Killzone 3 Playstation 3 Game Review

Killzone 3 is arguably the most anticipated Playstation 3 game of the year, fans expectations and the hype surrounding the games release are at an all time high, will it live up to the hype or disappoint fans ?

There have been many First Person Shooters in recent years but not many manage to make you feel like you are the person behind the gun, allot of the time it just feels like you are turning a camera angle. Killzone 2 made players feel as if they were actually in a warzone, weight made every gun, every movement, and everything in Killzone 2 feel as real as it possibly could in a video game. Combine this with a futuristic Sci-Fi setting and gorgeous visuals and you get one of the best FPS's of all time. Killzone 3 improves on some of the technical issues Killzone 2 had and adds some fantastic new additions to make the gameplay feel fresh but familiar.

Dead Space 2 Game Review

Dead Space 2 is not a game for the light-hearted, it's full of scary, intense, action-packed moments that will have your heart racing. Everything that made it's predecessor great is back and improved upon, to make one of the best games of 2011. Dead Space is by far the best horror franchise to grace the next-gen consoles, it's the modern-day Doom and one of the best gaming experiences on the market to date.

Even though it has been three years since the events of the first game, our protagonist Isaac Clarke is still having a rough ride. At the beginning of Dead Space 2 he awakes on a space station known as The Sprawl. He finds the station overwhelmed with an outbreak of reanimated corpses called Necromorphs. The action is right in your face from the get-go and it never gives you a chance to rest, even when enemies are nowhere to be seen, the game makes you feel like every corner, hole, or shadow could be hiding a deadly secret.

ilomilo Game Review XBOX Live Arcade

The first thing you will notice about ilomilo is that it is possibly one of the most adorable and cute games ever to hit the XBOX Live Arcade. The bizarre, yet extremely beautiful patchwork world of ilomilo is reminiscent of games like LittleBigPlanet, but manages to retain it's own unique feel and art direction. The two little stars of the game are ilo and milo, adorable little plush creatures who want nothing more than to be reunited. These two delightfully cute little guys always seem to end up stranded apart from each other and it's your job to reunite them, solving the puzzles and using the strange gameplay mechanics to successfully reach this goal. This is a wonderful little game full of charm and fun.

As i previously mentioned, the goal here in each level is very simple, reunite ilo and milo. The characters will begin at opposite ends of the cubic maze and you can switch back and forth between the two, controlling one at a time. The game begins cheerfully with it's cute adorable charm, but soon begins to get extremely difficult. You can manoeuvre various types of blocks around the environment and they will create new paths and ways to reunite you with your missing friend. Special carpets can be used to walk over the edges of cubes, changing the direction of the cubic maze, and the maze itself is filled with pesky critters who want nothing more than to get in your way. The key here is planning ahead, to solve these challenging puzzles you will need to visualize your next move three steps ahead, to work out how to get where you need to be.

MotionSports Kinect Game Review

With a less than impressive line-up for the launch of Microsoft's Kinect, a system which uses motion sensing technology, MotionSports Kinect is just one of many games which fails to impress. Ubisoft's MotionSports features six different sports that are broken down into various challenges. The big problem is MotionSports fails to deliver the accurate, engaging, and enjoyable experience that Kinect Sports provides.

In MotionSports your real body movements are mapped onto your on-screen character, using the Kinect technology. You'll compete in various challenges, set in a variety of sports such as football, skiing, soccer, boxing, hand gliding, and horseback riding. The list of sports contains some familiar well-known sports, but there are some strange additions here. Even stranger is how the challenges in each sport don't seem to represent the sport very well. For example, playing football (American) will consist of you running down a pitch avoiding tackles and throwing the odd pass, rather than actually playing a game of football.

SingStar Dance Game Review

The SingStar franchise is well known throughout the Playstation community, with it's simple concept appealing to many of us around the world. You buy the game, along with a microphone and begin you're karaoke dream in you're very own living room. You can try to fill in pitch and timing bars with you're voice to earn points, but we all know the only reason to buy this game is to blast out you're favourite tunes along with a group of friends and feel like celebrity's for the night.

The SingStar franchise has always been about singing, however, now they have taken advantage of the Playstation Move's motion sensing technology and added dancing to the mix. Now the 30 songs also have dance routines and this certainly adds much more value to the content. As always the singing part of the game is fun and great entertainment in a party environment, the dancing however, is just a frustrating mess.

