the call of duty for its sub-£10 price-tag. But some glorious presentation and procedural unlocks...
Review Pinball Heroes: PAIN (PlayStation Portable)
PAIN's Pinball Heroes table really doesn't stack up next to the quality of the rest of the package, with basic visuals and a lack of ideas
It's probably coincidence that PAIN's Pinball Heroes table is a bit rubbish - the PSN title it's based on is certainly not one of our favourites in the PushSquare office, so there's no real love lost here. When...
Review Pinball Heroes: High Velocity Bowling (PlayStation Portable)
Clever use of the bowling mechanic makes High Velocity Bowling's table one of the more interesting choices from Pinball Heroes' selection
High Velocity Bowling's Pinball Heroes table is based on the aesthetic of the PSN game of the same name. That means there's a faux mid-50's vibe to the cabinet's aesthetic, with a huge ten-pin bowling graphic...
Review Pinball Heroes: Uncharted Drake's Fortune (PlayStation Portable)
The Uncharted aesthetic is very pleasing, but the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Pinball Heroes table lacks the imagination of its counter-parts
Based on the huge Playstation 3 hit from Naughty Dog, the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Pinball Heroes table is a competent but simplistic experience. It's an aesthetically pleasing table, with the plane crash...
Review Just Cause 2 (PlayStation 3)
Honestly, who cares? The game's too badly written and voiced to give any sane player a semblance of interest
But that's kind of the point — Just Cause 2 is a sandbox where the crux of the experience depends on exploration and making your own fun. The B-movie type plot shoots for a James Bond under-cover agent style motive that attempts to justify...
Review Pinball Heroes: Everybody's Golf (PlayStation Portable)
Easily the best of the Pinball Heroes tables, the Everybody's Golf pinball cabinet is a delightful recreation of Clap Hanz's super-accessible golf franchise
Based on Clap Hanz's Playstation golf franchise, the Everbody's Golf table in Pinball Heroes is a loving recreation of some of the game's concepts. Working with the golf theme, the Everybody's...
Review Prison Break: The Conspiracy (PlayStation 3)
Fans of the American TV show will be right at home with Prison Break: The Conspiracy's storyline
It's based around the events of the first season, with Lincoln Burrows wrongly committed of a crime he didn't conduct. You play as Tom Paxton, an undercover agent sent by "the Company" into Fox River Penitentiary to keep an eye on Burrow's...
Review Wakeboarding HD (PlayStation 3)
Wakeboarding HD is exactly what it says it is: it's Wakeboarding in HD
Players will choose from a numerous list of events and take to the water in order to score ridiculous combos and meet a variety of objectives. For those unfamiliar, Wakeboarding is a sport in which you are placed on a board and pulled forward by a speedboat. The speed of the...
Review NormalTanks (PlayStation Minis)
It can take a while before you get a feel for NormalTanks' control setup, but once you do you'll find a solid, action-oriented old-school shooter with some great feeling weapons, plenty of variety and pretty visuals
The first thing we noticed about NormalTanks is the sense of impact you get from shooting an enemy. This game is from BeatShapers, the...
Review Mega Man 10 (PlayStation 3)
Few franchises can stand the test of time quite like Mega Man
Despite being the second NosCon Mega Man title to release on Playstation Network, Mega Man 10's retro-stylings and razor-sharp MIDIs are as engaging as they've ever been. Factor in the new "Easy" mode that makes the game actually beatable and you have an old-school package that...
Review Yakuza 3 (PlayStation 3)
Yakuza 3 once again focuses on the Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, Kazuma Kiryu
The slow paced opening has Kazuma running an orphanage in Okinawa. However, a series of shootings and the overbearing polictical activity taking place in Tokyo sees Kazuma return to Kamurocho in search of a traitor within the Tojo Clan. Yakuza 3's main storyline will...
Review Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PlayStation 3)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is darker and more mature than its predecessor
That's not to say it's without its own unique brand of goofiness though; the Bad Company are as ridiculous as ever. The plot revolves around a Japanese secret weapon that dates back to World War II, something which is detailed in a moody flashback mission. Fast-forwarding back...
