OXCGN’s Review Page is indexed for your navigation in order of appearance since conception. Simply follow the links to the complete review. If you find a broken link, then please let us know by emailing us immediately, as it’s hard to keep track of over 600 pages on one site.
Happy reading from the OXCGN team.
OXCGN’s Non-Comparative Prototype Review
by GrathiusXR:
Alex Mercer is a man out for revenge and answers, and, like many anti-heroes of our time, nothing stands in his way of completing his objective. Waking up from the dead on the surgery table, almost being cut under the knife, Alex is unleashed on New York city with a plethora of powers at his disposal and questions needing answering.
Too many 360 owners upon first glance see the game in a sense as the R18+ version of Crackdown, except with a lot more powers at your disposal and more freedom. Whilst the main story-line missions are very linear in terms of progression you are free to scour the city and do as you please
OXCGN Star Ocean: The Last Hope
by Endgamez (Guest Contributor)
Like most fans, I consider the Star Ocean series to be the spiritual successors to Tales of Phantasia; given that the series are so similar, if they mated they’d have deformed children. This is because virtually the entire design department of Phantasia left Namco to found tri-Ace and many of the design concepts of the Tales series can be found in the Star Ocean franchise.
Star Ocean:The Last Hope’s story begins in the aftermath of WWIII. Our great and illustrious leaders have basically done the expected and kicked the hell out of each other. Not content with simply trading a few punches, they kick off a nuclear exchange that quickly spans the globe and makes life kinda like Parramatta (inside Aussie joke)
OXCGN Red Faction Guerrilla Review – Bringing Down The House
by AXIS of Reality
Well, the first game of the month is here. With so many big name games hitting Aussie shelves in June, after playing it for a week it’s a surprise to learn that the first of them may possibly be the best. I also got the chance to visually compare both 360 and PS3 versions of the game, but more on that later.
Red Faction: Guerrilla is the very loose sequel to the previous-gen Red Faction 1 and Red Faction 2 first-person shooters. The name change should be a clue that this isn’t a direct follow-on or prettied up expansion – Red Faction: Guerrilla is something new for the series, and all the better for it.
OXCGN’s UFC 2009: Undisputed Review: Get ready for some octagonal brutality
by GrathiusXR
With UFC becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the industry today it was no hard decision to cash in and make a UFC game to appeal to its massive number of fans. With YUKE’s Future Media Creators having a plethora, and I mean plethora, of Smackdown/Raw wrestling games under it’s belt, it was an easy choice to have them helm the task.
Creating an authentic yet imperfect representation of the fierce sport that is UFC 2009: Undisputed, Yukes have changed things around compared to the SvR franchise and made the whole feel and look of the game fresh and different from that of wrestling titles.
OXCGN’s Banjo Tooie Review: A Second Coming For All Ages
by Shadow Wave
Banjo and Kazooie are back in Banjo Tooie, just months after the original game made its debut on Xbox Live Arcade. Rare once again have brought the Nintendo 64 classic sequel back into the limelight to perhaps give those younger gamers and fans a chance to have a taste at the Banjo-Kazooie franchise for the first time, while enabling us older gamers to experience that warm nostalgia feeling.
Does this sequel deliver? Or does it fall off its broomstick?
While Banjo Tooie improves over the original in most ways, I believe it took a few things too far, making a few parts of the game much more frustrating than they should be. However, even though there are some minor issues, Banjo-Tooie in the end represents one of the best value for money games currently on Xbox Live Arcade.
OXCGN’s The Godfather II Review: A Welcome Addition To The Family
by GrathiusXR
Ahh another day and another game developed and published by none other than the infamous EA (Electronic Arts). The Godfather II, developed by EA’s Redwood Shores division, is based upon Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather II, a crime family movie which follows the Corleone family directly where they left off from the events of The Godfather.
Perhaps ‘based upon’ isn’t really the expression to use here so I’ll use ‘loosely based on’ instead, as while it may be called The Godfather II, the game really only features the characters, the setting and the rival families and does not follow the same path in storyline as the movie.
OXCGN’s The Chronicles of Riddick Review: Bloodshed & Fears
by Shadow Wave:
Five years ago Starbreeze Studios gave us a gift; that gift was Escape from Butcher Bay. The game pushed the boundaries of the original Xbox in terms of graphics, presentation and innovation and gave hope that games based on movies could work after all. It was truly one of the star games the Xbox had to give.
Butcher Bay Prison, which Riddick was forced to escape, was captured so well as a believable environment that it made players (those that handn’t been…) imagine what prison could truly be like. From the graffiti on the wall to the impressive lighting effects, it all looked great (for a prison, that is).
OXCGN’s Tom Clancy’s HAWX Review: Two Views From The Cockpit
by GrathiusXR: & XboxOZ360
Come fly with me, come fly…well unfortunately you wouldn’t want to do so because then you’ll be in for a less than average thrill ride. And it’s not because I’m a sucky wingman either…
HAWX (High Altitude Warfare Experimental) is a game by Ubisoft and part of their infamous Tom Clancy franchise which over the years has provided some great games. You know the ones I’m talking about… Rainbow Six Vegas, Splinter Cell, GRAW 1 & 2, EndWar etc..
OZ: I’m a Sim nut. Hmm, that doesn’t sound right, now does it. Let’s put that a different way.
I enjoy simulation ‘games’ be it on four wheels or in the air far above the tarmac miles below. I have some ’serious’ hours invested in these genres with over 400 hrs in Forza 2, played Ace Combat through 6 times, I think Race Pro is great (except for some niggles here and there), and enjoy wasting hours upon hours staring at the screen as I clip 100th of second off track times, or trying to get through an entire game in the one aircraft on all missions.
But hey, that’s just me. So when I heard about HAWX and that Ubisoft had hatched HAWX as part of the Tom Clancy franchise, my little heart did some serious pounding, and for an old bugger, sometimes that ’s not so good.
OXCGN Reviews Wheelman: Got Good Tread Or Bald Tires?
by dkpatriarch
New model. Original Parts.
That’s the tag line for Vin Diesel’s sequel film Fast & Furious, currently on film screens at the same time as his driving video game Wheelman has been released. And, strangely enough, the tag line applies to the game as much as the film.
You see Vin Diesel’s Wheelman may be a new game from his very own studio Tigon, but it uses parts from original best sellers of the various driving genres like Burnout, Driver, and the GTAs. The question is if Wheelman has got good tread to compete with big hitters GTAIV and Saint’s Row, or does it run on crappy bald tires (spelt “tyres” here in Oz)?
OXCGN Reviews Hasbro Family Game Night – Battleship – Abandon Ship?
by SithLordJim (Guest reviewer from The Grape Vie
Outside of actual gameplay, there are several factors I find you can look at to determine whether a game was bad or not. If writing about the game was more enjoyable than actually playing it, it’s probably a bad game.
If you suddenly become acutely aware of every tiny mess around your home that demands your immediate attention, its probably bad.
And if you find yourself day-dreaming about introducing the broken remnants of the game’s disc to the flesh of it’s creator, it seems safe to assume the game is not a great game. EA’s Battleship only managed to hit two out of three, but whether that’s due to it not being available on disc for Xbox360, or because its not quite that bad is a matter of perspective.
