Christmas games were seldom seen a few generations ago and it’s easy to comprehend why. Development costs swiftly rose around the time the Xbox 360 and PS3 launched, and creating something that would only have a shelf-life of a month or two in the run-up to Christmas would be an extremely risky proposition for any …
A couple of generations ago EA was one of the most prolific publishers, releasing big budget games on almost a monthly basis. Modern EA is a different beast, mostly focuses on The Sims and their annual sporting/racing updates – their last ‘new’ title was Tales of Kenzera: Zau back in April. This ‘less is more’ …
In his free time, police officer Rick enjoys exploring houses allegedly haunted. His latest pursuit, however, sounds more like a case for the boys back at base. Screaming has been heard coming from an abandoned house once belonging to a late ventriloquist. If that wasn’t enough, the last person brave enough to investigate never returned. …
It’s an exceedingly busy week for the Switch eShop, with several time-consuming RPGs and long-lasting adventures available – most of which originate from Japan. There’s another noticeable pattern to this week’s licensed games, with Care Bears: To The Rescue, Barbie Project Friendship, and Miraculous: Paris Under Siege seemingly appealing to the same audience. The Smurfs …
December sees another dual game cart for the Evercade. As many owners will testify, Blaze’s dual carts tend to be pretty good, with the standard generally higher and the games themselves more complex. Metal Dragon and Life on Mars are two modern indie Mega Drive games from Spanish studio Kai Magazine Software, known for pushing …
This 16-bit style vertical shooter has been crafted with a very astute eye for detail, borrowing graphical tricks from both the Mega Drive and SNES and employing them with surprising authenticity. It also uses elements from Truxton and Axley as inspiration, using demonic imagery but never fully committing to full hellishness. It perhaps helps that …
We never expected Blaze’s line of Toaplan cartridges to reach number 4 quite so quickly, especially when Toaplan Arcade 3 hasn’t released yet. We aren’t complaining though – Toaplan’s back catalogue hasn’t exactly been overexposed over the years. Due out in December, Toaplan Arcade 4 will include six titles. Oddly, they aren’t exclusively arcade titles. …
The animal simulator sub-genre continues to generate a buzz, along with surprisingly high sales figures, with numerous sandbox games centred around specific creatures available. These titles aren’t as random as they may initially seem, as there needs to be a sturdy foundation to build upon. Developer Dee Dee Creations has settled on the formula of …
Nintendo has scored yet another no.1 within the UK charts, with the well-received Super Mario Party Jamboree debuting at the top of the all formats retail top 40. Dethroning EA Sports FC 25 is something not even last week’s Silent Hill 2 remake was able to accomplish. The top 40 sees five other new arrivals. …
Even if Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was the only game launching this week, this would still be the biggest week in the gaming calendar. Numerous Call of Duty games have shifted more than 5m copies within 24 hours of going on sale, and that’s usually with only a handful of reviews available when …
Talk about a tricky act to follow. Milestone’s Hot Wheels Unleashed and its sequel were both very good uses of the license, helping cast aside memories of the shoddy Hot Wheels games we had to endure in the days of the PS2. Whereas Hot Wheels Unleashed had surprisingly wide appeal, this tie-in from GameMill is …
Before Mario & Luigi: Brothership arrives at the start of November, we have a party to attend first. Reviews of the greatly expanded Super Mario Party Jamboree went live a few days ago and were generally full of praise, even gaining a 9/10 from a handful of outlets such as The Metro and God is …
This 2.5D side-scrolling platformer may have a name akin to something Ned Flanders would say, but had it launched in the ‘90s it would doubtlessly be called something lame like Max the Mongoose. That’s because our heroes here are a pair of high-spirited mongooses, known as Niko and Luna – not Niko and Riko, as …
None of last week’s new retail releases could end EA Sports FC 25’s reign at no.1. Five new games managed to enter the UK retail top 40 though, including four within the top ten. Konami’s positively received Silent Hill 2 remake was the highest charting new entry, taking #2 in both the all formats chart …
Have you ever wished you’d discovered something sooner? Perhaps a game that altered your perception on what the medium can offer, or with a story able to change your outlook on life? That was my experience with 2017’s Aaero, which eluded me at launch. A transcendent experience, it featured a lone spacecraft flying over eerily …