Review Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PlayStation 2)
Essentially a remake of the original game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories puts you in the unfortunate shoes of Harry Mason - a father who's experienced a car-crash during a particularly heavy bout of severe weather
When he comes around, Harry realises his daughter Cheryl is nowhere to be seen, and thus enters the town of Silent Hill for...
Review Greed Corp (PlayStation 3)
It'll take a while before you feel comfortable playing Greed Corp, but once it clicks there's plenty of fun to be had, particularly in multiplayer
Greed Corp is essentially a strategy board-game based in the fantasy world of Mistbound. The game's main focus - aside from staples such as building and development - is sweet, sweet destruction, and some...
Review Switchball (PlayStation 3)
If you're itching for an HD version of Marble Madness, you'll probably be super stoked to play Switchball
For everyone else, this is something that'll divert your attention for the odd five minutes. Switchball's kind of an old game. It launched on XBOX Live Arcade a few years ago, and was probably pretty neat in those earlier days of the digital...
Review Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PlayStation 3)
It's Mario Kart with Sonic
Really. Developed by Outrun's Sumo Digital, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is a marriage of all things SEGA in the guise of a really simple racing game. There's drifting, power-ups and tons of SEGA heritage in a neat little package of nostalgia. What's great about Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is that it'll appeal...
Review SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 (PlayStation Portable)
If you're looking for a multiplayer shooter on your Playstation Portable, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 is probably the best you're going to get
It's a pretty staggering technical achievement, providing all the staples you'd expect from a standard console multiplayer shooter, on a system that fits inside your pocket. The campaign is fine, but it's the...
Review Half-Minute Hero (PlayStation Portable)
Half-Minute Hero is an innovative, self-referential, comic gem, that just so happens to double as one of the best Playstation Portable titles of all time
Yes, it really is that good. If we were to review Half-Minute Hero in one word, we'd probably write something like: buy. And really, that's all you need to say about Opus' latest PSP gem. It's a...
Review Aliens vs Predator (PlayStation 3)
Aliens vs Predator is an exciting prospect
It sees original UK-based developers Rebellion return to the franchise that made them known in the first-place. Aliens vs Predator was a massive hit when it launched on the Atari Jaguar - and later the PC - in the mid-late 1990's. With three completely separate single-player campaigns, Aliens vs Predator...
Review BioShock 2 (PlayStation 3)
Set some ten years after the original Bioshock, Rapture is now being led by the menacing Sofia Lamb
Assuming the position of Subject Delta, you awaken in the search for your bonded Little Sister, Eleanor Lamb, who curiously ends up being the biological daughter of Bioshock 2's tyrant. The game is set-out in pretty much the same way as the original...
Review Dante's Inferno (PlayStation 3)
Loosely based on the medieval poet, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy provides the basis for Visceral's latest release
Essentially lifting the structure popularised by the God Of War franchise, Dante's Inferno combines elements of hack-and-slash, puzzle and platforming gameplay from a fixed camera perspective. The game - adapted from the original poem...
Review Dracula: Undead Awakening (PlayStation Minis)
Dracula: Undead Awakening is a respectable nod towards classics like SmashTV, but the awkward controls cause some issues in this Minis release
With plenty of progression options, some fantastic graphics and a host of modes, you'd be forgiven for thinking Dracula: Undead Awakening was an essential Minis release. As it happens it comes agonisingly...
Review Dark Void (PlayStation 3)
Nathan Drake wannabe Will is a pilot, flying to somewhere or other with British cutie Ava
Just as you're getting a sense of history between the pairing, the couple are sucked into the Bermuda triangle, where Dark Void's goofy, yet endearing sci-fi plot begins to take hold. Playing as Will, Dark Void is structured into three main gameplay elements;...
Review Army Of Two: The 40th Day (PlayStation 3)
The loud-mouthed American frat-boys Rios and Salem are back, this time in Shanghai
Army Of Two: The 40th Day plots the events of the bustling US-marines over a few short days, as the world around them comes crashing down. There's an almost Cloverfield-like approach to the pacing in The 40th Day; you're never quite sure what's going on, but you know...
Review Cubixx (PlayStation Minis)
Cubixx is a surprisingly brilliant reworking of the 80's classic Qix
The presentation and soundtrack make for an intense, futuristic experience that can be enjoyed in short, sporadic bursts. As the name hints, Cubixx's twist on the classic Qix formula, is to have you cutting out the surface of pulsating polygonal cube. The cube pounds with the beat...