OXCGN XBLA Review: Uno Rush = Speed Chess
By TWODOGSz
I don’t pretend to know why Uno is so popular.
It could be the colours, the accessibility of the poker-lite play or, in the case of the original XBLA release, maybe it’s just the promise of naked strangers over Xbox Live on your screen?
But it’s testament to the original’s XBLA success that its sequel was reserved for an announcement at Microsoft’s Keynote at E3 ‘08. Because as much as some would rather not admit, Uno is probably a title that you’ve continued to play long after you left other titles by the wayside. It still ranks consistently in the Top 10 of Major Nelson’s weekly Xbox Live activity lists.
OXCGN Reviews Hasbro Family Game Night – Connect Four
by Lame360Gamer
I had my reservations with Hasbro’s Family Game Night when I originally heard about this Live Arcade game. It is hard enough getting the kids (and myself!) off the console and back to the table with the family with some old fashioned board game fun and what is presented here is intended to do just that.
However personal feelings aside, I am here to review the individual title, Connect Four which is a downloadable component intended to be played through the free Family Game Night Title.
OXCGN Review- Itagaki presents The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
by TWODOGSz
Since the excellent Ninja Gaiden 2, gaming has been bereft of hardcore slice and dice titles. And yet in the absence of the master, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai’s release is something that would surely make even Tomonobu Itagaki grin ear to bloody ear.
Personally, I suspect that somehow Dishwasher is Itagaki’s long lost love child. The great developer, who arguably one year on can still lay claim to the best action gameplay engine, must have been doing something post-Tecmo besides maintaining his effortless sex, drugs and rock n’ roll chic.
Red Faction: Guerilla – Demo Impressions
True destruction or truly destroyed?
by AXIS of Reality
Explosions. Fun, aren’t they? While during this console generation, many action games have gotten far more tactical and precise. There’s at least one that remembers the sheer joy of fire, smoke and Havok-powered ragdolls flying through the air. Is it any suprise it’s coming from the same studio as Saint’s Row 2?
Note: Red Faction: Guerilla Demo is ONLY available to customers who per-order through selected stores until 23rd April, when it will be freely available through XboxLIVE and PSN.
OXCGN’s Stormrise Review – Only One Shall Rise….Just Not This One!
by GrathiusXR
Another month and another RTS hits the consoles, this time it’s Stormrise from The Creative Assembly (the team behind Total War). This one is an RTS game based in the future where humanity pretty much tried to control Global Warming but in typical fashion it all went wrong.
Centuries later and the humans that were left outside during the disaster left to die evolved into a mutant race known as The Sai and the humans in the cryogenic underground facilities known as The Echelon have awoken to reclaim Earth and rebuild it as it once was.
Legends of WrestleMania Review
Ah… the 80’s and 90’s: a time when wrestling was pure
by Lame360Gamer
The Wrestling of the 80’s carries some fond memories for me. Some of the best gimmicks, matches and feuds took place back then. Every month I would race down to the local video store to see if the latest Coliseum Video hosted by Lord Alfred Hayes, focusing on what was then known as the World Wrestling Federation, was out. I remember spending hours in front of the television with my sister cheering for the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Rockers and Brutus Beefcake.
I am proud to say that I never grew out of Wrestling and followed it throughout its transition to what sports entertainment is today.
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Review
Life’s a bitch Homey, then you die…
by dkpatriarch
I was looking forward to reviewing this game because I don’t like hip-hop rap gangsta music or the attitude behind the whole urban ghetto thing and I figured this game would be a laugh to poke fun at. After all, games and 50 Cent don’t really seem likely to mix well, and his last game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof, seemed to demonstrate that.
What I got was something that perplexed me.
Rarely have I felt so much in two minds or so surprised by a game as I was with this one. The game is published by THQ and made by Swordfish Studios, who released Cold Winter last gen. They have made a 3rd person shooter that borrows aspects from other shooters and throws out anything that gets in the way of exhilarating fun. How could a game with so many self-destructive qualities actually keep me so entertained?
Resident Evil 5 Review
by Shadow Wave
The long wait is finally over and Resident Evil 5 is finally out around the globe! But has Capcom’s latest entry in their popular horror franchise lived up to its huge hype or is the undead series mutating too much from its origins to be true survival horror fun?
Essentially while it’s hard to identify the game’s genre as ’survival horror’ anymore, Resident Evil 5 certainly does tell a great story and gives the player hours of great action gameplay. Maybe ’survival action’ would be a better description now.
Purists of the pre-Resident Evil 4 era will probably see this change in focus as meaning the franchise is running downhill instead of shuffling on like it should. Meanwhile, the new Gears Of War ‘run, cover, and shoot’ action crowd may find the game’s more slow and precise aim and shoot scheme too archaic for a this gen game. Most players, though, are in for a treat.
Street Fighter IV Review – All that’s old is new again… and then some.
by TWODOGSz
It’s the reserved feeling for gaming’s truly elite franchises…
“The immediate emotional reaction to a gamer’s nostalgia reborn; the shared consciousness with all those fans over all those years; and the overwhelming sense that the king of fighters is back with a vengeance.”
That Street Fighter IV manages to overcome these burdens is remarkable. That it actively embraces them and then exceeds them makes the finished product all the more astonishing.
It’s with trepidation when you first fire the thing up, followed by the shock at how goddamn cool it looks even when juxtaposed with perhaps the cheesiest video game theme song ever.
GTA:IV The Lost and Damned Review
by darkmurder
With GTA:IV we came, we saw, we conquered, and to be honest got bored of it pretty quickly, so how will the latest downloadable content hold up? (Check out OXCGN’s Walkthrough)
The Lost and Damned (TLAD) is Rockstar & Microsoft’s exclusive add-on that allows you to play a whole new chapter in the GTA:IV Liberty City universe. You take on the role of Johnny Klebitz, biker and stand in leader for the bike gang “The Lost and Damned” due to the regular leader, Billy Grey, being thrown into jail. (Ed- So it’s much like real-life Melbourne then…).
Things seem peaceful as Johnny ‘K’ has managed to maintain peace with bitter gang rivals “The Angels of Death”; that is until the former head and founder of the club Billy Grey returns from his stint in prison. Immediately he resumes his former post and sets about returning things to the way they were, and essentially all of Johnny’s hard work is thrown out the window.
DEATH Tank XBLA Review
by Lame360Gamer
Here is another game that I have added to the ever growing pile of mediocre Xbox Live Arcade games that I seem to be accumulating at a rapid pace.
While I haven’t had the opportunity to download everything that Live Arcade offers, I believe games such as Castle Crashers and Street Fighter II have raised the bar for all other challengers to compete.
Not an easy task, but one that could have been achievable if the buyer was getting value for money.
Killzone 2 Review
by AXIS of Reality
Let me start off by saying this review is almost a curse. Over the past few weeks as the reviews of Killzone 2 flooded the internet, sites were loved or loathed based on the number at the end of their article and accusations of ‘fanboism’ were thrown thick and fast. (check out or Killzone 2 Aust Launch day)
Unfortunately this is the fate of many major exclusive releases for the 360 or PS3. Despite not actually having played the full game internet trolls declared sites that awarded an 8/10 or lower for Killzone 2 flatout wrong or biased towards the Xbox 360.
SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection Review
by Sutton Dagger
Reviewing a compilation disk is certainly a different task to reviewing a new release title. Graphics advance, sound gets more detailed and gameplay is refined over time, so how does one categorise and assign a score to these classic games in the ‘next gen’ era?
Essentially the present criteria of graphics, sound and gameplay are applied less stringently, with the collection of games being analysed instead according to funfactor and value for money. With this in mind, the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is a must buy for old school, SEGA fans.
Halo Wars Review
By GrathiusXR
Fundamentally Real Time Strategy Games (RTS’s) don’t work best on a console mainly due to the constraints of the controller. While on the PC it would take a mere few seconds to do most things, on a console it could take double or sometimes triple the time. In the world of an RTS, this delay means defeat.
Why? Because your opponent has most likely already created an army, tech’d up his units and has a sturdy base defence that would take a while to get through. In Halo Wars this is absolutely not the case. Built from the ground up for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios, it features a control scheme that everyone should take note of, for RTS’s on consoles the bar has been raised.
Hands-on Mythic Map Pack Impressions
By Dimorphic
Being an ardent Halo (check out our Halo 3 review) fan I have been patiently awaiting the release of the new Mythic Map Pack that Bungie have been cooking for the better part of the last six months. I’ve been teased with the weekly updates hinting on the layout and design of the maps and was overjoyed when they were finally revealed.
So you can imagine my excitement when I got my hands on an early code so I can write these impressions. After giving them a good bash it would be simple for me to just say BUY THEM, but I am going to put a little more effort into it than that.
FEAR 2: Project Origin Review
By AXIS of Reality
FEAR 2 received a lot of unintentional publicity early in production as developer Monolith split with the publisher of FEAR 1, Vivendi. While this happens frequently as studios switch publishers, in this case Vivendi still maintained ownership rights to the name FEAR despite the work already started by Monolith of a sequel, hastily renamed Project Origin.
While that’s all done and sorted with the FEAR name being returned to Monolith to make FEAR 2: Project Origin, since then there’s been little notice taken of FEAR 2 alongside juggernauts (which incidentally are also sequels) like Gears of War 2, Halo Wars and Killzone 2. Now that’s it’s quietly snuck in before the heavyweights, how does Project Origin stack up?
Race Pro Review
by Block8:
Race Pro had a lot to live up to. Maybe not in Halo or Gears of War proportions, but for motorsport enthusiasts around the world, this game could single-handedly evolve the console racing genre forever. And for those motorsport enthusiasts reading, don’t worry. It does.
Traditionally, console racing games have thrown around the “simulation” tag far too frequently in the past. We’ve seen it claimed by many franchises; Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo to name the most poignant two. And whilst they might of taken the genre by the scruff of the neck, it’s hardly fair to call them simulations – especially when compared with the likes of Simbin’s own GTR series, or the massively popular rFactor on the PC.
Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage Review
by Lame360Gamer
I couldn’t have timed my completion of Fallout 3 any better. The day of completion also saw the day of Operation: Anchorage, the first of the three downloadable content packs announced to be released over the next three months. Fallout 3 was a big game set in a big world but is Operation Anchorage enough to entice someone back to the game?
A Yes or No answer would be a nice way to sum things up but the DLC really opens up a mixed bag of feelings. Anything to add to this rich and complex world that has been created is a bonus for any Fallout fan however some may feel short-changed upon completion.
Interpol: The Trail of Dr Chaos Review
by GrathiusXR
It’s hard to comprehend that games like these are still being made; I feel this kind of genre died long ago with the Carmen San Diego games. Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos is the latest outing in this genre and one arcade game that needed a lot more spit and polish before release.
You are an Interpol agent, hot on the trail of Dr. Chaos and his crew, going from country to country searching through pictures of cluttered junk that might help you in your quest to catch the criminals. It sounds intriguing on paper, but the execution is poorly delivered
Halo Wars Demo Impressions
by GrathiusXR
With under a month before Halo Wars hits shelves all around the world many are hanging out to try the demo before considering buying the game. Normally anything with ‘Halo’ on it would be a given to sell well, but with Halo Wars there is a sense of cautiousness from the gaming public.
This is because Halo Wars isn’t a first person shooter (FPS) like previous Halo games, it’s a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game. Gamers know the RTS genre’s reputation on consoles. Very few have ever worked much less been successful.
Skate 2 Review
by darkmurder
The original Skate for the Xbox 360 was an extremely innovative skating title that not only challenged Tony Hawk’s franchise, but totally obliterated it for realism and gameplay. Now the second title, Skate 2, has been released by the seemingly doomed EA Black Box studio.
The title sees you mysteriously shipped off to jail and returning five years later to find San Vanelona with a whole new and complete facelift. A company named Mongo Corp. has given the whole town a new architectural design, leaving many skating spots where it is only up to the imagination of the skater to discover whether they are in fact deemed skateable.
Lego Batman Review
by JL Flett
Batman has become the latest multi-million dollar franchise to turn to the Lego video game market to earn a few more bucks. Lego Batman: The Video Game brings characters from the Batman movies and the original DC comics to life in a twisted yet fun game that suits people of any age (unless you’re afraid of clowns).
This game is a real treat for those die-hard Batman fans as it is a great culmination of the better known recent characters and also classics such as Nightwing. The quirky character features, such as Ivy’s poison kiss and Penguin’s explosive penguin minions which he stores under his hat, give the game a whole extra dimension to explore and enjoy.
Lord of the Rings: Conquest Review
by Sith Lord Jim:
There are a lot of average games out there, but Lord of the Rings: Conquest is not one of them. I had heard a lot of negative stuff before playing this game. So it was with a large amount of dread for the task ahead of me, that I popped the disc in the tray.
A few hours in I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. Sure the game had its issues, and I was getting sick of falling over, but really it wasn’t that bad. Maybe it would even become fun once I got the hang of it, I reasoned..
Sonic Unleashed Review: Cartoony Crap Or Classy Act?
by dkpatriarch
Sonic is the immortal gaming icon who cannot die, it would seem. His latest outings have been poor but he has been kept alive by both his fame and the party Olympic and tennis games that feature his blue spiky hide.
Now we have a new fully ‘Sonic’ game called Unleashed and the question is will it revive past glory, or will it sink the hedgehog closer toward inglorious termination. The answer is…well, yes he’ll survive, but if he wants to be a star again, he’ll have to reinvent himself. And I don’t mean with a new haircut.
Lips Review: The Social Interaction And Music Game For Xbox
by Lame360Gamer
Now before I begin with this review I need to make a few things clear to the reader. I am approaching this as a gamer and certainly not as a singer. So keep this in mind:
1) I do not sing. I don’t sing in the shower, in the car, doing any form of work and especially not around friends or family (and strangers for that matter).
2) I have never played a home karaoke or been invited to a party where there was a set-up and I have stayed clear from Singstar on both PS2 and PS3.
Rise of the Argonauts Review: A Greek Legend To Remember, Or Forget?
by GrathiusXR
Having first heard of Rise of the Argonauts early in 2008, I was somewhat intrigued as to when I was going to be able to play out one of the most well known stories in Greek mythology. It was then somewhat disappointing to find out the game had been pushed back to an undetermined date in 2009.
