Posts By Mat Growcott

PopCap have announced a follow-up to their hugely successful tower defence title Plants Vs Zombies, subtitled "It's About Time." Filled to the brim with Back to the Future references and unveiling a few new plant types, the trailer is the hilarious good fun that made PopCap's games so popular in the first place. Plants Vs Zombies 2 will have you defending your lawn across time and space, although how much of an affect that will have on actual gameplay won't be ...

Metro Last Light is a success. It's garnered largely positive reviews critically, people seem happy about it in forums and it's done well financially as well. That's something of an understatement: it's done fantastically, far more than the average Metro fan was likely expecting. Last Light sold more in its first week than 2033 sold in its first three months, and that's just the beginning.

For years now, console gamers have rolled their eyes whenever the matter of PC gaming being “held back by consoles” has come up. The PC elite, with their often snobbish attitudes and condescending comments, have claimed that because all they get are poor console ports, that no publisher is really making the most of their more expensive, more modern hardware. It’s a very genuine problem and one that most goes ignored most of the time, partly ...

After downloading my copy of Amiga Forever, I came across a friend who was so excited for this emulator that he'd changed his status to "Amiga Forever" on Skype. What I'd taken as a simple emulator (with a little hype behind it) was actually something that others had supported for years (since 1997), people who had awaited the official release over modern AAA titles. What was it about this pack that got these people so excited? What can Amiga Forever do that ...

Making it to E3 is hard enough, even if you live in the US. For those of us in Europe (and further afield) it’s a vague impossibility, a mess of cost and inconvenience that far outweighs the visit’s usefulness. That’s why EToo sounds such a good idea. Sponsored by PlayStation and with over 30 developers present, from June 10th to 13th, the Loading Bar in Soho will be filled with some of the biggest indie games out there, as well…

EA have ditched online passes, thanks in part to the way that at least the Xbox One handles used titles, but they've gone one step further than that. Starting this week and going on over the next few weeks, EA will be releasing their previous online passes to fans for free. If you have pre-owned copies of games still playable online, it's only a matter of time until you'll be able to jump in to the multiplayer fray for absolutely free.

The Last of Us demo unlocks today, good news for those that bought God of War: Ascension almost three months ago on the promise of the demo being included inside the box. Still, the wait is over, and you'll soon be able to see what the fuss is about. It should go without saying that if you want to avoid spoilers ahead of its release date, you should probably avoid playing the demo, as well as reading impressions online.

Ever dreamed of living within a fantasy castle? How about a mysterious, dark mansion? If you've ever dreamed in living in a location based upon one of your favourite games, property blog Movoto has worked out exactly what it might find a similar property, and it might be more expensive than you'd think. On the bright side though, if you have a couple of million spare you'll be able to to buy similar properties in some of the most beautiful locations in the ...

The comparison between the covers of Rise of the Triad Dark War and Rise of the Traid 2013 are incredibly similar, but serve as an interesting marker on how gaming has changed over the last twenty years. Whether you're looking at the difference between art styles - that the '95 one was a replacement for actual in-game graphics - or if it's as simple as the zip on Thi's top being in a sightly higher position on the 2013 version of the cover. Either way, the ...

Sonic the Hedgehog is returning on Wii U and 3DS this year. Sonic Lost Worlds was unveiled at the last Nintendo Direct, although nothing about the game was revealed. That's changed now, with quite a nice trailer introducing the main badniks, as well as some new gameplay. It looks different. It's too early to tell if that's a good thing, although it seems like Sonic may actually be a little slower than he has been before.

Saints Row IV has you take on the role of the President of the US who must defend his nation and the world from a invading race of aliens. He'll do this by using kick-ass superpowers and massive weapons in the Saints Row over-the-top style that the series is best know for. It'll be available August 20th.

At first it was a Wii U exclusive, a game that was supposed to shift consoles, but then Rayman Legends was delayed for the best part of a year so that it could become a multi-platform game. Although the Wii U version of the game had gone gold (and copies of it are sitting around in warehouses), they won't be available for purchase until the end of year. Legends is now also coming to PlayStation Vita, Ubisoft have announced, and you'll be glad to know there ...

Solid Snake returns, although this time he's older, more world-weary. Years of fighting the patriots, of being lied to at every turn have had their toll, and his body's increased ageing have made him grey before his years. None of that matters though: he's about to embark on his hardest mission yet, a mission that will test the limits of his physical and mental strength and that will, hopefully, let the old soldier rest upon completion.

Catherine is an unusual game, to say the least. Whilst the bulk of it plays out either as a movie or as a watered-down RPG, the "main" gameplay is that of a block-pushing puzzle game that charges you with reaching the top of a tower whilst taking on various obstacles and difficulties. Mixed with a mature story and plenty of anime-style side boob, it's hard to really pin down the sort of person that would really love Catherine. It's totally unique, sometimes ...

The German branch of Amazon have a page up for Mirror's Edge 2, and are taking pre-orders. The original first person free-running game gained a pretty huge following after a lacklustre start, and both DICE and EA have hinted that a return to the series may be on the books. The fact that it's turned up at retail means this has a pretty good chance of becoming a reality.