Reviews Archives - Page 124 of 128

Battlefield 1943 Review: Battling In The Pacific

EA DICE, the developers behind Mirror’s Edge and Battlefield 1942, bring us Battlefield 1943, a PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade downloadable first person shooter set against the backdrop of World War II’s Pacific front. This is the latest entry in the Battlefield franchise and the first downloadable-only console version. The shooter rolls out three…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2009

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Droplitz Micro-Review: Dripping With Strategy

From the creators of the Burger King promotional Xbox 360 titles comes Droplitz, a pipe-connecting puzzle game for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Best known for filling GameStop locations around North America with countless used copies of Pocket Bike Racer, Sneak King, and Big Bumpin’, Blitz Arcade has left the King behind to…

By Mike Fahey Published July 16, 2009

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Waterway Micro-Review: A Little Wet Behind The Ears

Rough Cookie‘s Waterways is a top-down puzzler that uses water management to provide an interesting twist to the classic concept of getting the hero, in this case a blocky cow, from one end of a maze to the other. Published by Taito, the game won the 2008 Japan GameJam Competition, but can it win the…

By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2009

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Rolando 2 Micro Review: Rolando Keeps On Rolling

We reviewed the first Rolando back in January. January 2009. Now, it’s only July, and the sequel is upon us. That’s a pretty swift turnaround, handheld platform or not. So should we be suspicious of this “sequel,” considering its short development time? Or will it show that a great game is a great game, no…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2009

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BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review: Rebel Yell

Guilty Gear creators Arc System Works have, after churning out sequel after confusingly titled sequel to the fighting franchise they’re best known for, started fresh with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, a 2D fighting game that’s wholly original. BlazBlue‘s blend of high-resolution, gorgeously animated sprite based fighters and three dimensional backgrounds makes for a stunning presentation. Pretty…

By Michael McWhertor Published July 13, 2009

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Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit

Who says you have to go to college for an expensive game developer’s education? Microsoft Research’s Kodu puts the power of a dev kit right in your hand for a mere $5. Kodu Game Lab isn’t a video game, per se, but a lot of the pre-packaged worlds that come with the Game Lab certainly…

By AJ Glasser Published July 10, 2009

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Doom Resurrection Micro-Review: What In The Sam Hell

id Software and Escalation Studios have compacted the essence of Doom 3 into an iPhone app with Doom Resurrection, an on-rails first-person shooter that teleports the player from Mars to Hell and back. id’s Doom 3 side story puts players in the role of a Marine, aided by a flying ‘bot named Sam, as he…

By Michael McWhertor Published July 8, 2009

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Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Review: A Fistful of Accolades

The western shooter seems to be a conundrum to developers. Despite valiant efforts, and great games, few have ever enjoyed the runaway success of their modern warfare counterparts. In Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Ubisoft adds an interesting twist to the genre, having gamers play as either of two brothers with distinctly different play…

By Brian Crecente Published July 7, 2009

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Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Review: Clench The Difference

Getting the most out of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen requires a steady hand, a keen eye, and the ass muscles of an Olympic athlete. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an action adventure game based on the movie of the same name, telling the story of the return of Megatron and the rise of…

By Mike Fahey Published July 3, 2009

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Battlefield Heroes Review: The Great (Cartoon) War

EA have really got behind the whole “free to play” thing of late, announcing it’ll form the basis of future Tiger Woods and Need for Speed titles. The first such game to test those waters, however, is Battlefield Heroes. The premise is simple: take Battlefield, then make it absolutely free to play, by stripping some…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 3, 2009

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Mecho Wars Micro-Review: Landians Versus Wingians… Really?

Mecho Wars brings to the iPhone and iPod Touch a solid turn-based strategy title in the vein of Intelligent Systems’ Advance Wars, delivering the game with a flashy art style and interesting time twist. But loaded down with absurd design decisions that have you playing as a commander of the Wingians taking on an army…

By Brian Crecente Published July 2, 2009

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Gunstar Heroes Micro-Review: The Perfect Shot

The recent re-release of Gunstar Heroes on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network isn’t the first port of the game we’ve seen over the past 16 years. But could it be one of the best? Part of Sega’s Vintage Collection, Gunstar Heroes is a port of Treasure’s classic 1993 shooter, which is still revered…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2009

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Fight Night Round 4 Review: Boxing Beautiful

A graphical showpiece and a boxing game just a tad more authentic than the ones featuring King Hippo, Fight Night Round 4 apologizes for its sport and chases that unlikeliest of pugilistic goals: subtlety. MMA is hot and WWE never quite fades away. Boxing eternally hangs from a cliff. Since the 1970s, each decade of…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 30, 2009

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The Conduit Review: A Bland, But Enjoyable Shooter

In Sega’s The Conduit, you play as a pawn in a vast conspiracy involving aliens, shadowy government agencies, and the president of the United States. But the Wii-exclusive first-person shooter hopes to win gamers over not with its plot and known voice talent, but its nuanced controls and solid multiplayer gaming. With the ability to…

By Brian Crecente Published June 29, 2009

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Art Style Boxlife Micro-Review: Smart Misery

It’s a 2009 phenomenon: some of the smartest and most artistically adventurous games released on any of the big platforms come from Nintendo’s Art Style line. Enter Boxlife, the first good game about boring factory work. (Sorry, Shenmue!) What makes you laugh as a gamer? A joke? A line of dialogue or a sight gag?…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009

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Fallout 3 Point Lookout Micro-Review: Axe Murder

If each Fallout 3 expansion is an attempt to expand Bethesda’s game into new genres, then this week’s Point Lookout is an axe stab at survival horror. Scared? Where does a sprawling game that’s already sprawled across three downloadable expansions set partially in Alaska, Pittsburgh and an Air Force base go in a fourth? To…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 25, 2009

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Let’s Tap Review: Rhythm Limbo

When former Sonic Team lead Yuji Naka left Sega to form the semi-independent Prope, he said the studio would focus on “original entertainment.” Prope’s first major release, Let’s Tap, is certainly original, packing five multiplayer focused mini-games into one title. Mini-games? Original?! Yes, because Sega’s Let’s Tap plays unlike anything else on the Wii, as…

By Michael McWhertor Published June 24, 2009

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Eduardo The Samurai Toaster Micro-Review

If anything, Semnat Studios‘ Eduardo the Samurai Toaster for WiiWare deserves a spot in the head-turning game title hall of fame. Formed in 2005 by Daniel Coleman and Robert DeMaria, Semnat Studios is a tiny little development company that started off crafting smaller PC projects, one of which eventually grew into Eduardo the Samurai Toaster,…

By Mike Fahey Published June 23, 2009

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Ghostbusters: The Video Game Review: Survival Comedy

Ghostbusters: The Video Game comes to us bearing a twin-blockbuster burden: Both as a game, and also as the first true representative of a beloved franchise to come along in 20 years. The presence of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the film’s original writers and two of its leading actors, lent weight to the game…

By Owen Good Published June 18, 2009

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Swords & Soldiers Micro-Review: Violence Included

WiiWare had been hurting for games about killing. But the originators of de Blob have released a cartoon-violent battle between Vikings, Aztecs and ninja monkeys to more than compensate. As an interruption from a WiiWare line-up of bonsai barbering, beanbag-tossing and goo-fueled bridge-building we now can download Ronimo Games’ Swords & Soldiers, a side-scrolling real-time…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 17, 2009