Category Archives: playstation 3

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Game Review: Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing Transformed (PS3)

SonicTransformedSonic’s first kart outing was a massive surprise. It was slick, beautiful, competitive and quite frankly the definitive racer for fun family four player action so far this gen. Then suddenly we had LittleBigPlanet Karting, F1 Race Stars and then Sonic Transformed all pop out within 7 days. It’s been a karting dream but before Christmas comes along I want to tell kart racing fans one thing – this is my favourite of the trio! Here’s why:

S&SAT firstly has three types of racing thanks to the transformable vehicles (hence the name). The game has been built with this in mind and tracks incorporate not just karts on land, but boats at sea and planes in the sky. Each of the 20+ characters pass through way points and their vehicles seamlessly twist into their new guises. This opens up the game immensely. Suddenly we have tricky wave sections to ride on, and the plane sections can see the maps open out with various routes round and through the landscape. The tracks are built around this mechanic and are very creative – usually de-constructing as the race unfolds ala Motorstorm Apocalypse. That made Motorstorm Apocalypse my favourite of that series, this helps make Sonic’s kart game the best in this genre. You can go from driving around the Skies of Arcadia circuit only for it to be bombed by sky pirates and all you’ve got left is to fly through the ruins!

Secondly the handling is spot on. F1 Race Stars handles like a fat cow after Christmas dinner. LPBK has not quite the same sense of speed. Here speed and turning go hand in hand and that’s down to the drifting mechanic which feels responsive and balanced. I had some friends over for some four player split screen and all of them said “You know this game feels like a real kart game should. I know exactly where I’m going.” It’s a strange comment perhaps in its concept but actually, it is integral as to why the game is fantastic.

Then we have the multitude of characters, two from various Sega games past and present plus Danica Patrick?! I was delighted to see Pudding there! The tracks see just one returning track from the previous game. You also get mirrored tracks and battle arenas too. There’s drift and ring challenges, boss battles that throw things at you whilst you try to blow them up and of course multiplayer locally up to four and online up to ten. Online works excellently and local suffers from little slowdown or loss of detail. We had an absolute blast.

Lastly for the single player, there’s tons of fun to be had because the AI is mega quick. It doesn’t resort to cheap missile attacks constantly on the harder modes – they just know all the shortcuts and make every drift count. It’s been a real challenge and a pleasure to try and win on Expert mode (I’m still not there yet).

Negatives

~Fantastic control system

~Creativity in track design and layout

~Genuinely excellent single and multiplayer modes

~Very high production values

~4 player local FTW!

Negatives

~Erm… it has to end?

Conclusion

I seriously cannot recommend this game enough. Easily one of my favourite games of the year and my favourite karting game of this entire generation. This is the golden boy. I can’t wait to see what else comes of this superb franchise.

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Game Review: F1 Race Stars (PS3)

An F1 Karting game?! Whatever next! F1 Race Stars is a new concept and the first pure arcade type driving experience for the F1 franchise (aside from the PS1 F1 Arcade in 2000) but this takes things completely into the fun karting world. Think Mario Kart. Think weapons and powerups. Think 4 player split screen!

All 24 drivers of the 2012 season, plus two made up teams with some female drivers are included and 11 tracks fit the initial bill although I’d image track DLC will be milked. The 11 tracks is a somewhat disappointing number but I will say each track is about two minutes long a sumptuously filled with hazards and crazy corners galore. Initially I was also saddened that not all the drivers are on the grid either – 12 is the limit. Once things are going though you can see why it’d be difficult to have more for the time being – everything moves quickly and screen tear free.

There are three big differences that F1 Race Stars has to other kart racers. The first is that unlike most other games – you have to still brake! There are corners that are very tight or that have several lines and usually braking gives you the best run through. This is made all the more tactical as the karts handle like a cow. They understeer badly and so braking gets you back on track again. The second difference is that there’s no drift mechanic at all. Instead boosts are done in KERS zones which are usually tight corners where you pump the accelerator to charge your battery which then boosts you forward in one of three charge levels. The idea is novel and works better on some tracks than others. The final difference is that your kart can be damaged. The power ups which are bubbles to shoot at others or rain to make the track slippery, or the safety car to slow the leaders down can usually damage your car. That means you’ll need to use the several pitlanes around the track to repair. This is critical when racing on the harder difficulty as the AI certainly gang up on you and bundle you on the last laps.

Single player is fun even if you are ganged up on clearly by the AI but multiplayer is fantastic, both local and online with several different modes available including the unusual petrol races that require you to collect fuel cans to keep your car going, but having too much fuel slows the car down!