Then, almost as if on a whim, Atari released Rise of The Argonauts a week before Christmas, which isn’t the best time to release a new IP, let alone one that had not had a great deal of pre-release PR push. All of a sudden the game pops out of nowhere on shelves in stores and I sit perplexed, thinking to myself . . . “what the hell is going on” ?
rise-of-the-argonauts-box-out
Oh well, a last minute Christmas present then….but was it a keeper, or a Boxing Day return?
Hero of Sparta Review: The iPhone’s God of War!
by Shadow Wave
Gameloft’s latest iPhone title: Hero of Sparta has been inspired from Sony’s God of War series, this game delivers everything that you love about God of War in the palm of your hand on your iPhone. This amazing game is the first to truly prove that the iPhone is a serious competitor in the portable gaming market.
hero-of-spartaYou play as King Argos who has been shipwrecked on a beach, but before he leaves, he must complete a task for a God on the Island and receive his reward. Argos must battle through many levels, slaughtering countless beasts straight from Greek mythology on his epic journey.
Left 4 Dead Review:- The co-op game to rival even the great Gears Of War?
by Lame360Gamer
One topic of conversation that always seems to come up after watching a zombie film is ‘how would you survive the outbreak?’.
Whether it be from your classic zombies (Romero style: slow and mindless) to your modern day zombie (run really fast, make a lot of noise) everybody has a different ‘imaginary’ survival plan.
So, with the popularity of the zombie film genre these days it only made sense that developers were going to try their hand at bringing them across to the gaming platforms. And they have, big time. Have a look at this list of zombie games. With the recent Alone In The Dark and an upcoming title from the popular Resident Evil franchise, can Left 4 Dead bring something new to the outbreak of zombie games? Does it have its own ’survival plan’?
A Kingdom For Keflings XBLA Review Black & White lite?
by TWODGOSz
With the launch of the New Xbox Experience (”NXE”) came a lot of excitement, some derision, and a whole bunch of freaks, geeks and celebrities on my friends list. Riding on the coat tails of Microsoft’s largely successful console relaunch is Kingdom of Keflings, the first XBLA title to have full Avatar integration, from the strategically minded developers Ninja Bee (Band of Bugs, Outpost Kaloki and Cloning Clyde).
From the title screen it’s pretty clear the audience the developers are targeting. Relaxing, uplifting music; pleasant, colourful visuals; and a simple premise to draw that audience in.
Prince of Persia Review: Cel-Shaded Glory – What Assassins Creed should have been
by GrathiusXR
Much like the recent Batman or James Bond films, Ubisoft Montreal is seeking to follow this Hollywood trend of reinvention and re-boot the Prince of Persia series again. The original 3D reinvention, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, was hailed by the critics but oddly didn’t sell as well as it should have. Nevertheless, it is now viewed as a classic.
The inevitable sequel, Prince of Persia: Two Thrones, followed and much like many sequels seemed to fail to live up to the first game. Then, again as in many trilogies, The Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within also didn’t fully live up to expectations.
Mortal Kombat V’s DC Universe
by GrathiusXR
It’s brutal, violent and still holds that MK charisma
Well its been a long wait for the first next-gen Mortal Kombat (MK) game, and for many fans like myself the announcement of MK vs DC Universe was something of a surprise and shock. Our beloved MK characters battling the heroes and villains of DC? What did this mean for the brutal+violent Mortal Kombat?
It meant a more toned down version of what we had come to love over the past decade. Less graphic/gory fatalities by every MK character and the inclusion of a proper, more believable storyline.
Fallout 3 Review: The most loved post-apocalyptic war game out.
by darkmurder
War, war never changes… had Bethesda not picked up the Fallout IP, chances are the much loved post apocalyptic war games would never have changed and remained unfinished at its most brilliant, that being Fallout 2.
Fallout 3 takes place 30 years after Fallout 2 and has changed substantially in both the way that the game is played and also in the setting. The nuclear war that tarnished the world began when the earth finally ran out of vital resources, with America, China and Russia all becoming involved in trying to secure the depleting resources of the world which lay in Alaska.
Tom Clancy’s EndWar Review: Ubisoft’s EndDebate
by dkpatriarch
“Unit five, move to target”.
“Unit seven, attack hostile two”.
“Umm mate, you’ve got a package”.
What? Startled, I turn my head from the command sit-rep view on my HD TV to the doorway, which I forgot had been left open due to the Spring Australian heat.
A rather amused delivery guy is there staring at me talking intently at the TV through my headphones. I’m not able to adapt from Colonel ‘me’ to just plain ‘me’ quickly enough and I end up trying to get out of my chair while dropping the controller at the same time, but forgetting that the headphones on my head are attached to the controller. I look even more foolish as I drag the controller off the chair onto the floor, then when I try to tear the headphones from my head, only end up breaking them. The delivery guy is now laughing. Shit.
The Last Remnant Review: Square Enix’s fall from grace.HDD installs FTW!
by Sutton Dagger
The pedigree of titles Square Enix have developed is incredible. They and their separate entities are considered the premier Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) developers on the market. So with great anticipation I booted up my copy of The Last Remnant, but what ensued can only be described as the ‘fall from grace’ of Square Enix.
In terms of the story, The Last Remnant is certainly capable of holding its own against other recently released JRPG’s. The young protagonist, Rush Sykes, is your typical melodramatic male teen, furiously devoted to those he loves, especially his sister.
Shaun White Snowboarding Review:-Aussie Style
by Lame360gamer
To be honest before I gave this game a try I had to look up and see if Shaun White was an actual person and not just added to a snowboard game to give it a sense of individuality. After all I didn’t know who Tony Hawk was until a sea of video games came out!
While I am not a snowboarder (though we do have skiing here in Oz) nor a skater, having played them in the past I thought was enough for me to take a look at what Mr. White has brought to the 360.
Banjo Kazooie XBLA Review: – The Classic Bear’n’Bird Duo.
by Shadow Wave
Celebrating the release of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, RARE has given the franchise’s decade old fans a gift to rejoice over, a port of the original Banjo Kazooie for Xbox Live Arcade. The story throws you into the backpack of Banjo and Kazooie as they venture through Gruntilda’s Lair to find Banjo’s ‘cute and nice’ sister, to stop the ugly witch from stealing her good looks!
Banjo Kazooie has similar elements in common with Super Mario 64, it adheres to the platforming genre of collecting items.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Review – Rare-fied Genius!
by TWODOGSz
In the credits of the new Banjo-Kazooie, with designer names rolling, side kick Kazooie makes a self depreciating wisecrack directed at Rare that for elements of online forums is regarded as gospel….
“All the real talent left years ago”.
It’s a sad and misinformed myth that carries far more weight and supposed “truth” than it ought to.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a singular, mighty salvo that refutes that.
Mirror’s Edge Review: Will you like what you see in the Mirror?
by darkmurder/GrathiusXR
As if the Xbox 360 didn’t have enough first person shooters. Then comes along Mirror’s Edge, an ambitious title by DICE, that isn’t your typical run and gun FPS. Rather, it tries to reinvigorate and re-energise a genre flogged to death like an abused overworked lame horse.
Rather than focusing on the core concept of shooting, the game instead features fast paced running, jumping, balancing and climbing gameplay. What makes Mirror’s Edge unique is the way that DICE have managed to make a first person shooter fun, even if you don’t fire a weapon.
