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Game Reviews

Guff About Videogames: The GDC

by Ian Dransfield

The Game Developers Conference (or GDC as we in the kool krew call it) has finished, and in its wake lies a great big pile of nothing much. While it is true that this is more the development wing of gaming shows, as opposed to the ferociously commercial events such as E3 and the like, [...]

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Guff About Video Games: OnLive

by Ian Dransfield

The way we all play games is about the be changed forever, thanks to a little something called The Phantom…

Oh no, wait – that’s an intro from a few years ago. Before things went on to stay exactly the same as they’ve always been.

No, this time they’ve announced something called OnLive – a system that is set to revolutionise the way we think about playing games, or something.

Our Cynic Glands are twitching with anticipation.

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Game Review: Halo Wars: Xbox 360

by Ian Dransfield

What happens when you have the Halo franchise, a good one that sells a ton, which is primarily the stomping ground of 14-year-old American boys?

Why, you release a more cerebral game based in the universe, obviously, leaving the world with Halo Wars.

That makes sense, doesn’t it? Brash, loudmouthed little Yanks love thinking, don’t they? Hmm?

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GAME REVIEW: You’re In The Movies

by Ian Dransfield

Those looking for a real game to sink hours of (apparently) wasted time into look away now – those thinking “wow, I really want to play the crap out of Fallout 3″ or “I love the pitched online battles of Gears of War 2″ should probably just go away.

You’re In the Movies isn’t going to appeal to you.

Right: now they’ve gone we can get down to business. We assume if you’re still reading this it means you know absolutely nothing about games, nor do you really care to know.

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Game Review: Singstar, PS3

by hecklerspray staff

Seriously – there’s now a reason to own Sony’s overpriced, overhyped, stupidly-advertised superconsole the PlayStation 3. And what is it?

Karaoke.

If you’ve been at a party where someone has whacked on a games machine then it’s going to have either been Guitar Hero, Buzz or Singstar – if it’s anything else they’re an idiot and shouldn’t be your friend any more. Singstar lets you sing to dozens of pop hits, along with the many different genres that aren’t too alternative to alienate the general public. Though one version has Sublime’s Santeria on it, which is inspired.

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GAME REVIEW – Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Wii

by hecklerspray staff

We’ve all dreamed up at one stage or another tearing up a stadium of rabid rock fans while playing the guitar with a raging ferocity to Boston’s More Than A Feeling but for many us that dream could never become a reality due to most people hating that song and the other half of us being too lazy to learn the guitar!

Well heaven shined down upon us one day and gave us the fantastic Guitar Hero, which along with its sequel – the shockingly-named Guitar Hero 2 – we were allowed, in front of a drooling audience (the household dog), to shred up the guitar to a whole host of songs, making us feel as every bit awesome as we’re sure we looked.

It’s no surprise then that Guitar Hero III has been released this year, after the huge success of its predecessors. Reviewing the Wii version has been no easy task. The game arguably has the best track-listing to date, it should please those tattoo-ridden, pierced-nosed trolls enough to come out of their bat-lairs and pick up the guitar, but also the game appeals to the average music fan with some all-time classics and some newer more pop-type hits.

We’ve all dreamed up at one stage or another tearing up a stadium of rabid rock fans while playing the guitar with a raging ferocity to Boston’s More Than A Feeling but for many us that dream could never become a reality due to most people hating that song and the other half of us being too lazy to learn the guitar! Well heaven shined down upon us one day and gave us the fantastic Guitar Hero, which along with its sequel - the shockingly-named Guitar Hero 2 - we were allowed, in front of a drooling audience (the household dog), to shred up the guitar to a whole host of songs, making us feel as every bit awesome as we’re sure we looked. It’s no surprise then that Guitar Hero III has been released this year, after the huge success of its predecessors. Reviewing the Wii version has been no easy task. The game arguably has the best track-listing to date, it should please those tattoo-ridden, pierced-nosed trolls enough to come out of their bat-lairs and pick up the guitar, but also the game appeals to the average music fan with some all-time classics and some newer more pop-type hits.
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Game Review: Super Mario Galaxy, Wii

by hecklerspray staff

Some things in life are certain, the Terminator will be back, Jaws 19 will be out in 2015, and that with every new Nintendo console there will be a new Super Mario game.

The story starts with Mario going to a comet festival and visiting the Princess in the Mushroom Kingdom which is a visually beautiful start for the game and lets you get to grips with the new controls for the game just as Bowser swoops down to grab the Princess and run off with her. Straight away you can see that this game stands out with dazzling imagery and graphics.

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GAME REVIEW: The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, DS

by hecklerspray staff

Hell hath no fury like a Zelda fan scorn for Nintendo! When it was announced that the next instalment of the Legend of Zelda series for the Nintendo Gamecube would buckle the visual style of the previous two instalments on the N64 in favour of a cartoon cell-shading effect the fan reaction wasn’t great.

Wind Walker proved to be an enjoyable game, though, but was more child friendly in tone and in the visuals; when it came to the new Zelda entry for the Wii it returned back to its darker roots. It’s now with the DS’s first Zelda entry on the handheld console, The Phantom Hourglass, that we return to the style of Wind Walker and is also a direct sequel to the game, taking place just moments after the events at the end of that story.

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What Is Best Console? The Nintendo Wii?

by 586 MEDIA

The new generation of games consoles are hovering over us like expectant wives. But unlike wives, these machines are designed for our entertainment pleasure and don’t care how often we tell them we love them.

With Microsoft and Sony both going for full, brute-force power with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 respectively, it’s left cash-strapped Nintendo with only one path to go down: innovation. Or give up. OK, two paths to go down. Luckily, they chose the first.

Unfortunately, the company chose a rather pathetic name: the Wii. Blame the Japanese. You see, it’s their version of the word ‘we’ meaning ‘everyone’. It’s a console for everyone… Get it?

The Wii uses a new type of controller, packed with motion-sensitive technology, to immerse the player like never before. Never before in the home, that is. Arcades have been dabbling in this stuff for years.

The idea is pretty straight forward; you clutch the remote-control-like controller (Wiimote) like a tennis racket to play a tennis game, a bowling ball to bowl, etc. The Wiimote senses everything from how hard you swing it to where in relation to the TV it’s being held. Liken it, if you will, to magic.

The new generation of games consoles are hovering over us like expectant wives. But unlike wives, these machines are designed for our entertainment pleasure and don’t care how often we tell them we love them. With Microsoft and Sony both going for full, brute-force power with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 respectively, it’s left cash-strapped Nintendo with only one path to go down: innovation. Or give up. OK, two paths to go down. Luckily, they chose the first. Unfortunately, the company chose a rather pathetic name: the Wii. Blame the Japanese. You see, it’s their version of the word ‘we’ meaning ‘everyone’. It’s a console for everyone… Get it? The Wii uses a new type of controller, packed with motion-sensitive technology, to immerse the player like never before. Never before in the home, that is. Arcades have been dabbling in this stuff for years. The idea is pretty straight forward; you clutch the remote-control-like controller (Wiimote) like a tennis racket to play a tennis game, a bowling ball to bowl, etc. The Wiimote senses everything from how hard you swing it to where in relation to the TV it’s being held. Liken it, if you will, to magic.
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