Positives

~Some unique gameplay mechanics

~Great graphic design and direction

~Great use of sound

~4 player local -YES YES!!!

Negatives

~Not enough tracks/content compared to LittleBigPlanetKarting or Sonic & Sega All Stars Transformed

Conclusion

A great game that appears to be firmly aimed at the kids but is certainly a worthy addition to anyone’s racing catalogue. It is lighter on content then LPBK or Sonic Transformed though so if you want battle modes etc, go for those games first.

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Game Review: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3)

Tekken 6 felt unrealised for me. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Tekken series but number six was my second least favourite only beating four. I’m so pleased to announce things are very much back to the top of their game with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – possibly my new favourite fighter of this generation!

TTT2′s roster is massive. Pretty much every main character ever in a Tekken game is there and as alluded to by the bizarre opening CGI made up only by them, there’s more free characters on the way that were initially unlocked if you bought the game at certain stores. Free DLC is the way to do it. Well done Namco.

The beauty in TTT2 is in the balancing of its roster and the fluidity of the moves. Take Asuka and Jun. Two very similar fighters. They can string together a wonderfully complex collection of hits effortlessly. Law however can do tons of quick low power jabs and knock them flat. Then you’ve got Jack power sitting on your face. Slow, cumbersome – but oh so powerful. This isn’t anything new to fighters as its what the good ones do so well – it’s just with the massive 50+ character base, you’ve got such a choice to set your team up with. You can just play 1 on 1 if you want to but the tag mechanic is fantastic. You can use throws to get in a cheeky tag move and cause some major damage in. The controls are expertly responsive and the inclusion of breakable walls and floors in some stages also throws up some new ways to cause carnage. It’s been a pleasure finding out how I can be beaten up.

Juggling takes a real centre stage in this edition – more so than usual. Being able to keep your opponent in the air is paramount to your success. The tutorials in the form of the tongue in cheek Combot mode where you’re programming moves into the character really helps you out. You can then take the lessons learnt into Arcade mode to unlock each characters ending, survival mode to see how long you last, team battle with up an 8v8 on each team or go online.

Online features easily the most lag free fighting I’ve experienced. The net code is tighter than Tiger’s afro. You play in a VR mode while it pairs you up with an opponent, you have a very quick sync up before each round that lasts about 2 seconds and then its perfect for the bout – even when people are rated 3/5 for connection. I just wish I could win!

From what I’ve found so far, I’m utterly rubbish at this game. The AI kicks my butt. Everyone online kicks it too. Winning helps improve your online rank and there’s tons of stats per character for you to work out whom your best playing with. You also constantly earn coins to buy clothing and you can customise your characters constantly to the point where they barely look like themselves. During time attack/arcade modes you’ll battle other peoples online creations. Some of them are very comical!

Positives

~Fluid responsive controls that are second to none

~An absolutely massive roster

~Best lag free fighting I’ve had online in a game

Negatives

~I’m not winning as much as I’d like!!!

Conclusion

When you suck at a game and still absolutely love it, salute it, recommend it and shout about it from the houses – you know you’ve found a classic winner. If this game doesn’t go down as one of the top 3 brawlers of the current generation then there’s been a mis-justice in the world.

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Game Review: F1 2012 (PS3)

Creating a game for such a split market is no easy task and you have to feel for Codemasters – they’ll be slammed for making an ingenious genre defining sim , they’ll be slammed for making an arcade gem. F1 2012, like the previous outings falls firmly in the middle, although it does feel this time round things have moved slightly towards the sim end more than 2011′s version.

The first biggest change is the vastly improved graphics and smoother frame rate. This was my biggest problem with last year and its happily far better this time round. The graphics top 2010′s glossiness too. Also improved are the fibres, damage pieces and general grubbiness throughout. It really does enhance the experience ten fold when you’ve not got to think “those buildings are moving slower than my eye can notice”.

The second big change is the handling. Unlike previous versions, here I’m finding set ups and trigger button pressures really matter more than ever now. If you’re used to flooring the accelerator you’ll be spinning off at the first turn. The emphasis, as shown in the new New Drivers Test day (a tutorial of sorts), is now on smoothness of the steering and pedals. This then in turn brings set up to the fore a bit more. I found this was where the tutorial was really lacking. Maybe for future updates if this stays it’d be great to show exactly what each function does in a side-by-side comparison. Quick set up’s normally gear you towards a lower downforce set up to keep up with the AI down the straights. I found leaving the set up as default would see me up to 2 seconds off the pace on Legend difficulty yet moving it up the scale just one notch suddenly had me on the pace.