Pro Evolution Soccer 09 Review
by GrathiusXR
As an avid FIFA fan it’s hard to comprehend that there is another game available that represents the beautiful game which has been touted to triumph over FIFA numerous times over the past couple of years.
Konamis Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 is the next game in the series that have been heralded as the premiere football games since the days of the Playstation 2.
Legendary Review
by dkpatriarch
We’ve had alien invasions, attacks from monsters underground, zombie infestations, and world-domination plots all threaten to destroy modern civilization unless we save it. Games designed to stoke our hero complexes tend to fill us with warm fuzzy feelings of accomplishment and enjoyment.
Legendary brings a new and promising idea to this theme by mixing Greek mythology and Da Vinci Code-like secret societies. It all sounds great, but will it be like Spark’s other great idea game Turning Point: Fall Of Liberty and fail to live up to its initial concept? In short, will the game really be legendary?
Smackdown V’s RAW 09 Review
by Lame360Gamer
After nine installments in the Smackdown series, THQ-YUKE’s has delivered the tenth in the series and wrestling fans can rest easy knowing they have finally achieved a solid wrestling title for their collection.
The game itself looks good. Very good. Some wrestlers look a lot better than others however overall once they are all throwing each other around the ring, take a step back and look at the actual detail they have put into the whole wrestling experience. From facial expressions, wrestler mannerisms to even the detailed crowds in the huge arenas they have done a fantastic job.
Gears Of War 2 Review
by Sith Lord Jim
I was a very big fan of Epic’s Gears of War, but even I can say that it had quite a few things wrong with it. The biggest of these problems was the storyline, it was not conveyed very well, and left the gamer more confused than anything.
Then there were all the multiplayer problems like glitches, and host powers making the player who was host way more deadly than anyone else. Gears 1 was not a perfect game, but it was damn good fun. Gears of War 2 attempts to alleviate those issues, and for the most part it really has improved on a formula I thought would be hard to top.
Dead Space Review
by GrathiusXR
Dead Space: A review about Outer Space and Aliens, perhaps 2 of the most overused concepts in video game history. They are concepts that are almost always poorly executed, always cliched, and always over the top in every way. Yet somehow EA Redwood have managed to take these 2 concepts, mix them together and craft a truly unbelievable experience.
Far Cry 2
by Sith Lord Jim
I must admit I was skeptical when Ubisoft’s Clint Hocking told us that Farcry 2 would be the new benchmark for first person shooters. I stand corrected. This year has been full of stellar releases, but Farcry 2 eats them all for breakfast. I am not saying it is without its flaws, but its going to be one hell of a tough act to follow.
In Farcry 2 you play as a mercenary hired to kill an arms dealer, the Jackal, who has been dealing arms to both sides of a conflict in Africa. You arrive in the country and get malaria. So your character has to balance his illness with his search for the Jackal.
Fable II Review
by Shadow Wave
Lionhead Studio’s second attempt at the Fable franchise has finally been released. Fable 2 takes place 500 years after the events of Fable 1, and throws you into the shoes of a new character who also must save the world, this time with your trusty side-kick “dog” by your side.
So, the big question is, does Fable 2 live up to its hype?
PURE Review
by GrathiusXR
BlackRock Studios, the studio formerly known as Climax Racing, are best known for the plethora of ATV games developed for the original Xbox and PS2. Now they have entered the next gen with their latest entry, PURE. This latest ATV game is an adrenaline pumping, trick popping and high flying ATV game that has plenty fun to offer.
Pure isn’t about the story, the girl, nor the money, it’s just about the racing and winning. When you start up the first thing that happens is you are taken through a quick tutorial to get you up to speed with the controls in PURE.
Saints Row 2 Review
by Sith Lord Jim
People have been constantly asking me whether Saints Row 2 is better than Grand Theft Auto 4. It’s a question I hate. To me it is just like asking whether Burnout Paradise or Forza 2 is better, they may have similarities, but they are vastly different games.
Yet if I had to answer the question I would really have to say that both do some things better than each other. A better question would be which title did I have more fun with, and the answer to that my friends, would be Saints Row 2 by a landslide.
FIFA ‘09 Review
by GrathiusXR
It seems that with every new FIFA game that EA churn out each year they always know how to not only keep fans of the game happy, but also make it easier for new-comers of the sport to get in on the action. With the introduction of new gameplay physics that are sure to rattle the cages of many, slightly improved graphics, new games modes, and features FIFA 09 has set the bar for football sim games.
Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway Review
by dkpatriarch
Lately I’ve been playing way too many gung-ho run and gun shooters and even Rainbow Six didn’t punish me as much as Hell’s Highway for my failures to properly command. Even though my squad mates would mysteriously (thankfully) resurrect themselves for the next mission, I still felt very much responsible each time I sent them to cover that was paper thin or on an impatient but futile charge at the enemy only to watch them crumple to the ground, dead or writhing in pain.
I was responsible, not some triggered event controlled by the game. And amazingly, I didn’t like feeling responsible for the demise of my play soldiers.
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames Review
by GrathiusXR
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the sequel to Pandemic’s 2005 release, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. It is now 3 years on and here we are with another healthy fix of carpet bombs, turret-mounted jeeps, and a bad ass Swede sporting a Mohawk that’s the envy of every heavy metal fan around the world.
World in Flames takes place in the beautiful land of Venezuela, and although you may be quite tempted to simply drive around and take in the sights, there are actually bigger fish to fry. Greeted by an old friend, Blanco, Mattias is introduced to Venezuelan millionaire, Ramon Solano, who has asked Mattias for his services in rescuing his close friend, and Venezuelan Army General, Carmona.
Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise Review.
by Sith Lord Jim
Viva Piñata Trouble in Paradise is one of those games that if you are a male, you will spend the entire time your playing it hoping that nobody walks into the room. Yes it is one of those things that males world-wide will be hesitant to admit that they enjoyed. Yet at the same time is something that is damn near impossible to not enjoy.
If you have played the original Viva Piñata then you will know the drill here. Create a garden, meet the requirements for piñatas to live in your garden, and level up as you accomplish tasks. It’s all quite childish on the surface, but below the childish exterior is a game with a ton of depth, and addictively fun gameplay.
XO Jade Empire Review
by GrathiusXR
An exceptional RPG available for the 1st-Gen Xbox is now readily available as an Xbox Original via Xbox 360 Marketplace, for 1200 MSP. BioWare’s Jade Empire is an RPG of epic proportions and a game that any serious fan of the genre must experience at some stage or another, as while it may not be the best, it surely is one of the more interesting and engaging additions to the genre.
XBLA Castle Crashers Review
by GrathiusXR
The King’s 4 hot daughters have been kidnapped and who else better to rescue them than the King’s most trusted Knights. That’s all there is to know with The Behemoth’s Castle Crashers, and you couldn’t ask for a more straight forward plot.
The Behemoth have added their own unique twist to this side-scrolling game which definitely makes it a worthy purchase for any gamer looking to use their points on Xbox Live or buy more to get this. The Red knight, Green knight, Blue knight or Orange knight are yours to choose from before starting the campaign and from there it’s game on.
Too Human Review
by Sith Lord Jim
I was at no point prior to playing Too Human at all optimistic about it in any way shape or form. It wasn’t like I was looking at it with a “glass half empty” sort of view either. It was more of a “the glass is completely empty and there’s a clown trying to stab me in the neck” with it sort of thing.