Review Vancouver 2010 (PlayStation 3)
Very much what it says on the tin, Vancouver 2010 is the sports-game tie-in to the upcoming Winter Olympics
Featuring a range of snow-based sporting activities, Vancouver 2010 is a simplistically presented package with a rather sparse feel. There's no career mode here, Vancouver 2010 is all about pushing for perfection against an ever-improving...
Review Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond (PlayStation 3)
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond is self-aware enough to be comical, and its gameplay is superior to its balding protagonist's last romp; but you can't help but feel the whole experience needed one more sheen of polish to reach its full potential
Taking the sarcastic video game satire fiction from the first Matt Hazard title, Eat Lead, Matt...
Review Bayonetta (PlayStation 3)
Wicked witch of the "wha?"
Bayonetta's an extremely self-indulgent tale about nothing in particular. The constant waffling from the game's mish-mash of characters is wholly Japanese, but filled with subtle nods at both Western and Eastern popular culture that almost serves as a Michael Bay constructed satire rather than a video game plot. Abundant...
Review LEGO Rock Band (PlayStation 3)
LEGO Rock Band sounded ridiculous when it was announced, and playing the game has failed to convince us it's anything otherwise
But at the same time: it's absolutely not terrible. The song listing's fine, the LEGO angle injects humour, and the Rock Band gameplay is still as stellar - if not quite as original - as ever. LEGO Rock Band is exactly what...
Review Borderlands (PlayStation 3)
Good question, yo
What is Borderlands all about? Something to do with a Vault and bi-century openings and keys and Skags. Yes, lots of Skags. Look, Borderlands is a co-operative "RPS" (that's Role Playing Shooter if you've been following trends), in which you control one of four character types in a heavily stylised world. Choosing between...
Braid is special from start-to-finish
Wonderful visuals, stunning audio design, and some clever mechanics make it a must-play. Lovely. It's the word that probably best describes Braid, an arthouse platformer that depicts the tale of protagonist Tim's retrieval mission. At its surface, Braid is about love. As Tim haplessly seeks out the Princess he's...
Review Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PlayStation Portable)
Set in Cyprus shortly after the events of the first Assassin's Creed, Bloodlines attempts to bridge the gap between the first and second game, progressing anti-hero Altair's pursuit of the Templars, and tracking his relationship with kidnapped love-interest Maria
It's a decent tale that fans of the franchise will love, but some poor voice-acting can...
Review Circles, Circles, Circles (PlayStation Minis)
Circles is a brain-bending little puzzle-title that requires the application of simple mathematics to provide a deviously challenging experience
Fans of Sudoku are likely to fall in love with Circles pretty quickly. Like the popular commuter's past-time, Circles is very much inherent with the basic principles of maths. By rotating wheels of four...
Review D-Cube Planet (PlayStation Minis)
Despite some attractive presentation, D-Cube Planet is about as simple and old-school as gaming gets
Archaic puzzling aside though, there's certainly fun to be had here. D-Cube Planet is a neat little polygonal-puzzler that has you shuffling the placement of bricks around a maze, so that a hapless alien (we'll call him "Jeremy") can...
Review Avatar: The Game (PlayStation 3)
Even if you've lived under a rock for the past 12 months, you should at least have the slightest awareness of James Cameron's latest movie, Avatar
Billed as a visual showpiece, Avatar's cost an extortionate amount of money to make. Naturally, with every movie blockbuster cometh the video game; something that James Cameron was keen to talk (and talk)...
Review PixelJunk Shooter (PlayStation 3)
On the surface, PixelJunk Shooter looks like "just-another" dual-stick shooter
But, like the other games in the franchise, Shooter has a twist. In fact while initial impressions may lead you to believe you're going to get a dual-stick shooter, Q-Games' latest has more in common with adventure and puzzle-solving. Shooter is all about physics. And not...
Review Planet 51: The Game (PlayStation 3)
The problem with Planet 51: The Game is that, although it's not bad, it's just straight-up boring
Licensed game reviews usually start with the word "terrible." But Planet 51: The Game is not offensive enough to warrant the word "terrible." In fact, for what it does, it fares adequately. The problem is, when an entire game is as...
