Latest Reviews
Review WRC Powerslide (Xbox 360)
Rally, rally not good.
The prospect of a title that harnesses the soul and overall concept of the classic Neo Geo arcade racing titles such as Mille Miglia (The Great 1000 Miles Rally) and Neo Drift Out, and mixes it with the fun and high quality multiplayer gameplay of Mario Kart 7 is a mouthwatering one, to say the least. When you throw the...
She's back...
When it comes to the social and political issues that surround the dawn of a new era for the game that helped make gaming somewhat more acceptable than it previously was, we’re not expertly placed to comment. Therefore, we won’t. We are expertly placed to talk about the game as a game though, so let’s do that. Tomb Raider is not...
Crysis averted?
With consoles dominated by simplified mass-market FPS titles - like Activision’s Call of Duty behemoth - the arrival of the Crysis franchise was a breath of fresh air. Initially a PC exclusive that garnered a reputation as a hardware-crushing FPS for the hardcore gamer, it would be easy to assume that the incredible graphics that...
Review Capcom Arcade Cabinet (Xbox 360)
Once more, with feeling.
Another year goes by, and another game publisher has a notable birthday. This year, Capcom is celebrating the formation of its business 30 years ago, in 1983. To mark the occasion, they’re releasing a series of classic arcade titles on Xbox Live Arcade. We assume that when their 35th birthday rolls around during the next...
Review Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Xbox 360)
Hack-tastic.
Let’s get it right out of the way. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance isn’t your standard Metal Gear title. With Platinum Games (Bayonetta, Vanquish) picking up the developmental reins, it was never going to be and as much as we love the stealth subgenre’s favourite son, it isn’t a bad thing. There are some cunning nods to previous...
Review Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition (Xbox 360)
Under Your Skin
42 seconds. That’s how long it will take the average gamer to start cursing, the first time they play Under Defeat. Not at all coincidentally, that's also around about the length of time it will take for them to lose their first life. Fear and panic doesn’t prepend the inevitable expiry, oh no. It just happens. And then it...
Review Kinect Party (Xbox 360)
Ain't no party like a Kinect Party.
Depending on when you pick it up, the decision on whether or not to get Kinect Party is a bit of a no-brainer. For a while after release day, it was available for absolutely no charge and should you have missed out, the price is 800 MSP. The product itself is also a bit of a no-brainer at times too, and while...
Review Toy Story Mania! (Xbox 360)
Somebody's poisoned the waterhole.
Seemingly since the beginning of time, there hasn’t been a festive season that’s gone by where at least one publisher hasn’t reached into their box of previously released titles and decided to port one to a new format just in time for the Christmas rush. And that – unfortunately – is exactly what’s...
Review Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect (Xbox 360)
Born slippy.
If you aren’t aware of what Red Bull’s “Crashed Ice” event series is, then you’re missing out. In short, the sport of ice cross involves a bunch of ice skater types starting at the top of an icy track that contains all manner of twists, turns, bumps, and jumps, and they have to race to the finish line in the fastest possible...
Review Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox 360)
Fast and furious.
Back in 2008, when Criterion released Burnout Paradise into the world, they changed people's perceptions about what an open-world racer could truly be. Sweeping vistas, recognizable streets and some truly revolutionary multiplayer gaming were the order of the day, and the gaming public responded well. 2010's Need for Speed: Hot...
Review Home Run Stars (Xbox 360)
Safe! Sort of.
In the past, Xbox Live Arcade has been a veritable treasure trove of cheap and addictive titles that make really good use of Kinect. Generally built from the ground up with Kinect in mind, games such as Fruit Ninja Kinect and Haunt have kept gamers interested in Microsoft's motion device, and that looks set to continue as we head...
Review Forza Horizon (Xbox 360)
Open your world.
When it comes to racing games, Turn 10 are undoubtedly the kings of the track on the Xbox 360. Their Forza Motorsport series has hit the nail on the head more often than not, with super-slick visuals and an unmatched attention to detail causing petrolheads to drool. This spin-off however, has been handled by Playground Games, a team...
Review Fable: The Journey (Xbox 360)
The road less travelled?
Let’s get this sorted right away. Fable: The Journey isn’t an on-rails experience. Well, it is and it isn’t. Ok, it’s about half and half. But when you’re not being moved about automatically, you’re controlling a horse and cart that can only really go in one direction. So it kind of is. But you can choose which...
Review Kinect Sesame Street TV (Xbox 360)
Big Bird's Big Let-Down
After seeing the potential of Kinect-based learning with Kinect Nat Geo TV earlier this week, we were looking forward to visiting our old friends down on Sesame Street. If older kids could be coaxed into mixing learning into their downtime, we were sure that the same could be said for an even younger crowd, especially given...
Review Kinect Nat Geo TV (Xbox 360)
Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!
Did you know that the mountain lion is the largest member of the cat family that actually purrs? No? Neither did we, although thanks to Kinect Nat Geo TV, we do now. With some games, you feel a bit of apprehension when it comes to loading them up for review. It has the be said that the prospect of finding out...
Review Mini Ninjas Adventures (Xbox 360)
Zero or Hiro?
