With handheld consoles becoming more able to replicate the 3D visuals and gameplay associated with home consoles, we are seeing more and more series incorporate handheld titles into their main series canon, rather than providing spin-off distractions that could often be ignored without missing any big developments in the series. The PSP heralded the biggest leap in this area with titles such as Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and God of War: Chains of Olympus, and the original DS soon [...]
EA’s prized sport franchise returns with a new iteration producing more endless recreational football fun. Whilst some niggles and technical hitches prevent it from being a world cup winner, it’s quite possibly the greatest recreation of football to have ever existed. The winning-formula of FIFA 11 has returned with some pretty useful and inventive changes, also known as the “holy trinity” which have completely revolutionised the dynamics of how a game of FIFA is played. The first of said changes [...]
As some of you may be aware a few months ago I wrote a little news piece on the new Beenox title Spiderman: Edge of Time. I had some preconceptions that this had the potential to be even better than the studio’s pervious release Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions. This was due to all the positive reports I had been reading off of the net. Was what I was reading on the net correct or your typical video game hype? Playing the [...]
Super Pokémon Rumble (SPR) is the first Pokémon title for the Nintendo 3DS. It is considered as part of Generation 5, which began in 2011 with the released of Pokémon Black and White. SPR came out on the 2nd of December 2011, and its first PlusXp coverage came during the second installment of my Eurogamer round-up (which you can find here). Super Pokémon Rumble is a sequel and expansion of the WiiWare title Pokémon Rumble. Like its predecessor it sees [...]
As well as the usual gifts of jazzy ties, plentiful piles of socks and sugary treats, this Christmas I got a copy of Mario Kart 7. Being a casual Mario Kart fan since Super Mario Kart on the SNES, I was pleased I could finally get some extended hands on time with the new game. I have always preferred the arcade style of racing games over the more realistic car simulators, for example I never got on with the likes [...]
Skyrim is a tough game to review, mostly due to the sheer amount of much deserved praise heaped on it by critics and fans alike. What else can I say to gamers out there to recommend or pick apart from a game this seemingly perfect? Then I thought sod it, I’ll review it anyway, because when Bethesda is bad its very bad (See brink) but when they are good, they’re really damn good! Skyrim is the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls [...]
When Dynasty Warriors 6 made a lot of changes to the series, mostly for the worse in my eyes, Tecmo-Koei did the right thing – they returned to the formula from the earlier games and built upon it with better graphics, new gameplay elements and the best re-telling of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms so far – while retaining all that made Dynasty Warriors a series that I enjoy. So, keeping in line with Dynasty Warriors 4 & 5, they [...]
Gamers of my generation and the generation before have grown up with the 2D side scrolling platform game. Weather you grew up with the speedy blue hedgehog or the Italian moustache favouring plumber, most of us have at some point in our lives played the a 2D side scrolling platformer. Even though I will always be a fan of the old classics when it comes to this genre the real gems that stick out for me are the less mainstream [...]
When I first heard about Batman: Arkham Asylum, I can’t say I really took interest. Being a casual fan of Batman thanks to the recent movie series, it wasn’t until I had a moment of boredom that I randomly decided to give the game’s demo a shot. I was glad I did – because Arkham Asylum ended up being one of the best games I’ve played – Rocksteady catching many people off-guard by producing a Triple-A title seemingly out of nowhere – creating a [...]
Note: Due to technical difficulties, That Bloke in the Beanie was unable to play Dead Island’s online multiplayer co-op. As this is a major part of the game which adds more gameplay and variety, this review should be treated solely as an evaluation of the single player mode. I never saw the trailer for Dead Island. I had heard the hype but never been embroiled in it myself. So going into it my only expectations were for a zombie game [...]