Dance Central Kinect Game Review

So far Kinect has been less than impressive with a string of prommissing launch titles, crippled by Kinect's poor motion sensing technology. Dance Central is the first family-friendly Kinect party game from the people at Harmonix. This game will require you to do more than just tap you're feet in sync, you will use you're whole body when playing this game and it will take allot out of you at times. You will need a happy attitude to play this game with friends or family because the game is only fun when you play it in a group. The game is far from perfect, but if this is what you are looking for then you will likely have allot of enjoyment here.

Dance Central uses Kinect's motion sensing technology to read player's body movements, movements which should be in sync with the on-screen prompts for you're dance to be successful. These "flash cards" each represent one move, and that move can range from a simple shuffle step to an advanced series of upper body motions. There are more than 30 songs in the game providing a great deal of variety for every taste. There are new hits (Cascada - Evacuate The Dance Floor) and old classics (Jungle Boogie) so there is something here to get everyone up on the dance floor. Each track has three different difficulty settings which must be unlocked in order.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Game Review

The Call of Duty franchise has grown ridiculously fast over the past few years into the Hollywood blockbuster game we know and love. The game which truly addicted fans to the series was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It took the series from a World War II setting into the modern battlefields we see on the news every day. Treyarch's latest instalment to the franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops, has had fans anticipating something big and although it doesn't do anything really new or unique, it provides fans with yet another COD experience.

You begin the campaign as Alex Manson, a soldier who is being interrogated for information he can't remember. You play through Manson's memories in search of the information. The story has some twists which will catch you off guard, the middle does seem to loose track but unlike Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops gives you the big finale you would expect. The story is definitely the strong point this time around which is quite a welcomed surprise.

Sonic Colors Wii Game Review

Back in the early 90's there was only one king on the SEGA Genesis, Sonic. The little blue mascot was praised with every instalment the franchise produced. It's hard to understand what went wrong with Sonic, the 3D era of gaming saw him drastically fall from grace. A few games showed potential (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle) but none truly captured what made Sonic our childhood hero back in the 90's. From slow boring games to fast games ruined by werewolf stages, we lost all hope. However when 2010 hit we were blessed with two of the best Sonic games since the early 90's. First was Sonic All-Stars Racing, an unexpected hit to the arcade racing genre which was reminiscent of games like Mario Karts. Next up for Sonic fans was the return to Sonic's traditional 2D roots with, Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. This was an absolute masterpiece in the eyes of Sonic fans, recapturing the glory days with new HD visuals to impress everyone. It might be hard to comprehend that SEGA has saved their best for last, but they have. Sonic Colors is a phenomenal game with vibrant, unique, imaginative stages which all Sonic fans will appreciate.

Sonic Colors takes place on a bizarre interstellar amusement park, created by Dr Robotnik, or Egg Man for anyone who didn't experience Sonic's golden day's. Dr Robotnik has enslaved alien creatures called Wisps, chaining their planet (and others) to his space station. SEGA have been very smart with the story here, it's cute, smart, and with a new voice cast, very easy on the ears.

Kinect Adventures Game Review

Kinect Adventures places you in the boots of a typical adventurer, with a variety of games and challenges to complete and explore. Players will use Microsoft's Kinect motion sensing technology to compete in these beautiful and colourful events which are fun for the first few hours, then thing's start to feel repetitive. There is allot here for players to enjoy but this mainly feels like a small package of games showing off Kinect's potential.

Kinect Adventures is a bunch of mini games packed into one family friendly package, it comes with the Kinect device itself and provides a taste of what you can expect in the future from Microsoft which is great. You play as a fun-loving adventurer who travels the world in search of new challenges. This all sounds promising, but once you realise the "adventurer" of Kinect Adventures is actually just a man repeating the same 5 mini games over and over, you begin to feel less adventurous. If you're looking for a full game experience then look somewhere else, as previously mentioned this is nothing more than a few mini games showing Kinect's potential, the charm will wear off fast.

Kinect Joy Ride Game Review

Joy Ride was originally going to be a free download for everyone on Xbox Live but Microsoft decided to make it one of their main launch titles for the highly anticipated "Kinect", which uses motion sensor technology. I'm sure everyone has pretended to drive some sort of imaginary vehicle with their arms at some point in their life, i personally used to do this at McDonald's drive through with friends, but the point is Joy Ride finally makes this a reality.

Joy Ride drops players into the world of casual arcade racing powered by Microsoft's motion sensing system, Kinect. The game is full of vibrant beautiful colours and lots of challenges, providing a very fulfilling package for anyone who chooses to give it a test drive. The game is designed to feel approachable for anyone, it feels like it has something to keep everyone happy but the only problem is the controls, Kinect just seems to ruin what would otherwise be a fantastic Xbox Live Arcade title.

