Genres

Project X Zone should perhaps win the award for the most exciting game with the least descriptive, least exciting name. It sounds like a fantasy extreme sports simulator, like Dead Ball Zone or something of that kin. And yet, behind the name there lies not only a cross-over project perhaps unrivalled in gaming - only beat perhaps by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen elsewhere - but a decent tactical RPG that will suck you into the genre whether you have prior experience.

It’s hard to judge a sequel without comparing it to the original. Broken Sword: Director’s Cut set the standard for the series, which I praised in my review. Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered is a decent game, however, it simply does not measure up to the original in most categories.

After playing through chapter one of The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief, I walked away with mixed feelings. The puzzles were a mess, and the story was a downright bore until Constable Zellner hopped aboard a ship headed to Cairo to continue his search for The Raven, who is hell bent on stealing the second Eye of the Sphinx. It was during this final act, with the murder on the ship, the detective work that followed, and the cliffhanger ending, where the game finally piqued my interest in the next episode, Chapter II: Ancestry of Lies.

There have been plenty of attempts to recreate the first-person shooter experience on handheld, many of them either missing the mark or ending in a complete disaster. Well, Sony and Guerrilla Cambridge have aimed to change all that with Killzone: Mercenary, a spin-off of their popular console franchise that puts players in the role of Arran Danner, a gun-for-hire soldier willing to take on any dirty job, as long as it pays well.

While everyone was still celebrating the announcement of DuckTales: Remastered, the reveal of another modernization of a bit-era Disney classic flew by everyone's radar: Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse.

When it comes to platformers, the Rayman games are typically hailed as being among the best. 2011's Rayman Origins was a critical success, and with the announcement of Rayman Legends, fans have been clamoring for what could be the definitive entry in the series. Well, I think they have it.

Farming Simulator is exactly what it says it is. It's not Harvest Moon, nor is it a chance to mess around an open world with dangerous farming equipment. There aren't really any objectives, no goals - you just run a farm. Harvesting, planting, cutting grass... this is a farming simulator.

Sudoku is one of the most popular puzzle games on earth, with endless amounts of variations, apps, books and even competitions dedicated to the "ancient" mindbender. FlowDoku hopes to stand out amongst them, offering a simple variation that uses shapes instead of numbers.

Heavy Fire Shattered Spear's biggest mistake is that it looks and feels too much like a Call of Duty game. Sure, the graphics aren't great, the voice acting is like something out of a bad YouTube video and the gameplay, nothing like Activision's behemoth franchise, leaves a lot to be desired. All of that just makes Heavy Fire an average, generic title most people will overlook. That it looks so much like Call of Duty - with its setpieces and "foreign looking" enemies - is its biggest mistake because it made people take notice. It meant Heavy Fire had built ...

These past eight years has seen a great slew of changes in the video game industry. Whether it is the global domination of Call of Duty and Activision’s implementation of a one year release cycle, the integration of online, the creation of achievements and trophies, or the rise of casual gaming; this generation has changed the medium and its landscape in a multitude of ways. But there was one prominent trend that saddened me, and that is the lack of compelling JRPG titles. However, Tales of Xillia gives me hope. The latest entry in the long running Tales ...