Starting a trilogy is the fun part – and if this generation of console franchises have proved anything, completing it is the hardest. Over the past two years, we've seen series like Mass Effect and Gears of War struggle with storytelling in their third chapters. Mastering well-known techniques and designs is the easy part – completing an epic narrative in satisfying fashion has proven to be difficult: the bigger ...
Developer Epic Games takes badass gaming to a new level with an excellent conclusion to one of the Xbox 360 greatest trilogies. Gears of War 3, like its predecessors, is a cover based 3rd person shooter that delivers high paced action at every corner. The game play doesn’t change from the previous two games but that isn’t a bad thing and with the addition of some new toys and a new multiplayer mode Gears of War ...
To say that Final Fantasy XIII was a huge success would be a pretty major understatement. For the first time, fans of the record breaking series were given something that offered everything a Final Fantasy game could give, with the added bonus of some stunning next-gen graphics and the all important movie-like cut scenes that turn this incredible instalment into more of a video game epic.
Family Guy is one of the top animations on TV and, whether you love it or hate it, continues to pull in massive numbers. It stands to reason that every so often they’ll push out a game. The first attempt at digitizing the most outspoken family on TV, the Family Guy Video Game! for Xbox, PSP and PS2, entertained fans of the show, but critics were far less forgiving. Early last year Activision announced Back to ...
The Hitman games were a master class in stealth and player choice when they were originally released. Agent 47 could find a thousand ways of eliminating any target and sneaking out without anybody being any the wiser, and playing again and again to improve your playthrough was a big part of the way the series worked. With Absolution, the latest in the franchise, now available in stores, this HD collection is a ...
If you asked me 5 years ago to talk to you about EA sports’ new hockey game I would probably look at you funny and walk away. Hell if you asked EA sports 5 years ago to talk about their new hockey game they would say “Hockey game? No I’m pretty sure we just make Madden.” Times have changed and now the NHL game is wildly popular among sports fans and frat boys looking to pass the time between drinks. NHL 2013 is ...
Aliens: Colonial Marines has been in development for over half a decade. Despite the track record of developer Gearbox, and the popularity of the sci-fi franchise, the much anticipated game has been delayed more times than I can count. Considering that, it's something of a miracle that this game was released at all. Unfortunately, it's a little less of a miracle considering how surprisingly bad this game turned ...
There has been a distinct lack of business sims these past few years. While Theme Park and its ilk bring back happy memories for those old enough to remember them, something about the genre has led to it disappearing almost completely, and when it does show up it’s usually watered down on mobile devices. Arcadecraft hopes to change that by lettings fans control their very own arcade at the height of their ...
Five years ago, the virtual basketball landscape was a completely different place. EA and 2K were locked in a heated competition on both the pro and college levels, both studios known to pump out two quality basketball titles a year. Today, the only yearly basketball offering remaining is the NBA 2K series, the Live series failing for a third straight season to finish a retail product. Although this appears to ...
Despite a generally luke-warm reception from critics, 2010’s Medal of Honor reboot from developer Danger Close was not all bad. The title focused on the elite branch of the military known as Tier 1, of which there are a mere handful of operatives currently deployed. Granted, the missions were a little sloppy and the characters not very interesting, but at its core was a mostly decent modern warfare sim with some ...
Every year there is a deluge of First Person Shooter games, each one with their own level of hype around them and expectations from the developers and publishers as to how they’ll perform. The market has erred on the side of more arcade, fast-paced action of late much in the vein of the uber-popular Call of Duty series. For years now, the yin to the yang of Call of Duty has been the Battlefield games and for ...
Assassin’s Creed 3 continue the story of Desmond Miles, a now fully fledged assassin, whose aim of saving the world from destruction at the hands of mysterious forces has taken him to new depths. As Desmond and his team, now including his own father, continue to evade the Templar’s, he must return to the Animus and meet yet another of his ancestors, Connor. Through Connor’s own journey Desmond will find out ...
Wrestling games have a rather long and odd history, especially when it comes to their core audience. The core audience for wrestling games isn’t always fans of wrestling, oddly enough, but just fans of wrestling games mixed in with wrestling fans themselves. I know that reads like a rather odd distinction, but it is very true. THQ’s rather sordid history with the WWE license extends back quite a while and has ...
The end of a console generation is a perfect time for an ambitious spin-off title: most major franchises are either completing trilogies or releasing refined, creatively safe iterations of popular titles. Developed by Forza vets Turn 10 Studios and UK-based Playground Games (a team compromising of landmark arcade, rally, and simulation racer developers), Forza Horizon takes its well-refined racing style to the ...
Bungie’s involvement with the Halo universe is no more. The longtime developer of the FPS that breathed new life into consoles, shooters and hell, let’s just say it—online gaming—is off to next-gen pastures leaving developer 343 Industries to continue Master Chief’s tale with a new series known as The Reclaimer Trilogy.
Dishonored came out of nowhere to become the surprise hit of 2012. As a new IP developed by the relatively unknown studio, Dishonored's chances of scoring big with both critics and gamers seemed low. However, through a combination of inventive gameplay mechanics, and a very original setting, the game has managed to prove that innovation is still alive and thriving in big-budget game development.
Call of Duty has become a yearly phenomenon, breaking record after record on an annual basis. Black Ops 2, the latest in the series, is no exception, bringing together an action packed single player story and a set of chaotic, fast paced multiplayer games to create what is arguably one of the best arcade shooters of this generation. The addition of Treyarch's popular Zombies mode is only that stretch extra. Call ...
Perhaps one of the most controversial games of the last twelve months, Resident Evil 6 split fans and critics right down the middle. While some celebrated the mass return of many of their favourite characters, others were less impressed by an overemphasis on action sequences and linear...