Kinectimals Game Review

Christmas is approaching fast and for anyone considering buying Microsoft's Kinect, they might be interested in Kinectimals. The game is extremely cute and places you in a world where you can take care of you're favourite big cat species. The game looks absolutely fantastic and will surely find a place in the hearts of most children, even some adults.

Kinectimals may well be the cutest game ever made. There are over 30 felines in here and every one looks adorable, cute, fluffy, and most importantly they look real. The animations are outstanding and really help bring these little guys to life. Everything looks beautiful, the environments are colourful and feel full of life and this helps make the game feel like it's more than just a video game. Young children will be blown away the first time the get to select a little friend, the Black Panther is my personal favourite.

Fable III Game Review

When Fable II hit stores fans were left slightly disappointed, expecting more. Fable III is everything Fable II should have been, It takes everything it's predecessor did so well and improves on it to create one of the best RPG's of the year so far. Fable III is much more streamline, accessible, and most importantly enjoyable than it's predecessor. The game is much more than just a refined version of the second game in the series, it's innovative and provides some emotional moments that will have players glued to their television sets for hours.

A half-century has past since the events of Fable II and Albion is now faced with the Industrial Age, with it comes oppression, depression, despair, and hunger. Children work in factory's while beggars line the smog-filled streets. The throne of Albion now belongs to the son of Fable II's hero, squeezing the life out of his citizens and leaving the world with a feeling of hopelessness, Albion is in need of a new hero. Your duty, as the brother or sister of the king, is to gather the masses and build an army large enough to take the kingdom from this ruthless tyrant, restoring hope to the people of Albion.

Limbo Game Review

Games are beginning to turn into a form or art and Limbo is the latest game to catch the eye of the gaming world with it's film noir style graphical direction. The game produces no dialogue, no text, and gives no explanation. It's hard to imagine how this can then be called "Art" by the critics in the gaming industry and be considered one of the best games of the year. The fact is Limbo manages to communicate everything that it needs to say without saying a single word, using the setting, Sound, and Environment to create an atmosphere that is almost unmatched by any other 2D Puzzle Platformer i have ever played. On top of all this the ending is one of the greatest moments in recent gaming history.

In Limbo you take control of a young boy after he wakes up in a dark forest. There is no indication of how you got there, why your there, or where you should go. You don't even know who you are. You set out on your journey and you find out very soon that this is a very dangerous unforgiving world you are in, your motivation at this point is to find a way out of this forest. The game has no unnecessary cut scenes or loading times, it's just you locked in this horrific atmospheric world unaware of what lies beyond your next step. The game manages to lure you into it's unique environment, isolating you from anything else.

Playstation Move Review

When Sony's Move motion sensing system was unveiled, it received a mixed reaction from people in the game industry comparing it to other motion-sensing systems such as the Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft's high-tech controller free Kinetic. These initial thought's and concerns can now be put to rest.

The main thing with Move is that it works and works extremely well compared to Microsoft's Kinect which is riddled with lag problems. The Move is lag free and moves with almost pin point accuracy, even more impressive than the Wii.

The main difference between the Wii Motion Plus and and the Move is the glowing orbs located on the end of each Move controller, when moving these orbs link up with the Playstation Eye camera and can judge the distance from the controller to the TV.

One of the great thing's about the Move is almost every item can be bought individually, creating a much more manageable price range than the Wii or Kinect. You only need one of the Playstation Move controllers to play the games however it is much more fun playing while using both hands to control multiple objects on screen.

What you will need is the Playstation Eye camera which can be found in bundles with other games such as Eye Pet, and a Playstation Move controller. However there are bundles including the 2 items previously mentioned as well as the Move Navigation Controller which is a wireless version of the Wii's Nunchuk controller used for navigation, and a selection of Launch games. You can purchase a bundle for as low as £49:99 and a single controller for only £34:99.

This reasonably priced and easy way of purchasing each item means you can buy what you need and want and your own pace without having to splash a load of cash out on one big bundle, of course there still is that option for any of you who have that desire.

One of the advantages between the Move and it's other two competitors seems to be with the games, games such as Killzone 3, Resident Evil 5 (Gold Edition), and SOCOM Special Forces have already been confirmed. The Move does have the classic family party games you would expect from the motion-sensing gimmick, however unlike the Wii or Kinect it is introducing a wider variaty of games for different people.

SOCOM and Killzone 3 both look outstanding on the Move and the control's feel pin point accurate, which was always the main problem with FPS's on the Wii. The cover system works really well with the Navigation controller and shooting with the Move controller just feels natural and fun.