So I guess it is reasonable to say that I had managed to not get caught up in all the positive hype that this title had generated during it’s massive development time.
Fable II Pub Games Review
by Sutton Dagger
Sometimes you really have to wonder what is going through developer’s minds while they are creating some games. One also must wonder at the state a mind would have to be in to decide that sitting there pressing “A” 100 times is going to be a good time for all. It is of course quite possible that they were suffering from severe sleep deprivation after working 72+ hours straight on the actual Fable 2 game or something like that. Regardless what is really a fantastic marketing concept falls very short of being an entertaining game.
Braid Review
by Sutton Dagger
How do you begin to critique an experience like Braid, based on puzzle/platforming elements, yet with far more profound connotations? At its’ core, Braid is a puzzle/platforming game and has no hesitation in paying homage to its’ roots (”Im sorry, but the Princess is in another castle”, is a classic line your all familiar with).
The gameplay handles like you would expect from a traditional 2D platformer, you are able to move both left and right, whilst jumping up to, or descending down to higher/lower levels respectively. Though there is certainly more to Braid than this simple premise, for those who wish to explore such avenues.
Top Spin 3 Review
by Darkmurder
In 2003, PAM and Microsoft Game Studios launched Topspin, a game which revolutionized the way in which tennis games would be created in the future. It was marked as being both a commercial and critical success for its uncanny ability to appeal to the masses and breath new life into the tennis genre.
Alone In The Dark Review
by dkpatriarch
“You know what?” mutters Edward Carnby (the protagonist of the game) after blowing up a vampire-bat-creating-blob, “I’m dreaming of a beer”. Believe me, so was I.
“`If I had drunk enough beer I might have started belting out old ‘80s songs, like the one by Heart that goes “And the night goes by so very slow, but I hope it won’t end though, alone…” only I’d change the lyrics to “And the game goes by so very slow, but I hope it will end soon though… moan.” On the other hand, if I had been drunk maybe I’d have enjoyed myself more with this game.
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 Review
by simmo44
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 is the sequel to the classic title Mercs. It is a top down shooter developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by CAPCOM. With multiple shooters on XBLA can this be the one to top the rest? The previous two titles of the series (Commando and Mercs) were great games of the shooting genre in general, and were instantly fantastic games to play.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review
by suttondagger
Dragon Ball Z has been an incredibly popular anime franchise for well over a decade, originally derived from the manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The DBZ phenomenon has infiltrated movies, figurines and of course, video games. Burst Limit is the first ‘next gen’ DBZ game, but does it offer more than the previous DBZ iterations?
Lego Indiana Jones Review
by Jamie-Lee Flett
Indiana Jones was everyone’s favourite archaeologist of the 80s; you could always rely on him to use his sweet skills to escape from his latest life-or-death situation to save the day. Upon the release of the latest Indiana Jones film the brilliant duo, Lucas Arts and Traveller’s Tales have now turned the adventures of Indy and his friends into a great game which reinvents the trilogy so that children of this generation can connect with the classic hero.
Battlefield: Bad Company Review
by Sith Lord Jim
Bad Company does many things that are new for the Battlefield series. The two largest of these is the inclusion of a single player campaign with a storyline (BF:MC does not really count storyline-wise.) and the destructability of the environment. Yet even with these major additions BF:BC manages to retain that Battlefield feeling that fans of the series will know and love. These additions rather than destroying the series manage to feel like a natural progression for the series. I mention this as its always nice to see a series moving forward rather than constantly trying to “get back to it’s roots”
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution Review
by dkpatriarch
I have a new theory about the fall of the Roman Empire. Forget the fact that the Empire had expanded too far to be defendable, that the population had too many different cultures with its own agendas, that the army was made up of too many mercenaries, or that Roman society was only a consumer society, corrupt and morally bankrupt, too dependent on slaves and its living necessities from its vulnerable outer provinces instead of from itself.
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Xbox-OriginalReview
by Shadow Wave
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory has finally hit Xbox Live Originals for downloading onto your Xbox 360’s. With it weighing in at just over 5 gigabyte to download, it has been majorly off- putting for many people. So this review hopefully will persuade you to change your mind, as it’s truly a brilliant game.
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory once again puts us in the shoes of Sam Fisher, the ageing stealth soldier, working for the government’s Third Echelon division
Ninja Gaiden II Review
by TWODOGSz
The original Ninja Gaiden was actually released as a reasonably straightforward arcade game in 1988, before it made the jump to consoles on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later that same year. It immediately gained a reputation as a fiercely difficult action and platforming game which also showcased the first use of cinematic cut scenes to tell a story on a console.
With time a lot has changed across Ninja Gaiden’s many iterations; the stories make even less sense; platforming has become a shadow of its former self; the game has become a noted graphical and animation showcase; and combat has evolved into arguably the finest engine the industry has ever seen.
Race Driver GRID Review
by GrathiusXR
The very first thing you do in Race Driver: GRID is enter your name, country and nickname and bang, you’re straight away seated in a Dodge Viper SRT-10 going 200kph down the sun soaked, spectator filled city streets of San Francisco on a mission to win. This is how Codemasters’s Race Driver: GRID starts off, throwing the gamer straight into the action without the need of any tutorial on the controls or basic playing techniques of the racing at hand.
MGS 4 Review
by Shadow Wave
Soon as Metal Gear Solid is booted up to the main menu you suddenly just know in yourself that this is going to be brilliant. The menu consists of Solid Snake our favourite young hero, who has now aged close to his end, visiting the grave of the Boss. The menu’s presentation reeks of pure quality and thus, before you even start the game your adrenaline is pumping for excitement.
XBLA: N+ Review
by TWODOGSz
For those who are unfamiliar with N+ it’s roots go back to the original PC flash game N that debuted in 2005 and has been freely available ever since. N+ is the Xbox Live Arcade version. In a nutshell N+ is a bigger, badder ninja with a couple of new tricks (and fresh threads), that believes he should charge for his services. Yes you can play N for free on PC, but if you want to hang with the fresh ninja on the 360 block, he wants 800 MS points for the pleasure.
Rez™-HD Review
by TWODOGSz
When originally released in 2001 Tetsuya Mizuguchi, inspired by modern abstract art, wanted to push the idea of technology and art through the medium of videogames. His template was an on rails shooter with simple conventional controls and an improbable story about a hacker who enters the virtual world to restore an artificial intelligence which is humanity’s last hope. But the purpose of this was merely a platform from which he could convey the unique experience of synesthesia.
Commanders: Attack of the Genos Review
by Sutton Dagger
With a plethora of Xbox Live Arcade games available you would think that every genre would have been covered, well for those strategy fans among us there was still a gaping hole in the XBLA line-up, until now. Commanders: Attack of the Genos is a turn-based strategy game developed by SouthEnd Interactive and Published by Sierra Online.
Pirates of the Caribbean Review
by dkpatriarch
I still remember my excitement as a kid when I first sat in the boat on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I must have waited four or five times to ride it again and again. Then I grew up. When I last went several years ago the ride seemed to have lost its gloss, the special effects weren’t magical anymore, and the excitement I had felt so strongly turned to profound disappointment.
