Kingdom Hearts 1.5 – re-taking the Mickey

Due to the fact that there are three PlayStation 3-exclusives out this week, the spotlight is squarely on Sony for this new release round-up.

Good news if you’re strapped for cash at the moment – or possibly saving money for next week’s GTA V – as two of these exclusives can be found for under £25 online.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 contains Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, along with HD videos from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Day for good measure. For fans, the inclusion of Re:Chained will be of interest as it was never released in Europe.

The notoriously cumbersome Gummi Ship aside, VentureBeat found much to praise.

They awarded it 90%, claiming that “Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix offers old fans a great excuse to play some of the series’ older installments while also giving curious newcomers the best way to get their first fix.”

IGN also felt that it was one of the better HD updates around, giving it an 8.5 and calling it a “great toon up”.

If hanging with Goofy and his fellow animal cohorts doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you could always hang with Sony’s 2D side-scoller Puppeteer.

Comparisons with Treasure’s Dynamite Headdy are valid – just like Headdy, puppet Kutaro can swap heads to gain new skills.

For all the dazzling lighting effects the game offers, it would seem that Sony struggled with the fundamentals. “For every clever touch, there’s a shrieking piece of dialogue talking over key narration; for every cute visual gag, there’s a twitch bit of platforming that Puppeteer’s mechanics aren’t suited to handle” said Polygon in their 6/10 review.

EDGE liked it slightly more, giving it a 7: “You’ll smile at how Japan Studio reimagines the typical platforming trampoline – springy bonsai trees in a Chinese-themed stage, bellies of snoozing, reclining yetis in the obligatory snow level – but these flourishes never fully stop the bombing, hookshotting and pit-leaping from feeling overfamiliar and underinspire.”

And now we’re back to old games in new clothes, with Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection.

It’s the most exhaustive MGS collection yet, containing (breathe in) Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid 2: HD Edition, Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition, Metal Gear Solid 4 Trophy Edition, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Edition and Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (breathe out). Also included are two graphic novels by Ashley Wood.

Available for around £35 online, it’s something of a bargain. At least for those who don’t already own the MGS HD Collection, anyway.

EA’s NHL 14 hits the rink this week as well – and it’s the only Xbox 360 game arriving at retail – while on the humble Wii there’s Big Time Rush: Dance Party which is based on some Nickelodeon thing.

As for downloads, the Xbox 360 is playing a rare game of catch-up with DuckTales: Remastered – a game that received mixed reviews on other formats – as is the Wii U with Capcom’s 2D hack ‘n’ slasher Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara.

Then on PS Vita there’s Sparkle, a game that looks rather like Zuma. Actually, it looks a lot like Zumba. That’s not exactly a bad thing, to be fair – the PS Vita could do with a few more puzzlers in its library.

Next week: GTA V (PS3, 360), PES 2014 (PS3, 360), Hot Wheels: World’s Best Driver (PS3, 360, Wii U, 3DS), Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS), Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS) and Funfair Party Games (3DS).