Sin and Punishment: Star Successor Nintendi Wii Game Review

The guys at Treasure have been delivering some of the most thrilling intense action-packed games since the early 90's, games like Gunstar Heroes on the SEGA Genesis and Ikaruga (a personal favourite of mine) are just a few of the almost legendary titles released by Treasure. Now they are attempting to "wow" us with their signature run-and-gun style gameplay on the Nintendo Wii with "Sin and Punishment: Star Successor". This is a sequel to a cult Nintendo 64 game, only ever released in Japan. This is a strange choice for release in western country's but it is without a doubt one of the best decisions made by Treasure as this is one of the best shooters to hit the market.

To be honest, the story here really isn't important but it goes a little something like this, There is a girl who is not quite human that you need to protect from some bad guys who can transform into gigantic monsters, there really isn't much more to it than that.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon review

Ever since Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon was unveiled in Japanese videogame magazines, a long time ago, I've wanted to play and love this game with a passion. Everything i could see from the early pictures and videos of the game made me believe this was a game made just for me, a mysterious storyline set in a world reminiscent of Silent Hill (with less violence), fantastic art and high production values highlighted by beautifully rendered cinematic's, Ghosts and Demons, as well as the feeling of isolation and desperate hope for answers. Everything about this game screamed success from my point of view. While some might find the dated and sometimes awkward controls a reason to avoid this game, this did not effect my decision and i am pleased to tell you this game is a modern day classic.

(The beautiful sky brings the world alive, while retaining the feeling of isolation)

A Space Shooter For 2 Bucks! Game Review

With so many big-budget video games being released in time for Christmas, It's surprising that "A Space Shooter For 2 Bucks!" is what my attention has been focused on. This little gem from the minds at Frima Studio is the latest Playstation Mini to be released and it's actually really fun.

When the Playstation Minis started rolling out last year they didn't do much to impress or overwhelm Sony fans. A Space Shooter For 2 Bucks! might well be the first of these "Minis" to consider purchasing. The game is incredibly fun, contains slick controls and solid gameplay. Everything here is simple, but done very well. The most impressive part about this whole thing though, is that you can purchase this game fore a mere $2. It's not the next Mass Effect or Call of Duty game, but it's a fantastic little gem that can keep you entertained for a few hours a week.

A Space Shooter For 2 Bucks! is a vertically-scrolling arcade shooter, much like the old classics, with a bit of a twist. The games 16 stages are split into two eight-stage zones, and the stages in those zones can be selected and played in any order. This makes the game feel less linear than the old classic arcade shooters and gives you a sense of freedom and exploration never seen in games like this. It's a really smart idea by Frima Studio. Some stages are ancillary with uninspired bosses, but the majority of stages are home to the primary bad guy's. Each stage has it's own unique purpose, defeating the ancillary stages will upgrade your ship and make it's defences stronger, while taking out each of the games bad guy's will allow you to use their special attacks in future stages, giving you a stronger attack.

999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors - Nintendo DS Game Review

For the last few nights i have been delightfully surprised and astonished with an unexpected Nintendo DS title, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. This game has shocked me and impressed me in so many way's, delivering one of the most immersive and enriching gaming experiences of 2010.

999 i what you would call a "Text Adventure" or "Visual Novel" translated for the western market and given an M-rating (for mature content) which is a rarity for a DS game considering the majority of DS games are for a younger audience, with a family friendly atmosphere. But more than anything the game is just one big mindf*** that will drive your brain to the brink of insanity, before delivering you with the most satisfying experience you will ever find on a hand-held system.

The 999 experience begins with our hero Junpei, an average collage-aged kid, waking up in a haze of cloudy memory in a place he's never seen before. As he begins to regain his senses, he begins to realise the grim situation he is faced with, he's been kidnapped. Already the players interest has been captured with this gripping opening and from here thing's just get better and better. He soon realises that he's not only been kidnapped, but kidnapped and left somewhere in the middle of the ocean on a ship. He soon meets up with eight other victims and together they discover the truth, they've been gathered together by a madman to play through a sick twisted human experiment called "The Nonary Game". At this point, even so early in the story i could tell this was something special, something we don't often see in gaming any more and it made me want to unravel this mystery.

Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Game Review

For anyone who grew up with Mario, the thought of him turning a quarter of a century old is daunting. Well, Mario has just hit the 25 year mark and Nintendo have decided to celebrate their flagship Mascot's birthday by rewarding fans with Mario All-Stars Limited Edition game package for the Nintendo Wii. It's a repackaging of an old Super Nintendo game with a few extra goodies, but is it worth your money ?.

If you ever owned the original Super Mario All-Stars then you will know exactly what to expect here. This is a collection of the four NES-based Mario games, from Super Mario Bros. 1 to 3, including the addition of "The Lost Levels" (originally in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2). All of the games come in their SNES form with improved visuals and character designs. For any hardcore Mario fans out there this will sound like heaven, however causal fans might need a bit more to capture their interest.

Fluidity Game Review

Fluidity is one of the more unique and creative titles to hit WiiWare this year. You play as a body of water, however you don't control this protagonist directly, you help guide and move the water around some delightfully visually impressive worlds by rotating the environment. The game is not a new idea, i still remember playing hand held versions of this concept as a child, but it's refreshing, fun, and a great way to spend a few hours of your day.

TRON: Evolution Game Review

TRON is a movie franchise that should have great video games, however, the usual tie-in movie games with the release of a big budget film have disappointed gamers in recent years so what can we expect from TRON: Evolution.

TRON: Evolution fills the gap between the original 1982 film and the upcoming sequel. You play as a system monitor who is trying to stop Clu's rise to power. It's a third-person action adventure game with allot of Parkour (just think of Mirror's Edge) and combat. Although it's not as good as any of these games it's sort of a mix between Mirror's Edge, Assassin's Creed, and Prince of Persia, but glow-in-the-dark. If you are a big TRON fan then you might find the story rather interesting considering it explains what happened to Flynn and expands on the TRON universe while answering a few questions, but it's nothing ground-breaking. Also the very sexy woman from House MD "13" does all the voice work, that was the thing i enjoyed most about this game to be honest.

Red Dead Redemption Game Review

The American West is the setting for many great movies and novels, but when it comes to video games this setting has been ignored or overlooked. Rockstar, the team behind the phenomenally successfully "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, have decided to give this setting the time and credit that it truly deserves by offering fans a Grand Theft Auto-like experience in the wild west. Red Dead Redemption sets the standards extremely high for future westerns, no developer has approached this time period in the video game industry with as much passion and heart as Rockstar clearly have and this is the reason we are looking at the best western game ever made.

One of the main achievement's Rockstar has managed to pull-off in Red Dead Redemption is the authenticity of America's history. Allot of delicate modern-day issues like racism, immigration, federal government power, and personal freedoms are in Red Dead and Rockstar has an uncanny ability to hold a mirror up to society and remind us all that these issues are deep within the history of America.

Rather than preaching politics to you, Red Dead Redemption places you in the shoes of the fairly neutral John Marston. Marston, a former outlaw gone straight has found out that history has a way of catching up with you. Those who were once his friends have now become enemies, leaving Marston alone in these cruel, harsh, lawless lands to fight for his and his family's survival. While this may sound slightly cliché, the game is anything but cliché and provides one of the most enriching stories and plot twists you will ever see in a video game.

Nail'd Game Review

Nail'd is an off-road arcade style racer which focuses on speed and chaos rather than real physics. We have seen this in recent racing games like Pure and the Motorstorm franchise, but the majority of modern-day racing games focus on realistic physics and arcade racing fans have been left with little to cheer about. Nail'd is the latest arcade-racer to hit the market and although it's not perfect, it's extremely fun.

The games setup is very simple, the main focus is on Career Mode, where you can race with either an ATV or MX Bike where you can race through several leagues and courses in quest of winning the Nail'd Championship. Most races consist of 3 laps around a course, however, Nail'd will sometimes mix the action up a bit, "mutators" add quirks such as infinite boosts, or no collision with other drivers to races. Or there are Stunt Challenges were you will have to complete tracks within a specific time while performing some of the many impressive tricks to gain a high score. There is a great deal of variety with the tricks, however, something as stupid as running another player off a track can be considered a trick which is a bit strange. The game also contains multiplayer racing for up to 12 players at one time, this will likely be the portion of the game which will hold players interests for a long time.

Splatterhouse Game Review

The development of Splatterhouse was originally given to Mark of Kri developers Bottlerocket Entertainment back in 2007. Namco snatched the title away early last year and gave it to the team behind 2008's Afro Samurai game. After 4 long years we can finally play Splatterhouse, but was it worth the wait ?, no.

