Potterwatch

UK Charts Never mind being bad, Michael Jackson: The Experience has had a good week – it’s up from #32 to #6. Poor old Epic Mickey can only wish for such luck – it still hasn’t managed to enter the top 40. Donkey Kong Country Returns swings in at #13 though while Super Mario All-Stars …

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Alien Breed 3: Descent

It makes sense that Team 17 chose to resurrect Alien Breed after telling the world that they were going download only. The original, released on Amiga, was in the charts for over a year and is still frequently mentioned in the likes of Retro Gamer magazine and on retro gaming forums. This is the third …

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PlayStation 2 lives!

Now here’s something I didn’t expect to see. Not in 2010, at least…but maybe three or four years ago. Sony has just released a budget-priced Bravia LCD TV in Europe which has a PlayStation 2 built-in. The screen size (22 inch) and 720p maximum resolution setting is probably going to stop people buying it for …

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A chimp off the old block

This Week’s Games For those that are willing to brave the snow, or have a postman willing to work during all weather conditions, there are a few quality titles out this week. Donkey Kong Country Returns is Nintendo’s big Christmas Wii game and everybody who plays it seemingly loves it. If you missed the news …

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Create

It’s hard to believe that Create – a physics based puzzle game, much like those that get downloaded millions of times by mobile phone gamers – comes from the same studio that gave us Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Why? Because it’s the total opposite. The Deathly Hallows was sloppily made, unimaginative and a …

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Re-taking the Mickey

UK Charts Reviews of Epic Mickey may not have been epic, but it hasn’t even sold well enough to get into the top 40 chart this week. The best it can do is #11 in the Wii chart. Maybe it’ll do a little bit better in America? Who knows. There’s a new #1 though – …

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

The school of Hogwarts doesn’t appear at all in the new Harry Potter film, so it makes sense that it isn’t in the game either. Instead, Harry is on the run and living life as a fugitive. This fits in nicely with the game’s new action-orientated direction: it’s a third person shooter. Well, a third …

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Jacko is backo

This Week’s Games Reviews for Epic Mickey are starting to appear and are off to a bumpy start – the Official Nintendo Magazine gave it 85% while Eurogamer painted a 6/10 on it. I’d wait for a few more reviews before splashing the cash, especially seeing that Donkey Kong Country is out next week. Raving …

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I remember when this was all pixels

Jake’s recent article on WiiWare demos got my big grey muscle flexing. Not about demos, but rather in-store demo pods. Back in the days when Ninja Turtles were the coolest thing on TV and my average earnings were £2 pocket money per week, I would always make a beeline to the in-store demo pods… especially …

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2011 – year of the Russian doll?

With Costume Quest done and dusted, Double Fine have now started to detail their next game – a third-person adventure entitled Stacking. The game gets its peculiar name from the fact that it stars Russian stacking dolls, with the aim being to help re-unite the youngest one with his family. As long as another character …

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Activision’s soldiers hold the fort

UK Charts Despite the very fine Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit being released last week, Call of Duty: Black Ops has held onto #1. They have to make do with #2 and #3 respectively. Wii Sports Resort has risen from #19 to #7 but Fallout: New Vegas has fallen from #7 …

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Blood Drive

Blood Drive is one of those games where after an hour of play you will have seen and done everything it has to offer – after that first hour, you’re simply left doing the same thing again and again. In Blood Drive’s case that’s driving around dull arenas, mowing down zombies, firing projectiles at rivals …

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Demonstrably a good thing

It always makes me double-take when I notice that North America is getting something after Europe. Especially when that something is from Nintendo. But that’s what’s happened with the return of WiiWare demos. Hooray! They arrived in Europe earlier this month, and North America gets the goodness from Monday. It was a year ago that …

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Ubisoft managed to build Rome in a year

This Week’s Games Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has gone from being a game quietly announced with very little fanfare to being the highest rated game this winter. It currently has an average review score of 92%, which is higher than even Call of Duty: Black Ops (currently at 88%). Eurogamer gave it 10/10: “Never before have …

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Super Mario All-Stars: Wooden Spoon Collection

Back in 2009 when I reviewed Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection I said that it would be a cold day in hell when Nintendo releases a collection of 16-bit hits. I still can’t see Nintendo sharing their back catalogue in full any time soon, and after reading NGamer Magazine’s review of Super Mario All-Stars: 25th …

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