The third change is the extra modes for the single player. Champions mode is a six event scenario mode to challenge each champion in increasingly difficult missions. This is a nice extra to sit alongside time trials and single lap leader boards. Also here is season challenge which targets you to pick off rivals and move to their seats over an arcade style championship base. It harks right the way back to Ayrton Senna’s Super Monaco GP in its set up and is a very welcome addition. It also forces a one-shot qualifying system like F1 had in 2003-5. Of course the 5 year career mode is still there with some minor tweaks.

As a whole the single player mode is massively improved. The AI is much better this time round, having their own accidents, the occasional engine blow up and the tyre simulations mean you’ll often find yourself on a real balancing act as everyone strategy comes alive. This is exactly what we want. Props too for the new weather mechanics that really do shake races up.

So what on earth has happened currently to the online events? It’s here currently where F1 2012 absolutely falls down. When building a custom race as soon as more than 8 players have joined, the game freezes upon entry. When the host leaves or the players drop to 8 or below, the race kicks off. This doesn’t happen on quick race strangely. The AI also suddenly reverts back to an old style of driving through you and causing stupid incidents online too – yet works wonderfully offline. I’ve also had several occasions where races start with drivers getting penalties, the game getting stuck in the pitstop and a lot of crashes in the in game menu system. Everything but the latter is online only. Hopefully a patch can sort out the issues but until then a custom race, or custom online championship is utterly out of the question. If you follow the predetermined modes, be prepared for penalties galore as I’ve yet to find a decent set of racers by picking random’s that doesn’t include someone driving like its destruction derby all over again. The game will disqualify repeat offenders but its unavoidable that you’ll probably get a penalty for being whacked in the process.

It’s a shame as you can clearly see a lot of labour has gone firmly into this version and it really shows but the online section at the moment is half broken.

Positives

~Vastly improved frame rate and graphics

~Single player modes now make it a joy to play on your own

~Much more grounded driving experience

Negatives

~Custom online modes are currently broken (as of version 1.01)

Conclusion

Best of the three F1 games by far but the online modes require some serious patches, as does the general front end of the game too. There’s no use making an absolutely stonking single player experience if the game likes to crash when you invite your mates along.

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Game Review: Rock Band Blitz (PS3)

Harmonix have a rich history of Rhythm Action games and with their new download only version of Rock Band things have almost come full circle.

Rock Band Blitz brings things back to the controller. Instead of pressing lots of buttons to create riffs each instrument only requires two buttons. I used down and X for left and right buttons. As those buttons cross the path of your button line, you press the buttons to play each instrument. You swap between each instrument with the shoulder buttons. This is very similar to original Harmonix games Frequency and Amplitude. To help along the way you now also have power ups to help improve your score or blast blocks out the way during busy sections to help you. Things really have come full circle.

Where things are completely different is the scoring for each song. Hitting several notes for each instrument lets you increase the score multiplier on that instrument (drums, bass, guitar, vocals and keyboards). Each song is also divided into sections and you can raise each track a maximum of three multipliers per song section. If you do this, it’ll let you raise the multiplier a further three for the next section but if say you only get the drums up by a single multiplier, you’re then limited to only one additional multiplier for everything in the next section. Suddenly strategy in now involved because you must work out which is the easiest times to get the multipliers for each track. It’s a nifty little change in the mechanics of the game that really changes things up.

As such there’s no multiplayer but there’s online scoreboards and a song wats mode where you can send challenges to your rivals and they have just over 2 hours playtime to beat you and send the challenge back again.

Positives

~25 tracks and any DLC from before all count

~Very easy to pick up but hard to master the score modes

~Great overall production

Negatives

~No difficulty adjustments but then you can’t technically fail a song either

Conclusion

A great entry point to the series but also a great game in its own right. I still think I prefer Frequency & Amplitude but this is still a fantastic controller based experience for Rock Band fans.

