It’s not hard to see why the Guilty Gear games have built up a cult following over the years: the animation is impeccable, and the range of fighters is as varied as they come. Our favourite has to be Faust, a tall gangly fellow with a paper bag on his head, although a petite girl …
Japanese RPGs do, of course, have a place in this world – and that place doesn’t have to be just Japan. But there are certain unbecoming characteristics which too many have: stories told through overlong cut scenes and random battles being two fine examples. Enchanted Arms, delightfully, has both. The action-based cut scenes are tolerable, …
With the likes of Sim City 2000, Theme Hospital, Civilzation II and Transport Tycoon, the PSone was pretty well off for God games. The PlayStation 2, however, hasn’t been quite so fortunate, with only Theme Park World, Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis and the little-known Metropolismania. Thanks to Aqua Pacific – the 97th most profitable developer …
We can’t deny that there’s a low budget feel to this quirky cooking sim – not surprising considering it’s available on US import sites for as little as £12.99. Cheap as chips, you might say. If you buy very expensive chips. It’s basically Wario Ware: Cooking Edition; you pick a dish, then create your meal …
Yes, we’re reviewing it on Nintendo DS rather than a ‘bigger’ console version. We’ve liked the look of this ever since the first shots were released; the limited geometry of the characters and environments seem to work in the DS’s favour. There was a bit of apprehension before putting the cart in the slot though: …
There’s no way this review could pass without the following, so let’s get it out of the way: this is a shameless, if occasionally pretty, 3D clone of Advance Wars. From the strengths and weaknesses of each unit, to the special ability every General has, it’s near identical to Nintendo’s cartoon take on war. The …
Our favourite non-specialist gaming review heralds from FHM, in which the writer infamously gave Ninja Gaiden one out of five because he couldn’t get past the first boss. We’d be interested in what FHM would make of this; it’s tougher than frozen leather, and all for one simple reason – there’s less room for evasive …
In the beginning there was gibberish. The superlative Star Fox 64 gave the furry critters the power of speech, although if you owned the PAL version – Lylat Wars – you could go back to nonsensical ramblings if you wished. Rare’s Star Fox Adventures and Namco’s Star Fox Assault – plenty of talking animals there. …
The bit Generations series, of which this is a member, is part of Nintendo’s mission to make games simpler. Not as simple we need though: it took us about a week to realise that pressing select lets you scroll freely around the level. The game only uses two other buttons. We have no excuse. Those …
Like the way a cheese burger is different from a normal burger – in that it contains a slice of processed cheese, and maybe some mystery sauce if you’re lucky – Monster House is a bit different from the usual rushed out licensed pap. For starters, it’s not another run, jump and collect the spinning …
Just like The Chronicles of Riddick, this movie tie-in has been created from the ground up for just one console – PSP here to Riddick’s Xbox. This lets the developers – Rebellion, in this case – utilise the strengths of the format in question, rather than hastily convert the lead version to as many consoles …
Over in the land of crispy fried schoolgirl socks and Hello Moggy, this 2D shooter from Psikyo was bundled together with the half-decent Dragon Blaze. This isn’t yet another one of our ‘Europe gets screwed again’ rants though – it turns out we’ve done alright this time round, with various import emporiums charging over £30 …
“Where the hell is Strider?” we wondered when reviewing Capcom Classics Collection on PlayStation 2 late last year. The answer, it would seem, was that it was being saved for this 20-strong portable compilation. Problem solved, then. But now we have another predicament: Street Fighter II and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts – which took pride of …
Japanese Tekken fans haven’t been looking forward to this. Well, we’re sure that some of them have, but certainly not as many as you would expect. It’s all down to the host format – they believe that Tekken should either be played in an arcade with a sturdy joystick and a large screen perfect for …
The presently Japan-only bit Generations series (to be known as the Digiluxe Series in North America) is the Game Boy Advance equivalent of the Nintendo DS’s Touch Generations, both offering easy to pick up games with intuitive controls. The difference with bit Generations is that they all have a minimalist retro-chic tone, coming on black …