Buku Sudoku Review
by DarkArmada
What takes next to no mathematical skill, appears in the puzzle section of almost every print media out today and drives everyone mad? That’s right, it’s Sudoku! And this week Absolutist has brought their own iteration of this classic mind bender to XBLA. So grab a coffee, tuck yourself in and get into Buku Sudoku.
Bourne Conspiracy Review
by dkpatriarch
Who couldn’t watch a Bourne movie and imagine playing it as a video game? The fast pace, fantastic ‘who am I’ storyline, brutal combat, and shaky cam are tailor made for a game. Luckily High Moon Studios and Sierra agreed, and went about making The Bourne Conspiracy. The problem is that most movie-to-game conversions are abysmal cash-ins that only make you think of what could have been. So, is Conspiracy another crappy tie-in or is it a genuine “bourne again” movie-to-game experience?
Dreamfall Review
by Shadow Wave
Following the events of the original game, The Longest Journey on the PC, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey adds a new main character and tries to leave behind the point and click game play and replace it with general 3rd person controls, combat and simpler puzzles to attract a larger audience. While the new game play doesn’t quite work as well, the game still maintains a superb story.
Black Review
by TWODOGSz
Back in 2006 on the eve of the original Xbox’s demise, renowned developer Criterion of Burnout fame released a naked, high energy homage to the FPS genre. It was a slickly produced Eastern Bloc romp, juiced up on steroids and widespread collateral damage that became as guilty a pleasure as any action movie from the 1980’s. Courtesy of Microsoft’s Xbox Originals this game has now been re-released as a 1200MP download.
Tiqal Review
by darkmurder
The Mayans were one of the Earth’s great civilizations during their time period on Earth. Tiqal is a puzzle game that bases its main story line on a young warrior who is on a quest for glory and who along the way gains special power-ups from pleasing Mayan gods. Now before you get all excited, remember this is a puzzle game, so don’t expect a gory hack-and-slash cannibalistic game based on the Mayan civilization.
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Review
By DarkArmada
It’s like the old glove that fits, that bike you rode when you were a child or even those shoes that have been worn in just right. Ubisoft’s next addition to the Rainbow Six IP is everything you’ve come to expect from the series and although the similarities take away from some of the “new game feeling”, the extras sure make up for it!
Burnout Paradise Review
by Grathius XR
From the moment you put the disc in your Xbox 360 you better strap yourself to your chair or couch, because this is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. Burnout Paradise the latest instalement in the Burnout franchise has seen a hefty overhaul. With updated graphics taking advantage of the 360’s potential, an open city to do as you please with many ways to win a race instead of set races and routes and an online that is to crash for.
The Longest Journey Review
by Shadow Wave
To celebrate the release of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey on Xbox Originals, we thought we would turn the back the clock to the year 2000, and review the first game of the series PC original version, The Longest Journey. As this game is truly a masterpiece created by Funcom. The full review of Dreamfall: Longest Journey will follow in Part 2.
Grand Theft Auto IV Review
by GrathiusXR
Waking up at 8am on Wednesday the 23rd to discover on my front porch a box containing my ordered GTA: IV Special Edition sitting there, was a sight to behold. I thought to myself is it April 29th already? No it can’t be. Just like any other gamer I ripped open the box and took the Special Edition and checked out the lockbox, key ring, duffle bag, soundtrack and the most anticipated game of the year Grand Theft Auto IV.
Triggerheart Exelica Review
by darkmurder
Triggerheart Exelica was to say the least a very, very late bloomer, released in Japanese arcades in 2006 and the Dreamcast in 2007, it finally made its way across in 2008 to the Xbox 360. For an arcade and inferior console port, can it hold its own on a far more superior console?
Grand Theft Auto IV Review
by Sith Lord Jim
To be honest straight up, I have never really enjoyed or managed to really get into what became of the Grand Theft Auto series from 2 onwards. I found the frustration that came from the poor controls, horrible aiming system, lack of any sort of narrative depth, and unlike-able characters far outweighed any joy I could derive from mindlessly killing pedestrians.
Dark Sector Review
by Shadow Wave
Digital Extremes attempt at a 3rd person shooter had an interesting and unique goal. When it was first announced its graphics looked amazing and sound effects and violence was something to get excited about. Years later and its finally out. But is it a good game? Well if you like repetitive combat and a story that’s like reading every 10 pages of a book, it will be!
Brain Challenge Review
By SithLordJim
The brain training genre has surprisingly taken off at a frantic rate recently thanks to Nintendo’s consoles. Even more surprising if you have yet to play one of these titles, is that they are actually fun. Brain Challenge is Gameloft’s foray into this genre and the first of its kind for the Xbox360.
Ikaruga Review
By SithLordJim
Treasure’s Ikaruga has moved from the Dreamcast and Gamecube onto the Xbox Live Arcade. The transition has added a few new additions, such as online co-op, leaderboards, and replays, to what was already a solid title.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot Review
by Shadow Wave
Monolith’s sequel to one of the most popular 360 Launch titles, Condemned, is back. It’s back with all the gore, atmosphere, and scares we’ve come to expect from the franchise that will force you to jump and cringe at every corner, door and opening. The game tries to improve over the issues in the first game, such as the combat and crime scene investigation. Yet still provide the scary atmosphere and freakish events that made the first game what it was, but, is this sequel better or worse in the end ? You be the judge.
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Review
By dkpatriarch
I love “what if” scenarios. From science fiction to conspiracy thrillers, “what if” makes life more exciting because “what is” is often so mundane. Turing Point: Fall of Liberty, from Spark and Codemasters, presents a captivating “what if” story revolving around an alternate history where Winston Churchill, instead of surviving being hit by a taxi, dies and the United Kingdom subsequently falls to Nazi forces in World War 2. In the 1950s the Nazis attack the United States and the game begins. So, is the game a ‘turning point’ in the first person war shooter genre, or does it commit video game atrocities?
Pro Evolution 2008 Review
By GrathiusXR
In a day and age where sports games such as NHL 08, NBA 2K08, FIFA08 and others feature not only great game-play and a realistic feel offering authentic team jerseys, players and team names, there has been one game that has managed to stay up the top in terms of game-play and great fun with-out featuring the full authentic entourage, Pro Evolution Soccer.
Beautiful Katamari Review
By SheekyAssassyn
Not having had the privilege of playing any of the first Katamari games I was unsure in what to expect with Namco Bandai’s latest, Beautiful Katamari. In a way this could be viewed as an advantage, I’m approaching the game somewhat fresh and without bias, the downside being – if I was a great fan of Japanese adventure/arcade games surely I would have played one of the previous Katamari’s …
Army of Two Review
By GrathiusXR
Halo 3 nailed it, Gears of War executed it, and heck even Crackdown did it. Did exactly what you say? Feature the ability to plough through the campaign with a friend over Xbox Live and even on the same Xbox 360. EA’s Army of Two was built from the ground up to ensure the player gets the most thrilling, intense action packed co-op experience and while it might have sounded good on paper, it has not been implemented all that well.
Frontlines: Fuel of War Review
By GrathiusXR
The Xbox 360 is home to many First Person Shooters that have set the bar high in terms of intensity, game play, graphics, and overall design. While the latter of them dominating the online community and offline and offering similar end results, Kaos Studios sought to add and give the gamer a difference experience to your usual FPS.