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Game Review: Retro/Grade (PS3)

The wonders of Retro/Grade fall into two categories. The first is the effortlessly original rhythm twist on the music genre. The second is the full chip tune commitment to delivering a full experience. Combined they make an impressive game that everyone should try, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Retro/Grade is a Rhythm Action game set inside a 2D shooter. You play as a ship that needs to shoot bullets, missiles and lasers to the beat or melody of the current song. You’ll also be dodging the bullets as they come from your enemies. The twist is that you’re doing it all in reverse! You’ll be surprised at how much this changes how you see things. Your bullets are timed to hit your ship like notes of a staff coming right to left, you’ll be avoiding anything flying in from behind too. The highscore becomes a low score as you’ll be taking points off it with the end goal being getting as close to zero as possible. Missing bullets reduces your score multiplier to zero and thus effects the end score and there are score doublers which give you a tactical element to try to make the most of them when the tracks at its busiest.

Where Retro/Grade shines is in its learning curve. The ten levels are originally only playable with just two note rows. Once completed the next difficulty gives you three, then four, then five and then just crazy busy. You’ll be kept well on your toes. It’s also got a fantastic original soundtrack that hits somewhere between synth rock and chiptune. It’s a joy to play to. You’ll be playing a lot too for the score boards for the lowest scores and the extremely difficult 100% trophies on offer. Even when things get tough you know it’s been your errors and not the games because the controls are responsive and immediate with no delay at all – crucial for a game of this sort.

Positives

~Utterly unique twist and feel to the shooter and rhythm action genre

~Fantastic soundtrack

~Looks gorgeous

~Challenging trophies

Negatives

~Occasionally the visuals aren’t clear as to what’s coming

Conclusion

Retro/Grade is a fantastic game. Any rhythm action fan will lap this up over and over and it’s such a great twist on the genre, I’d firmly recommend this to anyone whose prepared to give some challenging games a good go and take their eyes of FPS’s for five seconds. There be buckets of fun to be had here!

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Game Review: Burgertime World Tour (PS3)

Monkey Paw Games have been an utter saviour for me on the PS1/Ps2 import front. I wish a few more would make their way over and I didn’t have to have accounts for when I’m in other parts of the world to get stuff. One of their own titles however is a re-imagining of the 80′s classic Burgertime. With its new lease of life, has it recaptured the originals fun but sadistic game play? In a word – yes!

Burgertime World Tour takes all the good and all the bad of a game with a simple premise and runs with it. Cute playful graphics can only mask a few things but if the gameplay isn’t right it’ll fail regardless. Burgertime World Tour is hard as nails and unforgiving. Not to say Super Meat Boy standards, but with so many enemies chasing you around as you try to navigate the levels you’ll get caught out often. The aim is to make burgers by running over each ingredient and thus dropping it down to the next level of these giant tower structures. You’ll spend as much time hop, skipping and jumping as you will climbing ladders while being chased by chilli’s, sausages, pickles and the like. Each enemy has its own weakness to be navigated round and if you’re in a bind a limited supply pepper pot or spatula can get you out of certain death. Death will be seen all too often though.

You can fudge through the main game but some of the trophy challenges are for high score rankings which are based on time and no lives lost so speed running is essential for 100%’ers. There is also multiplayer action to be had with up to 4 players battling it out over the burgers and this is seriously great fun. Having three other people trying to tactically outwit each other while avoiding everyone else to collect the big points for burger completion is certainly an undervalued gem.

Positives

~Improves on the original concept

~Addictive and frustrating in equal measure but you’ll always be back for more

~Cute style graphics and music

~Multiplayer mode is a blast

Negatives

~Some cheap deaths

Conclusion

Burgetime World Tour will sadly go down as a hidden gem. I’ll advocate to anyone to give them fantastic game a go. It’s like someone picked up an 80′s arcade and through it through a magical shower of late 90′s cuteness. What more could you possibly want?

(Also on XBL and WiiWare)

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Game Review: Sound Shapes (PS3)

Music has always been an integral part of the game for me hence my love for VGM, so much so part of the site is dedicated to it. Music as part of the gameplay however can take things to a whole new level and this is where Sound Shapes comes in.

Five artists have given a collection of tracks across to the game and the music has been broken down into short repeated riffs that play almost as if a bar is going across the screen behind you ala Lumines, Chime and the like. This time however its a 2D platformer not a puzzler. You collect notes that will then develop and add to the song as you go and although you don’t have to do this, missing these notes will result in an incomplete song and there’s a certain buzz about turning all the instruments on. It’s not just that however. Enemies, obstacles, killer lazers and giant bombs, everything moves to the beat and therefore you’ve got to time the jumps right, dodge things on the dot and so on. Its fluid, intuitive and damn right fun.

