Genres

On March 15th 2013, Saints Row IV was officially announced. Rewind to 2006, a little known game called Saints Row was hitting the shelves for the very first time. Since the game was released solely on the Xbox, I sadly couldn’t buy it; as I only had a PlayStation 2. So imagine my joy when it was announced that the sequel was to be released on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Many assumed that the original Saints Row would be another wannabe Grand Theft Auto, much like other sandbox games such as True Crime Streets of L.A. and The Getaway; all vying ...

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 other such emulators fail to?

Metro: Last Light is the sequel to 2010’s Metro 2033, a game based off of the novel of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The franchise is known for its survival horror-like atmosphere and attention to detail. There have been plenty of other post-apocalyptic games but what sets 2033 and Last Light apart is that they aren't your typical first person shooter. The combination of excellent storytelling, gritty weapons which seem to have weight and a subtle karma system gives a new feel to the FPS genre.

Alas, had I played Fire & Forget on a mobile device, my opinion might have been different as I can see how it would appeal to mobile and casual gamers. Views and opinions are strictly based on the PC version of the game. One of the few things that Fire and Forget: Final Assault does right is that it stays true to it’s title; after a few shots, you’ll forget all about it. While similar arcade shooters might have intrigued audiences in the 80’s, this modern sequel of Fire and Forget does very little justice to a once thriving genre.

In 2004 Hugh Jackman made a movie called Van Helsing where he fights vampires and werewolves. There was a tie-in game based on it, but neither the game or the movie were worth remembering nine years later. The new indie game The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing has no official relation to that movie, but it does use the film’s clever idea of re-imagining the character of Van Helsing as a tough monster-hunter in a world overrun by gothic horrors. It combines that premise with the ever-popular “It’s like Diablo” genre of games for a bloody and ...

Towards the end of World War 2, with all of the great powers of the world arrayed against them and closing in from all sides, the Nazi war machine had one last chance to turn the tide: the V2 rocket program. As the program nears completion, scientists working on the rockets begin making deals with Americans and Russian forces to escape from the sinking ship that is Nazi Germany. One American sniper is deployed behind enemy lines in order to find these scientists, eliminate any that are considering joining the Russians, and make sure the V2 rocket program ...

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.

The original ports of the classic Sonic franchise to iOS were not so well-received: running on a terrible, cheap-looking emulator, the various Sega classics (be it Sonic, Streets of Rage, or others) just looked and played like crap. Enter Christian Whitehead, who Sega brought in to develop ports of Sonic games using his engine. The first result of this, 2011's Sonic CD for iOS was such a success, it only made sense for them to go back and tackle some of their other blue hedgehog-starring releases - this continued last week, when the 2.0 update to Sonic the ...

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 cheesy and well worth a look.

Another day, another indie side-scrolling shooter. They seem to be a dime a dozen currently, but that's OK since they serve a purpose – fast entertainment on the cheap. Point 5 Projects' Bad Bots is another 2D shooter that recently hit the scene. Like many games of its ilk, it tries to recapture old-school aesthetics by providing gamers with challenging arcade action. Bad Bots accomplishes this, but in a way that feels incomplete.