The one bummer about gaming on an Android device?
You’re holding the screen displaying your game with the hands that are also trying to interact with the game. Putting your tablet in a stand won’t always work as then you’re doing an awkward pointer-finger-holding-my-arm-out dance with your device.
If only there were a small wireless joystick-like piece of gear which could help us alleviate some of this gaming burden… +Continue Reading
Normally you’d learn my feelings about a particular game by reading through my review (or for the attention-challenged, by jumping to my conclusions at the end); but today, I need to get something out of the way right from the start: Ninja Gaiden 3 is without question the worst game I have so far played this year. There, I said it. I have virtually nothing to recommend about it. In fact, in places it outright offends me as a gamer. And, for context, the Ninja Gaiden series used to be one of my favorite series of all time. Now, however…well, hit the jump and I’ll give you a brief run-through of why you should avoid this game–especially if you’re a Ninja Gaiden fan. +Continue Reading
Final parts of trilogies are tricky things – the expectation of payoff, both in terms of plot and emotion, and the hope that the quality won’t drop just as we reach the final hurdle. There’s the chance that while we hope for a The Return of the King, more often than not that third act can be a massive disappointment (see Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, Matrix Revolutions). So it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I unboxed Mass Effect 3 last week. The final act of Bioware’s sci-fi odyssey (as opposed to their OTHER sci-fi odyssey) has been my most anticipated game since… well since about 30 seconds after the end of Mass Effect 2. But can it end the saga on a high note…or does the world end with a whimper?
Well readers, this is officially a first for me. Having recently celebrated a belated Valentine’s evening with my girlfriend, she surprised me by passing me a small, silver bag from my local games shop. Said bag contained one copy of The Darkness 2, which initially struck me as being quite a strange Valentine’s–present but offered me the potential once in a lifetime chance to write about a present my girlfriend bought me on YTR. Fun times! I had never played the original and all I really knew about this one was that Mike Patton from brilliant 90s rock band Faith No More does the voice for the titular evil possessive creature and that it’s really, really, really violent. He does, and it is. But perhaps even more remarkable is that underneath the blood and viscera lurked probably the best narrative-led game I’ve played since Portal 2. Really! Hit the jump and I’ll explain.
January is a typically quiet time of year for games releases, so thankfully it’s given me the opportunity to catch up with some of the other games I wanted to try over the festive period, but couldn’t fit into the hours of the day. So, taking a break from all of the big name major releases which have been dominating my time of late, I decided to investigate the latest offering from arcade shmup specialist Cave – the fearsome DoDonPachi Resurrection. +Continue Reading
It’s been a hell of a year for gaming. It seems we’ve been thrown a new addition to pretty much every franchise under the sun; there have been a slew of downloadable titles whether they were on mobile platforms, Steam, Xbox Live Arcade or PSN and, like it or not, this is the year the “Project Ten Dollar” retail purchase bonuses really started to flex their muscles. All in all, it’s been a busy freaking year. So let’s take a moment and have a look back over the best, and frankly, worst games of the year.
Is it really that time of year already? I’ve been so busy over the past couple of months, I hadn’t had time to notice. It’s been one of the most densely packed fall schedules for games that I’ve ever seen, so much so that I’ve almost literally been gaming non-stop since about August. And I’ve still not had enough time to play everything that I would have liked to. Frankly, I’m glad that New Year’s is nearly upon us because it gives me the time to catch up before Mass Effect 3 inevitably takes over my life in 2012. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hit ‘More’ to find out what my top 5 games of the year were, along with some musings over the biggest events of the year and what they could mean for 2012. +Continue Reading
So with the Wii U arriving next year, we’re coming to the end of the Wii’s lifespan–and what better way to end it than how we started: with a brand new Legend of Zelda game. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the culmination of Nintendo’s 25th Anniversary celebrations for the series and the first Zelda game to use the Motion Plus add-on for the Wiimote. So how does this latest addition to the legacy stand up?
Realism is one of the most overrated and unwanted introductions to video games over the past few years. Take Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance. Whilst it remains an undoubtedly fantastic game, it marked a distinct move away from some of the more cartoonish antics of previous entries in the series. The renewed focus on realism meant that one of video games’ most anarchic and entertaining series had been reborn as a dark, brutal satire of the American Dream. It was a hugely impressive, but predominately sober experience. Saints Row The Third is not a sober experience. It features a Gang made up entirely of Mexican Wrestlers. One of your weapons is a four-foot purple phallus. When customising your character, Zombie is a choice of voice style, replacing all of your characters dialogue with… well, zombie noises. It’s intentionally silly, ludicrous stuff and easily one of the most refreshing and inventive games released in the run-up to Xmas.
So the big news this week was Google Music finally leaving BETA, and we will be taking a LONG look at that service in the coming weeks, but truthfully a free arcade game has been occupying all my time of late–so this week’s app review is going to focus on that!
See, I’m an old school gamer at heart. I’m of the very first generation of people that has never known a world without some kind of video game in it, and while I LOVES me some 3D action, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for a good side-scrolling platformer.
Say hello to Wind Up Knight! +Continue Reading
It’s fair to say that Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was one of the best games of last year. In fact, aside from Mass Effect 2, it was definitely my favourite and it’s been replayed, along with its predecessors, countless times since it was reviewed on this site. So now Ubisoft has brought us Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the final part of the Ezio Auditore trilogy started in Assassin’s Creed II–promising to link the journeys of Ezio, his descendant Desmond Miles, and his ancestor Altaïr ibn La-Ahad.
WARNING: Spoilers for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood contained ahead.
Ladies and gentlemen, please be prepared for a YTR first. Hold on to your hats, bags and anything of personal importance because, through the magic of the internet, this review comes with a musical accompaniment! That’s right! Click here and turn up the music. Really, do. There’s a point to it. Click play then head right back here. Headphones are a viable option if necessary. So, now that the classic tones of the Green Hill Zone flows through your room, how do you feel? If, like me, just hearing the beeping wind-up intro to the song brings you all out in grins, you will absolutely love this game. Sonic Generations is Sega’s celebration of it’s most endearing and persistent mascot and a trip through memory lane for the previously troubled series’ most memorable (for better or worse) moments. And if that song leaves you cold…? Well, click ‘More’ to find out whether Sonic’s latest instalment can succeed without the help of warm nostalgia. But leave the music on, I insist.
App of the Week: Radiant Defense
Review: The HTC One X on AT&T
Review: Swann’s iFly Micro Lightning RC Helicopter