The fun is enhanced by the fact each world has a very different visual style and a very different set of things to negotiate. Add to that the different artists’ music and you have a great cross-section of things to do within the premise. The main game itself is short and can be completed in a couple of hours but in a trend which I’m enjoying, that will only give you a single gold trophy. You then have Death Mode which are vastly more difficult timed challenges to complete. Think the trophy challenges on PixelJunk Monsters and you’ll understand where I’m coming from. Some require absolutely blinding precision. That’s part of the fun though as the main game has unlimited lives and plenty of resets. Beat School is a Simon Says beat repetition mode which is also challenging especially if you’ve no sense of rhythm! There is also a great level maker tool and an online community that should fill up with lots of user levels and so on making the initial game a great platform to leap from. I’d expect maybe some DLC songs added at a later date too.

Positives

~Utterly entrancing gaming experience that does not compromise its vision once

~Solid controls makes platforming an ease

~ Longevity with trophy challenges and community fun

~PS3 and PS Vita version come in one purchase

Negatives

~Maybe one or two more artists would have made this utterly stunning

Conclusion

A perfect combination of gaming art, sublime playing mechanics and some genuine moments of pure joy and awesomeness. Sound Shapes should be a game that is on everyone’s playlist as it crosses all the boarders and should intrigue, appeal and challenge every player it meets. Mesmerizing.

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Game Review: K-On After School Live HD Remaster (PS3)

Ah my love of the Rhythm Action genre knows no bounds. K-On is a relatively popular anime which follows a group of school girls and their band, singing catchy songs and enjoying school life. Just perfect for a Simon-says button mash-up!

Classed as a PSP Remaster, K-On fits in a strange place on the spectrum of platform defining. It saves into the PSP Mini saves and crucially does not have trophies. Yet its just as polished as some of the HD remakes that have been done with PS2 titles. This decision is quite baffling. I’ve no idea why it doesn’t have trophies but its the biggest omission from the game as a whole.

The game itself follows a mini scene that’s fully voice acted in Japanese with the girls involved as they explain the games mechanics. Musically notes appear of a constantly re scrolling musical staff. Moving from left to right, a clef crosses over the notes and you press the right buttons at the right time. K-On’s selling point is that you can effectively choose each of the girls whom play an instrument each and they all have their own little nuances. The bass player uses the direction buttons, the keyboard player likes to play with the symbols while the guitars like to combine the two. Each song has two layouts per song with a normal and hard mode and there’s about 20 songs in all. The songs themselves are very catchy and cross mostly J-PopRock genres with a token ballad or jazzier number. A few are real stand outs but few are as catchy as say Project Diva.

The timing here in this game is brutal. It’s difficult sometimes to know exactly when getting a “perfect” is going to be right and this is because instead of wanting you to hit the notes bang on the centre, it appears to reward a perfect rating when your moving clef first touches a note. This initially is extremely off-putting and it takes a while to get used to it and when you then play other rhythm games and return, you have to really make sure you go back to the K-On style. It’s this that ramps up the games difficulty because aside from that there’s not too many absolutely maddening button layouts. It’s a great intro to the genre and while the later songs do leave you needing a lot of practice goes to get an S Rank, its always a pleasure to return back to.

I’ve not been able to test the up to 5 player multiplayer aspect but the fact you can do that is superb.

Positives

~Great to harness each instrument and work with them. Your instrument is played louder than the rest and it makes you feel like you have 5 versions of the same song

~Cute aesthetics

~Interesting musical representation of the gameplay mechanics

~5 player multiplayer!

Negatives

~Sometimes it feels like you have to tap the button ahead of the note to get it to hit perfectly

~No trophy support

Conclusion

Some strange choices make K-On After School Live not the easiest game to initially warm to. Take your time though and learn its tricky traits and you’ll be rewarded with a fine game that is as cute and silly as it is addicting and enjoyable.

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Game Review: London 2012 (PS3)

Ah yes, we’re well in the swing of the Olympics now, so it’s time to review the two big games that have come out for it. First up is the official one from Sega Studios Australia, London 2012 which is out on all current gen consoles and PC.

The first thing that strikes you about this mini game fest is the breadth of events taken on. The usual running, throwing, swimming and a bit of archery are all present but we’ve also got rapid fire pistol shooting, rowing, table tennis, beach volleyball, gymnastic and canoeing. 45 different events are in and that’s a delight to have. It’s so annoying when these types of games scrimp on the events.

