Sonic Generations

Quelle surprise – Sega has served us up another rubbish Sonic game. Oh, sorry – this one is actually good. Force of habit, there. The plot sees ‘90s short and stubby Sonic and modern lanky Sonic hurtling through time, where they meet in a colourless world which acts as a hub. Both are playable and …

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Generator Rex: Agent of Providence

I haven’t seen a single episode of Ben 10, and nor do I plan to, but I still think I could hold my own in conversation just by what I’ve learnt from press coverage of the Ben 10 games. I know that Ben’s full name is Ben Tennyson, that the watch he wears is called …

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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Revisiting the past can be a dangerous thing to do. Watching clips of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon on YouTube recently sullied fond memories of our youth due to the shoddy animation, lame jokes and predictable storylines. Did we really think the Ninja Turtles were cool? The fact that whole carrier bags full …

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

It’s very easy to make fun of something that a lot of people are obsessed by. So much so, that sometimes people do it without even realising it. We have nothing against Call of Duty here though – anything that keeps the children off the streets is fine by us. A few people have had …

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Tropico 4

The difference between Tropico 4 and Tropico 3 is similar to the difference in yearly sporting updates – the graphics have been improved, the presentation has been tinkered with and there are a few new inclusions, but it’s still the same game underneath. We could have decorated this page with screenshots from Tropico 3 and …

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Dark Souls

Hand holding. From fellow soldiers yelling what buildings to blow up to breadcrumb trails of collectables in platformers, the majority of games proverbially hold gamers’ hands even if we don’t realise it. This is where From Software’s Dark Souls is different from most – after a brief run down of the controls you’re dropped into …

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Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

Licensed games often suffer as the developers have to make their game while sticking to any constraints that the license at hand may have. The good news here is that the idea for Once Upon a Monster came first, and then the chance for Double Fine to use the Sesame Street license came along at …

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Bodycount

Although they weren’t developed by Codemasters themselves, Clive Barker’s Jericho, Damnation and Turning Point are often referred to as being amongst the worst games this generation. This suggests that Codemasters hasn’t quite got the knack of sniffing out decent first person shooters to publish. With their past in mind, we always feel sceptical when Codemasters …

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Mercury Hg

It’s easy to forgot how much of an important part Mercury played during the PSP’s launch. Praise was almost universal, with Sony’s Japanese arm so impressed with it that they snapped it up to publish themselves. Having the name of a respected developer – Archer MacLean – on the cover certainly didn’t do it any …

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Gears of War 3

It pains us to say it, but there are developers out there who simply take on projects that are destined to be dire to save having to turf their staff out onto the streets. A fine example are studios signed up to make movie tie-ins on incredibly short deadlines, or asked to make a budget …

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Radiant Silvergun

Chances are a few people out there aren’t too happy about Treasure’s legendary shoot ’em up arriving on Xbox Live Arcade. I’m talking about those who own the notoriously expensive Sega Saturn original – now it’s available as a download it’s likely that it’s going to fall rapidly in value. Those already well acquainted with …

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The next time you come home from work in a bad mood because you ended up going 30 minutes over your shift or because an afternoon snack got jammed in the vending machine, spare a thought for Deus Ex’s Adam Jensen. As head of security for a biochip manufacturer, he gets sent down to the …

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Dungeon Siege III

This is the first Dungeon Siege to be released on console (providing we ignore the forgettable Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony on PSP) and – much to the annoyance of fans – somebody somewhere thought that it would be best if this instalment went back to basics in order to appeal to its new audience. …

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Shadows of the Damned

Shadows of the Damned breaks plenty of new ground. It’s the first game to feature a weapon called the ‘big boner’, the first game that during a twisted fantasy sequence lets the main character – Mexican demon hunter Garcia Hotspur – walk over a giant pair of virtual bosoms, and the first game to feature …

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Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon

The world of PlayStation 2 budget games was a murky place, full of shoddy shoot ’em ups, rancid racing games and half-baked beat ’em ups. Then there was Global Defence Force, a game which cost next to nothing yet offered more fun and innovation than most full price titles. What’s more, it looked good doing …

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