Kellogg’s Frosties – now with added guitars

I expect we’re all guilty of picking out breakfast cereal as a child just for the free toy inside. Even on the wrong side of my 20s, I’d be tempted by one of the LCD Guitar Hero toys being packed inside Kellogg’s cereal. I bet the music’s a bit rubbish though. They’re North America only …

Read more

Men with odd shaped balls

Madden 09 is out, so it’s not going to be hard to guess what the best selling game this month in the US will be. If memory serves, last year’s iteration managed to get quite high in the UK chart, but I’d be surprised if it gets into the top ten. The Wii version is …

Read more

Three more cheers for the Overlord

Codemasters’ Overlord was one of last year’s hidden gems and recently found a new lease of life on PlayStation 3. Sale figures must have pleased Codemasters, as not only is there going to be a sequel, but versions for Wii and DS too. The Wii is getting Overlord Dark Legend. It’s a brand new game, …

Read more

Shadowrun

Since its release early last year, Shadowrun has been on the receiving end of a lot of flack, and to be honest, it’s mostly deserved. The single player mode is almost non-existent – you can only play against bots with less intelligence than a ’80s calculator – and there are no options to speak of. You can’t even fiddle with weapon sets to get a ‘swords only’ match going. It doesn’t look much prettier than an original Xbox game, and the art style is laughable. I promise the first time you lay eyes on a dwarf kitted out in full riot gear you’ll, well, laugh.

Read more

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution

The Wii version of this turn-based strategy game was canned, as the developers thought they wouldn’t be able to get a decent version of the game running on the system. So why they thought that the DS could is a bit of a mystery.

The DS isn’t renowned for being a 3D powerhouse, but it can still produce some nice 2D graphics – take a look at the recent Soul Bubbles for proof. Visuals must have been the last thing on the agenda here though – it looks like an ugly Game Boy Advance game, with dull maps and no flair to speak of. There isn’t any music in game either, which hardly helps the atmosphere side of things. The controls work well though; so much so that there isn’t even the need for a tutorial at the beginning.

Read more

Curling with Avril Lavigne

EA are pushing the boundaries by releasing a sports-based party game for the Wii. But get this: it features celebrities. Celebrities like these: American female singers and people I don’t know. You want a proper list? Alright then: Fergie Avril Lavigne LeAnn Rimes Keith Urban Nelly Furtado Paul Pierce Mia Hamm Kristi Yamaguchi Reggie Bush …

Read more

I find it kind of funny; I find it kind of sad

The Daily Mail are at it again, and this time they’re angry about Sega releasing Mad World on the “family friendly Wii”. Mad World, if you weren’t aware, looks like an unofficial tribute to the monochrome Sin City and lets you kill foes by sticking traffic signs through their head. It looks quite good. John …

Read more

Shuffle fun

UK Chart With little in the way of new releases at this time of the year, it’s just a bit of a shuffle for the chart this week. Wii Fit finds itself back on top of the pile, with last week’s #1 Soulcalibur IV down to #2. Mario Kart Wii doesn’t involved in the shuffling …

Read more

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

It’s tough being a fan of Geometry Wars. Not just because if you blink you usually end up dying, which can lead to some very dry eyeballs, but also from a monetary point of view. This year has already seen two versions on DS and Wii, and now just six months later a ‘proper’ sequel …

Read more

With Alex Kidd built in!

Count yourselves lucky – while we happily sit and play on our Wiis, Xbox 360s and Atari Jaguars, gamers in Brazil are still getting to grips with the Sega Master System. Tec Toy have been manufacturing the console for the past few years over there and have just unveiled their 2008 model – the Master …

Read more

And this week’s movie license is…

Word has it that The Mummy III – out this week on PlayStation 2 and DS – is going to be the last game published by Sierra before they become Activision Blizzard. It’s a shame to see them going out with a fizzle rather than a bang – they had a decent reputation in the …

Read more

The Video Game Not News

We all love not news – those stories that tell us nothing at all. They’re in all areas of the specialist media, but I think games websites still do it best. But I was disappointed to find little on American gaming sites – just IGN telling us that Left 4 Dead isn’t coming to PlayStation …

Read more

Arkanoid DS

There’s a Wikipedia article dedicated to Breakout clones – of which Arkanoid is the most notable. It’s hard to say what the first such game I played was. I definitely remember playing it on some sort of PC or Mac thing at a friend’s house when I was quite young, and I’ve still got Alleyway for the Game Boy somewhere. In any case, I’ve always loved it, to the point that I wanted – and probably still want, for that matter – a Quickshot Supervision, purely for Crystball. In fact, it’s the only properly ‘retro’ game I can really tolerate. But I can’t quite articulate why. Which is going to make this a super-excellent review, isn’t it?

Attempting to be remotely subjective though, Arknoid DS has at best niche appeal. If you’ve played a Breakout clone before, then effectively you’ve played this. There are some bells and whistles, but they’re not very loud. Little pixie bells and whistles, if you will.

Read more

Yoda wins!

Soul Calibur IV shot straight to the top of the chart, which isn’t surprising seeing as it’s the first one-on-one brawler to be released in ages. It’s the Xbox 360 version of that has shifted the most copies so far – 56 percent, in fact. Wii Fit has dropped to #2, Big Beach Sports has …

Read more

Advance Wars in disguise

The wait for a definitive Transformers game is over – Glu have just released Transformers G1: Awakening for mobile phones. It’s based on the original 80’s series and has more than a hint of Advance Wars about it. Two versions have been made – one with 2D battle scenes and another with 3D battles for …

Read more