There’s also a shock – gone is the maddening button mashing – to a degree anyway. In the running events you have to keep a set rhythm inside a percentile of a bar. Over the race that section slowly decreases and if you drop outside of the target window you’ll either slow down or knacker yourself out. The swimming does the same but with circulating the analogue sticks. Several of the other games have become rhythm events with timing being more crucial too. A couple of the events suffer slightly with wobbly controls such as canoeing and table tennis where things get a bit messy but after time you get used to some of the weird layouts and you work around the problems.

The game while having some nice single player Olympic and challenge modes really is designed for multiplayer, both 4 player local and up to 8 players online. Currently the servers are full of lots of budding armchair athletes and there is no lag, no weird times appearing on the scoreboards and when you’re playing say diving or archery everyone plays together and has say 30 seconds to complete their round. The online is very well implemented including a country medal tally which I thought was a particularly fun feature! You can use the Move controller which works well in these kinds of games – just expect to be knackered quickly!

One final plus to mention is the overall presentation. The graphics and branding are seamless and the commentary is great although in some events the same lines are used a tad too often. I also enjoyed the interactive music which adds instruments per menu change to heighten the drama.

Pros

~45 events

~Solid control schemes make each event feel slightly different

~Excellent production values and overall presentation

~Excellent online stability

Cons

~Limited single player appeal perhaps?

Conclusion

Excellent style immerses you into the Olympic world. It’s been a pleasure to play both alone, with friends locally and online competitively. This is one to keep for furious party sessions. I missed some of the heavy button mashing but when what’s replaced it works perfectly well, you’ll be trying to time everything to perfection for a while to come. Better than Bejing 2008!

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Game Review: Dirt Showdown (PS3)

I’ve purposely let a bit of time slip over from my initial reaction to Dirt Showdown in order to review this properly. The title itself really appears to have divided the Dirt franchise fans. I think the easiest way to deal with it is pretend it’s not a Dirt game and that it just borrows heavily from some of its influences. Initially I found this and Showdown as a whole to be a fantastic product. I was raving about it. The longer I’ve spent with it though, the sheen has very quickly worn off and now I feel like it’s a bit of a half way house.

Marketed as an absolute smashfest, I was expecting Destruction Derby. Instead we get a game that feels like the heaviest Dirt 3 vehicles left to ram each other with a boost button round several bland circuits. We have normal races which infuriate due to the fact that the rubber banding on the AI means no matter how good or bad a job you’re doing, you’ll get rammed regardless. It eventually means that you get no real rewards for doing a great job and on single player, just rev it like mad at the end and ta-daaa – 1st place. The same goes for 8-Ball events which are tracks with tons of cross over sections. These are more interesting and infuriating in equal measure depending on your view on luck. Domination (winning points on getting the fastest sector) is hampered by the rubber banding. Do really well, they’ll suddenly boost and catch up and you’ll be last! Also marvel at the bland circuits that you race forwards, backwards and between day and night. The track choice is decidedly uninspiring and limited. We then move onto the crashing events which form about a 20% section of the game. Getting in a bowl and smashing into each other is great fun, however the collision detection for scoring appears to not register quite often and sometimes a massive hit gets little points and the smallest tap gets a huge points haul.

Taking the game online with friends does iron out some of the kinks as effectively the rubber banding is effectively gone and the crash detection is the same for everyone. There’s also some great party games including the return of transporter and some great checkpoint finding modes or holding onto the parcel games. In this area Showdown absolutely excels and I’ve nothing but praise for it. As soon as it comes back to the core racing however, because it doesn’t commit to its smash-up vision properly and feels like a clunky sim – the two elements don’t mix particularly well. I felt like it needed to go completely arcade in driving physics and style.

Positives

~Fantastic online modes which run perfectly smoothly

~Good presentation

~Can be genuinely fun if it clicks

Negatives

~Collision detection is slightly off

~Rubber banding is so bad it ruins the single player experience

~Dull and uninspired cars and tracks

~The most cheesiest, annoying voice over commentary committed to this gen

Conclusion

I’ve spent the vast majority of the review pointing out my misgivings with Showdown. It is still fun to play. It’s got the usual Codemaster’s sheen all over it. It just feels a bit of an empty experience unless you’re with friends online and it also feels like it’s not fully committed to what it’s trying to be either.

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Game Review: Bang Bang Racing (PS3)

Something that has really gone awol this generation is the classic cutesy top down racer genre. Wrecked is ok, TNT Racers is better but now I’ve something to fill the gap and that is Bang Bang Racing.

