GameguideReviews Archives – Page 23 of 31 – Gameguide Reviews Archives – Page 23 of 31 – Gameguide

Time to line up those twenty cent pieces, its classic arcade time. And time is exactly what Zeit2 (Zeit Squared) is all about. What the team at Brightside have done is taken the typical right to left scrolling space shooter and added a couple of zings and gotchyas that will

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Theres only one word that can sum up ilomilo… Odd… its an odd game, about an odd world with odd characters… its also odd that its just coming up to midnight and im not even remotely interested in giving up another level. Yes this is one addicitive little game. But

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The humid nights that preceded Christmas, along with the increasing business of the Holiday season saw my intended 9 week fitness plan come to a crashing fail after barley two weeks.  But those two weeks were a combination of massive highs (as I continued to do better day after day) and frustrating lows (as I realised how un-fit I was as I continued to fail in completing many of my prescribed workouts).

The results in calories burnt seemed impressive, until I looked up what the average calorie intake was.  But it was a start, and with the more sedate pace of the new year, I aim to pick my game back up and pound off a few more calories.

One thing Active 2 did do, was encourage me into a more physically active holiday with plenty of beach walks and swimming rather than the usual sunbathe with a good book and get roasted like a lobster. 

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Playstaion 3 fan boys have been waiting for Gran Turismo 5 since the PS3 was launched in November 2006.   They were later teased with Turismo 5 Prologue, but it’s taken a while for Sony’s flagship racing series to actually see the light of day.  A lot has been promised, and with the tag line ‘The Real Driving Simulator,’ GT5 has a lot to live up to.

Now to be perfectly honest, I can’t rightly remember the last GT game I played, but the one thing I can remember is the annoying collision detection.  Can’t make it round the corner – no worries, with no damage you can just hit the barrier and keep going.  Worse still was collisions with other cars – no matter what you did, if you touched another car, the game would slow you down and allow the other car to speed away.

Since last playing GT I’ve played Codemasters Race Driver series, which turned into the more arcady but immensely fun GRID, the DIRT series and their recent F1 simulator along with of course, Microsoft’s Forza series.  I’ve also played some of the lesser racing titles like Burnout, Test Drive and Need for Speed.  Each have their very own approach to the racing genre, but only two really have a hold on the more serious nature of the game, F1 and Forza. 

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Disney brought the world of Tron to life in 1982 and its been a long time between drinks. What was touted as a revolutionary storyline, Tron dazzled audiences with the mysterious online world of The Grid. Back in 82 the special effects were leading edge and the storyline was quite unique. However its been a bit of a surprise that Disney has been sitting on this franchise for so long.

Now.. Fast forward to 2010 and we find ourselves on a wave as Disney injects Tron back into our lives. In October they release the sequel to the original Tron in graphic novel form (Tron: Betrayal). Then just before the movie was launched they brought Tron : Evolution, the game, to tie in the storyline between Betrayal and the movie Tron : Legacy. Its an interesting concept, and one that tips the hat towards the idea that Graphic Novels. Games and Movies can coexist in separate spaces. Lets face it, we dont all want a linear game that plays exactly like the movie. 

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Completing a review for Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 has been quite a challenge.  It arrived unexpectedly 2 days after Fallout: New Vegas and the same day as Fable 3 which are 2 of my most anticipated games of the year.  Not only that but my initial introduction to the game was very unimpressive and I actually had to force myself to insert the disc and fire it up for a second go.  I’m glad I persevered as my subsequent attempts at the game were a vast improvement but I found the game ultimately unfulfilling.

The reason I volunteered to play DB: RB2 is that I’m a closet Dragon Ball Z fan from way back and the chance to play the characters I loved watching seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.  I’m pleased to report that from that perspective this game is great.  I thoroughly enjoyed my first Kamehameha and being able to turn into a Super Saiyan.  I grinned my head off as I competed in the World Tournament and the Cell Games.  Unfortunately after that I couldn’t find anything particularly inspiring to do so I turned the game off and went and made a coffee…  And that’s the downfall of this game, apart from the fact its Dragon Ball Z and you get to re-enact your favourite fights with your favourite characters (both good and evil) it’s fairly poor.  

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Create is an interesting little game – though Solve might have been a better name for it.  It’s basically a problem solving game with a little bit of paint by numbers thrown in for good measure.  What you get is a collection of levels each with there own theme, where you get to decorate the level to unlock challenges.

Challenges are where the fun – and the thinking – kick in.  You’re tasked to achieve something then given a limited number of tools and objects to complete the task.  The early tasks are relatively easy, placing a ramp down to help a truck cross a rocky plateau.  As you progress however, things get trickier and will see you bouncing from building long and slightly insane contraptions to using a limited number of items to solve set puzzles. 

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Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood could have been just a quick cash-on on the success of Assassin’s Creed 2.

Early signs weren’t great: Ubisoft were going to add multiplayer to a series which, let’s be honest, really didn’t need it. Not to mention, for the first time in the series we’d be returning to the same time-period and character; in this case, renaissance Italy and Ezio Auditorre.

It’s good then that Brotherhood exceeds expectations.

The multiplayer is decent, and different enough to stand out from the pack. It’s all tension as you hunt down your target while at the same time trying to avoid being assassinated yourself. There’s a levelling system in place too, which is nice, but to be honest this will only have niche appeal and it’s not likely to survive long in the land of Xbox Live, where shooters and sports games reign supreme.

For me, the campaign is where it’s at. 

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It would be easy to pass over Rock Band 3 as just another addition to the tried and true musical party game genre.  And for many, this is all it will be.  Sadly to this reviewer it doesn’t amount to much more than a brand new collection of songs and some game-play tweaks.  However if you’ve got an additional $200 to lay down on the Rock Band 3 keyboard, you’ve got a whole new gaming experience. 

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My wife likes to tell me that there is a 13 year old boy inside every man.  Even more so if that man is a gamer.  She’s probably right.  It would explain why I love Need for Speed Hot Pursuit so damn much.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is the re-boot of the Need for Speed franchise that of recent years became a little bogged down in the details.  EA gave the job of bringing life back to Need For Speed to Burnout: Paradise developer Criterion Games.

Criterion stripped it back to the basics, fast cars, smooth roads, cops and slow motion crashes.  It’s a 13 year old boy’s dream racing game. 

Set in the mystical Seacrest County – a location that has everything, from coastal roads, to snowy peaks, the miles of highway are liberally littered with a plethora of shortcuts and surprisingly devoid of too much traffic.  Add to this the fact that all the racers seem to drive exotic sports cars rather than Jap imports, and the cops likewise, and you have the beginnings of an awesome game.

But wait, there’s more. 

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