Splatterhouse starts off more or less the same as the classic 80's arcade hit original, protagonist Rick is lying in a pool of his own blood as Dr. West drags his girl friend Jen away. An ancient mask offers Rick a deal, put on the mask and destroy Dr. West and all his creations, if this is done Rick will save his girl friend Jen. From then on the game is pretty much a bad VHS horror movie gone wrong from the 80's.

Splatterhouse rolls around in Lovecraftian themes that feel pretty tired in 2010, but the games slightly goofy sensibility takes the edge off of this somewhat. The game does nothing new and feels standard at best. The game follows the basics for a traditional third-person action game, light and heavy attacks, upgrades and better combos, quicktime kill moves, and hordes of pawn-like enemies followed by one oversized tougher enemy. This is the standard layout for a game like this and Splatterhouse doesn't even attempt to add it's own unique feeling or twist on this traditional layout for a third-person action game.

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.

Disney Epic Mickey Game Review

Mickey Mouse was once an icon loved by all, he was in countless animated films and shorts, even some great video games. His fall from grace has seen his reputation slowly taken away from him, he is no longer the household name which captured the hearts of everyone back in his early days. Mickey is more of a corporate symbol these days, rather than an actual character. He is on merchandise all over the world but he has been in fewer films and he has had a notable absence from the video game industry for quite a while now. It's a shame to see a once beloved character reduced to this, however, Disney Epic Mickey may just be his ticket back to the top.

In developing Disney Epic Mickey, Warren Spector and his newly-formed Junction Point team sought out to recapture the magical feeling Mickey used to portray. The game manages to show one thing above all else, Mickey is just as capable, if not more, at supporting a Pixar-like adventure which not only amazes us with it's spectacle and design but tugs at our heart with it's strong character development and remarkable love for Disney lore. While there is allot holding this game back from being a truly great game, the passion the developers clearly had while making this game is enough to provide us with an utterly brilliant story and some delightful nostalgic moments worth our money.

Donkey Kong Country Returns Game Review

The reason that Nintendo are able to compete with their rivals (Sony, Microsoft) is the fantastic catalogue of games based off their many successful franchises. Donkey Kong is the latest character from our childhood to make a "HD return". Donkey Kong Country Returns is an almost perfect remake of one of Nintendo's classics and with nothing to complain about, other than the brutal difficulty, fans will be ecstatic with this latest choice from the Nintendo archives to receive a High Definition remake.

The developers seem to have approached this game with old-school values, mixed in with new-school techniques to appeal to modern fans. It is a game made with love, you can really see the passion the developers had for this franchise and the final product is phenomenal, it joins New Super Mario Bros and Kirby's Epic Yarn as a modern day 2D classic.

Majin and The Forsaken Kingdom Game Review

The one memory you will likely take from Majin and The Forsaken Kingdom, is the abysmal voice work for the loveable monster protagonist. While the game it'self is rather fun and provides a fair deal of variety, the constant child like phrases that you have to listen to, become repetitive and annoying.

The games story is told through beautifully designed 2D cut-scenes, it begins with Majin who has failed to fulfil his duties as a protector. A hundred years ago, Darkness infected the kingdom's leaders and plagued the countryside., causing the death and destruction of almost everything and everyone. You play as a young thief in the present day who has the ability, much like Dr. Doolittle, to communicate with Animals. You meet Majin in a sad way, tied up and left to starve in a castle, the nameless thief rescues Majin and the pair team up to take on four Dark Generals and the King, with the hope of restoring the land to the way it was.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Game Review

The Assassin's Creed franchise has been extremely successful since the first game was released in 2007. Assassin's Creed II followed up on it's predecessors success, improving on everything we loved about the first game and replacing what we didn't enjoy. Now fans have a new experience to look forward to, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. This is a continuation of the story in the second game and while fans might be disappointed that they will have to wait a little longer for Assassin's Creed 3, Brotherhood delivers yet another fantastic experience with multiplayer to keep fans happy for now.

Brotherhood might have a harder time proving it's worth, it's not set in a different time period and continues the story from Assassin's Creed II. One of the thing's i love about AC games is exploring for the first time and getting to see these beautiful cities. So when i am playing in a setting i spent countless hours on not that long ago, it makes everything feel slightly less astonishing. In Brotherhood the action shifts it's direction towards the capital of Italy, Rome. Like previous titles there's also a modern-day component. The game is once again framed by the on-going battle between the Templars and Assassin's, and players are actually assuming the role of Desmond who lives in the present day and is able to experience the memories of his ancestor Ezio using a device called the Animus. The game switches between the two time periods with the bulk of the action taking place in past-time, renaissance Rome.

