November2021

October2020

  • Review Star Wars: Squadrons - The Force Is Strong With This One

    Use the Force, LukeSkyWLKR1991

    There's an indestructibly attractive core at the heart of the Star Wars franchise that manages to remain forever untarnished no matter how many godawful Christmas Specials, Battles for Endor, butt-clenchingly dull Trade Agreements or "I don't like sand" moments are thrown at it. We're talking about the wonderfully...

November2015

  • Review Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One)

    A New Hope?

    There's been an awakening. Have you felt it? From soup commercials to comic books, toys to movies, it's impossible to ignore the force that Star Wars has over the entertainment realm this holiday season. The hype even extends to the video game world, as the beloved Star Wars: Battlefront series is making a return after a 10-year snooze...

  • Review Need for Speed (Xbox One)

    Monsterous

    We thought we'd take the "in-your-face" approach to reviewing Ghost Games' apparent "reboot" of the Need for Speed franchise, which we were disappointed to learn has very little to do with 1994's Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed. We will not apologise for it because nothing can hold us back. We're edgy. We're cool. We're...

September2015

  • Review FIFA 16 (Xbox One)

    Pitching in

    When the generally super-positive reviews of Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 started hitting the net, it was hard to see – given the relatively limited list of improvements that EA were touting – quite how FIFA 16 had any real chance of defeating Konami's franchise this time around. Despite impressing in some areas though, PES contained...

March2015

  • Review Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One)

    Gettin' tough?

    Like the Call of Duty franchise, Battlefield has been doing the same thing for a few years now, and some could argue that the result is becoming a bit stale. While Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare aimed to shake things up with futuristic weaponry and gadgets to spice up both the single-player and the competitive space, it still largely...

October2014

  • Review Titanfall - IMC Rising (Xbox One)

    The final DLC pack

    The third and final DLC pack for Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall was released this week, but is it worth your time and money? Well, IMC Rising is consistent with previous expansions, bringing us three new maps each with their own theme that help to further our understanding of events unfolding after the conclusion of the...

December2013

  • Review Peggle 2 (Xbox One)

    Addiction, thy name is Peggle.

    When PopCap’s John Vechey took the stage at E3 2013 to announce the company’s new titles, he expected the announcement of Peggle 2 to be something of a megaton. “Ladies and gentlemen, PEGGLE 2!” he bellowed, as the room went dark and a short video trailer took what seemed like aeons to kick in. During the...

  • Review Need for Speed: Rivals (Xbox One)

    We fought the law.

    Though it’s a far less technical and therefore more arcade feeling racer than Forza, Need for Speed: Rivals isn’t something you want to miss as part of the Xbox One launch offering. Its schizophrenic identity of law breaker versus law maker, provides a dual experience of fast cars, dangerous pursuits and intense road battles...

November2013

  • Review Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360)

    Children of the Levolution™

    It's always somewhat difficult deciding on how to review such heavily multiplayer-centric games. There's no shortage of single-player affairs on the market that feature a tacked-on multiplayer component, seemingly put together at the final hour in order to tick one of the many boxes that developers - or rather,...

April2013

  • Review Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel (Xbox 360)

    Missed step in a minefield?

    Let's get this clear right off the bat. BioShock Infinite has been ingrained in the public psyche for the last few weeks. This game is not BioShock Infinite. Where BioShock was crafted for years, painstakingly disassembled, reassembled and revised in the hope that it will somehow transcend the usual video game tropes and...

February2013

  • Review Crysis 3 (Xbox 360)

    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...

November2012

  • 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...

March2012

  • Review Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)

    Don't fear the Reapers

    It’s been a long time coming, but Commander Shepard’s battle with the Reapers is at a boiling point. The entire galaxy prepares for a war that could quite easily mean the extinction of all sentient life. Do you have what it takes to take back Earth? Mass Effect 3, the final instalment in BioWare’s sci-fi trilogy, takes...

November2011

  • Review Family Game Night 4: The Game Show (Xbox 360)

    Wrong answer

    After four instalments of EA's Family Game Night series you'd expect the company to have the format pretty down-pat by now, but regrettably Family Game Night 4: The Game Show is totally off the mark. Based on the Family Game Night TV show, the game is split into five activities, each based on a Hasbro board game: Connect 4 Basketball,...

  • Review The Sims 3 Pets (Xbox 360)

    Ruff?

    Traditionally, The Sims hasn't transitioned to consoles particularly well: the move from mouse-clicks and keyboards to analogue sticks does nothing to streamline the controls, and seeing as The Sims is all about control that's a major problem. The Sims 3 Pets still doesn't fully conquer the issue, but it does a good job of hiding any cracks...

September2011

  • Review Burnout CRASH! (Xbox 360)

    A crashing disaster or a wheelie good success?

    When it was first announced, Burnout CRASH! was dismissed as a cash-in on a very popular video game series. Nothing like the titles before it, nothing to do with racing and what seemed like boringly simple controls portrayed this game as one that'd head straight to the scrapyard. But those first...

November2010

  • Review EA Sports Active 2 (Xbox 360)

    Fitness with a little slickness

    This is the first time since Kinect’s launch we’ve had to say this, but when playing EA Sports Active 2, you’ll need a controller in your hand. Not to engage in any of the 70 exercises, which are all operated completely controller-free, but rather to navigate the wealth of menu and options screens that stand...

  • Review Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Xbox 360)

    The spell is broken

    After almost a decade of trying, one would assume that by EA would have nailed the perfect Harry Potter game. Since the launch of the first movie tie-in way back in 2001 – on the original 32-bit PlayStation, no less – there have been numerous missteps, false dawns and crushing disappointments, all of which have been made that...