There’s no doubt in our minds that 2009’s Mini Ninjas was one of the most underrated games of the generation. Cute characters, some great belly laughs, and solid action-adventure was the order of the day. Unfortunately, the game was pretty much overlooked. Disappointingly for fans, Mini Ninjas Adventures is a Kinect-only spin-off...
Review Summer Stars 2012 (Xbox 360)
Going for Gold
In an Olympic year, there’s always an official game release – such as London 2012: The Official Videogame of The Olympic Games – and then a bunch of pretenders to the throne with publishers who are looking to make a quick buck. On a few occasions, the unofficial titles have surpassed the official attempts in terms of quality...
Review Rhythm Party (Xbox 360)
Rhythm is gonna get-cha.
More and more often when we talk about Kinect games, we’re talking about hybrids. They can be difficult to categorise, and even more difficult to judge in terms of quality. With Konami’s Rhythm Party though, that isn’t the case. You see, Rhythm Party is designed to be a dancing game – albeit one that allows...
Review Dragon's Lair (Xbox 360)
Cut! Take 843. Action!
If this were a website focusing on any other part of gaming, it would be hard to know what to write about a game that’s been released for 66 other formats since its inaugural unveiling to the public in arcade form back in 1983. But, with the addition of Kinect support to this Xbox Live Arcade version of Don Bluth’s...
Review Babel Rising (Xbox 360)
Break the walls down.
After Halfbrick successfully turned the mobile hit Fruit Ninja into the outstanding Fruit Ninja Kinect, the expectations were high for a wave of smart smartphone-to-Kinect crossovers. Doodle Jump Kinect is on the way (apparently), but that and this new edition Babel Rising seem to be the long and the short of the rush. Some...
Review Brave: The Video Game (Xbox 360)
Red Head Redemption?
Let’s dispense with pleasantries, shall we? We all know that games based on movies are usually average or downright awful, with THQ’s excellent Puss in Boots perhaps being the only notable exception of late. So, we won’t dwell on that. Or we wouldn’t dwell on that, were THQ’s latest Disney/Pixar crossover, Brave: The...
Castle Crasher
Angry Birds has a lot to answer for, doesn’t it? Not only are we besieged by clones of the game in each operating system’s app store, but now we’re seeing the influence stretch to console gaming. Even the master itself – Rovio — is exerting its influence, confirming that Angry Birds Trilogy will be coming to Kinect for Xbox...
Review Ice Age: Continental Drift - Arctic Games (Xbox 360)
The ice is wearing thin
Games based on movies have a somewhat dodgy reputation. The publisher grabs the movie licence – generally as filming wraps up – and assigns a developer to get a game completed in time for the movie’s release. In rare cases, the development teams have struck gold. Generally though, the publisher ends up releasing a game...
Review London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games (Xbox 360)
Go for gold, or settle for bronze?
Even though there have been many, many attempts at putting multi-event sporting action into the next generation, only a few attempts have even come close to emulating the quality shown in the likes of Konami’s 1983 arcade hit Track and Field, Sega’s own DecAthlete (Athlete Kings) for the Saturn, or even Olympic...
Review Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (Xbox 360)
Wreck warrior
On paper, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. How could Capcom possibly take the Steel Battalion series — famed for its intimidating controller and unwavering adherence to hardcore, hard-as-nails gameplay — and condense it into a motion-controlled game on a platform that is beloved by casual players and loathed by ‘proper’...
Review Kinect Star Wars (Xbox 360)
Your powers are weak, old man
It isn’t hard to picture the glee that must have filled the offices of Microsoft Studios when the deal to produce Kinect Star Wars was inked. Kinect has always been about removing barriers thrown up by physical controllers and letting players filful their fantasties, and what better advert for the tech than the...
Review Diabolical Pitch (Xbox 360)
Warning: baseball puns
Leave it to developer Grasshopper Manufacture to take a perfectly innocuous activity like throwing a baseball and find the perfect way to twist it into a weird sci-fi horror show. As a former major league pitcher down on his luck with a bum arm, an anthropomorphic bovine in a suit grants you a souped-up bionic arm — to earn...
Review Country Dance All Stars (Xbox 360)
Saddle up
If you’ve always wanted to play Dance Central but prefer twangy guitars and cowboy hats over Lady Gaga, you'd better strap on your cowboy boots and bolo tie because Country Dance All-Stars is your game. Eschewing the top 40 pop assortment of modern hits, Country Dance All-Stars serves up a Texas-sized helping of country songs from such...
Review Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure (Xbox 360)
Fools rush in?
Kinect is proving to be the ideal platform for younger gamers right now; we’ve already had the reasonably enjoyable Disneyland Adventures, and it’s highly likely that the forthcoming Kinect Star Wars will find more favour with pre-teens than thirty-something geeks. Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure is another controller-free...
Review Puss in Boots (Xbox 360)
Nearly purrrfect
Any Kinect game that lets you play a swashbuckling cat should have your attention, and Puss in Boots manages to overcome its obvious handicap of being a movie tie-in to result in one of the more enjoyable action games available on Kinect. With several styles of gameplay to sample, from sword fighting and bar room brawling to...