Review The Saboteur (PlayStation 3)
Despite being set during the second World War, The Saboteur is not a war game of the traditional sense
The World War II setting is merely window-dressing for the revenge story of Sean Devlin, a bitter Irish mechanic who has watched his friends fall in front of him. Sean Devlin is a potty-mouthed, chain smoking, bad-ass, who is able to carry The...
Review Echoes (PlayStation Minis)
Echoes is a deceptively simple, yet deviously difficult release, that will have you hooked for a few hours before you exhaust its lot
We really like Echoes. It's such a simple concept, that's been beautifully realised by developers Halfbrick. In essence, you control a hat and collect jewels. Well, that's what the perspective would have you believe...
Review Pinball Dreams (PlayStation Minis)
Pinball Dreams is exactly 3
2674% more awesome than the already excellent Pinball Fantasies. If you're already done fantasising over pinball, then perhaps it's time you started dreaming about it. This follow-up port of the classic Amiga pinball title, Pinball Dreams, is every inch as awesome as the 4/4 scoring Pinball Fantasies. In fact, we think...
Review Critter Crunch (PlayStation 3)
With bearded fluff-balls, rainbow-tinged vomit, and a parachuting professor; it's hard not to recommend Critter Crunch
Before we even jump into the gameplay, let us say right out of the gate that Critter Crunch is probably one of the most beautiful games on the Playstation Network. The hand-drawn sprites provide a wonderful cartoon aesthetic that...
The beauty of SAW is just how closely it sticks to the source material
Playing as Detective David Tapp, you're thrown into series anti-hero Jigsaw's "game" with little to no understanding of the events leading up to your capture. The game does an excellent job drip-feeding you information, as you navigate Jigsaw's warped world, escaping...
Review Gravity Crash (PlayStation 3)
Just Add Water's Gravity Crash is a retro-inspired dual-joystick shooter with a tinge of Sony's "Play Create Share" genre thrown in
The shooter includes a complete level editor, allowing you to create entire levels and share them online with other players. Gravity Crash takes a futuristic, neon spin on the retro-space shooters of old, setting you...
Review Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PlayStation Portable)
Jaked Up
After a short hiatus, the double-jumping Playstation powerhouses known as Jak & Daxter are back in full force with their eco-sage hottie friend Keira along for the journey. The world is low on eco, and is tearing itself apart as a result. Of course, as the platforming duo you'll have to double jump your way through the game's...
Review Assassin's Creed II (PlayStation 3)
It's quickly apparent playing Assassin's Creed II just how close the first game was to being exceptional
The core gameplay remains unchanged in ACII - you're still a parkour free-runner navigating an historical environment, assassinating historical figures that get in your way. That's the franchise's formula, and that's what was best about the first...
Review LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation Portable)
Material world
In many ways LittleBigPlanet PSP is a direct port of Media Molecule's PlayStation 3 monster. Visually, tonally and mechanically the games are close to identical; Studio Cambridge do an outstanding job of recreating Media Molecule's vision on a portable system. The single player campaign is new however, sending Sackboy (or Sackgirl) on...
Review Buzz!: Quiz World (PlayStation 3)
The third Buzz
title to hit the Playstation 3, Quiz World focuses on improving the familiar Buzz! gameplay by adding much more variety and upping the sense of big game show occasion. The game requires the Buzz! Buzzers to play, and can be enjoyed by up to four players locally. Online options allow you to once again create your own quizzes and play...
Review SingStar: Take That (PlayStation 3)
The price is right and the song selection is solid, thus Take That nuts will find it rather difficult to be displeased with SingStar: Take That
In all honesty, we could write this review with just a few words: Do you like Take That? Do you like karaoke? If yes then buy, buy, buy. See, we told you. But we're "professionals" so we best drag...
Review Football Manager Handheld 2010 (PlayStation Portable)
Football Manager Handheld 2010 is the best game of its kind
The updates on last year's game are minimal, but the core concept is still engaging if management is your cup of tea. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, Football Manager Handheld 2010 is a game where you manage football teams in the palm of your hand. On your PSP to be more precise...