The beauty, aside from the lovely graphics, with Bang Bang Racing is that there’s no weapon power ups so to speak. It’s about pure racing skill and that marks a refreshing change. Each of the 8 tracks can be raced forwards, backwards, with and without shortcuts and also in a short course form  (think National tracks). Instead of power ups however there are barrels dotted around the circuits. Some of them once hit spill oil, some spill water and some will explode. The oil and water ones if they’re hit will end up meaning you have to alter you lines in and out of corners as they make you slide and slow down. The explosive ones hurt your overall speed which you can sort out by driving in the pit lane. You can also replenish your boost this way each lap too.

Suddenly though tactics come into play. Get the other cars on the outside, ride out wide and push the other car onto the oil slick and gain an advantage – or if the same is happening to you, do you back out and then save some boost for the straight or have a go at hanging on. It just means that infuriating last-minute missile attacks are gone and the focus is on fun close racing.

The one thing that does take a while to get used to is the rotating camera which follows your car but acts like a swingman’s camera, constantly rotating around about a second behind you so initially you think you may taking the hairpin tightly but actually its a false camera perspective. Once you’ve got used to this, the camera works perfectly though and its nothing a few laps practice on each track doesn’t solve. The handling too is absolutely spot on. I felt at home within two races and while each class you progress through means braking and sliding (pressing L2 to brake whilst still accelerating with R2) become more prominent, this is where you can show off and enjoy yourself.

If there’s one downside aside from perhaps not having enough tracks (although plenty of variants of the same circuits help to a degree) it’s that its only 2 player split screen locally and no online play whatsoever. 4 player would have been fantastic and online is a shame but this is definitely a game that comes into its own in multiplayer locally so you can scream at each other! The AI is fine but as with a lot of games these days, rubber banding means you’ll never be left alone, nor really suffer for driving badly.

Positives

~Handles predictably

~Fantastic visuals and sound

~Emphasis on the racing means it feels fresh, skilled and takes away the last-minute frustration of things outside your control

~First racing game in a while that I simply could not put down for hours – even on my own!

Negatives

~Could have had a couple more tracks

~Only 2 player local (may be innaccurate)

Conclusion

Fun, cute and skilled – combined into one fantastic action bundle called Bang Bang Racing. I absolutely recommend this for anyone who is looking for a fun mini racer, anyone who remembers playing Super Skidmarks and wonders why the series isn’t going now and anyone who still enjoys local multiplayer challenges.

(Also available on PC/Xbox360)

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Game Review: Pixeljunk 4AM (PS3)

Yes that is a screenshot! Pixeljunk – home to some of  PS3′s more acquired tastes and gems of gaming have returned with a second collaboration with Baiyon (Pixeljunk Eden) for what is not so much a game but an interactive music loop suite.

Using the PlayStation Move controller you are presented with arty wave painting each one with a collection of samples. Each symbol on the controller responds to a certain sound – bass, beats, synth and percussion. Each of those have four loops to mix together and you cleverly drag them from the corners of the screen and drop them into your mix. The move button can be held to twist the pitch and frequencies and by swishing the move controller you can really get some wacky sounds. In addition there are one-off sounds you can try to record over these endless riff bars and although the sound palette is relatively small, there’s still plenty to get creative.

Getting creative is what it’s all about as if you’re online, your music will be broadcast out for people to listen to and wave their controller to cheer you on. As a musician already, there is something quite marvellous about having this feature and having already hit a few hundred people at one time being in my audience, there’s nothing quite like it. The move implementation also makes the experience utterly unique, almost like you’re part of the sound waves themselves.

There are a few issues and that’s purely down to a few annoyances with the program itself. You can mix different sound palettes together but I thought that I often hit the limit of samples allowed and then it will cancel out one of my drum loops. What actually is happening is that the samples cancel themselves out after 16 bars and so you have to keep your wits about you if you’re going for an endless mantra. On the plus side, it keeps things fresh but occasionally this can get in the way while I’m taking a lot of time and effort to sculpt loops from the one hit sounds to make added musical layers.  Also if you’re not a fan of the strictly low-fi music of Baiyon, you’ll find a lot of the samples are very similar and possibly underwhelming. That said, although there’s not tons to play with here, its surprising how much you can twist and turn the same sample into completely different things.

Positives

~Nothing else like it

~Music and motion combined in the most intuitive and seamless experience to date

~Playing to an audience is one of the most elating things I’ve experienced in gaming in recent memory

~Fun trophies

Negatives

~Some very samey samples

~If you lack imagination and exploration you’ll fall short very early on

Conclusion

Utterly unique and hypnotic, I have literally spent hours playing to crowds expressing music and finding new ways to twist sounds and shapes.  I would have liked a broader variety of samples on offer and for more samples to unlock earlier on in the playing but as a product, it is something that I think a lot of people will have great joy experiencing regardless of how deep you dig into it.