Conflict: Review:- Wasted Opportunity
By dkpatriach
I love shooters. It’s just that there are so many of them on the 360. This means that I’ve been there done that so many times that even Call of Duty 4 doesn’t seem that innovative. And Conflict: Denied Ops is no Call of Duty 4. Far from it. Still, it is very easy to compare all shooters to COD4 and dismiss any that aren’t as exciting or have the same production values.
Lost: Via Domus Review – A good “meh”
By Shadow Wave
Whenever you buy a movie or television based on game, you stop and pause before handing your cash over. You think will it be worth it? Am I wasting my money? Well Lost: Via Domus is the latest game to raise these questions. And it manages to pull it off just enough to make it worth a purchase and thanks to its lowered price point of RRP $79.95 the decision to buy or not might be made easier.
Poker Smash Review:- Another smash hit for Xbox LIVE Arcade
By DarkArmada
With the recent explosion in popularity of all things Texas Hold ‘em, it’s refreshing to experience a Poker related game outside of the 100’s of tournament clones around today. Void Star Creations’ Poker Smash is a welcomed addition to Xbox LIVE Arcade and one that has definitely proved a smash!
Lost Odyssey Review:- A game to truly lose yourself in
By Sutton Dagger
The Microsoft Xbox 360 has a spectacular line up of games from many different genres, feel like a FPS title, no problem. Maybe a sports game, or perhaps your into the RTS experience. That’s all well and good but where are the Japanese role playing games you ask? We have Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata but their is something still missing, a JRPG which stands out from the rest. Will we ever find that diamond in the rough? Will Lost Odyssey fill that void? Lets find out shall we.
Devil May Cry 4 Review:- From a DMC Veteran
By Shadow Wave
Capcom’s fourth Devil May Cry game is finally out on Xbox 360 and PS3. Does it live up to the quality of the first and third game? Or does it fall down into the pits of hell like the second game? Well the game certainly is great, but it does have some major issues which cripple the player with the moments of “why?” or “not again!”
The game brings new life to genre with a additional character named Nero; who has a demonic arm that lets him do many cool things which players have never experienced from playing as Dante. With the new good inclusion, also comes repetition, and a lot of it. Want to know more?
Turok Review – Mediocrity at its Finest
By Sith Lord Jim
The last entry into the Turok series, Turok Evolution, was the epitome of overhyped trash. It was quite possibly the worst game on the original Xbox. So it was understandable that it was with a substantial amount of dread, that I first put Turok into my 360 disc tray. I soon joyfully discovered that this latest entry in to the series elevates itself to the realms of mediocrity.
Assassins Creed Review:- Does it live up to Expectations
By Sith Lord Jim
Hype can be a horrible thing. It causes you to see the full potential of a title, free of flaws. The potential causes us to expect games that are merely good to be so much more than that. Then we get the final version with all its problems and we end up comparing the final game to the game we expected to be playing. In the end hype makes every flaw that much more painfully obvious. Unfortunately hype, potential, and flaws are all things Ubisoft’s Assassins Creed has in spades.
Bioshock Review – Would you kindly?
By DarkArmada
I’m inside an underwater city at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. In one hand I hold a grenade launcher, while the other hand is a genetically mutated mess – sometimes on fire, sometimes as cold as ice. Above me floats midair some sort of miniature helicopter, equipped with a machine gun, ready to respond to any threat. Oh – did I mention it’s 1960?
Area 51 Blacksite Review: May Contain more Bugs than Aliens.
By Shadow Wave
Area 51 is probably one of the larger mysteries on the planet, with so many rumors and questions surrounding it. Are UFOs real? What do Aliens really look like? Where is this place? What do aliens look like? All questions that can provoke a developer to create a world where it does exist and make up their own unique game. Well this game is as bad as something that could be hidden in Area 51.
Blue Dragon review:- From a JRPG virgin
By DarkArmada
I have found great enjoyment playing games like Oblivion and Two Worlds – RPG’s that are both in depth and fun to play, relying greatly on “realistic fantasy” as I call it. But I’ve discovered something new. Something different. A genre that stems from the minds of Anime and Manga artists, a genre that sets itself apart from the rest through the use of colourful cartoon-like animations, simply funny humour and mouths that don’t quite seem to match to the words spoken… This is what it is to be JRPG.
Call of Duty 4 Review:- FPS at it’s best
By DarkArmada
The rattle of gunfire echoes in the distance, static from the radio at your side buzzes quietly, it’s pitch black and you hear footsteps come to the door. With a flick of your wrist, your vision turns green, silently lighting up your target and with a squeeze of the trigger his hapless corpse lies still. It’s the same old game you’ve come to love but it’s not WWII anymore…
Guitar Hero 3 Review
By Aaron Dove
The success that Guitar Hero has enjoyed over the last year has brought rhythm gaming to the forefront of the industry. So when news spread that when original Guitar Hero developer Harmonix had parted ways with Activision in favour of developing Rock Band, no doubt there were many who may have been sweating at the possible demise of the much beloved franchise. But never fear for Neversoft is here and has provided us with a follow up that stays true to the original formula. There are also some noteworthy additions to the franchise that fall on both sides of the coin, but in the end it is Guitar Hero and that is all the faithful wanted.
Halo 3 Review – Triple Kill…
By DarkArmada
September 25th, Finish the Fight, Believe – these are all terms that we have had in our vocabulary at one stage or another in the past 12 months. This just goes to show Microsoft’s marketing muscle when it comes to their flagship title for the Xbox 360, Bungie’s Halo 3. Whether you liked it or not, almost everyone on this planet has been touched in one way or another by this massive campaign. Is Halo 3 just another cog in Microsoft’s hype machine, or has Bungie come out with one of the best games we’ve seen to hit the Xbox 360 this year?
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men Review
By Sith Lord Jim
Kane swears at Lynch. Lynch swears at everyone. Gamer swears at Kane and Lynch as they realize that once again one of their henchmen is embedded in a wall. Welcome to the rather frustrating experience that is playing Kane and Lynch. This one isn’t for the kiddies.
Mass Effect Review:- Bioware strikes back…
By DarkArmada
Years on, there is only one remaining Xbox game on my shelf – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It’s lasted through countless purges of my collection and has done so because it is probably the best Star Wars branded game released to this date, let alone one of the best Role Playing Games that I’ve ever come across. It is then no surprise that Bioware’s Mass Effect is following in the fairly large footsteps of it’s long lost cousin, and rightly so.
Puzzle Quest Review:- This should be illegal…
By DarkArmada
I’ve locked myself in my bedroom, asked for a voluntary ban at the local and have booked myself into a classy rehab retreat… Sound familiar? No it’s not drugs or alcohol. Not even close… Smoking? Nope. It’s the latest addition to my Xbox Live Arcade library – Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords and I’ve already written to it’s developer, Infinite Interactive to demand the addition of warning labels to every game. This game is addictive, unnaturally addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Great review mate! Lol, that would you kindly always works in a bioshock review
Thanks darkmurder! I know you took the cake last month with your’s (which might I add was an awesome review). I love that “Would You Kindly” reference
Thanks for the review mate, glad to see the big blue dragon up there on the front page . . . . Not my kinda game, but sure sounds interesting that’s for sure. Looking forward to more of your great reviews soon . . .