The party games are not as impressive as the big name titles as expected but as launch titles they are a great improvement on the Wii, if not only for the beautiful Graphics and more accurate controls. The highlights of the party games are Table Tennis and the Gladiator game. The rest just seem like Wii sports with improved Graphics.

Playstation Move is not only working on new titles, but adding patches to previous classics such as Heavy Rain which will have a free patch released sometime in October.

The Move has an impressive line of games for anyone's taste and while you might be hesitant at first, the great selection of games on the way, low price, and individual release of each item makes the Move the best option out of the 3 motion-sensing systems on the market just now showing more potential for the future than any of the others.

Playstation Move is fantastic, fun and worth the money. 9/10

Halo Reach Game Review

Game Information

• Publisher (Microsoft)
• Developer (Bungie Software)
• Genre (First Person Shooter)
• Console (XBOX 360 Exclusive)

Halo has been the most successful franchise on the XBOX 360 for a long time now with only the release of a Call Of Duty game to rival it, Reach is Bungie's latest and final attempt to bring Halo back to the top where many believe it belongs. With ODST receiving allot of criticism, mainly because it could have been released as a download rather than a full priced title Halo fans are expecting something big! from Bungie's latest attempt and i can tell you Halo Reach delivers another great gaming experience.

The story in Reach is one of the most powerful and emotional of any Halo game. You play as a member of Noble Team only known as Spartan 6. The game will pair you up with each of your team mates on various different missions, This helps give each member of Noble Team their own role in the story and makes you connect emotionally with each individual on your team. The campaign offers a new and fresh feel with the traditional closed indoor fighting mixed in with huge open battlefields, even taking the fight to space this time around. The game manages to feel new and fresh with the introduction of new weapons and items such as the jet pack which is my personal favourite of the new additions. Stealth kills have also been introduced and there is a wide range of ways to kill an enemy with a knife from behind always managing to satisfy the player in a way we have never seen before in a Halo game. Four player Co-op is back and even better than ever, There is nothing more fun than jumping into a Halo campaign with 3 other friends and struggling through a mission on Legendary. This is even more true now that allot of the problems with dumb AI in previous Halo games has been fixed, Reach is tougher and smarter than any of it's predecessors, But don't worry while the game is tough it is also rewarding, You earn Credits from everything you do in the Game which can be used to customize your character for online multiplayer and campaign mode. The customisation is outstanding in Reach delivering a huge scale of customisation options to make you look as unique as possible, giving each player online or offline his own individuality when playing through the game. Finally i just want to mention the audio in Reach, once again Martin O'Donnell is back and provides an outstanding soundtrack to help create the atmosphere and emotions felt when playing this remarkable game.

The gameplay is the same as with any Halo game, However the biggest difference is the introduction of Jet Packs. This adds a new element to a Halo game giving hardcore veteran Halo players a new challenge to look forward to in Campaign or online multilayer. The shooting feels as smooth and crisp as ever with any Halo game and with the new weapons and stealth kills the gameplay should feel new, fresh, and fun for even the old school Halo gamers.

The Graphics in Halo Reach are gorgeous, you will feel like you are in another world when your eyes look out into the distance and see the stunning and beautifully designed backdrop to each mission and different area in the game. Sometimes there can be a slight problem with the frame rate but this is only because the battle scenes in some areas are unbelievably huge in scale. Weapons, Character models, Vehicles, and the Environment looks much better in Reach compared to previous Halo games with more detail and better lighting effects. One of the things you will notice when playing through Reach is the Atmosphere, The Atmosphere in ODST was the highlight of that game and Reach follows on from ODST by creating a world that not only looks amazing but feels amazing when playing through. At some points when playing through Reach i would feel as if i was in a real war zone, i would find myself looking at Spartans falling and think of them as real people. Halo Reach manages to capture you inside it's world and deliver a memorable experience that is not to be missed.

Multiplayer is always the biggest selling point with any Halo game and in Reach it's better than ever. Although it is disappointing to see a low number of maps, some of which are just jazzed up re-makes of old Halo classics we are sure to see downloads released in the not to distant future. Halo Reach offers us a new Forge mode which is better than ever. Forge mode allows you to edit maps and create new game types and it seems the only limit with Reach's forge mode is your time and patience. Fire fight is back and even more fun than in ODST with the new wepons and ability's, The improvement to the AI can make it a very challenging experience but with a group of friends there is no better experience in the game world.

Halo Reach achieves what all other Halo games could not, a complete package. 9.5/10