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.

The Undergarden: Xbox Live Arcade Game Review

There is no doubting the fact that The Undergarden is an adorably beautiful game, it is cute, brightly coloured, and really satisfying to view. When you read the description of this game and realise it's all based around underwater gardening, you might make the mistake of brushing this game aside. This is a game made with the intention to please and relax whoever is playing. It's not hardcore, you can't kill people with a mini RC car or stab someone in the back, but you can appreciate the beauty this game has and find enjoyment in many other way's.

The Undergarden is unlike most games we see today, it focuses on creating rather than destroying. You play as some sort of underwater Monkey fairy with one goal, create a beautiful underwater garden of plant life. You navigate through dark caverns, brightening them up with the glow of you're vibrant plants. You can never die or fail in this game, however if you get stuck at any of the obstacles along the way, you can re=load you're last checkpoint.

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem

The Donkey Kong and Mario rivalry has been responsible for some of the most enjoyable hand-held puzzle games over the past few years, and Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is no exception. This fantastic little puzzle game for the Nintendo DS is fun, colourful, and fans of both franchises will be delighted with the final result.

The plot is very simple, Donkey Kong has made off with Mario's girlfriend (Pauline) again, and Mario will require the help of Mini-Mario toys to get her back. This is just a simple set-up for what is an awesome puzzle game. You won't care too much about a story when playing a puzzle game but it's nice that they have added something for fans.

Much like the plot, gameplay is extremely simple and straightforward, get the Mini-Mario's from point A to point B (B being the exit area). You never get to control the toys directly, you use you're stylus to set them in motion and provide a safe passage way through any obstacles in their way. If you have ever played the classic game "Lemmings" then this will feel reminiscent of that, just simplified. The game starts off fairly easy giving players only one job, place and replace the red girders we all know from the original Donkey Kong. With each new world, comes new tools for you to exploit, such as warp pipes, conveyor belts, and ladders. The trick here is to use what you have at you're disposal intelligently. You are only given a limited supply so you must choose the correct time to use one of you're valuable tools, otherwise you might find one of you're little Mario's in a pit of spikes.

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.

Final Fantasy XIII Game Review

The Final Fantasy franchise has stood tall above any other Japanese role-playing game for years now. With fantastic characters, emotional storytelling, and outstanding visuals, it's one of the most recognised video game names in the world. Surprisingly, Final Fantasy XIII (13) abandons allot of the well-loved features Final Fantasy games are known for. The game is much more linear and straight-forward compared to previous titles and this has left allot of fans sceptical. Let go of any concerns you may have, i can honestly say this game is outstanding, it manages to provide characters with unique personality's, in a story and world worth experiencing.

The lead role of Final Fantasy XIII has been given to Lightning, a beautiful but deadly woman who fits the Final Fantasy world perfectly. She is one of six characters you will be able to control. Although the game does stress the fact that Lightning is the primary heroine, it is much like VI in the sense that you control different characters frequently. This multi-story approach, as well as flashbacks, is not only clever but creates a strong structure and a story which will have you on the edge of you're seat at times.

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.

PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure Game Review

The Pokemon franchise has seen huge amounts of success on hand-held systems in the past few years, but never really impressing on any main console. Though there are Pokemon games on the Wii, none are worth you're time or hard earned money. PokePark Wii is the latest instalment of the franchise to hit the Nintendo Wii and this time it might just be worth a look. This little RPG is heavy on mini-games and while it is directed at the younger audience, it can still provide a fun enjoyable experience for anyone.

You're magical adventure begins when the Legendary Mew seeks out Pikachu and his friends, Chikorita, Charmander, and Piplup to help save the PokePark from certain destruction. Former friends and rulers of the PokePark regions, Venusaur, Blaziken, and Empoleon have drifted apart and the lack of friendship has shattered the Sky Prism, scattering it's pieces all throughout the land. The Sky Prism is what keeps the Sky Pavilion (Magical fortress in the heavens, Mew's home) floating. If this was to fall it would crush all the Pokemon bellow, so this is a very serious issue in the world of Pokemon.

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.