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Game Review: Stick Man Rescue (PSP Mini)

I do enjoy a game that’s heavily stylised and one of the styles that works well on the PSP Mini systems is the stick man / paper style. It’s been used a few times at TikGames return to it for Stick Man Rescue.

The goal, similar to Choplifter, is to get your stick man army back to HQ! You pilot the chopper to do so, can shoot at enemy crafts and tanks and can carry your members back to base. Each level is laid out well and the difficulty curve is relatively gentle. There are a couple of other surprises to discover over the game but sadly the game doesn’t stay around too long and at 30 levels can be done in a single sitting easily.

Positives

~Artistic visuals

~Good control system

~Nice level design

Negatives

~Artistic visuals (if stick men aren’t your thing)

~Too short

~Double the price and you can get Choplifter HD!

Conclusion

Stick Man Rescue is a strange one. It’s fun while it lasts but goes out to look and feel like a cheap rip off of a classic game. As a result it feels a bit hollow, is over too soon and feels a bit trapped by the platform its trying to sell. Maybe it’s because I’d recently played the game it’s trying to emulate. Either way, it is fun while it lasts at least and that’s something.

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Game Review: Hungry Giraffe (PSP Mini)

Sometimes all you need is a little comic twist on a tried and tested formula and you have something feeling fresh and new. Hungry Giraffe is just that.

This starving lil thing needs feeding and its up to you to navigate his head around the many, many maze screens filling him up by passing over as much food as possible. This keeps lil Jimmy going and stops him slowing down. Once you’ve gobbled all you need you just keep ascending up to the next pile of food. Onwards, upwards, forever.

Of course these hi score challenge games can come crashing down easily and the game over mechanic here is that if you don’t find some food intime you’ll eventually stop propelling forward and your neck will collapse! Sounds far more graphic than it is really, but his cute face keeps you going. The puzzles come constantly and you must work quickly to navigate them in the shortest time to keep momentum going. Sometimes if you know its tight, you can use a near death experience to drop the giraffe down the screen and collect the hot chilli you need to fly back up again. It’s little things like that which sets the game apart from other also rans.

Positives

-Fluid, easy controls

-Bold graphics

-Absolutely addictive

Negatives

-You could get infuriated as one mistake can cost all?

Conclusion

Addictive, simple and very time consuming if it grabs you, Hungry Giraffe is a stellar PSP Mini and deserves to be in everyone’s collection as one of the best examples of “just one more go” gaming.

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Game Review: The Walking Dead Ep 1(PS3)

Telltale take a lot of stick for their point n click style gameplay and while I too struggled with Jurassic Park’s controls, it appears they took on most of the criticisms and overhauled the control scheme for The Walking Dead – based on the comic / TV Show.

What The Walking Dead does in two hours is absolutely sell you a concept. In comic book style graphics, the world is real yet stylised. The characters are wonderfully portrayed and most importantly the fear is constant and that is because the entire game is timed. Crammed with quick time events which see you move a cursor with the right analogue stick, the games camera with your left and press symbol buttons to perform actions, whenever the action is going you have to react quickly. Finding what to do is not as fiddly as it sounds because you have a display scheme option which highlights all object points needed. Also welcome is the fact your crosshair for interacting with objects is now far larger than it was in Jurassic Park and the game is far more a joy to experience in this new scheme.  While this itself is nothing new, having a timed conversation system definitely is. Throughout the episode you are given several different forks in your path to take – most of which will dramatically change who lives and dies and where you’ll venture off to. There’s never a clear right answer as most of the time you’ll be choosing answers to side with other survivors and thus gain their trust and loyalty at the expense of others. Many games have these moral choices now days as it seems to be all the rage, but few are able to convey it so viscerally as The Walking Dead.

To cap it off the voice acting is exceptional and story is very well presented. You will not find puzzles here at all, this is one of those games where you’ll be involved in the story elements and trying to save as many of your motley crew as you can.

Positives

~Fantastic visual style

~Expertly written and acted

~Some genuinely surprising shocks and twists

Negatives

~Will not appeal to be people who hate linear games

~No puzzles really to speak of

Conclusion

After just two hours with my survivors, I am rooting and cheering most of them on. I was hooked from start to finish and cannot wait for the next instalment. I’ve got my quick time fingers ready!